decoded_text stringlengths 4.18k 47.6k |
|---|
-hating masochist zealots who wore lightsaber-resistant crab-armor made me spit out whatever I was drinking out of utter confusion. What happened to my Star Wars?
The answer? Nothing.
When a car company releases a hideous new redesign of a classic model, it doesn’t suddenly render all previous versions ugly. When a writer runs out of ideas, his old books don’t become retroactively uninspired. When Ice Cube started appearing in all those terrible family movies, no one went back and made Straight Outta Compton a suitable album for children. The Star Wars we all know and love is still there, and no amount of CGI can change that, in spite of George’s best efforts. If you don’t want to watch the reduxed and remixed versions, don’t watch them. Go dust off your old VHS copies and figure out how to hook up a VCR to your flatscreen, or grab a set of the DVDs that include the original theatrical versions on insultingly mislabeled “bonus” discs. It’s okay to call yourself a Star Wars fan while simultaneously shunning the Blu-Ray releases.
The Star Wars Trilogy before it became a digital plastic surgery disaster.
I still watch The Trilogy a few times a year. When I’m sick in bed, or just bored. I’ll put it on in the background while I’m working. I didn’t think it was possible, but I actually managed to love The Empire Strikes Back even more. This, of course, happened after I discovered the old Colt 45 commercials Billy Dee Williams did in the eighties. I’ve spent several evenings with friends watching The Trilogy and drinking forties, making fun of Luke’s whining, thinking up hilarious translations for Chewbacca’s growls, and secretly wishing we were as suave as Lando.
My stupid girlfriend thinks it's weird that I want to name my first son "Lando."
Star Wars might not be the absolute pinnacle of film-making, and it might not be the most solid science fiction. The writing’s hokey, and the acting could be better. Some of the special effects are a little bit dated and Ewoks are still damn stupid, but it’s Star Wars. In 1977, George Lucas created a remarkable fantasy world. He might be currently hellbent on digitally ruining it, but let’s not let that overshadow what he originally created. I can’t speak for everyone else, but Star Wars made my childhood better, gives me something to look back on fondly now, and I look forward to sharing it with my kids someday. For that, I’m grateful. Cheers, Lucas.
NEXT WEEK: Alex finally watches The Empire Strikes Back and waxes intellectual about what many consider to be the best Star Wars film.
Previously, on the Star Wars Retrospective
The Multiracial Identity
A New Hope
Introduction
You are logged out. Login | Sign up
Click to open photo gallery:Friday Facts #27 - The Roadmap
Posted by kovarex on 2014-03-28, all posts
Hello,
it has been long, but successful week, mainly because we gave our first tax returns containing Factorio earnings while keeping mental health intact, hopefully.
As celebration of the 2^13 copies we are about to approach I made a Factorio version of the game everyone is playing now, the time you can spend on it should justify the shorter length of this text :)
Apart playing 2048 we managed to make 2 bugfix releases this weak just to find out, there are still some small bugs left, but the version is close to be stable for sure. So we sit down and it took us few short minutes to write down the roadmap that will take us almost the rest of this year to finish. There are many smaller things on the way, but these are the milestones we would like to aim for.
What we are still unsure about is when to try to hit the steam+bigger exposure button. I just read my post on the steam from half a year ago, where we stated, that when 0.6 is stable, we will get the trailer and we will apply for steam. Here we are waiting for the 0.9, the trailer almost finished, but still not sure whether we should really start the campaign now. When we start imagining the additions and polishing we have planned for the foreseeable future, the only rational thing that seems to be viable now is to wait for these. We still believe that we have just single shot for the first impression and if we shoot too early for it, we risk to hit our leg.
The updated look of the belts
We are always eager to learn what you think at our forums.Last year Jack White suffered two break ups, the first being the break up of his band The White Stripes who after six albums called it a day, the second was the breakup of his marriage to Karen Elson. So it's fair to say Jack White might have a few things he might want to get off his chest and what better way than to it by releasing his first solo album the wonderful "Blunderbuss" Which is an album of many varying styles and finds one of the most gifted guitarists of his generation on great form throughout.
Anybody who misses The White Stripes will be delighted with the opening combo of "Missing Pieces" and "Sixteen Saltines". Indeed the opening and middle parts of "Missing Pieces" sounds reminiscent of "Dead Leaves and The Dirty Ground" and has rich sounding organ and a familiar Jack White solo. "Sixteen Saltines" is the closest to a White Stripes song can be without the irreplaceable Meg White. There's a brilliant cover of the Little Wilie John (written by Rudy Toombs) song "I'm Shakin'" which has White raising his vocal range and is accompanied by excellent background vocals and keeps true to its 1960 roots.
The title track itself is a wonderful low key affair with a White's voice providing the emotion for the song itself as he sings over an organ and strings. On first single "Love Interruption" White's is brilliantly backed up by Ruby Amanfu on backing vocals. On the song "Freedom at 21" White waxes lyrically and features a trademark Jack White riff and solo. The final track on the album "Take Me with you When You Go" which starts out tame enough before changing pace at past the two minute mark into a frenzied assault of fast paced vocals, it's a great way to close out a superb debut album.
Yes The White Stripes are missed big time and there is no way Jack White could create the on stage/studio chemistry that he had with Meg White with anyone else but on his first solo album White has come up trumps delivering an album full of wonderfully wired sounding songs with heartfelt lyrics that reflect his state of mind coming off a tough year personally. Just for good measure his ex-wife Karen Elson provides backing vocals on the album, it also features the drumming of Carla Azar from the band Autolux. "Blunderbuss" is an album that deserves repeated listens and shows even on his own White can deliver music that is essential listening.Amid the playoff push, Columbus Crew supporters are fighting to keep their MLS club, which is planning to move to Austin after the 2018 MLS season. (Jay LaPrete/Associated Press)
The worst-scheduled playoff system in pro sports resumes tonight with two events: the first legs of MLS’s Eastern and Western Conference finals.
What, you thought the 2017 season was already over? You’re not alone.
The final stretch of a nine-month campaign should intensify like a tropical storm passing over warm waters before peaking with the championship game. In MLS’s case, TV scheduling demands, an NFL stadium conflict in Seattle and a FIFA fixture window reduced the playoff storm to intermittent showers.
In a league that plays most regular season matches on weekends, only four of the 16 playoff games over 37 days leading to MLS Cup will fall on the weekends. The breakdown: two Mondays, three Tuesdays, three Wednesdays, four Thursdays, no Fridays, no Saturdays and four Sundays.
Last year, there were nine matches on Sundays and seven in midweek.
This fall, MLS was dark on the weekend of Nov. 10-12 because of the FIFA window, dark this past weekend and dark again this coming weekend.
The four legs in the conference finals are mid-week affairs.
In the East, ending a 16-day playoff pause, Toronto FC and the Columbus Crew will meet tonight in Ohio (sometime after 8 p.m. ET, ESPN) and next Wednesday in Ontario. In the West, the Houston Dynamo will host the Seattle Sounders tonight (sometime after 9:30 p.m. ET, FS1) and visit Cascadia next Thursday. MLS Cup is slated for Dec. 9, a Saturday afternoon, in Toronto or Columbus.
Weeknight matches after a long break won’t dull the enthusiasm in the participating cities — Houston sold out 11 days ago, Columbus appears to have only a handful of seats remaining, and both Toronto and Seattle will welcome big crowds. But MLS is aching to appeal to a broader audience, and sports fans look for, and stumble upon, televised sports on weekends, not weekdays. The busy holiday travel week in the United States will further overshadow MLS’s national efforts.
In soccer, a team aims to establish rhythm. MLS’s schedule-makers and TV partners should want to do the same with these playoffs. Right now, there is none.
>> As for the first-leg matches …
Joy and anger will swell in Columbus, where the Crew is the most intriguing story of these playoffs amid investor Anthony Precourt’s plans to move the club to Austin after the 2018 season. Following a first-round upset at Atlanta, the fifth-seeded Crew eliminated New York City FC in the two-leg conference semifinals.
Toronto arrives with a sterling record (21-6-9 in regular season and playoffs) but without attackers Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore, who combined for 31 goals in the regular season. Both are serving one-game suspensions, Giovinco for yellow cards and Altidore for a halftime dust-up with the Red Bulls’ Sacha Kljestan two weeks ago. TFC was 2-2-0 this season when the pair didn’t play.
In the West, Houston is the surprise package after knocking off top-seeded Portland in the conference semifinals. The Dynamo is unbeaten in nine straight at home and has not conceded a goal at BBVA Compass Stadium in 357 minutes. Seattle’s Stefan Frei hasn’t yielded a goal in his past four postseason matches, dating from last season.
The Sounders have never won in Houston (0-5-4), while the Dynamo has never won in Seattle (0-7-2).
>> In a season featuring many standout arrivals in MLS, Atlanta United midfielder Miguel Almiron (nine goals, 14 assists) was voted the league’s newcomer of the year. Chicago’s Nemanja Nikolic (24 goals) was second in the voting, followed by Atlanta’s Josef Martinez (19 goals), Toronto’s Victor Vazquez (eight goals, 16 assists), Chicago’s Bastian Schweinsteiger and Real Salt Lake’s Albert Rusnak (seven goals, 14 assists).
Others worthy of consideration: New York City FC’s Alexander Ring and Los Angeles’ Romain Alessandrini (13 goals, 12 assists).
>> As first reported by the Insider on Twitter on Sunday, Anthony Pulis has left Orlando City’s USL team to coach second-division foe Saint Louis FC. He replaces Preki, who is expected to move to California United FC, an NASL expansion side. Pulis, 33, was formally introduced Monday — the same day his father, Tony, was fired by West Brom, which has 10 points and nine goals from 12 Premier League matches.
>> Americans abroad Tuesday:
With two points from four Champions League group matches, Christian Pulisic and Borussia Dortmund will host Tottenham Hotspur (10 points). Pulisic missed the Bundesliga weekend match with a muscle injury. Kickoff is at 2:45 p.m. ET on FS2, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN, ESPN3, Fox Sports Go, Fox Soccer Match Pass and fuboTV.
Tim Ream, Luca de la Torre and Fulham visit Cameron Carter-Vickers and Sheffield United
Lynden Gooch and Sunderland at Aston Villa
Eric Lichaj and Nottingham Forest home against Norwich City
Omar Gonzalez and Pachuca home vs. Atlante in Copa MX semifinal (10 p.m., Univision Deportes, fuboTV)
[How Americans abroad fared over the weekend]
>> A week after adding Salt Lake City to the circuit, the National Women’s Soccer League announced that two-time champion FC Kansas City has ceased operations. The rights to the former Kansas City players were assigned to the SLC organization, which will play at Rio Tinto Stadium. The new club will also inherit Kansas City’s picks in the January draft (fourth in each round, except the third because of a trade). The NWSL awarded Salt Lake City the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft.
This marks the second consecutive offseason in which the NWSL has left one city and entered another: Last winter, the Western New York Flash became the North Carolina Courage, based in Cary. The Salt Lake City outfit, owned by the group that operates MLS’s Real Salt Lake, will unveil its name and crest in the near future.
>> FC Barcelona, which has been eyeing an NWSL franchise to extend its brand and dive deeper into women’s soccer, remains keen on operating a U.S.-based team — probably on the West Coast and probably starting in 2019, the Insider has learned. Last summer, Barcelona seemed almost certain to launch in the S.F. Bay Area, but talks cooled.
>> A crowd of 28,955 witnessed the first leg of the Mexican women’s league finals as Pachuca earned a 2-0 home victory over Chivas. The second leg is Friday in Guadalajara.
>> The final grim tally on D.C. region teams in the NCAA Division I tournaments: 4-7-2 record, with both draws resulting in defeats by penalty kicks. Seven schools qualified for the men’s tournament, but none survived after the first week: two were ousted in the first round Thursday, five in the second round Sunday.
On the women’s side, Georgetown was eliminated on penalty kicks in the first round, while Virginia won twice to reach the round of 16 before losing to UCLA on Sunday night.
Women’s bracket
Men’s bracket
Women’s College Cup: Dec. 1-3 in Orlando.
Men’s College Cup: Dec. 8-10 in Chester, Pa.Josue Pierre-Louis
A Brooklyn man suing the NYPD claims he was unjustly arrested by a jealous police officer who failed to match his sexiness. Josue Pierre-Louis, 24, was driving to a friend's house on Feb. 27th when he was stopped by officers at the corner of Rockaway and Belmont Avenues in Brownsville. As he was about to give his license and registration to Detective Frank Sarrica, Pierre-Louis says an unknown woman walking by made "a cat-like, hissing sound." It seems the woman found him sexy enough to catcall him, but Pierre-Louis believes the cop was jealous and took it out on him.
"She makes this catcall sound, and [Sarrica] steps away from my vehicle, and he goes towards her with open arms, like he’s going to get her number. And she says, 'Ha! Not you. The driver,'" Pierre-Louis told the Post. When Sarrica returned to the car, the other officers were laughing at him: "The guy is heated," Pierre-Louis said. "He was like, 'You think that’s funny?' And he starts grabbing my clothing." He ended up spending 48 hours locked up at Brooklyn central booking, while everyone else walked away: "She went home to dinner. So did the two officers. Everyone got to go home except for me."
In his lawsuit, it claims Sarrica and his partner "assaulted [Pierre-Louis], forcibly dragged him from his vehicle, and falsely arrested him. Excessively tight handcuffs were applied to Mr. Pierre-Louis’s wrists." The officers hit him with false charges, including failing to signal, marijuana possession, resisting arrest, misdemeanor assault, and obstructing governmental administration. All those charges have now been adjourned in contemplation of dismissal.
"There was no marijuana in my possession at all," Pierre-Louis added. "I haven’t even the slightest clue why I was even pulled over."THE PROGNOSIS
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) participates in a television interview on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
To fix or not to fix Obamacare, that is the question for Republicans now that they’ve failed to repeal even small parts of President Obama’s sweeping health-care law. Moderate Democrats are stepping up with potential solutions for the beleaguered marketplaces, which insure around 11 million Americans. But the jury’s still out on whether GOP lawmakers can bring themselves to work across the aisle after such a humiliating defeat.
“This has been just a really long process of my Republican friends coming to terms with reality,” Rep. Jim Himes, chairman of the 61-member New Democrats Coalition, told me yesterday. “I think the challenge now is can they sell something short of repeal – that is, improvement – to their voters.”
When Himes became leader of the group of moderate Democrats late last year, he expressed eagerness to work across the aisle on issues like infrastructure and education, but said the plan for health care was to “sit back and watch” as Republicans rushed headlong down the Obamacare repeal tunnel.
That tunnel appeared to run into a dead end last Friday, when the Senate failed by a single vote to pass a “skinny repeal” bill, demonstrating that even after shutting out Democrats the GOP still can't agree on health care.
So has the death of partisan efforts fertilized the ground for a garden of bipartisan cooperation? Seems doubtful to us, given how polarizing health care has been over the past seven years.
But Himes sees opportunity nonetheless.
He has signed onto a set of proposals to stabilize and improve the marketplaces laid out this week by a 43-member bipartisan group called the Problem Solvers Coalition. The most prominent Republican member is Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (a key health-care panel). Tweets from a few Democratic members yesterday:
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.):
Proud to be part of a bipartisan group of members in the Problem Solvers Caucus proposing a starting point to move forward on health care — Rep. Brad Schneider (@RepSchneider) July 31, 2017
Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.):
Even in an atmosphere as partisan as DC, there is common ground. It's time for us to work together on bipartisan health care solutions. https://t.co/7H5iywH6FG — Rep. Scott Peters (@RepScottPeters) July 31, 2017
Their asks includes permanently funding extra Obamacare subsidies for cost-sharing discounts, repealing the ACA’s medical device tax, giving states greater flexibility to manage their marketplaces and creating a federal fund to help cover the costs of the sickest, most expensive patients.
Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich) is the most prominent GOP member of the Problem Solvers Coalition, a group requesting bipartisan health-care fixes.
“The path forward to fixing the health-care mess is seeking bipartisan, common-sense common-ground,” Upton said in a statement.
Another prominent Republican moderate, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, tweeted his approval:
They’re listening.
Proud of House Rs and Ds coming together to take on one of the biggest Obamacare challenges.
https://t.co/9WnMxtBcJP — John Kasich (@JohnKasich) August 1, 2017
Himes acknowledges the group's proposals wouldn’t fix big, systemic problems with the U.S. health-care system. But their ideas do demonstrate there’s a universe where the two parties can reach some agreements, if small.
“[The proposal] was to demonstrate to the world you can put Republicans and Democrats in a room and come out with a solution,” Himes told me.
He emphasizes there are some parts of the proposal he doesn’t like – including its repeal of taxes on medical devices. But that’s the point of bipartisan legislation, he says. Everyone will be unhappy with parts of it, but happy with other parts.
“It makes everyone a little grumpy because it’s a compromise,” Himes said.
Yet Republicans face ongoing, heavy pressure from the White House to revisit their partisan repeal-and-replace effort, largely via a string of tweets from President Trump blasting them for failing to pass a bill and threatening to hold hostage extra Obamacare subsidies for insurers that could help stabilize the marketplaces. Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), a member of the Problem Solvers Coalition, shared his frustration with HuffPost's Jennifer Bendery:
GOP Rep. Charlie Dent: "Exhausting" dealing with Trump's messes. Says bipartisan health care push underway but Trump's tweets distract. — Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) July 31, 2017
And Republican leaders in the House and Senate haven’t given any hints they’d be willing to work alongside Democrats to improve the ACA. Senate GOP leaders signaled yesterday that they plan to move on from health-care to other legislative priorities, my colleague Sean Sullivan reports.
“We’ve had our vote, and we’re moving on to tax reform,” said Sen. John Thune (S.D.), one of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s top lieutenants.
Sen. Roy Blunt (Mo.), another member of the Republican Senate leadership, put it this way: “I think it’s time to move on to something else. Come back to health care when we’ve had more time to get beyond the moment we’re in — see if we can’t put some wins on the board.”
McConnell did not address health care in his remarks opening Senate business on Monday afternoon. His top deputy, Sen. John Cornyn (Tex.), brushed back comments White House budget director Mick Mulvaney made on CNN on Sunday urging Republicans not to vote on anything else until voting on health care again.
“I don’t think [Mulvaney’s] got much experience in the Senate, as I recall,” said Cornyn as he made his way into the Senate chamber. “And he’s got a big job. He ought to do that job and let us do our job.”
Meanwhile, Democratic leaders are calling for bipartisan work on health-care. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said yesterday he's gotten responses from 10 of his Republican colleagues -- and said he's "all for" the concepts laid out in the Problem Solvers' proposal. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) hasn't endorsed the plan, but she did give it a nod yesterday.
“Congress has a responsibility to work together in a bipartisan fashion for the good of the American people,” Pelosi said in a statement. “The Republican leadership should finally move past repeal, follow the example of their members releasing some proposals with Democrats today, and come to the table for serious bipartisan conversations.”
The New Democrats (Himes’s group) sent four similar requests to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) last week. The speaker should create a permanent federal reinsurance program and fund the cost-sharing subsidies, and advance policies helping more people get covered and have access to affordable plans, the caucus wrote.
And even before last week’s meltdown, as Republicans struggled to move beyond intraparty bickering, a handful of moderate Senate Democrats also proposed legislation to improve the marketplaces.
Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Thomas R. Carper of Delaware rolled out a bill creating a permanent reinsurance program to help insurers lower premiums for the sickest and most expensive patients, who might otherwise struggle to pay for their plans.
Before insurer Centene announced it would sell plans in Missouri’s so-called “bare” counties next year (where no marketplace insurers existed), the state’s Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill had proposed legislation allowing people with no plan options to buy on D.C.’s marketplace instead.
Other Democrats are calling for bipartisan fixes, too:
From Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.):
Now we must chart a path to progress. Now we must find bipartisan solutions on #healthcare https://t.co/2qQ7r8BGJB — Sen. Maria Cantwell (@SenatorCantwell) July 31, 2017
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.):
We have an opportunity, right now, to work together on bipartisan fixes for our health care system. https://t.co/lxMMEi5Jds — Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) July 31, 2017
Health-care wonks encouraged bipartisan cooperation too. From Brookings Institution's Loren Adler:
Good to see a group of 40 bipartisan House Members proposing an ACA stabilization bill: https://t.co/CLKFpqnZON — Loren Adler (@LorenAdler) July 31, 2017
Andy Slavitt, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under Obama:
4- News of bipart talks will break as it has started to. It will be tempting to find what you don't like, but IMO we should encourage talks. — Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) July 31, 2017
AHH, OOF and OUCH
Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), whose state's marketplace just won over more insurers so that only one county will lack options next year. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
AHH: Twenty counties in Ohio were at risk of no insurers selling plans on the marketplaces in 2018 -- but no longer. The state's insurance director announced yesterday that five companies have stepped up to sell plans in the trouble areas, leaving only one Ohio county currently without an insurer, writes The Post's Carolyn Johnson. The void was created in June when the state's major insurer, Anthem, announced that it would pull out of Ohio.
“Ohio has long had a strong insurance system, and once again our insurers stepped up at an important time for thousands of Ohioans, taking unprecedented action to provide access to health insurance for Ohioans who otherwise were without options,” insurance director Jillian Froment said in a statement.
"A single Ohio county, Paulding County, still has no insurer expected to offer plans on the exchange," Carolyn reports. "Froment said that regulators are searching for coverage options for that county. State insurance commissioners have been working with companies to plug potential gaps over the past few months."
Other states with "bare" counties have seen insurers enter as well. "After quite a bit of suspense over whether Iowa would have any insurers offering marketplace plans next year, the Midwestern insurer Medica stepped in to offer plans statewide," Carolyn writes. "Missouri, once at risk of seeing multiple counties lose their insurance options, was able to work with the insurer Centene to fill in bare counties."
“State insurance regulators have a fair amount of latitude to get plans to participate,” said Dan Mendelson, president of Avalere Health, a consulting firm. “There is a back-and-forth that provides some level of insulation from the craziness of the federal legislative process and the federal administrative process. The states really have an interest in providing continuity.”
Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) addresses the Democratic National Convention in July 2016. (Photo by Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post)
OOF: Democrats will not withhold financial support for candidates who oppose abortion rights, the chairman of the party’s campaign arm in the House said yesterday per The Hill. Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) said there will be no litmus tests for candidates as Democrats seek to regain the House majority in 2018 -- a position that risks alienating liberals, as well as groups dedicated to promoting access to abortion rights that represent the core of the party’s base.
“As we look at candidates across the country, you need to make sure you have candidates that fit the district, that can win in these districts across America," Lujan said. "To pick up 24 [seats] and get to 218, that is the job. We’ll need a broad coalition to get that done. We are going to need all of that, we have to be a big family in order to win the House back.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) have both said there’s room within their party for people with different opinions on abortion. Abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America wasn't pleased to hear Lujan's statement, however. “Throwing weight behind anti-choice candidates is bad politics that will lead to worse policy,” said spokeswoman Mitchell Stille. “The idea that jettisoning this issue wins elections for Democrats is folly contradicted by all available data.”
Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) meets with his staff during a late night session on Capitol Hill. (Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post)
OUCH: Rep. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, said yesterday that senators for now are too divided to keep working on health-care overhaul legislation and that he and other senior Republicans will take that message to the White House, Reuters reported.
"There's just too much animosity and we're too divided on health care," Hatch said in the interview with Reuters. Hatch said he thinks Congress will have to fund cost-sharing subsidies that help make Obamacare plans more affordable for the lowest-income enrollees, although he'd prefer not to.
TRUMP TEMPERATURE
President Trump shakes hands Monday with new White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
--Even as nearly every GOP leader in Congress says it's time to set health-care aside and move on to a tax rewrite, Trump isn't giving in. He's been tweeting daily threats bashing the GOP for refusing to revisit the issue, warning Republicans that he'll refuse to fund the cost-sharing subsidies (a move which would seriously undermine the marketplaces). Monday morning, he doubled down on a threat to remove the employer contribution to health- insurance plans for members of Congress and their staff:
If ObamaCare is hurting people, & it is, why shouldn't it hurt the insurance companies & why should Congress not be paying what public pays? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2017
--Trump is apparently considering taking executive action in the vacuum left by the Senate's failure to pass its "skinny repeal" bill. Yesterday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he offered the idea to the president during a phone call, where he suggested Trump had the authority to create associations that would allow organizations to offer group health-insurance plans and thereby negotiate for lower rates.
"Well I just got off the phone with the president, and I think he and I both want to get something done,” the Kentucky Republican told reporters. “What I'm talking to him about is that I think through executive action, I think he can legalize the health associations that I've been talking about.”
--Also yesterday, the White House hosted a meeting with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and several governors to discuss how to restart action. “We had a productive meeting. All involved want a path forward,” said Cassidy in a statement after the meeting. Cassidy has teamed up with Sens. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.) on their own health-care proposal.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie heads up Trump's special opioid commission. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
--Trump's opioid commission is asking something of him, The Post's Christopher Ingraham reports. Yesterday, the President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis issued a preliminary report stating that its “first and most urgent recommendation” is for the president to “declare a national emergency" due to opioid abuse.
“With approximately 142 Americans dying every day,” the report notes, “America is enduring a death toll equal to September 11th every three weeks.”
The commission, led by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), says that the goals of such a declaration would be to force Congress to provide more funding for prevention and spread public awareness about the issue. Trump established the opioid commission in March, with a mandate to “study ways to combat and treat the scourge of drug abuse, addiction, and the opioid crisis.” But the report didn't include some harsher measure the president has called for in the past.
"Notably absent from the report are a number of tough-on-crime measures that Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have repeatedly offered up as solutions to the opioid crisis, including building a wall on the Mexican border, expanding the use of mandatory minimum sentencing for drug crimes, and seizing more cash and property from individuals suspected of drug crimes," Christopher reports.
Other good reads from The Post and beyond:
HEALTH ON THE HILL
MEDICAL MISSIVES
Internet searches on suicide went up after ‘13 Reasons Why’ released by Netflix A new study suggests the popular TV series encouraged some people to ask “how to commit suicide." Madhumita Murgia
Opioid abuse started as a rural epidemic. It’s now a national one. A new study found opioid abuse is now at least as common in cities as it is in rural areas. Keith Humphreys
Kentucky doctor, about to go into labor, pauses to deliver another woman’s baby "I'm not on call, I'm here in a gown, but I think we ought to have the baby,” Amanda Hess said. Derek Hawkins
Parents, caretaker neglected children living in feces-fouled room in Medicaid fraud The three were sentenced to prison this month on federal health-care conspiracy charges. Joe Davidson | Columnist
Trump’s FDA Chief Charts a Policy Shift Beyond Tobacco Products The physician running the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stunned tobacco companies when he said the agency had plans for rules to slash cigarettes’ nicotine content. Maybe they should have seen something like that coming. Bloomberg
SECOND OPINION
It’s not Obamacare anymore. It’s our national health-care system. It’s apparent what needs to be done to stabilize the marketplaces and who owns the ACA going forward. Drew Altman and Larry Levitt
DAYBOOK
(EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS)
Coming Up
Brookings Institution is holding an event on "Procedure and politics in the 115th Congress" on Wednesday.
The Senate Finance Committee considers Matthew Bassett, a nominee to be the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services on Thursday.
SUGAR RUSH
The Post's Ashley Parker, Carol D. Leonnig, Philip Rucker and Tom Hamburger report President Trump intervened to write Donald Trump Jr.'s statement on meeting with a Russian lawyer:
Watch a dramatic reenactment of Anthony Scaramucci’s phone call to The New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza:
Watch late-night comedians bid farewell to ousted The Mooch:Sci-Hub is an online collection of 47 mln research papers, created with the declared goal of “removing all barriers in the way of knowledge.” Its bitcoin funding appeal is getting keen support from Redditors.
Created in 2011 by Alexandra Elbakyan, a software developer and neurotechnology researcher from Kazakhstan, the site makes paid scientific content available to everyone. It passes paywalls using subscription credentials donated by anonymous academics all over the world.
According to the Sci-Hub website, it grants access to hundreds of thousands of academic materials every day. It is especially popular in middle-income countries such as India, Brazil, Iran or Indonesia, where many universities and research institutions are unable to pay annual subscription fees required by research libraries and publishers.
Sci-Hub advocates for cancellation of copyright laws for scientific and educational resources. It declares that “scientific knowledge should be available for every person regardless of their income, social status, geographical location.” The website is currently sued by the academic publisher Elsevier on allegation of copyright infringement. However, its Twitter feed states:
“Sci-Hub is a long term solution. The website and its library are always going to be accessible via Tor, no matter what happens.”
Many Redditors, when they learned about Sci-Hub’s request for bitcoin donations, reacted enthusiastically with comments like this:
“I donated!” “They've definitely got my support.” “Alexandra Elbakyan we love you!” “Please consider donating, they are doing the Lord’s work. I work in a University which doesn't have the resources to buy all the subscriptions to journals, and their page is a blessing.” “I'm actually writing my graduate thesis right now, and it's been a Godsend. My university isn't that large and their science journal database is limited.”
Alexandra Elbakyan has been compared to Edward Snowden and enjoys a wide popularity among many supporters of the open access to academic research materials. The critics of Sci-Hub, on the other hand, argue that infringement of copyright laws would not solve the problem of knowledge accessibility.
Alexey TereshchenkoStory highlights Saudi Arabia reports 282 deaths from MERS since 2012
There are 688 cases over that time; 353 of those diagnosed recovered
MERS originated on the Arabian Peninsula but has since spread
CDC: The respiratory illness is deadly about 30% of the time
Saudi Arabia reported significantly more deaths from the MERS virus on Tuesday, the same day the country sacked one of its top health officials.
The Saudi Ministry of Health reported that 282 people have died since 2012 from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, or MERS-CoV, a major uptick from the previous official death toll of 190.
This is out of 688 total cases in the Arab nation; 353 patients have recovered and 53 are still receiving treatment.
About five weeks ago, Saudi Arabia was reporting 339 known cases of MERS-CoV, 102 of which had resulted in deaths.
The new numbers came out the same day that acting Health Minister Adel bin Mohammed Fakieh announced he had relieved Deputy Health Minister Dr. Ziad Memish from his post, according to a statement on the health ministry's website. No reason was given.
JUST WATCHED MERS virus contracted in the U.S. Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH MERS virus contracted in the U.S. 03:06
JUST WATCHED US case of MERS spread via handshake Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH US case of MERS spread via handshake 03:08
JUST WATCHED Hospitals prepare for MERS outbreak Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Hospitals prepare for MERS outbreak 02:05
Last week, the World Health Organization reported it was aware of 636 "laboratory-confirmed cases" of MERS infections, which had led to 193 deaths. It is not immediately clear how Saudi Arabia's latest figures affect those numbers. There are documented cases of the virus around the world.
As a coronavirus, MERS is in the same group of illnesses as the common cold.
But it is much more lethal: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that about |
of profit.
Marginalism disproved mathematically
The Italian-British economist Pierro Sraffa developed a mathematical disproof of marginalist theory in his book “The Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities,” published in 1960, which kicked off the Cambridge Capital Controversy.
Sraffa’s refutation of marginalism involved the “double re-switching of techniques.” Remember, marginalists assume that as capital grows scarcer relative to labor, the rate of interest rises, and conversely, if capital grows more plentiful relative to labor, interest rates fall. In the world of marginalist theory, wages and interest move inversely. The higher the level of wages the lower the rate of interest, and the lower wages are the higher the rate of interest. (11)
According to marginalist theory, as capital grows scarcer relative to labor the prices of capital goods rise. At some point, industrial capitalists will shift to a more labor-intensive technique because it is cheaper. Similarly, as capital goods become more plentiful relative to labor, they become cheaper and there is a shift from labor to more “capital-intensive” techniques of production. This is crucial to marginal productivity theory.
But Sraffa showed that under certain conditions—remember we are using assumptions that the marginalists themselves accept—as wages rise and interest rates fall, there can be a switch from capital back to labor. This is called double re-switching of techniques.
Double re-switching effectively disproves mathematically the whole theory of value and distribution among the capitalists and workers according to the marginal products of labor and capital. Sraffa arrived at this mathematical disproof of marginalist theory using arithmetic commonly used in commercial transactions and simple algebra. In doing this, he brought the entire pseudo-science of marginalist economics with all its buttressing of higher mathematics crashing to the ground! (12)
Some marginalists have pointed out, correctly, that the “neo-Ricardians,” as Sraffa suppporters are often called, have not been able to put anything in place of marginalism beyond commercial arithmetic. This is quite correct. Essentially, the neo-Ricardians propose to replace economics with commercial arithmetic. After all, commercial arithmetic serves the everyday businessmen quite well! But this argument, correct in itself, in no sense saves marginalism.
Of the two great schools of economics that grew out of what Marx called in “Theories of Surplus Value” the “disintegration of the Ricardian school,” only one, the Marxist school, is still standing. The other one, marginalism, has been reduced to a mass of logical and mathematical ruins.
Scientific versus vulgar economics
Here we see the difference between what Marx called “vulgar economics”—which includes both the marginalist and its “neo-Ricardian” critiques—versus scientific economics. Scientific economics began with the classical economists and continued with Marx’s critique of bourgeois political economy. In contrast to the classics and Marx, the vulgar economists think just like practical business people. Vulgar economists deal with prices, wages, rates of interest and the capitalization of income flows at the rate of interest. What vulgar economics is not interested in is what underlies these surface phenomena—the real social relations of production—and at its worst does everything to cover them up—for example, by denying the
exploitation of workers by the capitalists.
Developments in marginalism since the 1930s
The Great Depression of the 1930s turned marginalist assumptions about the working of the capitalist economy on its head. The impact was even greater in Britain, where the Depression effectively began in 1920, than it was in the U.S., where the Depression didn’t begin until 1929.
The more sensitive economics students were shocked when their professors droned on about how “full employment” was the only possible equilibrium in a capitalist economy while the Depression was unfolding just outside the classroom windows. Many young economics students began to turn to Marx for answers. This spurred John Maynard Keynes to produce a modified marginalism with the aim of turning radicalizing economics students back to bourgeois economics.
Keynes claimed that marginalism was basically sound but that the founders of marginalism had made one major mistake. They had analyzed only one case of economic equilibrium—equilibrium at “full employment.” In reality, Keynes claimed, equilibriums were possible at any level of employment, ranging all the way from zero employment to 100 percent employment. Keynes believed that left to its own devices, because of declining scarcity of capital, the capitalist economy was increasingly tending toward equilibriums with considerable unemployment.
But Keynes insisted that if the government and central bank followed the correct fiscal and monetary policies it would always be possible to nudge the capitalist economy back to an equilibrium of “approximately fully employment.” Exactly how the government should achieve this under the given concrete economic conditions became the subject of the new “macroeconomics.”
Keynes, however, never challenged the view that free competition is an approximation of capitalist reality. During the 1930s, young economists such as Paul Sweezy, who was then in transition from the conservative student of marginalist economics he had been to the founder of what was to become the Monthly Review interpretation of Marxism—began to modify marginalist price theory to take account of monopoly.
Under free competition, the marginalists assume that the individual firm controls such a tiny percent of the total output of the commodities of a given use value and quality they produce that if they went out of business there would be virtually no effect on prices.
These firms are thus obliged by the pressure of competition to choose levels of production where their marginal costs equal the prevailing price. According to the marginalists, with a given level of technique, in equilibrium marginal costs equal average costs equal the lowest possible costs. As a result, the marginalists claimed to demonstrate, “free competition”—unbridled capitalism—not only ensures “full employment” and no exploitation of one “factor of production” by “another factor of production”—it ensures that only the most efficient methods of production are employed. Therefore, everybody, especially the “consumer,” is the winner.
During the Depression, it was obvious to economic students like the young Paul Sweezy that the marginalist picture of free competition was far from the prevailing capitalist reality. By the 1930s, many sectors of industry were dominated by a handful of firms, each of which individually controlled a significant quantity of total production. If any of these firms chose to increase or reduce production, the effect on prices would be considerable. The greater the influence on price of the individual firm the higher the “degree of monopoly” was.
Therefore, the “monopoly price school” argued, in making decisions on production levels, firms operating in industries with any significant degree of monopoly would choose levels of production where their selling prices would equal their marginal revenues, not their marginal costs. The result would be a considerable amount of chronic unemployment, excess capacity and inefficient levels of production.
It was in the high degree of monopoly that had been reached by the 1930s that these younger economists trained in marginalism found the underlying cause of the Depression. Unlike the “orthodox” marginalists, these “unorthodox” marginalists believed that the role of government in the economy would have to continue to expand if economic and social disaster was to be avoided.
In contrast, the more traditional marginalists—such as Milton Friedman, nowadays called “neoliberals”—claim that the role of monopoly in modern capitalism is greatly exaggerated and the model of perfect competition is still a reasonably close approximation of today’s capitalist reality. They therefore have little use for the amendments that the “monopoly price school” made to marginalist price theory starting in the 1930s. Like the liberal political economists of old, the neoliberals insist that the government should keep its hands off the economy.
Today’s more “progressive” bourgeois economists such as Paul Krugman are influenced both by Keynes and the monopoly pricing school. They borrow, often on the sly, from the Monthly Review school, which has most consistently developed both Keynes and the monopoly price school to its logical conclusion. Unlike Monthly Review, however, the progressive bourgeois economists claim that capitalism can be made to operate in the interest of all the people if only the right mix of government intervention and the “free market” can be found.
Next month, we will examine the role that marginalist economics played in the socialist countries and Che Guevara’s criticism of the growing influence of marginalist ideas in both the economic professions and ruling parties of the socialist countries.
___________
1 The Russian Marxist economist and later Soviet leader N.I. Bukharin (1888-1938) explained in his “Theory of the Leisure Class”—not to be confused with the book of the same title by the U.S. economist Thorstein Veblen—the rise of marginal utility theory by the growing importance of a layer of the capitalist class completely removed from the sphere of production. (back)
2 Marx showed that interest is merely a fraction of the profit, which in turn is a sub-fraction of total surplus value. Profit is divided into two sub-fractions: the profit of enterprise and interest.
The marginalist do their best to explain away the profit of enterprise as either produced by the labor of the active capitalists or the “reward” for the extra risk capitalists incur when they choose to invest their capital in their own enterprises rather than lend it to another capitalist or the government. Indeed, the “pure” rate of interest is considered to be the rate on government bonds, which are considered to involve no risk because they are payable in the currency that the government or its monetary authority issues itself.
The biggest problem for marginalist theory, however, is explaining away that portion of the surplus value that cannot by any stretch of the imagination be justified in terms of the “labor of the entrepreneur” or by “risk.” (back)
3 Many marginalists are university professors, and this is the type of work they would be familiar with. (back)
4 The marginalists also claim that the very high incomes earned by entrepreneurs is a “reward” for risking their money on their own enterprises, which might not succeed, and could well lead to the loss of all their money. It is certainly true that would-be tycoons risk and lose their money every day. Is risk therefore supposed to be a fourth factor of production alongside the trinity of land, labor and capital, or is it supposed to contribute to the value of the marginal product of the entrepreneurs’ labor by making this type of labor scarce due to the relatively few people who are willing to take such risks? Presumably, the latter, since the textbooks speak of the three factors of production—the holy trinity—and not four factors of production. (back)
5 In ancient times, when animals were sacrificed to the gods, it was priests who represented the gods. They had to consume the meat of the sacrificed animals since the gods themselves were not able to carry out the act of consumption themselves. Perhaps the marginalists reason that since nature, which produced the land, cannot actually consume the ground rent, the duty of consuming the rent naturally falls to the landlords and their families. (back)
6 Like all other schools of economics, the marginalists realize that it is only fluctuating prices that enable commodities to be produced in the proper proportions in a market economy. (back)
7 I say “fundamentalist” because—unlike more pragmatic economists willing to concede that in the real world the economy with its monopolies and other “imperfections” will not really work the way the marginalist models based on “free competition” predict, at least not without considerable help from the government—Friedman stubbornly insisted that marginalist models would closely correspond to reality if the rate of growth of monetary tokens were kept stable and the government otherwise kept its hands off the economy. (back)
8 Politically, the economists of Cambridge, England, tended to be reformist socialists close to either the left wing of the Labor and Social Democratic parties or the right wing of the Communist Parties, later dubbed “euro-communists.” The economists of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in contrast, supported the liberal wing of the U.S. Democratic Party, which rejected even reformist socialism. The economists of Cambridge, England, disliked marginalism, though they were unwilling to embrace the Marxist alternative, while Cambridge, Massachusetts, economists as supporters of capitalism were strongly committed to marginalism and did everything within their considerable mathematical powers to salvage it. (back)
9 Marx solved the aggregation problem at the very beginning of “Capital,” even before he introduced the concept of “capital” proper, by asking what commodities of different use values that exchange with one another have in common. He found the answer in abstract human labor measured in some unit of time. In contrast, all attempts to solve the aggregation problem on the basis of marginalism have failed. (back)
10 As we have seen, many of today’s Marxists stubbornly insist on defending this viewpoint in direct opposition to Marx. This is what keeps the transformation and aggregation problems alive. A correct theory of money—the form of value—is therefore a necessary, not an optional, part of Marxist theory. (back)
11 Remember, I am using “interest” here in the marginalist sense that I explain in this post and not in the Marxist sense, which I explain elsewhere in this blog. (back)
12 How do the university economics departments explain to their unwary students that the marginalist theory they teach their students has been disproved both
logically and mathematically, not only by Marx but by the economists themselves in
the Cambridge Capital Controversy? Well, they follow the only possible course. They hush it up!
“In the United States, on the other hand, mainstream economics goes on as if the controversy had never occurred. Macroeconomics textbooks discuss ‘capital’ as if it were a well-defined concept—which it is not, except in a very special one-capital-good world (or under other unrealistically restrictive conditions). The problems of heterogeneous capital goods have also been ignored in the ‘rational expectations revolution’ and in virtually all econometric work.” (Burmeister 2000, quoted in Wikipedia’s article on the Cambridge Capital Controversy) (back)
AdvertisementsTanto Blades -Advantages and Disadvantages- *Pros & Cons of the Tanto Shape*
2. Japanese Design – Alright, I have to give a shout out to the Japanese when it comes to knives. Japan manufactures some of the coolest looking knives that I have ever seen. Don’t believe me? Check out this knife and be amazed. The Japanese are also well known for their excellent steels. There are tanto knives made from VG-10 with amazing heat treatments from Japan that are absolutely incredible out there for sale today. Japan also makes a good AUS-8 steel. However, China is quickly joining the globe for the best knife production out there. While there may be excellent knives made everywhere, China has made production so inexpensive and quality to such an impressive value that it will be fun to see who can make the best knives in the near future. In my opinion, Japan is still making the best knives in the game. Tanto blades have pros and cons but most tanto shaped knife advantages are practical. If Al Mar made a tanto shaped knife in VG-10 then I think I would be in heaven. I have a spear point made by Al Mar and it is near perfect. A tanto blade would have made it absolutely perfect, but I can’t complain.
1. Tip Strength – This one should be pretty obvious, but due to the triangular shape leading to the tip, the tip has much more reinforcement behind it than a drop-point or spear-point. Unless you plan on regularly stabbing through car doors or using your knife as a shovel, this really shouldn’t play a huge factor. However, if you are using a knife in unorthodox fashion, then a tanto knife is for you. The tanto shape leads well to stab and pry, making it useful for numerous other tasks that most knives probably couldn’t handle. Tanto blades definitely make the cut when it comes to usefulness, ba-dum-tsss…
Yes, I am a sucker for the tanto shape and I’m sure many others are as well. That sexy triangular tipped steel can make a knife look quite awesome and deadly. However, there are some definite tanto blade advantages over say, a spear-point or drop-point edged knife. Unfortunately, due to that triangular shape, tanto blades have some disadvantages as well. While there are more than six advantages and disadvantages, I am going to hit the big three points for each. If you need more information on actual blade geometries of tanto knives, head over to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade#Geometry.
3. In The Field Serviceability – Since Tanto blades tend to have two flat edges without much curve, it is easier to sharpen a workable edge if you are in the field and don’t have sharpening equipment with you. This is one of the biggest tanto blade advantages even though they tend get a bad reputation for being impractical. However, this definitely doesn’t mean that sharpening a tanto edged knife is easy as you will see in the disadvantages below. You can sharpen a knife in the field using the edge of your cars glass windows or by bringing a sharpening stone with you. You could also find a flat stone out in the field that could be adequate for sharpening to a working edge.
Tanto Blade Disadvantages
1. Sharpening is a Pain – Since you have two separate bevels, instead of just sharpening one continuous edge, it feels like you are sharpening two knives since you have to switch between which bevel you are sharpening from time to time. However, it is a pretty simple to get a consistent edge on most tanto knives since they don’t tend to have much of a recurve in the blade.
2. Slicing Tasks Can Be More Difficult – Due to the fact that a tanto has two flat edges and almost no belly if you are slicing through a rough material then you probably aren’t going to have as easy of a time as you would with a drop-point or spear-point
.
3. Tanto Blades are Impractical – This goes back to point number one on the tanto blade advantages. If you aren’t planning on stabbing anything or anyone, a different style of blade with better slicing capabilities is much more practical for every day uses. While stabbing into your daily orange at lunch may be fun, slicing it with a drop point knife at the same sharpness would be much easier.
Bottomline
Tanto blades are awesome, but they aren’t very practical for every day uses. However, at I Luv Knives, we get it. You just like showing your knife off to friends while you do little daily tasks like opening letters, cutting meat, or slicing fruit, then a tanto blade will easily manage to complete these tasks. In fact, some of the best budget folding knives tend to have tanto edges. One of the best things about a tanto knife is how versatile they are for most tasks. While they are really made for piercing, using a knife blade shape such as the tanto can really make for a great overall experience.
History Behind The Tanto Edge
The tanto was originally created as a weapon, but throughout the years, it has evolved into a quite versatile knife. While the knife was designed for piercing, stabbing, and slashing, new versions of the tanto knife are great for every day carry. While there tends to be a sharp angle in a tanto edged blade, there are some manufacturers that have taken the liberty of modifying the angle to more of a drop point/tanto blade shape. While the best cheap pocket knife might not have a tanto edge, the blade shape is definitely noteworthy.BERKELEY, Calif., Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Police responding to a call at a Berkeley, Calif., apartment complex got a shock when the landlord shot himself and when they found a body concealed in a wall.
Investigators said the body, which was in a homemade coffin hidden behind a false wall, was too decomposed to tell the age or sex, the Oakland Tribune reported Friday. They said that the dead person might be Taruk Bin Ali, the son of the landlord, Hassan Bin Ali.
Taruk Bin Ali was listed as the owner of the complex, which has eight apartment units. Police said that his father may simply have concealed his son's death from natural causes so that he could continue to collect the rent.
Brandon Lane, a former tenant, told the Tribune that he wrote his checks to the son but gave them to the father.
Police got a call Monday about a violent argument in the landlord's apartment. When officers arrived, they found him alone, and he immediately pulled out a gun and shot himself in the head.
The hidden body was discovered Wednesday during a search of the apartment.
"I've never seen a case unravel quite like this in my eight years in the department," said Officer Andrew Frankel, a spokesman for Berkeley police.In a conversation with an ESPN radio program on Wednesday morning – a place where a lot of embarrassing things tend to happen even if ex-players don’t say ridiculous things – TNT’s Charles Barkley confirmed what we’ve all long suspected.
[Follow Dunks Don't Lie on Tumblr: The best slams from all of basketball]
He doesn’t watch much NBA basketball. If the Warriors or LeBron James aren’t involved, he can’t be bothered. He is your typical Thursday Evening Power Forward.
Scroll to continue with content Ad
As transcribed by Fox Sports, here are Chuck’s thoughts:
“Listen, first of all, I want to thank the Golden State Warriors, because it’s been very awful basketball this year. Awful. I mean, just bad. If you think about it -- and I’m not no old guy hating -- but unless Golden State is playing the Clippers, the Cavs, Oklahoma City, the Spurs, I’m not going to watch a full NBA basketball [game]. It’s not very good basketball. And I love basketball. But there’s only a couple games -- well, there’s only five games I’m watching top to bottom. The rest of the games aren’t worth watching top to bottom. [...] We want it to be competitive. We don’t want to have four good teams. I want people in Milwaukee. I want people in Philly. I want people in Boston. I want to see competitive games. And right now we’re not getting that."
I want to see competitive games, too. That’s why, in 2000, I bought something called “League Pass,” which allows me to watch competitive and entertaining basketball (OK, 2000-01 was a bit of a stretch in that realm) every night. Someday, hopefully Charles will decide to go all-in and treat himself to the package. They even break it up into four easy payments!
Story continues
Again, Charles isn’t telling us anything new. You don’t think a re-showing of “Who He Play For?” to point out as much. Hell, we’re the guys that have to watch the games in Philadelphia, and I consider myself lucky for hitting 80 percent in WHPF.
Barkley has been a Turner Sports fixture since the fin de siècle. His standout performance during the waning days of the 1999-00 regular season and that year’s NBA draft gave notice that future Hall of Famer was going to act as a brilliant television personality for years to come. A decade and a half later, his reputation as a must-watch (even at 2 AM, Atlanta-time) is inarguable.
This is a long way of saying, “Charles Barkley doesn’t watch much NBA basketball, and who cares?”
Watching Sacramento Kings games well past our bedtime, or in the morning that follows after game time, is for nerds like us. Anyone who has listened to Barkley rant on about subjects that he clearly is shooting blind about knows that this guy only makes time for the nationally-televised games. If even that – the Turner crew frequently mocks Barkley for clicking away from the games his own network is showing, games he’s charged with covering, if his boredom sets in.
Barkley makes up for it, however, by owning up to “it.” The ESPN radio hosts that interviewed him on Wednesday have probably seen fewer NBA games than Charles from end to end this season, and yet they’ll still argue as if they spent all night obsessively working through NBA.com’s stat section. The same goes for the hosts of the midday television program that ESPN has let influence its entire programming day. When you have to switch from Tim Tebow to Kevin Durant’s free agency in the span of a commercial break, sometimes the Nuggets/Clippers analysis gets lost.
Which would be just fine, if these guys wouldn’t pretend like their tepid take was rooted in something that had their eyes glued to the screen the night before. At least Barkley owns his ambivalence.
In 2016, we can get away with this. Charles Barkley is a television personality, and not an analyst (if you want further proof, check in on those millions of NCAA basketball fans banging their heads against the wall when Charles takes to March Madness later this month). We can laugh and enjoy Barkley’s work well after midnight when the latest Warrior game ends, prior to pulling up and clicking on the work of those that are watching a six-hour block of basketball just about every night.
(Seriously, though, Charles – you should really watch more basketball. It’s kind of part of your job, and also it’s really, really fun to do.)
- - - - - - -
Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!The web is huge, and there are a lot of people on it. Day and night, millions upon millions of people are on the web surfing, commenting, and contributing. Normally your blog gets a few hundred visitors a day ( a few thousand on a good day ), but what happens when that number increases? Can your database server handle all that load? Will Apache come screeching to a halt due to all of the requests? The answer is probably yes, unless you implement some form of caching. Many years ago this wasn’t a huge problem, but as the web and it’s user base has grown, so has the problem of “web scale”.
Memcached
Memcached is a pretty simple concept. Just as the name implies, it’s a caching system that stores stuff in memory. That’s really all you need to know to get started. If you’re interested in learning more, check out the Memcached home page.
PHP Memcache
As this is mostly a PHP blog, I’m going to show you how to use Memcached with the PHP Memcache module. While this tutorial is language specific, the concepts here can be applied to any language to increase the speed of your web pages. That being said, the first step is to get Memcached installed on your machine. There are a ton of tutorials out there on the web for this, so I’m going to leave that as an exercise for you. Once that’s installed, you should check out my guide for getting the PHP Memcache module installed on XAMPP, that way you can run this tutorial locally.
Step 1: Make the connection
This step is pretty straight forward. If you can’t connect to your caching server, you can’t cache. If the connection is successful, continue trying to cache. Otherwise, just query your database as normal.
$memcache = new Memcache ; $memcache -> connect ( "my.memcached.server", 11211 ) ; $memcache = new Memcache; $memcache->connect("my.memcached.server", 11211);
Step 2: Cache something
For this step, the only potential “gotch-ya” is that the your identifier must be unique, and time to expire is in seconds.
$myValue = "hello world!" ; $memcache -> set ( "Hello World", $myValue, false, 60 * 60 * 24 ) ; $myValue = "hello world!"; $memcache->set("Hello World", $myValue, false, 60*60*24);
Step 3: Retrieve an item from the cache
$myValue = $memcache -> get ( "Hello World" ) ; echo $myValue ; $myValue = $memcache->get("Hello World"); echo $myValue;
Step 4: Putting it all together
So how does all this work in conjunction with your web app? The basic workflow for using caching is the following:
Does my item exist in cache> (This satisfies determining if a connection to the cache has been made as well.) If so, get the item and store in a variable. If not, get the item from the database. Store the item for later use.
$memcache = new Memcache ; $memcache -> connect ( "my.memcached.server", 11211 ) ; $arrayVals = $memcache -> get ( "My Identifier" ) ; if (! $arrayVals ) { //Note: This assumes that the data in the table doesn't change // and that it is fairly small in size. $query = "SELECT * FROM myTable" ; $result = mysql_query ( $query ) ; while ( $row = mysql_fetch_array ( $result ) ) { $arrayVals [ ] = $row ; } $memcache -> set ( "My Identifier", $arrayVals, false, 60 * 60 * 24 ) ; } foreach ( $arrayVals as $val ) { print_r ( $val ) ; } $memcache = new Memcache; $memcache->connect("my.memcached.server", 11211); $arrayVals = $memcache->get("My Identifier"); if(!$arrayVals) { //Note: This assumes that the data in the table doesn't change // and that it is fairly small in size. $query = "SELECT * FROM myTable"; $result = mysql_query($query); while($row = mysql_fetch_array($result)){ $arrayVals[] = $row; } $memcache->set("My Identifier", $arrayVals, false, 60*60*24); } foreach($arrayVals as $val) { print_r($val); }
If you’re following carefully, you can see that the first time through the data will get pulled out of the database. However, for the next 24 hours the data will be coming from the Memcached server. It’s little tricks like this that can help your site survive being featured on Reddit. Moral of the story: If your site is slow because of volume, try caching almost everything and you should have noticeable improvements.When developers get their hands on a social media platform, amazing things tend to happen. For example, Facebook transformed web apps when it launched the Facebook platform. The result has been everything from Facebook Connect to FarmVille. Twitter's an even better example when you start thinking of the countless Twitter apps for mobile phones and the desktop.
That magic is exactly what LinkedIn is hoping will happen with today's launch of the LinkedIn Platform, which opens up outside applications to use LinkedIn's data. Oh, and TweetDeck will be launching LinkedIn integration this week.
The company has been experimenting with a developer platform for a while. Most recently, LinkedIn announced integration with Microsoft Outlook 2010. However, until today only select developers could access LinkedIn APIs. Now any developer can work with the data, much like Facebook and Twitter.
You're about to see a whole new wave of LinkedIn web applications. When I spoke with LinkedIn, I learned that a little less than a dozen apps would be launching LinkedIn integrations this week, including TweetDeck, Twitter's most popular app (we'll have another post detailing the new features soon, along with screenshots).
This is an important but long overdue move for LinkedIn. We can understand why it took longer — business users would have likely reacted badly to this a year ago, but with social media permeating the workplace, it's probably the right time now.Dave Karnes
Photo courtesy Marines magazine/Department of Defense
On the first anniversary of 9/11, with the attacks still fresh in the minds of many Americans, Slate shared the story of a retired Marine who responded to the attacks on the World Trade Center and found two survivors. In honor of the anniversary, the article is reprinted below.
Only 12 survivors were pulled from the rubble of the World Trade Center after the towers fell on Sept. 11, 2001, despite intense rescue efforts. Two of the last three to be located and saved were Port Authority police officers. They were not discovered by a heroic firefighter, or a rescue worker, or a cop. They were discovered by Dave Karnes.
Karnes hadn’t been near the World Trade Center. He wasn’t even in New York when the planes hit the towers. He was in Wilton, Conn., working in his job as a senior accountant with Deloitte Touche. When the second plane hit, Karnes told his colleagues, “We’re at war.” He had spent 23 years in the Marine Corps infantry and felt it was his duty to help. Karnes told his boss he might not see him for a while.
Then he went to get a haircut.
The small barbershop in Stamford, Conn., near his home, was deserted. “Give me a good Marine Corps squared-off haircut,” he told the barber. When it was done, he drove home to put on his uniform. Karnes always kept two sets of Marine fatigues hanging in his closet, pressed and starched. “It’s kind of weird to do, but it comes in handy,” he says. Next Karnes stopped by the storage facility where he kept his equipment—he’d need rappelling gear, ropes, canteens of water, his Marine Corps K-Bar knife, and a flashlight, at least. Then he drove to church. He asked the pastor and parishioners to say a prayer that God would lead him to survivors. A devout Christian, Karnes often turned to God when faced with decisions.
Finally, Karnes lowered the convertible top on his Porsche. This would make it easier for the authorities to look in and see a Marine, he reasoned. If they could see who he was, he’d be able to zip past checkpoints and more easily gain access to the site. For Karnes, it was a “God thing” that he was in the Porsche—a Porsche 911—that day. He’d only purchased it a month earlier—it had been a stretch, financially. But he decided to buy it after his pastor suggested that he “pray on it.” He had no choice but to take it that day because his Mercury was in the shop. Driving the Porsche at speeds of up to 120 miles per hour, he reached Manhattan—after stopping at McDonald’s for a hamburger—in the late afternoon.
His plan worked. With the top off, the cops could see his pressed fatigues, his neatly cropped hair, and his gear up front. They waved him past the barricades. He arrived at the site—“the pile”—at about 5:30. Building 7 of the World Trade Center, a 47-story office structure adjacent to the fallen twin towers, had just dramatically collapsed. Rescue workers had been ordered off the pile—it was too unsafe to let them continue. Flames were bursting from a number of buildings, and the whole site was considered unstable. Standing on the edge of the burning pile, Karnes spotted … another Marine dressed in camouflage. His name was Sgt. Thomas. Karnes never learned his first name, and he’s never come forward in the time since.
Together Karnes and Thomas walked around the pile looking for a point of entry farther from the burning buildings. They also wanted to move away from officials trying to keep rescue workers off the pile. Thick, black smoke blanketed the site. The two Marines couldn’t see where to enter. But then “the smoke just opened up.” The sun was setting and through the opening Karnes, for the first time, saw clearly the massive destruction. “I just said ‘Oh, my God, it’s totally gone.’ ” With the sudden parting of the smoke, Karnes and Thomas entered the pile. “We just disappeared into the smoke—and we ran.”
They climbed over the tangled steel and began looking into voids. They saw no one else searching the pile—the rescue workers having obeyed the order to leave the area. “United States Marines,” Karnes began shouting. “If you can hear us, yell or tap!”
Over and over, Karnes shouted the words. Then he would pause and listen. Debris was shifting and parts of the building were collapsing further. Fires burned all around. “I just had a sense, an overwhelming sense come over me that we were walking on hallowed ground, that tens of thousands of people could be trapped and dead beneath us,” he said.
After about an hour of searching and yelling, Karnes stopped.
“Be quiet,” he told Thomas, “I think I can hear something.”
He yelled again. “We can hear you. Yell louder.” He heard a faint muffled sound in the distance.
“Keep yelling. We can hear you.” Karnes and Thomas zeroed in on the sound.
“We’re over here,” they heard.
Two Port Authority police officers, Will Jimeno and Sgt. John McLoughlin, were buried in the center of the World Trade Center ruins, 20 feet below the surface. They could be heard but not seen. By jumping into a larger opening, Karnes could hear Jimeno better. But he still couldn’t see him. Karnes sent Thomas to look for help. Then he used his cellphone to call his wife, Rosemary, in Stamford and his sister Joy in Pittsburgh. (He thought they could work the phones and get through to New York Police Department headquarters.)
“Don’t leave us,” Jimeno pleaded. He later said he feared Karnes’ voice would trail away, as had that of another potential rescuer hours earlier. It was now about 7 p.m. and Jimeno and McLoughlin had been trapped for roughly nine hours. Karnes stayed with them, talking to them until help arrived, in the form of Chuck Sereika, a former paramedic with an expired license who put pulled his old uniform out of his closet and came to the site. Ten minutes later, Scott Strauss and Paddy McGee, officers with the elite Emergency Service Unit of the NYPD, also arrived.
The story of how Strauss and Sereika spent three hours digging Jimeno out of the debris, which constantly threatened to collapse, has been well told in the New York Times and elsewhere. At one point, all they had with which to dig out Jimeno were a pair of handcuffs. Karnes stood by, helping pass tools to Strauss, offering his Marine K-Bar knife when it looked as if they might have to amputate Jimeno’s leg to free him. (After Jimeno was finally pulled out, another team of cops worked for six more hours to free McLoughlin, who was buried deeper in the pile.)
Karnes left the site that night when Jimeno was rescued and went with him to the hospital. While doctors treated the injured cop, Karnes grabbed a few hours sleep on an empty bed in the hospital psychiatric ward. While he slept, the hospital cleaned and pressed his uniform.
* * *
Today, on the anniversary of the attack and the rescue, officers Jimeno and Strauss will be part of the formal “Top Cop” ceremony at the New York City Center Theater. |
burdens on the wealthy — have almost no relation to conservative ideas or even popular opinion. …”
Dougherty is the only conservative columnist that I have seen anywhere who seems to have a clue about what is motivating Trump’s supporters. This is undoubtedly due to his familiarity with Pat Buchanan and Sam Francis.
Tom Nichols:
“I blame a lot of people for Donald Trump. (Mostly, I blame Donald Trump.) “Trumpism,” insofar as we can call it a movement, is the product of many social forces. Some of the anger that propels Trump is a reaction to political correctness and elitist condescension; some an irrational, even racist, fear of changing demographics; some understandable rage at the painful and disparate impact of globalization. And some of it is just the lousy luck that 16 other Republicans, including a batch of no-hopers, all decided to run when Trump did. But look past Trump’s public monkeyshines, and find one emotion that especially motivates his supporters: envy. Or, to use a more evocative French term, it is ressentiment, the need to blame others for one’s own frustration and circumstances. …”
Liberals are motivated by envy.
I’m probably the least envious person you will ever meet. I’m not motivated by money. Believe me, there is NO MONEY in advocating populism and nationalism online under your real name. The only thing I care about is what kind of world will be left behind to my descendants. Nichols doesn’t have a clue. The people who are motivated by financial considerations write for mainstream conservative websites.
Charles Murray:
“But the central truth of Trumpism as a phenomenon is that the entire American working class has legitimate reasons to be angry at the ruling class. During the past half-century of economic growth, virtually none of the rewards have gone to the working class. The economists can supply caveats and refinements to that statement, but the bottom line is stark: The real family income of people in the bottom half of the income distribution hasn’t increased since the late 1960s. During the same half-century, American corporations exported millions of manufacturing jobs, which were among the best-paying working-class jobs. They were and are predominantly men’s jobs. In both 1968 and 2015, 70% of manufacturing jobs were held by males. During the same half-century, the federal government allowed the immigration, legal and illegal, of tens of millions of competitors for the remaining working-class jobs. Apart from agriculture, many of those jobs involve the construction trades or crafts. They too were and are predominantly men’s jobs: 77% in 1968 and 84% in 2015.”
Like other mainstream conservatives, Murray is incapable of admitting this is the inevitable result of conservative policies enacted for the benefit of the Republican donor class.
Rachel Lu:
“Anti-anti-Trumpism presents itself as a measured, circumspect attempt to include an underrepresented perspective in the conservative conversation. In reality, a lot of it looks like wallowing. This isn’t to say that the white middle class doesn’t have real grievances, or that we shouldn’t attend to them. They do, and we should. At the moment, though, Trump’s staunchest supporters are standing with pitchforks and torches around a party wherein strands of conservative thought were actually beginning to flourish. They’re clearly in no mood to talk, and their less committed brethren seem to be lingering at the outskirts primarily because they are attracted to Trump’s facade of strength. Why would we respond to that with self-flagellation and shamefaced offers to negotiate? If voters are craving leadership, simpering apologies will not win them back. … We can see the swirling nativism that underscores Trump’s rhetoric and animates many of his supporters. As a man, Trump is a disgrace to our national politics. We damage our credibility when we try to cast Trumpism as righteous, or possessed of deep insight.”
Screaming “nativist” and “racist” at Trump supporters illustrates that the only thing these people understand is power. They must be taught a lesson. Otherwise, they will carry on as if nothing had happened which is what they did after Buchanan and Ron Paul were defeated.Originally published August 25, 2012 at 8:17 PM | Page modified August 25, 2012 at 8:17 PM
Big pharma squeezed by rising research costs, the weak global economy and pressure from Europe, China and elsewhere to reduce drug prices.
TRENTON, N.J. -- If brand-name prescription medicines cost you as little as generic pills, which would you choose? A few drugmakers are betting Americans will stick with the name they know.
They've begun offering U.S. patients coupons to reduce co-payments on brand-name medicines and compete with new generic versions of the drugs. The medicines include staples in the American medicine cabinet -- cholesterol fighter Lipitor, blood thinner Plavix and blood pressure drug Diovan -- along with drugs for depression and breast cancer.
Pfizer tested the new trend last year and now offers co-pay coupons that can bring insured patients six of its medicines for as little as $4 a month each. That includes Lipitor, which was taken by more than 3.5 million Americans until generic competition arrived last Nov. 30.
Experts predict more drugmakers will do the same for some of their big sellers, as the companies weather big revenue drops from an unprecedented wave of top-selling drugs whose patents are expiring. The trend is the latest attempt by drugmakers to hold onto business at a time when they are increasingly under siege. Drug companies including Pfizer, Merck and Bristol Myers-Squibb are squeezed by rising research costs, the weak global economy and pressure from Europe, China and elsewhere to reduce drug prices.
So, they're trying a new tactic to temporarily slow the loss of billions of dollars in sales to new generic competition.
"On a big drug, every day that you can delay the sales drop is a happy day at the drug company," says Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business who follows the drug industry.
Developing drugs requires up to a decade of laboratory research and then patient testing, costing $1 billion or more, to win government approval to sell a drug. In return, the drug's maker gets the exclusive right to sell the drug for about 10 to 15 years, until the patent expires. That allows the companies to recoup those costs and hopefully turn a profit.
After that, generic copycats flood the market; they cost just a fraction of the brand-name drug's price, even though they're chemically identical.
Often, one generic drugmaker has the exclusive right to sell its copycat version for the first six months after the branded drug's patent expires. In those cases, the generic's price is only about 25 percent lower than for the branded drug. Other times, there are multiple generics right away.
Either way, once several generics are on sale, their prices usually plummet to about 90 percent below the brand-name price. Nearly all patients then switch to a generic.
Pfizer protecting Lipitor
Lipitor, once the world's top-selling drug, provides a window into the use of coupons.
A month's supply of brand-name Lipitor costs about $175 without insurance.
For insured patients, the co-payment is typically $25 to $50, well above the average co-payment of about $10 a month for most generic drugs.
Under Pfizer's Lipitor For You coupon program, Pfizer absorbs up to $75 of the patient's out-of-pocket cost. Insured patients pay only $4 a month, unless their co-payment is higher than $79 a month. Uninsured patients get the $75 off each prescription and then pay the remaining $100 or so.
While the deal slashes Pfizer's profit, the company still makes more money than it would if all its customers defected from Lipitor to a generic.
Ian Read, CEO of New York-based Pfizer, recently said the strategy on Lipitor alone brought the company hundreds of millions of dollars in extra profit.
The coupons only work with private insurance, though. Patients with Medicare or other government health insurance are barred from using them.
Insurers fighting back
Not surprisingly, commercial insurers don't like the coupons, because their share of the cost for a brand-name drug is much higher than for a generic pill. Virtually all prescription plans automatically switch patients to a new generic drug the next time they refill their prescription. The plans also move the drug from the co-payment level for most brand-name drugs, usually around $25, to their highest co-payment level, often $50 to $75 per prescription.
The coupons throw a wrench into insurers' strategy of getting as many patients as possible to take generic drugs, which account for about 80 percent of all prescriptions filled in the U.S.
A study late last year by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, a trade group for prescription benefit managers, estimated co-pay coupons could raise prescription drug spending by $32 billion over the next decade.
"That's adding to overall health care costs," says Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for another industry group, America's Health Insurance Plans, and "is going to ultimately mean higher premiums for everybody."
Many insurers are fighting back.
Express Scripts, the largest U.S. prescription benefit management company, says more than half the insurance plans it services have policies requiring patients to pay an extra fee for staying on the brand-name drug. With the advent of coupons, more insurers are likely to institute similar policies, says Everett Neville, head of pharmaceutical strategies at Express Scripts, which processes prescriptions for about 100 million Americans.
Drugmakers have offered coupons for several years on brand-name drugs that don't have generic competition. Those were meant to attract patients taking a rival brand or just starting treatment for a new condition. The coupons are usually prominent on the drug's official website, and many Internet sites offer coupons for an array of drugs.
But in the current decade, drugs with more than $110 billion in annual U.S. sales have patents expiring, according to IMS Health, a huge health-care research firm. So holding onto customers for even a few extra months can mean many millions of dollars in additional revenue.
How it works
Consider Lipitor. The cholesterol-lowering medicine had reigned for a decade as the world's top-selling medicine ever. Sales peaked at $13 billion a year, about half in the U.S.
Lipitor's U.S. patent was set to expire at the end of November. Well before then, Pfizer began offering coupons giving patients $50 off each Lipitor prescription in hopes of keeping many of them loyal. Pfizer also signed unprecedented deals with dozens of insurers that lowered their portion of the cost of Lipitor to what a generic would cost them -- if they covered only branded Lipitor for six months.
That meant both patients and insurers had a big financial incentive to stick with Lipitor for a while.
On Nov. 30, two slightly cheaper generic versions hit pharmacies, one from India's Ranbaxy Laboratories and an "authorized generic" manufactured by Pfizer and sold by its partner, generic drugmaker Watson Pharmaceuticals, of Parsippany, N.J.
Pfizer's coupon strategy worked. The "Lipitor For You" program, which includes support such as lifestyle coaching, health tips and heart-healthy recipes, signed up more than 750,000 people. "We never expected that," said Albert Bourla, head of the Pfizer unit that sells off-patent medicines.
Data from IMS Health show generics grabbed about two-thirds of Lipitor's prescriptions within five months -- a big loss but far less than what would have happened without the coupon program.
"What Pfizer did was something amazing," says Praful Mehta, senior health care analyst at industry consultant IHS Global Insights in London. By courting patients and accepting lower profit margins, "they made sure they kept their revenue."
On May 30, three more generic Lipitor versions hit U.S. pharmacies. Prices for all the generics plunged overnight to around $15 a month. Pfizer then ended its subsidies to insurers because it would be too costly to make up the difference between that amount and the $175 price of Lipitor.
Practice spreading
But the company hasn't given up on retaining some patients.
Pfizer extended Lipitor For You through December 2014 and raised its maximum subsidy from $50 to $75 per month. That means most insured patients using the coupons still can get Lipitor for less than their monthly co-pay for a generic drug, unless their insurer charges that extra fee to make up the difference between the brand and generic costs.
By the end of June, about 85 percent of Lipitor users had defected to a generic. Without the coupons, nearly all would have done so. Read, the Pfizer CEO, said the company maintained three times the usual market share a drugmaker gets after a generic hits the market.
Because pills generally cost only a dime or so to make, Pfizer still profited. It reported about $300 million in U.S. Lipitor sales in the second quarter, down from $1.2 billion a year earlier, plus another $1.1 billion in sales in other countries
Pfizer now offers $4 co-pay coupons for five other drugs: breast cancer pill Aromasin, antidepressant Effexor XR, bipolar disorder treatment Geodon, Revatio for high blood pressure and Caduet, which combines Lipitor with blood pressure medicine Norvasc.
Other companies are following Pfizer's lead. Switzerland's Novartis AG is offering coupons to patients with commercial insurance valid through December 2013 for $4-a-month co-pays on its Diovan and Diovan HCT, with the company covering the next $50 in out-of-pocket costs. Bristol-Myers Squibb, based in New York, began offering co-pay coupons for stroke-preventing pill Plavix when its U.S. patent expired in mid-May. As the world's second-bestselling medication, Plavix brought in about $9 billion last year for Bristol and partner Sanofi SA of France.
Some companies whose blockbusters are getting many generic rivals at once have chosen not to offer coupons, figuring the rock-bottom prices of those generics would prevent the company from retaining enough patients to make it worth their while.
Still, experts say coupons aren't likely a passing fad given the number of drugs coming off patent.
"It's good for consumers, because they don't bear the cost and they can stay on the brand," says Les Funtleyder, health care fund manager at private equity fund Poliwogg.Share
Subscribe to Netflix and stream movies over Verizon? Chances are you were throttled. On Friday, the internet provider acknowledged that it capped customers’ speeds to 10Mbps this week as part of a “video optimization test.”
“We’ve been doing network testing over the past few days to optimize the performance of video applications on our network,” a Verizon spokesperson told Ars Technica. “The testing should be completed shortly. The customer video experience was not affected.”
Verizon said that the experiment, which used a new “video optimization system” designed to slow down streams from specific video sources, was temporary, and that the quality of video shouldn’t have been affected. But some YouTube users on Reddit and Howard Forums reported excessive buffering, longer-than-average loading times, and other visual issues brought on by Verizon’s throttling.
At least two Verizon subscribers observed reduced speeds in the YouTube app’s “stats for nerds” section.
“YouTube is being throttled to 10Mbps as well,” one person wrote on Thursday. “In the ‘stats for nerds’ it would load at roughly 1,250KBps which translates to 10Mbps. Put the VPN on and that number tripled easily. Didn’t have an issue playing 1080p in 60fps, though.”
“Confirmed here too,” another person wrote. “1440p videos are throttled at a constant 9.95Mbps. I wasn’t even able to keep up and buffered at a few points.”
Verizon’s traffic-shaping would appear to skirt the FCC’s net neutrality rules, which generally outlaw throttling. But Verizon says that the test fell within the bound’s of the FCC’s exceptions, which allow carriers to impose limitations as long as they’re (1) metered out equally across services, and (2) imposed for the purposes of network management.
“We deliver whatever the content provider gives us,” a Verizon spokesperson said. “We’re always looking for ways to optimize our network without impacting our customers’ experience.”
As Ars Technica notes, Verizon’s throttling wasn’t severe enough to impact most subscribers’ experiences. Netflix says that its highest mobile quality setting, Unlimited, “may use up to 1GB per 20 minutes or more depending on your device and network speeds.” Assuming the download rate is relatively consistent, a connection of less than 7Mbps — much slower than the 10Mbps limit to which Verizon subjected subscribers — would be sufficient.
Until last year, Netflix throttled its own video streams on AT&T and Verizon in order to help users stay under their data caps. But it changed when it began letting users choose from several different quality settings.
It’s not the first time an internet provider has been caught imposing caps on services. In 2008, Comcast began throttling — and in some cases blocking altogether — peer-to-peer (P2P) BitTorrent traffic on its network. The cable provider initially denied responsibility for the reduced speeds, but later acknowledged in a memo to the FCC that it had “engaged in traffic management techniques” in order to “ensure a high-quality, reliable Internet experience.”
In 2009, it agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit brought on by angry customers for $16 million.What do we mean by vitamin functional drinks? Ever seen one of these bad boys?
You can find vitamin functional drinks (this is what we’ll call them, based on how they commonly self-identify, and for lack of a better term) like this in convenience stores all over Asia. Some are for energy, some are for immunity against diseases. Some are Japanese turmeric-boosted hangover cures, and some are full of fish collagen protein to make your skin and nails silky smooth. As a kid, I would have my mom drive me to the Asian supermarket in my town, and I’d pick up huge stores of these weird little drinks. I downed them before practicing kung fu, hoping for mysterious Chinese powers (it was a pretty misguided time in my life).
It’s been a long time since those days, and I’d all but forgotten about our small-bottled friends. Now that I live in China where they’re constantly available, it seemed like a good idea to get back in touch. So I went down the street to the Family Mart and told ‘em to give me the mix:
Now I’m going to drink them and see how it goes. I’ll explain the intended purpose of each, the taste, and the effect on me the drinker.
1. Lipovitan
The drink: It doesn’t get the credit it deserves, but Lipovitan (力保健 – Force Preserve Health) is kind of the OG energy drink, having been introduced to the market in 1962. That’s more than ten years before the first versions of Red Bull hit the market in Thailand, and more than two decades before the Red Bull we know today came onto the scene. Produced by the Taisho Pharmaceutical Company in Tokyo, it seems to be pretty much the same thing. Taurine, arginine, caffeine…you’re gonna be awake.
The taste: Have you ever had the original Thai Red Bull? The thing that will strike you about it is that it’s not carbonated. Lipovitan is in the same boat, a kind of sticky, syrupy, medicinal, and weirdly Japanese-tasting yellow liquid. It does not scream health. Not terrible though.
The verdict: Actually, I can stand behind this. It’s small and gives you a bit of a lift, without the hardcore buzz and frat bro vibes of a hulking 16 oz. can of Monster. Endorsed.
2. Lipovitan Girl Version
The drink: Were you excited by the idea of consuming Lipovitan, but worried that your two X chromosomes would render it impossible? We’ve got good news. Specially branded Lipovitan for girls, with extra iron to stop your extremities from getting cold, a condition which is overwhelmingly seen here as women-specific. It’s here, it’s pink, it’s gender-based marketing at its finest.
The taste: Actually, lowkey pretty tasty. The floral notes really do a good job of masking the Japanese medicine drink taste. The vitamin functionality, this time, is wrapped in a seductive, feminine rose flavor. It goes down smooth, so you can be your best self, and leave him wanting more. Lipovitan Girl Version — release your inner goddess.
The verdict: Aside from the painfully unnecessary “this one is for girls” marketing stance, I like this drink. In fact, if it has the same amount of energy-boosting nutrients as original MANLY Lipovitan, I’ll drink this one instead. Plus my toes are absolutely tingling with iron and heat.
3. Crystal Sugar Pear Puree
The drink: I double checked with the cashier at Family Mart to make sure there were health benefits and vitamin functionality to be had here. She picked up the bottle, squinted, and said “Yeah. It’s good for your cough.” That sounded ambiguous to me, because everything in China from hot water to dried hawthorn disks can be good for your cough, but I’m a sucker for pear, so here we go.
The taste: Absolutely delicious. It tastes like premium, organic pear-flavored baby food, in the best possible way. It’s like drinking apple sauce, but pear. In fact, the taste is so good, and so unencumbered by the lurking medicinal flavors of vitamin functionality, that I started to doubt if there was anything really special about it at all.
The verdict: Feels like I drank really good pear juice. No noticeable health power-ups to speak of. Will probably buy again though, because that was delicious.
4. Wanji American Ginseng Oral Liquid
The drink: Let’s break it down. Wanji – the brand. American ginseng – the herb, native to North America and different than the more commonly used ginseng in China. Oral – you’re gonna use your mouth to consume it (phew). Liquid – you don’t need to chew this drink. Wild American ginseng is valued to the point that some states have declared it a threatened or endangered species. But that doesn’t stop it from being canned up by Wanji Group and distributed across China, where people drink it to fight stress and fatigue, and to boost the immune and digestive systems.
The taste: Musky, like the forgotten contents of some elk-horn flask in your grandpa’s basement. But kind of refreshing, and not overpowering. It makes me feel like a halfway point between Ernest Hemingway and a 65-year-old Shanghainese man. It is on the complete opposite end of the imaginary gender-taste spectrum from Lipovitan Girl Version.
The verdict: I feel alert! Not buzzing with caffeine and impulsivity, but it’s a nice refreshment, for the gullet and for the mind. I feel like if I were to drink this every day I might actually experience some health benefits, and this is the only one on the list I can say that for so far.
5. Hawthorn Lotus Leaf Paste
The drink: This one marks a departure from our previous beverages. It’s not a small bottle or can, but a single-serve sachet of paste from hawthorn and lotus plants. Empty it into hot water and stir to make a tea. Hawthorn and lotus have both been used to boost the circulatory system (I imagine it’s also good for your cough), but the point here is weight loss and calming relaxation. Lotus leaf has been used for its sedative and chilled-out euphoric qualities.
The taste: Sweet, hot, and easy to drink. An herbal, kind of berry-tasting tea.
The verdict: This was probably one of the most meditative cups of tea I’ve drunk in a while. I wasn’t even aware of the ingredients’ known effects until after I’d already identified a tranquil sense of calm creeping up on me, so it seems to be more than a placebo. It’s kind of like those purple Mellow Mood drinks they sell at gas stations in the states, but with more identifiable ingredients. I feel like if I were to drink this before going to bed every night I’d sleep like a peaceful, happy old man.
—
So there we have it. Finally got to the bottom of some of these mysterious, ubiquitous little drinks. And I can say, I will likely be coming back for more. Aside from the back-to-back bodily whirlwind of gender incongruity, ginseng highs, and lotus leaf lows, that all went better than expected. I viewed these drinks as their own weird little world, but I can see how they’d fit right into our fast-paced modern lives. Join us next time, where we probably eat and compare all the instant noodles, or something like that.EL SEGUNDO, California – Averaging more than 18 minutes a night, 15 games into a blossoming National Hockey League career, rookie defenceman Ben Chiarot has made a remarkably quick transition to life in the bigs.
The 23-year-old was recalled from the St. John’s IceCaps on Dec. 2, 2014. Ever since, helping fill the void left by the throng of injured defencemen, Chiarot has developed into a dependable two-way defender, flourishing under big minutes and even bigger responsibility.
“I’m a lot more comfortable with the guys, in practices and games. I’m getting into a routine with everyone now,” Chiarot said after an up-tempo, 45-minute practice at the Toyota Sports Center.
“Getting used to everybody, getting used to the guys. The biggest thing is feeling comfortable at the NHL level with the pace of play and how strong guys are.”
Chiarot made his NHL debut last year against the Chicago Blackhawks, but the one-game stint did little to satisfy his craving for excellence. With four goals and nine points in 21 AHL games this season, he earned the call back up to Winnipeg.
Chiarot is currently paired with Dustin Byfuglien, who’s been a calming influence on the back end.
“He’s played a long time and he knows the ins and outs, so he calms things down for me,” Chiarot said. “That’s the biggest thing – not getting too high or too low in games. It’s about staying on an even keel, sticking to our game and not making mistakes.”
Chiarot, a product of Hamilton, ON, scored his first NHL goal on Jan. 3 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, gunning a shot off the crossbar and in for the magical moment he’d long been waiting for.
“It was a dream come true,” Chiarot said, smiling ear-to-ear. “It always feels good to contribute, even if it was a 5-1 game. It felt good and I’m glad it’s out of the way.
“The sound it made was the cherry on top.”
STUART, ENSTROM CLOSE?
Injured defenceman Mark Stuart and Toby Enstrom ditched the baby blue, non-contact sweaters at today’s practice. “One, maybe both,” Head Coach Paul Maurice said, could be available to play tomorrow against the Los Angeles Kings.
“They’re getting stronger every day. I’m comfortable from a fitness point of view, but we’ll talk more with the trainers. Again, they’re still at that stage where they have to come back the next day and feel as good or stronger than they did the day before.”
“I felt good,” Stuart said after an intense, 45-minute skate in sunny El Segundo. “I’ve got to prove to [the coaching staff] that I’m ready and we’ll go from there.
“It’s not about how long you go – it’s about how hard you’re going and how focused you are during practice. We put together a pretty good skate out there today. Guys were engaged and we had a bad taste in our mouths after last night. That’s what you have to do after a loss to turn it around.”
Stuart (lower body) has been out since mid-December, while Enstrom (lower body) has been sidelined since Nov. 23.
Evander Kane (lower body) was also out of the powder blue silks at today’s practice.
“He’s full contact. Once a guy gets to full contact, you’re saying he’s had enough healing that you can have at him,” Maurice said. “At the same time, he’s fresh off that injury. The doctors will have to tell us he’s had enough healing and that any residual pain, he can deal with – and then we have to feel that he’s had enough practice time to be an effective player.”
-- Ryan Dittrick, WinnipegJets.comPox Nora, the strategy game with collectible card and fantasy RPG elements, will arrive May 23 on PS4. To celebrate the console debut, Desert Owl Games will simultaneously deliver exclusive content to the PlayStation community and support cross-platform play between PC, Mac, and PS4.
In Pox Nora, players command Champions who battle across a battlefield where tactical thinking and strategic movements are necessary. The goal is to destroy your opponent’s shrine while capturing Nora fonts, which provide more resources and act as new spawn points for your Champions. But there’s a twist: each Champion is one of more than 2,700 you can collect and choose from when building your deck before each match.
To celebrate the console debut, Desert Owl is giving PS4 players an exclusive pack of eight unique versions of venerable Pox Nora hero characters, while PlayStation Plus subscribers will receive exclusive versions of eight Pox Nora Angels, a collection of extremely powerful cards.
PC players wanting to make the switch to PS4 can easily copy their data. Whether your friends are playing on PS4, PC, or Mac, cross play is supported.
New to Pox Nora?
Players can take their deck of Runes (cards) and go on an adventure against other players or AI in the many single-player campaigns, skirmishes, and multiplayer matches.
What’s the goal of Pox Nora?
In Pox Nora, your goal is to defeat the opponent’s shrine before they can destroy yours. Each turn you will earn “Nora,” the resource with which you will use to deploy runes and help you achieve your goal.
What are runes, exactly?
Runes are the “cards” of your deck. Runes come in 8 different factions and each deck consists of exactly 30 runes (either 30 from one faction or 15 from two factions). Runes come in four different types, each with their own uses and characteristics.
What are factions?
Factions are the major parties of the Pox Nora world. Each faction has its own strengths and weaknesses. Factions have traditional fantasy races, as well as some that are unique to Pox Nora. It is recommended you try a few factions before you decide to settle on a favorite, and most veterans play multiple factions!
That’s great! But how do I get runes?
When you first launch the game, you will be provided with a free deck. Be sure to complete the Faction Training Missions to earn 8 additional decks.
As you play Pox Nora you will earn runes, as well as Gold and Shards. Gold is used to redeem for packs, avatars, and other goodies. Shards can be used to create runes directly. You can sacrifice most excess runes earned for additional Shards to create your own runes.
Those are the basics! Pox Nora is a game with dynamic depth and tons to explore. If you get stuck or have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to the community through our official forums.
See all of you on the battlefield May 23!Fight for survival around mysterious Forerunner structures on Installation 04.
[1] — Halo Waypoint - Halo Bulletin 11/9/11
Installation 04 is a Halo: Reach Firefight map from Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary and the Anniversary map pack. It set at one of the towers from the Halo: Combat Evolved/Anniversary campaign level Halo. At the beginning of each game, there are four ODSTs who stay around the area of the main structure in the center. They slowly descend to ground level as the waves progress. In addition to weapon drops at the end of each round, every five waves a Pelican may drop a Warthog with ODSTs to aid the SPARTAN players and make things difficult for the Elite players.
Trivia Edit
This is the first Firefight map to have Human AI allies. [2] The first four ODSTs stick to the middle structure and never stray too far from it. ODSTs dropped from a Pelican will follow the players. Right before every bonus round, all AI allies die. Only ODSTs dropped off via Pelican can enter vehicles (Warthog, Mongoose). The four ODSTs that spawn in the beginning on the structure will not ride with the player.
The map hosts an easter egg in the far building from the first spawn where a Monitor will appear behind the glass door at the beginning of a game. When approached, if playing as a Spartan, the text "Change weapon with ally" will pop up showing a Focus Rifle, but no swap can be made.
There is a Spartan toy on this level, just like the other 6 maps from the Anniversary map pack.
This is the only level where the player can kill human AI as an Elite.
Gallery Edit
Sources EditAug 12, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer looks on from the sidelines in the second half against the Cincinnati Bengals in a preseason NFL football game at Paul Brown Stadium. The Vikings won 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Mike Zimmer sent a message to one of his veteran offensive tackles after Teddy Bridgewater took another sack.
Mike Zimmer isn’t messing around when it comes to protecting his quarterback. Just ask Jeff Davidson. And now ask Andre Smith.
Smith was brought in as a free agent to stabilize the right tackle position but Friday night against Cincinnati his pass protection was anything but steadfast.
Smith showed a decided lack of quickness when on the Vikings’ first offensive drive he let the Bengals’ Carlos Dunlap blow by him.
Dunlap completed the sack on Teddy Bridgewater, sounding a painful echo of 2015 when the Vikings’ QB was brought down 44 times.
Mike Zimmer would like to see a lot less of his quarterback being hit, thank you very much.
In case his guys weren’t getting the message, Zimmer drove the matter home by demoting Smith to second-team for Sunday’s practice.
T.J. Clemmings got to run with the ones on Sunday instead of Smith. The veteran was back out with the ones on Monday, properly chastened.
Same guys out today for Vikings except LB Emmanuel Lamur is back Other 9 from yesterday still out Also Andre Smith back 1st team rt tackle — Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) August 15, 2016
Reminder: Someone around here predicted that Clemmings might ultimately challenge Smith for the starting job.
Two things are illustrated here: One, Mike Zimmer isn’t kidding around about keeping his quarterback upright.
Zimmer knows only-too-well that the team’s fortunes will rise or fall with Bridgewater. If the offense is to improve, Bridgewater must be protected.
Now Andre Smith knows that too.
Second thing: Never assume that a player is good just because he has a little name recognition going for him.
Andre Smith was once a first-round pick, which means he has talent. He was also allowed to walk by Cincinnati, which means he is not the player he was a few years ago.
Friday night, Smith looked like a player who might not be any better than T.J. Clemmings. Maybe the temporary demotion will light a fire under him. Or not.Story highlights Gaioz Nigalidze is banned from the Dubai Open Chess Tournament
Officials say he frequented the bathroom, where his phone was hidden in toilet paper
That phone had a chess analysis application open, officials say
(CNN) Sometimes the best ideas come from the bathroom. But Gaioz Nigalidze's ideas from the loo were a little too good.
The Georgian chess grandmaster has been banned from the Dubai Open Chess Tournament after officials discovered he was darting to the toilet to consult his smartphone, which was logged onto a chess analysis app, the Dubai Chess and Culture Club said.
Nigalidze's opponent, Tigran Petrosian of Armenia, grew suspicious when Nigalidze kept bolting to the restroom.
"The Armenian noticed the Georgian was oddly frequenting the toilet after each move during a crucial part of the game," the Dubai Chess and Culture Club said.
When officials first checked Nigalidze, they didn't find any device on him, the club said. But after looking into the bathroom stall he visited, they found the smartphone hidden in toilet paper.
Read MoreMargaret Josephs is instantly recognizable with her infectious smile, big lashes and trademark blonde hair worn in pigtails, earning her the nickname "Powerhouse in Pigtails." Born in Elizabeth, NJ, Margaret moved to Tenafly, NJ at 24 years old to raise her three stepchildren with her first husband, Jan Josephs. She soon gave birth to their own son and they lived happily ever after...until they happily divorced. Margaret then met the love of her life – "Super Joe," the ultimate motorcycle riding plumber and contractor – and they eloped in 2013. After graduating from FIT with a degree in Marketing and Fashion Design, Margaret worked at the heart of the New York Garment Center as a dress designer. In 1999, Margaret launched her line of home accessories, Macbeth Collection by Margaret Josephs, and the company has since grown into a global lifestyle brand. Margaret is a lifestyle expert and can be seen regularly on TV sharing her tips and picks for organizing, accessorizing and glamorizing. Margaret is sure she is ready for whatever this New Jersey crew throws her way.Tesco has retained its position as the county's top grocery retailer as it continues to fend off challenger SuperValu for domination of the multi-billion euro market. Dunnes Stores remains in third place, with Aldi and Lidl continuing to secure significant market share.
Tesco has retained its position as the county's top grocery retailer as it continues to fend off challenger SuperValu for domination of the multi-billion euro market. Dunnes Stores remains in third place, with Aldi and Lidl continuing to secure significant market share.
The latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel show the market share of Ireland’s big grocery chains in the 12 weeks ended on August 16.
Overall there was a 1.4pc increase in sales across the market, mainly as a result of higher prices. While Tesco’s 24.8pc market share means it is the official number one in the market, Supervalu’s 24.5pc means the two are effectively neck and neck.
Dunnes Stores is closing the |
the twenty-first century to say that Australia cannot do better than find our heads of state from one family of English aristocrats living in a palace in London. We’re better than that as a people,” FitzSimmons says.
In reply to what Fitzsimmons said, Philip Benwell, chairman of the Australian monarchist league, says, “For the republicans to say that it gives an excuse to become a republic is total, apparent nonsense.” He points out that Australians rejected in the 1999 referendum the proposed changing to a republic and since then support for change has either stagnated or dropped.
In an opinion piece on Australian Financial Review, Mark Johnson and Geoff Weir, chairman and director of the Australian Financial Centre Forum, backed Alan Oxley’s emphasis on an FTA and not losing sight of the factors that are important to the future performance of the Aussie economy.
But they also recognise that Britain has less relevance to Australia since the economic future of the country “lies increasingly in the Asia Pacific region rather than with our traditional trading partners.” The two also highlight the need to have a comparative advantage in other export sectors – such as services – as Australia manages to transition from mining to other sources of export growth.
Johnson and Weir add that Australia’s level of financial services exports is still way too low given the sector’s competitiveness and size of opportunities opening in Asia.
VIDEO: Peter Fitzsimmons on the Australian republicPHP and MySQL are two very important programs that used extensively by the web developers all over the world. If you wish to learn the two languages you will want to look at these best free PHP and MySQL E-books for programmers.
PHP is an open-source, server side scripting language. Millions of websites have already been developed using the PHP language. Even some of the most famous websites have been designed using this fee scripting language. From simple web tasks to the most complicated ones, everything can be done using PHP. The language is pretty easy to learn and implement. You can create some really stunning web pages with the help of this language.
MySQL is also an open source program. It is a relational database management system (RDBMS). When your website needs to collect, store, and process lots of data you need an RDBMS program. MySQL has become the preferred choice of the web developers. It is popular not only because it is free but because it is highly effective. It has all the features and tools you can expect from such a language. Also, being open source, it is extremely easy to customize it.
You can learn both the languages using these ebooks.
See Also :- How PHP MySQL Training Can Be Helpful
See Also :- How Zen Cart Development Service Can Benefit An Ecommerce Website?A screenshot of Matt Palmer's apology on the Scotland Island Community Facebook page. Accompanied by a photograph of Mr Mohareb, the poster said the Egyptian-born man is "a highly volatile individual, prone to manic outbursts... often abusive and threatening, particularly towards women and children" and "known to police". A photo of the poster was posted on the Scotland Island Community Facebook page by Matt Palmer, followed by a suggestion that Mr Mohareb "may or may not be related to Satan". The poster was removed by the page's moderator Hubert Van Mierlo, who said "mob justice and vigilantism" had no place on a page designed for "respectful conversation". Mr Palmer and his wife Annette further commented, denying they created or posted the notice around the island but admitting they posted it on the Facebook page.
The poster posted on the Scotland Island Community Facebook page. "I do not apologise, or regret for one moment, outing the individual as I (and quite a number of other residents) am genuinely concerned by the viciousness of the increasing number of confrontation," Mr Palmer said. Mr Mohareb sued the couple for defamation, claiming the posts gave rise to the imputations that he is mentally unstable, contemptuous of accepted social conventions and decorum, has a history of violence and should be avoided by members of the community. Over the following months the case came to court at least seven times, with the Palmers forced to borrow money to pay their lawyers. Following a judgment on which imputations could go to a jury, Mr Mohareb and the Palmers entered into settlement negotiations and executed a deed. Mr Mohareb agreed to drop the case, and pay some of the Palmer's costs, in return for the publication of an apology on the Scotland Island Community Facebook page.
But what should have been a straightforward resolution to the dispute collapsed when the page's moderator, unaware of the agreement, deleted the apology. During a hearing in June, Mr Van Mierlo told the court he reinstated the apology after Mr Palmer, incorrectly, said it was part of a "court order". "Annette and I wish nothing more than to put the entire sordid and incredibly expensive experience behind us," Mr Palmer wrote in a private message. He went on to say, "To be frank I really don't care if you post the apology or not. I have fulfilled my requirement which was to make fair and reasonable attempt to do so (sic)". However, the apology was mysteriously removed from the page hours later.
On discovering this, Mr Mohareb refused to discontinue the defamation proceedings and the matter returned to court. Mr Palmer posted another apology, but spelled Mr Mohareb's name incorrectly, so it was again removed, before a fourth version was posted in May. In handing down judgment late last month, District Court Judge Judith Gibson said the evidence pointed to Mr Palmer having removed the post, even though he denied it in cross-examination. Judge Gibson said an apology placed on the page for a few hours could not comply with the terms of the settlement. Rather, the post should "remain there, slowly being overtaken by more recent postings, but nevertheless there if searched for". However, she said the case should not go any further now the apology had been up for a couple of months.
The Palmers sought a lump sum costs order of $14,721 but Judge Gibson refused, saying the page administrators should have been contacted prior to the publishing of the apology. The removal of the second version and the spelling mistake in the third was also the Palmer's fault. "The defendants are not entitled to claim costs at all," she said, saying the settlement on the basis of an apology in return for discontinuing the case "was an outstandingly good one from their point of view". "These were serious defamations...the defendants' failure to perform their part of the bargain made the plaintiff justifiably suspicious", Judge Gibson said. On Sunday the apology appeared to have been taken down from the Scotland Island Facebook page again.MUSIC NEWS - Nine Inch Nails frontman TRENT REZNOR today noted that the band's performance Sunday (early AM) at the Bonnaroo Music Festival was their last in the US. The band performed in the early morning hours after the 3hr Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band set. "It just dawned on me that this is our last show ever in the United States, " Reznor said around 2am; "Don't be sad. I'll keep going. But I think I'm going to lose my" mind "if I keep doing this, and I have to stop." Recently, Reznor also announced via Twitter that he was backing out of the social media world.
Nine Inch Nails just completed a USA tour with Jane's Addiction as part of the NIN/JA tour. The tour itinerary brings them next to Europe and Asia as part of the 33 date, " Wave Goodbye " tour which will end on August 12th. The farewell NIN tour commenorates the 20th anniversary of the release of their first album, "Pretty Hate Machine."Authorities in India have arrested 26 people a day after violent clashes that spilled on to the streets of Mumbai, claiming two lives and injuring 55 others.
Demonstrations had taken on place on Saturday to denounce the recent ethnic riots in Assam state and alleged attacks on Muslims in neighbouring Myanmar, before the mayhem ensued.
Crowds wreaked havoc by pelting stones and setting fire to a media van, public transport and commercial vehicles. Authorities at the scene were also attacked.
Prithhviraj Chavan, chief minister of the western Maharashtra state, issued orders for an investigation as he confirmed that 45 police personnel were among the injured.
Authorities say July's violence in Assam's Kokrajhar district was ignited when four youth were killed by unidentified men.
Armed members of the Bodo community retaliated by attacking Muslims whom they suspected were behind the killings.
'Concern for all of us'
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Asaduddin Owaisi, the member of parliament for Hyderabad, said the Muslim community had appealed for calm and he was certain that the situation would not escalate into any full-scale riots.
Owaisi said: "Unfortunately two people have lost their lives unnecessarily, the media have been attacked, but what has happened in Assam is of concern for all of us."
Referring to the situation in northeastern Assam, he said: "There are 400,000 Muslims who live over there.
"More than protests, we need to come to the rescue of those people who require our help. They require medical supplies … basic amenities... clean water."
In the recent past, a wave of strong anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiment against Bangladeshi settlers has been vented by the country's Hindu and Christian communities. Authorities in Mumbai remain on alert.by lackadaisicallexicon
Of Alternia’s many parallels with Earth, perhaps the most blatant and striking is that between the Signless and Jesus Christ. While many of the minor details are absent, the general frame of both stories is the same; a visionary figure, viewed by many as a god (actual divinity, of course, depends on personal interpretation), who was tortured to death and whose primary symbol ended up being the instrument of torture that killed him. However, the story of the Signless has traits absent in that of Jesus that make him, as a literary figure, stand out on his own.
One of the most striking moments in the characterization of the Signless is meeting is pre-Scratch incarnation, Kankri Vantas. Kankri is absolutely intolerable—in fact, his friends have taken to calling him “The Insufferable” because of his self-righteous attitude, tendency to pontificate, and fixation on social justice issues that aren’t even relevant on Beforus. However, it’s those very traits that made the Signless an effective activist. He believed in the righteousness of his cause and refused to be silenced; Kankri is just a messiah in the wrong universe. Had he not been in the right place and time, he’d have been just as useless, which goes a long way toward humanizing the legend.
Jesus’ goal, if you can call it that, was a religious reorganization; to worship the Abrahamic God in a new way, centered around his claim of being the messiah prophesied by the Hebrews. The Signless was aiming for something more all-encompassing. He wanted to change society, based on a vision of humanistic (trollistic?) cooperation rather than a vision of the divine. The Signless’ identity as a messianic figure comes pretty much only from the source of that vision (namely, his powers as a Seer of Blood, which of course would seem divine to Alternians), and his execution, not from his actual message. The idea of a Second Signless is not one he spread. He wanted Alternia to save itself, not wait on him to save it.
Of course, the belief that he would return again panned out (unlike Jesus, who, as of today, has not turned up on our collective doorstep) in the form of Karkat, but the birth of another mutant child didn’t signal the salvation of Alternia. As soon as he reached adolescent age, the entire planet and species was destroyed. But at the very least, the Signless’ anger lives on in Karkat.
That said, I don’t think the Signless needs a cosmic legacy to be important. His is not a story of divine salvation, but rather one of voices, agency. A vision of a peaceful world—not perfect, just peaceful—was enough to shake the foundations of Alternian society. That’s an important lesson for us to remember: divinity is never the most important part of a divine message. All it takes is the idea, the words, and the world can change.Yuri's Night Yuri's Night 'Yurihead' logo Genre Space exploration Date(s) April 12 Frequency Annually Location(s) International Inaugurated April 12, 2001 Website yurisnight.net Commemorates flight of Vostok 1 in 1961
Yuri's Night celebration in Virginia
Yuri's Night is an international celebration held every April 12 to commemorate milestones in space exploration.
Yuri's Night is named for the first human to launch into space, Yuri Gagarin, who flew the Vostok 1 spaceship on April 12, 1961. The launch of STS-1, the first Space Shuttle mission, is also honored, as it was launched 20 years to the day of Vostok 1 on April 12, 1981. In 2011, Yuri's Night was celebrated at over 567 events in 75 countries on 7 continents. [1]
Yuri's Night is often called the "World Space Party".[2]
Objective [ edit ]
The goal of Yuri's Night is to increase public interest in space exploration and to inspire a new generation of explorers. Driven by space-inspired artistic expression and culminating in a worldwide network of annual celebrations and educational events, Yuri's Night creates a global community of young people committed to shaping the future of space exploration while developing responsible leaders and innovators with a global perspective.[3] These global events are a showcase for elements of culture that embrace space including music, dance, fashion, and art.[4]
History of Yuri's Night [ edit ]
Yuri's Night was created in 2000 by Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides, George T. Whitesides and Trish Garner. The first Yuri's Night was held on April 12, 2001, exactly 40 years after the launch of Vostok 1.[5] Since 1962, April 12 has been celebrated in Russia (formerly the Soviet Union) as Cosmonautics Day (Russian: День Космонавтики)[6] and since 2011 internationally as the International Day of Human Space Flight.
The 2004 Yuri's Night event in Los Angeles was attended by space-related figures including author Ray Bradbury, space tourist Dennis Tito, X-Prize founder Peter Diamandis, *NSYNC's Lance Bass and Nichelle Nichols (Uhura from the original Star Trek series). The event included a large party with 2 dance floors and world-class DJs.[7]
The 2007 event in the San Francisco Bay Area was held at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field in Mountain View, CA. The event featured artistic installations, technology demonstrations, and DJ music continuing through dawn of the following day.[8]
April 2011 marked the 50th anniversary of Gagarin's historic first flight.[5] Over 100,000 people attended 567 Yuri's Night parties in 75 countries,[9] and the crew of Expedition 27 recorded a Yuri's Night celebratory greeting from the International Space Station.[10]
Yuri's Night today [ edit ]
Yuri's Night events "combine space-themed partying with education and outreach". Parties and events are held at NASA centers, museums, planetariums, schools, bars, nightclubs, houses, and other locations.[9] Often, guests are encouraged to dress up in various space-themed attire to add to the ambiance of the show. Space-themed art, sculptures and guests are often showcased at the events. Event sizes range from small to large and often attract large crowds with headlining musical acts such as Les Claypool, N*E*R*D, Common[11], N.A.S.A., and The Crystal Method.[12]
Yuri's Night has been celebrated in locations including Reno[13], Ottawa[14][15], Los Angeles [1], the San Francisco Bay Area [2], Huntsville, Alabama [3], New Orleans [4], Inverness [5], Stockholm, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Lisbon [6], Helsinki [7] Afghanistan, Latvia [8], Romania, Peru, Antarctica, and the International Space Station [9], in addition to many other locations and virtual online celebrations [10].
Yuri's Night is organized on a global level by an all-volunteer "Executive Team",[16] which provides logistical and promotional support to Yuri's Night events worldwide. Individual organizers are responsible for registering and running their local events.[17]
See also [ edit ]In 2015, around the time that the Obama administration was finalizing an international agreement to restrict Iran’s advancing nuclear program, Senators Bob Corker and Ben Cardin helped pass bipartisan legislation requiring the president to certify certain things about the deal to Congress every 90 days. The bill was basically a way for skeptical lawmakers to assert some control over an accord that Obama hadn’t negotiated as a treaty, which would have required Senate approval.
Trump, who regularly denounces the nuclear deal and views Iran as one of America’s fiercest enemies, twice heeded the advice of his foreign-policy advisers and grudgingly certified the agreement. But this third time, when the certification deadline coincided with the conclusion of a broader administration review of its Iran policies, he opted not to. Critically, he hasn’t done so on the grounds that Iran is violating the terms of the agreement, which deals narrowly with Iran’s nuclear program. Trump’s own government, United Nations inspectors, and the other parties to the deal all agree that the Iranians haven’t substantively breached the accord and that the Iranian nuclear program has been mothballed for the time being.
Instead, Trump is citing a provision of the Corker-Cardin law, officially known as the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (INARA), which asks whether the lifting of sanctions imposed in retaliation for Iran’s nuclear program is in America’s national-security interests and “appropriate and proportionate” relative to Iranian measures to draw down the nuclear program. The Trump administration is essentially saying it’s not—because of flaws in the Iran deal, because Iran has continued testing ballistic missiles that could theoretically carry nuclear weapons, and because Iran has persisted with aggressive policies that the United States abhors, including propping up Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria and supporting groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah that the U.S. considers terrorist organizations.
It’s worth emphasizing, however, that declining to certify the stipulations of INARA is a procedural move under U.S. law with no direct or immediate impact on the international nuclear deal with Iran. It’s not synonymous with ripping up the agreement. It would not make the United States non-compliant with the accord. What it does is punt the Iran debate to Congress, where the ramifications of decertification could prove much greater.
Of the scenarios below, #1 is the most consequential, #2 is currently the Trump administration’s preferred outcome, and #3 is a distinct possibility.
shutterstock / The Atlantic
Scenario #1: Congress Ends the Iran Deal
Now that Trump has declined to certify, the minority or majority leaders in either house of Congress have 60 days to introduce legislation to reimpose nuclear-related sanctions on Iran. These include the severe measures against the country’s banking system and oil exports that helped force the Iranians into negotiations during the Obama administration. If such a sanctions package were to get through Congress, there’s little chance Trump, who set the whole process in motion, would veto it.On March 23, the GMHC, an AIDS service organization, is due to honor former President Bill Clinton, the founder of the Clinton Foundation, for his 15-year effort to battle HIV/AIDS. Speaking to Sputnik, Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel disclosed what really lay behind the charity's HIV/AIDS initiative. Do the Clintons deserve so much praise?
On Thursday, March 23, a New York City-based non-profit AIDS service organization, the GMHC (formerly Gay Men's Health Crisis), is due to honor Bill Clinton, the founder of the Clinton Foundation and the 42nd President of the United States for "battling the epidemic since 2002" and "saving the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide."
However, according to Charles Ortel, a Wall Street analyst who exposed financial fraud at General Electric back in 2007, "there is no evidence that can be verified that the 'international' charity ever lawfully provided any help to victims of HIV/AIDS anywhere."
In his earlier interview with Sputnik on the Clinton Foundation's HIV/AIDS initiative, Ortel revealed that not only were the Foundation's efforts to fight the deadly virus never lawfully organized, but the charity could have also been involved in the distribution of adulterated antiretroviral (ARV) drugs.
In light of this the question arises: what then was the Clintons' initiative all about?
To answer the question one should take a look at a role the charity played in a United Nations-sponsored program that uses levies on airline tickets to help HIV/AIDS victims in developing countries.
Back in 2015 Charles Ortel exposed the scheme which was potentially used by the Clinton Foundation to defraud air travelers.
"Starting next January, whenever you buy an airline ticket at a travel agency or online, there'll be a new question to answer before you hand over your credit card: Would you be willing to donate $2 to help fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa?" Time Magazine reported on September 18, 2009.
It was rather predictable that the answer would be positive, especially when one found out that the scheme, kicked off by the small UNITAID agency, was backed by "the travel industry and heavyweights of international aid such as the William J. Clinton Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation."
However, besides the heavyweights, the program also involved Ranbaxy Laboratories LTD, a controversial Indian pharmaceutical company which later pleaded guilty in manufacturing inefficient and sometimes even toxic adulterated ARVs.
In his 2015 interview with Jerome R. Corsi of World Net Daily (WND) Ortel pointed out that it was shrouded in secrecy how much money exactly the charity received from UNITAID and spent on its HIV/AIDS efforts from 2006 through 2013. The Wall Street analyst assumed that the Clintons had cashed in on the multi-million dollar program.
For example, he drew attention to the fact that the 2013 Clinton Foundation Annual Report brochure listed CHAI program expenditures as $127.8 million "while a detailed analysis of consolidated financial reports show CHAI's actual program expenditures were just $99.1 million, a discrepancy of $28.7 million."
According to Ortel, "the Clintons have defrauded an unsuspecting international public of hundreds of millions of dollars for personal gain."
© AFP 2018 / STEPHEN JAFFE US President Bill Clinton (L) and presidential advisor Ira Magaziner (R) greet guests during an electronic commerce event 01 July at the White House in Washington, DC on July 1, 1997. Clinton hosted the event which promotes commerce on an international scale using the internet
Speaking to Sputnik, Ortel recalled that "by September 2006, a multilateral aid organization called UNITAID was organized in Geneva Switzerland and funded mostly by governments (France, UK, Spain, Norway, South Korea and others) and the Gates Foundation.
"The Financial Reports show that the Government of France was the main supporter of UNITAID and that the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative was a prime beneficiary of financial support from UNITAID, especially from 2006 through 2009, when this entity received about half of all support provided by UNITAID (around $300 million for CHAI)," the Wall Street analyst told Sputnik.
However, there is yet another controversy in this story, he noted.
"According to other records available in the public domain, CHAI was actually liquidated with effect from 31 December 2005 and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (where CHAI was headquartered) involuntarily revoked authority to operate effective 31 December 2007 so it is quite surprising that UNITAID channeled so much financial support between late 2006 and 2009 and even more surprising that neither UNITAID nor its donors sought to obtain refunds of sums donated to what seems to have been an illegally organized and operated ‘charity,'" Ortel highlighted.
The exposure of the Clinton Foundation's alleged fraud may affect many individual sponsors and foreign government officials who poured millions of dollars into a charity which was not properly organized and apparently grabbed millions of dollars for personal gain.
What is worse, these sponsors and officials had never asked any questions regarding the actual spending of the funds by the Clintons' charity.
"Fair-minded people across the world revere charities that actually help the afflicted; conversely, they normally revile supposed charities that flout laws," the analyst remarked.
"Given the vast international spread and activities and international support for the Clinton Foundation, and the fact that there is no empowered international regulator of any charity, I think it is past time for taxpayers in nations like Australia, Norway, Canada, Ireland, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Korea and the United Kingdom (to pick just a few) to demand explanations concerning what the Clinton Foundation may have done with their substantial collective contributions ‘fighting HIV/AIDS' from July 2002 forward," Ortel told Sputnik.
Speaking to Dady Chery, News Junkie Post Co-Editor in Chief and DadyChery.org editor, in January 2016, Ortel dubbed the Clintons a "Robin Hood in Reverse," explaining that the influential American clan benefitted from their well-known HIV/AIDS initiative and Haiti recovery efforts by redistributing the wealth intended for the poor to the rich.
"It is almost universally unacceptable to prey on the weak of one's own species. There are laws and religious precepts against this in every human culture," Chery wrote, calling attention to the fact that the Clintons had no scruples preying on the suffering of Caribbean and African nations.
So, for what exactly is the GMHC honor Bill Clinton?
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Sputnik.Indian cinema is so much more than Bollywood, the term referring to those Hindi films made in Mumbai, nee Bombay.
But of the 1,255 pics certified by India’s Central Board of Film Certification in 2011, 610 were in the four South Indian languages of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, making up almost 49% of all production in the country. Meanwhile, 206 Bollywood films were certified, less than 17% of total production in the country.
While the South Indian film biz doesn’t enjoy the national presence of Bollywood, it is a thriving industry. Tamil cinema has been a driver for the southern industries, leading the way with innovative content. Though the star system is well entrenched, Tamil audiences are receptive to films focusing on content rather than stars. “Subramaniapuram” (2008) was made for $400,000 and grossed $3 million. Because of their strong storylines, southern films routinely get picked up for Bollywood remakes, such as 2010’s “Bodyguard,” which was made in Malayalam, remade in Tamil and then in Hindi.
Related The Best Fashion at Cannes 2018 International Cinema Group Urges Festivals to Ban Non-Theatrically Released Films From Competition
Another busy regional industry is in Marathi, the primary language of Maharashtra, the state that houses the more glamorous Bollywood. Two Marathi pics were even sent as India’s entries in the Oscar foreign-lingo film race. Marathi films achieve that rare feat of being festival faves as well as commercial successes, something more regional-language films can lay claim to than Bollywood.
Multihyphenate Girish Kulkarni, whose “Vihir” and “Deool” have played multiple global fests, attributes this to the stream of bright, young trained talents coming through who are modern yet steeped in tradition. “Their stories are rooted in the local culture,” he says. “They are banking on the finer details of these cultural nuances to connect with the audience. So the fulfilment of promise given by the cinema is creating a loyal audience.”
Though the commercial regional cinemas of India have no need of governmental support, the independent sector does. The National Film Development Corp. m.d. Nina Lath Gupta says, “NFDC by its developmental mandate fills up certain key gaps that exist in the industry and promotes regional/cultural film development and since cinema is the most popular medium of entertainment, it is necessary to encourage a balanced growth of India’s multilingual and diverse cinema industry.”
Kulkarni would like channels to distribute regional films across the country, something the NFDC is working on, setting up theatrical and Internet channels.
Bengali cinema, which had gone into decline following the 1992 death of Satyajit Ray (“Apu Trilogy”) has come back into its own, thanks to companies like Shree Venkatesh Films, which greenlight films with intelligent content married to bankable stars like Prasenjit, the industry’s resident superstar.
“Autograph,” starring Prasenjit, riffed on a Ray theme and achieved international festival kudos and local box office success. Producer Ravi Sharma takes a pragmatic approach.
“Today marketing and branding a film as a product is still missing which in a way handicaps the reach of the film,” he says. “After all it is necessary to present the film before the target audience and at the same time the world needs to know that good cinema is being made here as well.
“The way Bollywood cinema has become the face of Indian entertainment, it is important to present a different culture of films, which needs to be presented and screened across the diaspora of festivals to create that awareness is required.”
The NFDC is trying, via its Incredible India Pavilions at Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, AFM and the Hong Kong Filmart, with their partners, the Indian tourism ministry. “The idea is to successfully promote India as a destination for films and at the same time explore partnerships to bring around more co-productions with the global film fraternity,” says Gupta.Consider for a moment how much Corbyn has staked thus far in the name of trying to stop Trident renewal from taking place. He has greatly annoyed the trade unions over the issue, never more so than at Labour conference in Brighton last year when he told the GMB he would make the party line be pro-EU regardless in the name of party unity, and then turning around and taking an anti-Trident line thus destroying his European line’s explanation. Jeremy brought Ken Livingstone into the fold, upsetting many, all because he was looking for an ally on the issue to co-chair the Labour defence review. Trident also played a heavy role in the longest reshuffle in history, with Maria Eagle finally getting the sack due to her position on the subject.
I realise he cares a lot about Trident and trying to stop it being renewed, but just think about this for a moment. Every Tory MP will vote for renewal, as will a huge amount of Labour MPs. If they were going to risk Corbyn’s wrath over Syria, they’ll do the same here without question. So regardless of what Corbyn does, the nuclear deterrent is going to be renewed, sometime this year, probably within the next six months. So given that, why bother wasting this much time and political capital on it all?
This is usually the part of the article where I reveal what I figure has been the calculation made by the politician who has done something baffling. But I genuinely have no idea why he’s done this, other than to prove a point. But I guess that is the Corbyn modus operandi. He feels comfortable holding a placard in front of King’s Cross so that’s what he does. He hates the idea of Trident renewal, so he wastes a lot of time and effort on trying to stop it, even though 32 years of parliamentary experience must have told him it was all futile from the start.
I know his supporters like to describe this behaviour as impassioned and honest. But there comes a point when one is the leader of the opposition when taking a personal stand on an issue then sticking with it in the face of all reality begins to look and feel very, well, sorry to say this, selfish. There were any number of things I’m sure he cares about deeply that he could have rallied his party around these last three and half months (it’s amazing it’s only been that long, isn’t it?). But he has chosen to make a big deal out of something where splits were inevitable and that he can actually do nothing whatsoever about.
I remain a large critic of Ed Miliband. However, Ed was usually able to see what battles he could and couldn’t win and react accordingly. Take the 2013 Syria vote as an example, one where Ed took a position I disagreed with myself, but Ed knew what he wanted to achieve, figured he could pick off enough Tory support, and he won out. I hate to say this, really I do, but Corbyn learn a thing or two about this sort of thing from his predecessor.Early Friday evening the San Francisco police say they received several urgent calls that someone had driven over a curb and into the bay. Witnesses tell ABC7 News they heard the engine racing as the van went by at about 20 mph into the water. They say it got so far out because it floated for a while. Police say people from a civilian boat were trying to help the occupants of the minivan that was partly submerged. They were soon joined by divers from the police and fire departments.
"We were there before the police, before fire," said Vince Casalaina with Red Bull Racing. "We were at the Golden Gate Yacht Club, getting ready for a party tonight, and we heard some yelling from over on the sea wall at the Marina Green. We didn't know what was going on at first, but then we saw the van as it started to float out, away from shore. At which point, my team got in our boat and went out to see what we could do. Three of the guys jumped in the water and tried to break the windows but couldn't get the glass to break enough to get anyone out. So they were actually on the van as it sank."
Casalaina said it took about four to five minutes from the time the van went into the water, to the time it went under. Witness Dave Murphy caught a photo of the vehicle just before those rescuers got to it.
From SKY7 HD you could see rescue crews and spectators when this happened at about 5 p.m. Witnesses say the van careened through Marina Green and went into the water.
"After I heard the car swerve, I turned and I saw just as the car was hitting the grass right here and she skimmed over the blocks right there and skimmed off the asphalt and out into the water," said Ted Matteson, a witness.
Three people attempted to break open the back of the van to rescue the person inside. The frantic moments were caught on video by Nick Andrewes.
"It was going down at the nose, the roof was just submerging when we got to it. Before we even slowed down, three of our guys were in the water with tools and they were able to get on the car and start smashing the window, but unfortunately they couldn't get the window to break completely," said Ian Andrewes, captain of a boating team at the Golden Gate Yacht Club.
Ian and five other team members raced into the bay in their motor boat. His brother shot the video from the deck as they tried to make a rescue.
Quintana: "As you guys were trying to go underwater, could you notice there were people inside?"
Ian: "Yeah."
Quintana: "Do you know how many?"
Ian: "No."
After the van slipped below the surface, it took two-and-a-half hours for rescue teams to locate the van in the 20 to 25-foot murky waters of the bay. They found it with a body inside.
At the time they were searching, Bob Postel from the San Francisco Fire Department said, "The problem we have is that we have a lot of current moving and that vehicle could be anywhere, because of the tide, so we can't really dive on it until we locate where the vehicle is now."
The San Francisco Fire Department sent in one of its heavy rescue teams to try retrieving the body and the van, but unfortunately the treacherous waters of the bay did not make it possible Friday evening. By about 10:30 p.m. rescuers had to call off the retrieval attempts for the night.
When the van was found, crews pulled up a large semi-sized tow truck and they hauled the cable from the tow truck over to the minivan so they could try to attach it and actually pull the van out. However, the car has sunken into the mud so it made that retrieval attempt very difficult. It also made it nearly impossible for the dive teams to go inside the van and retrieve the body. A boom was attached to the car for the night. Because the car is stuck so deep in the mud, they're going to have to call in a commercial salvage team to try to pull it out and that's when they'll also have to recover the body that's inside.
The recovery attempts will resume Saturday morning.
What to do if your car starts sinking in water:
So how can you save yourself, should the unthinkable happen, and you find yourself trapped in your car underwater? An estimated 400 people die each year because their cars are trapped in water. Most of the victims wait or call 911 expecting help.
Safety experts say don't wait: unbuckle your seat-belts, get the window open, and get out of the car before it sinks. And because the back windows on some cars don't roll all the way down, passengers should head through the front ones.
An inexpensive window break tool can punch out the glass before water fills the inside of your car. Experts warn the first 30 to 60 seconds are key to trying to get out of the car.
(The photo of the car in the water is courtesy Dave Murphy.)Charles Cabaniss (October 14, 1859 – January 19, 1882) was a midshipman in the United States Navy and early player of American football. Born and raised in Central Virginia, he was appointed to the United States Naval Academy at the age of 16. At the academy, Cabaniss retained average-level grades and was a member of the school's first-ever football team. He graduated in 1880 and was appointed to the USS Swatara. Cabaniss was killed in an accident on the Swatara in 1882 which received coverage throughout much of the Eastern United States.
Life [ edit ]
At the Naval Academy [ edit ]
Cabaniss was born on October 14, 1859 in Petersburg, Virginia. He grew up in Central Virginia until he was appointed to the United States |
be seen by our eyes, it would appear to be as large in the sky as the full Moon.
The findings, published in the Astrophysical Journal, combine existing data from the Chandra X-ray telescope and the XMM-Newton Observatory with recent images from the US space agency Nasa's Spitzer and Wide-field Infrared Survey (Wise) telescopes.
Both of these telescopes are sensitive to infrared light, giving a picture of the conditions of material that is at fairly low temperatures in the supernova remnant.
Taken together, the data show that the supernova initially expanded into a comparatively empty "cavity", meaning its material could quickly expand unimpeded.
However, the case is not closed for RCW 86; these cavities are associated only with what are called core-collapse supernovas, but the Chandra and XMM-Newton observations show evidence of a great deal of iron in the remnant - associated instead with Type 1A supernovas.
"Modern astronomers unveiled one secret of a two-millennia-old cosmic mystery only to reveal another," said Bill Danchi, a programme scientist for the Spitzer and Wise missions.
"Now, with multiple observatories extending our senses in space, we can fully appreciate the remarkable physics behind this star's death throes, yet still be as in awe of the cosmos as the ancient astronomers."1-9
With Wichita State's perfect season on the line Wednesday night, All-American candidate Cleanthony Early did what All-American candidates are supposed to do. He scored 15 of his game-high 19 points in the second half and sealed the road victory over Indiana State with an and-one basket to put the Shockers up five with just over a minute to play.
Early's heroics gave Wichita a season sweep of the Sycamores, who are the only other team in the Missouri Valley that are more than one game above.500 in conference play. In fact, of the Shockers' final seven regular season games, just one (at Missouri State on March 1) is going to come against a team which currently owns a winning record in the Valley.
The conversation has already started to shift from the magnitude of their potential to whether they'll deserve a No. 1 seed
Despite those seven games still existing as actual sports contests that have to be completed, the main conversation surrounding the Shockers has already started to shift from the magnitude of their potential accomplishment to whether or not they'll deserve a No. 1 seed if it happens. While it's a legitimate (and sexy) subject for debate, it's also one that, regardless of intention, distracts people from paying proper respect to what would be one of the more remarkable college hoops achievements in recent memory.
We hear the same clichés every year when great teams from major conferences lose games to not-so-great teams during league play. There's always the "familiarity" or the "wear and tear" or the "ruggedness" of the conference season to blame. Now I'm not saying these aren't all completely legitimate justifications for late January/early February upsets, I'm just saying that the same absolution that Duke or Michigan State receives in these same situations doesn't seem to be extended to ranked squads from the Valley or the Atlantic 10.
The term "mid-major" tears through the eardrums of lots of folks in the Midwest, and with good reason. The Missouri Valley has sent teams to the Final Four 17 times, and owns an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 92-99. Since 2006, the league has had four teams advance to at least the Sweet 16, making them the only non-BCS league to send more than two squads to the second weekend over that span.
The Valley has produced some tremendous teams, but the vast majority of those squads have been beaten down at least a little bit by the...here it comes...wear and tear that the league presents each and every year.
How consistently tough have things been? Consider the following facts:
--In the three-point era of college basketball (1986-87 season through the present), not one Missouri Valley team has gone through conference play undefeated.
--Over that same time span, all but one of the MVC's regular season champions have had at least 20 overall wins.
--The only regular season champ that didn't win 20 games was 19-10 Illinois State in 1993, and even then, runner-up Southern Illinois was a sparkling 23-8.
--The average win total for the MVC regular season champion since 1987 is 24.9. Since the 200-01 season, the average win total of the Valley's regular season champion is 27.1, and no champ has won fewer than 24 games.
--Despite the strength of the Valley's champions over the past three decades, just one team in the last 27 years has finished conference play with fewer than two league losses, and just five have finished with fewer than three.
None of this has any bearing on Wichita State's status as a potential No. 1 seed or on their chances to make it to the Final Four for a second straight season. The Shockers have the potential to win six straight games in the big dance, I think most of us would agree that it's at least possible. But, just like every other 1-4 seed, they also have the potential to not make it out of the tournament's opening weekend. If they pull a 2013 Gonzaga on the big stage and give all their doubters that "told you so" moment, it still shouldn't take away from the significance of sweeping the Valley and becoming the first team since St. Joe's in 2004 to run the table in the regular season.
If it happens.
10-13
This is the time of year where we start to hear a lot about "overcoming adversity." There are key injuries to major contributors on teams in the national title hunt (Brandon Ashley at Arizona, like 25 guys at Michigan State), there are player who are dismissed from school (Stevie Clark at Oklahoma State, Solomon Poole at Georgia Tech), and then there are teams that have simply underachieved and are attempting to rally together and save their season.
All of that stuff pales in comparison, however, to what Creighton and senior guard Grant Gibbs are currently dealing with. And we're not talking about Gibbs' fractured kneecap...
That would be the Twitter account of "Local Motive," a food truck in Omaha that has apparently closed up shop. A search for more details on the controversy turned up little more than a website indicating that a "mechanical issue" with the truck had temporarily delayed operations, but that was from October of last year. The sandwiches look good though.
Obviously this is a huge lift for Villanova in what has become a two-horse race for the Big East title.
14-17
I think we have to talk about Northwestern. But before we talk about Northwestern, we have to let Rodger Sherman talk about Northwestern.
They say it's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all, well, I say the person who said that is a stupid jerk and I hate them. There was something crushing about the few years where Northwestern was truly on the brink of NCAA Tournament participation. It was the perennial tease: seeing Jared Sullinger or whoever stride off the court after beating Northwestern by one in a game that would have likely pushed the Wildcats onto the right side of the bubble, I understood how Sisyphus felt when the big stone went a-tumblin.... As of right now, Northwestern basketball is perfectly meaningless, and this makes our random, weird, stupid wins completely spectacular. The troops are coming: Chris Collins' incoming class is supposedly the most talented group ever to play at Northwestern, and he's working defensive magic with the supposed scrubs he was left. For now, I'm loving rallying around some dudes hell-bent on playing tough D, and we can daydream about the tourney we'll make someday if things keep going this way.
The Wildcats haven't done this in more than 50 years
The Wildcats, winners of four of their last five, are currently riding a three-game road winning streak in the Big Ten for the first time since 1959-60. Seriously, they haven't done this in more than 50 years. This was the type of thing that was expected to happen last season or the one before that, not when Northwestern was supposed to be back to being one of the two or three worst power conference teams in the country.
There isn't a more apt description for the way Northwestern has been winning than "weird and stupid," because I think the Wildcats look worse when they achieve quality victories than any team in the history of college basketball has. I've watched bits and pieces of NU's wins at Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota, and I've been both blown away and thrilled by how awful they've looked in the process of knocking off these potential tournament teams. It's unbelievable and enthralling at the same time.
There are very few teams in the country that I want to watch play basketball right now more than the Northwestern Wildcats, and I still think the Northwestern Wildcats are terrible. I hope they suck their way right to a top half finish in the Big Ten standings and a miracle run in Indianapolis.
18-44
Since we just talked about Northwestern, let's profile some other teams that have never been to the NCAA Tournament but have a fighting chance to make the field of 68 this season.
High Point and Garnder-Webb (Big South)
The Big South is wide open right now with no team in the conference sitting prettier than 6-3 and nine of the 12 squads owning records of 4-5 or better. Two of the teams right in the middle of that race are High Point (10-12,6-3) and Gardner-Webb (12-12, 5-4), neither of which have ever been dancing. The Panthers' (that's High Point) all-time claim to fame is probably being the alma mater of Tubby Smith, while the Runnin' Bulldogs (that's Gardner-Webb) are probably still best known for upsetting the program where Smith won a national championship (Kentucky). That's...something?
UC Irvine (Big West)
The Anteaters had their hearts broken by Pacific in last year's Big West title game, but they have a great shot at putting themselves in a position to gain redemption this year. Irvine currently finds itself at 6-2 and tied atop the league standings with Alan Williams' UCSB squad. The only issue is that Santa Barbara put a 20-point beatdown on their co-leaders in the two teams' only meeting of the season thus far. Fellow lifetime tournament look-ins UC Davis, UC Riverside and Cal Poly are smack in the middle of the Big West standings and could make a run in the 8-team league tournament.
William & Mary (Colonial Athletic Association)
Bill and Mary is one of the five original Division-I teams that have never made the NCAA Tournament (Northwestern, The Citadel, Army and St. Francis (NY) are the others). They're a solid 14-8 overall and 6-3 in the CAA, but 10-0 Delaware is looking a bit like an unstoppable force at the moment. The Blue Hens stomped The Tribe 89-72 in Williamsburg back on Jan. 29.
Buffalo (Mid-American)
The Bulls are 10-0 at Alumni Arena, tied for second in the MAC's East Division, and they have Javon McCrea. Akron and Toledo look like they're probably at least a small notch ahead of the rest of the league, but there's still plenty of cause for optimism for the extremely patient and deserving heroes over at Bull Run.
North Carolina Central (MEAC)
The Eagles were the only team in the MEAC to begin league play with a winning record, and currently lead the conference by a full game at 7-1. Savannah State (8-15, 6-3) is another team in the top half of the standings that's never made the tournament, but this appears to be Central's year.
Bryant and St. Francis of New York (Northeast)
We mentioned it earlier, but St. Francis is one of the just five original D-I schools from 1948 that still hasn't made the NCAA Tournament. That makes the Terriers the sentimental favorites here, especially when you consider that the other team listed, Bryant, is only in its second season of even being tournament eligible. The teams are currently second (Bryant) and third (St. Francis) in the NEC, but both looking up at 8-1 Robert Morris.
Army (Patriot League)
Not only have the Black Knights never been to the dance, but they'd never even had a winning record in the Patriot League before going 8-6 last season. They're in the process of taking the next step this year thanks to a loaded sophomore class that includes reigning conference Freshman of the Year Kyle Wilson (19.2 ppg). Army's 8-3 and still in position to make a run at the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, but they've failed to beat any of the other teams in the top four of the league - Boston, American and Holy Cross. The good news is they'll get rematches with each before the postseason.
IPFW (Summit League)
The Mastadons are 6-2 and tied with North Dakota State for the top spot in the Summit at the halfway point in the season. The South Dakota Coyotes and the Western Illinois Leathernecks are also tourney never-beens with matching 3-4 records and completely unmatching levels of bad-assness in their nicknames. I mean, nothing against Coyotes, but...I don't even need to say anything else.
45-50
There was talk among some conspiracy theorists (hand raised) two years ago that the reason Iona received an extremely surprising at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament was because their up-tempo style of play would make the First Four in Dayton a more enjoyable viewing experience. The ironic thing is that the team that wound up beating the Gaels inside UD Arena, BYU, may find itself in the exact same situation this season.
The Cougars can currently be found on each and every oh-so-premature bubble watch floating around the Internet, but they also play one of the most exciting brands of basketball in the country, averaging just shy of 90 points per game. Tyler Haws and Matt Carlino are guards with zero conscious, which has to be frustrating for BYU fans, but is fantastic for the casual observer.
Four losses in a down WCC isn't going to impress anyone, but BYU played a brutal non-conference schedule that left it with quality wins over Stanford and Texas. If they can win at Saint Mary's or at home against Gonzaga and avoid stumbles against the rest of the league, they might be in position to entertain a basketball-hungry nation again on opening Monday or Tuesday.
Your thoughts, seldom-used freshman Luke Worthington?
via @rakoto10
Agreed.
51-53
For the first time in several weeks, the gap between No. 1 and No. 2 narrows in our national scoring race update.
1. Antoine Mason, Niagara (26.6 ppg)
2. Doug McDermott, Creighton (25.0 ppg)
3. Tyler Haws, BYU (24.6 ppg)
4. Aaric Murray, Texas Southern (23.9 ppg)
5. Billy Baron, Canisius (23.6 ppg)
54-58
They have virtually no shot at making the NCAA Tournament, but I don't think that should be keeping Kevin Stallings from getting at least a little bit of SEC Coach of the Year buzz right now. Vanderbilt has seven (seven!) scholarship players available, and somehow they've rattled off four straight wins and are 5-4 in conference play.
A mixture of transfers, suspensions and injuries have led Stallings to a place where he's starting players he was hoping to redshirt and dressing players who were student managers four months ago. It's a situation that has fans in Nashville referring to the group - which is riding high after consecutive wins over Texas A&M, Georgia, Mississippi State and rival Tennessee - as "The Magnificent Seven."
Stallings probably won't bring home any national awards even if the Mag 7 plays itself into the NCAA Tournament discussion, but he might earn some additional coin.
59-60
A Cal student and a writer for our own California Golden Blogs completed a Rubik's Cube behind Bill Walton in about 23 seconds during the Bears' loss to Stanford on Wednesday.
I could do my seven times table aloud in 23 seconds behind Bill Walton. You don't see me putting that on YouTube.
Coulda gone to Cal.
/kicks dirt
61-64
Conference realignment has done a lot of bad for college basketball in terms of ripping apart long-existing conference rivalries like Kansas/Missouri and Syracuse/Georgetown. The reward for all of this madness, if there is one, is that now we're all privy to the genesis of what could be some of the defining rivalries of the modern era, like Syracuse/Duke.
Coach K seems to be cool with it, and put it best in the moments immediately following last Saturday's extraordinary game.
"Great rivalries don't have to be built on hatred. They're built on respect. On a respect for excellence."
Word.
Luke Worthington, you agree?
Luke Worthington's on board.
65-67
The relative struggles of the teams possessing the most highly-touted members of the recruiting class of 2013 have been discussed ad nauseum this season, but what about the flip side of that coin?
Cincinnati has come out of virtually nowhere to earn a top 10 ranking and own complete control of the AAC with an 11-0 record. Five of those 11 conference wins have come by six points or less, including a three-point triumph over preseason favorite Louisville and a five-point Thursday night win over No. 22 Connecticut.
What may be helping UC in these clutch situations is that the average age of their starting five is 22.7. Star guard Sean Kilpatrick, who might be the front-runner for AAC Player of the Year, is 24-years-old and just 13 months younger than Kevin Durant. Durant is in the middle of his seventh NBA season.
Experience matters...sometimes. Experience matters for Cincinnati. Probably.
68
And finally, it's that time of the week again where we send you home with a creepy mascot photo...
That's Chip, the Colorado Buffalo mascot, wearing a cutout of Kevin Bacon's head like a pair of pants. Way to bring home You win, Chip.
More from SB Nation College Basketball
• Tjarks: San Diego State looks like Final Four contender
• Understanding Arizona's defense
• Jerod Haase, UAB hope to Blaze new trail in Birmingham
• Around the Big 12: The pack strikes back
• Jabari Parker, Jahlil Okafor not thinking about next yearThis is a common question among the skeptics, and should perhaps be one among the believers. Often this question is used as a piece of evidence to question the existence of the creature, but as such it is as much a piece of non-evidence as a believer saying you cannot prove it doesn’t exist.
The Vicar’s Lamp has a few ideas about why Bigfoot has yet to be discovered.
1.) We aren’t looking hard enough. Very little effort has actually been put into the development of an organized plan for identification, verification and possibly even capture. Killing such a creature might raise a host of issues variously discussed elsewhere and for many years. The legal status of a variant hominid is not established, and only a fool would want to be part of such a test case, particularly when the case would also inevitably involve matters of jurisdiction, Federal laws for the protection of endangered species, and media rights. Scientific institutions tend to laugh evidence for this creature and its proponents out of the room, so grant money is not exactly flowing into a verification effort.
It is no longer true there has been no large scale organized attempt at identification. In China, in 2012 a year long research and cataloging expedition was sent into remote mountains of Hubei, the Shennongjia Nature Reserve, where the Yeren is believed to make its home. As yet no results have been reported on discovery. There are rare if any places over the planet people have not made their presence known over the course of history, and not taken specimens of animals for food, research or trophies.
2.) Bigfoot is smarter than we are. The term, “smarter” is perhaps a bit of a misnomer. I doubt that Bigfoot and his cousins are very good at using information technology or building architectural masterpieces. But this creature, in its natural environment, moving effortlessly (as is almost always reported) through its range, can likely outmaneuver and outpace any homo sapiens with a will to discovery. Odds are good that the species can smell us coming for miles, hear us over a similar distance, and hide from us with great effectiveness. It appears not to use tools or weapons with any regularity, which would imply that it does not need them. Evolution is very much a function of needs and corresponding reactions to said needs. The absence of Bigfoot clothing, fires, spears and structures suggests a creature perfectly wedded to an environment that would kill most humans in short order due to the effects of starvation, exposure and predation – were we to occupy those areas as Bigfoot seems to, minus clothes, shelter and gear.
This starts off with just a reiteration of the idea of the Noble Savage.
The term noble savage (French, bon sauvage) is a literary stock character that expresses the concept of an idealized indigene, outsider, or “other” who has not been “corrupted” by civilization, and therefore symbolizes humanity’s innate goodness. In English, the phrase Noble Savage first appeared in poet Dryden’s heroic play, The Conquest of Granada (1672): I am as free as nature first made man,
Ere the base laws of servitude began,
When wild in woods the noble savage ran.
And in the case of bigfoot simply means that being “closer to nature” is somehow superior, or advantageous. Yet there are few zoos or animal parks that allow big game hunting, and many a wall adorned by a trophy taken of an animal firmly within its natural environment. That bigfoot is more agile and generally in better physical condition than your average human is likely, but a rifle scope is a heck of an advantage over agility.
If Bigfoot has an advantage on senses is a debate that can only be settled by study of a specimen (Catch 22) but by superficial analysis I find it unlikely they are significantly different from humans as this picture of Patty:
…Does not show a nasal cavity significantly outside of the range of human norm, though certainly scaled up due to difference in size, and the ears are barely even visible in this image.
Neither case indicates an animal with significantly better olfactory or auditory senses. At which point the argument becomes one of being better attuned to its environment and we revisit the Noble Savage argument. There are certainly hunters who attune themselves to the environment in which they hunt, either for trophy or necessity. And then the idea of Noble Savage has also been frequently applied to early indigenous peoples in a variety of settings where the various cousins of the Bigfoot family roam.
3.) Bigfoot is more evolved than we are. See above, but also consider this: Can we know with any certainty that such a creature would not have a superior mode of operation to our own? If these types of creatures exist, it is noteworthy that their way of life would not involve pollution or radical change of the environment. Instead, they may in the long run be Earth’s preferred inhabitants, and it may just be that they aggressively avoid us in order to prevent direct conflict. If this is an animal of our sort, it communicates and it processes information with an eye toward understanding. There may well be Bigfoot philosophy, poetry and art which we regularly observe without ever recognizing what it is that we are seeing. But more importantly, Bigfoot may have none of these things because he does not need them. It is possible that a version of homo evolved at some point in the past to resolve survival issues in a way different than we are familiar with. In place of weapon and tool use, this version emerged with greater size, speed, strength and resilience. Intelligence as we know it might not be so much reduced as it is focused upon other things – namely hiding from us. How difficult would it be to find a kind of human being utterly wedded to nature and evolved specifically to avoid us at all costs? Given our own limitations, the Vicar imagines it would run something like this: Every so often we’d hear a report or see a fuzzy image or choppy video, but we’d almost never get hard, physical evidence…
First, define “more evolved” as this term is typically used to justify human abuse, neglect or mistreatment of other forms of life. Then demonstrate levels of evolution, because the counter to this argument is expressed in your previous argument. While Bigfoot may be “perfectly wedded to an environment that would kill most humans,” so have Humans been over the course of most of their existence, or we would not have gotten where we are today. So too are the archeituthis, and we have more evidence that they exist from the deepest pat of the ocean than we do for Bigfoot.
4.) Bigfoot is not entirely a physical entity. This one gives materialists and other such mundane thinkers fits. It really makes some people angry. This is a delightful thing, since it reveals more about the limitations of our own understanding than it does anything at all about the nature of this universe. The cosmos is quite large, and the permutations of form that can potentially or actually inhabit it are uncountable. Could there be “spirit beings”? In the esoteric traditions and occult teachings, the existence of such things is a matter of absolute certainty. A rationalist view reveals that this is an absolutely logical possibility; it is not at all hard to imagine that a species or other category of life form could exist that defies general biological theory.
You just surrendered credibility. This entirely fanciful argument does nothing for the cause of seeking bigfoot, and does considerable harm. It is exactly this sort of statement that causes legitimate researchers to turn as far as possible from wanting to be associated with the search. Show me a creature, any creature known with such ability if you want to make a case like this. Claims of the infinite possibilities of the Universe aside every form of life on Earth is related, sharing significant genetic material, even between the plant and animal kingdoms. If there is one form of life with this ability, then it exists as a potential for others. There is little if any ability actually unique to any specific creature on Earth. Why not just propose that they are aliens with cloaking technology? Or inter-dimensional visitors? Both have been said before now.
5.) We’re doing way too many things wrong when we look for Bigfoot. The Vicar has spent some time in the woods. He was raised with a firm foundation in hunting, fishing and camping, as well as the requisite wild-craft skills involved in what is nowadays “extreme survival” of the sort popularized by Les Stroud. For the record, this was normal behavior in the America of the Vicar’s boyhood, before the Boy Scouts of America became an organization vilified by certain forces within the media for accusations of homophobia, pedophilia and a tendency toward a certain paramilitarism. Living in a remote area of the Midwest meant having the opportunity to learn from hardened old hunters and woodsmen as well as an extensive involvement with Native American lore – sometimes even taught by real Native Americans – and certain representatives of the survivalist community (now called Doomsday Preppers and essentially satirized at length). What the Vicar sees in those who are presented in the media as Bigfoot researchers is nothing like the set of skills that we should expect to see if we are to have a shot at making contact with this creature.
A good guy, perhaps, but can he really find Bigfoot?
Why would anyone think that a camera crew would not run off a Bigfoot at the first sign of approach? Moreover, why would we believe that people yelling or beating on trees with sticks in the dark woods would result in a genuine response from Sasquatch? And when expeditions are filmed, we often get these sweeping overhead shots – evidence that a helicopter was brought in to get footage, meaning that anything canny in the forest below is likely to head for quieter and more complete cover.
Undoubtedly true. But what is your actual thinking? In the very first argument you state that Bigfoot has not been discovered for lack of a large scale organized search, and here you would seem to suggest that a single skilled seeker on a small scale is the answer to finding the creature. Which is it? And you are really only making a (rehashed) case against reality shows, none of which are even intended to learn anything, rather to be entertaining through the interaction of the proposed researchers. They are little, if anything more than soap operas.
Proposing various reasons why we have not found a creature like Bigfoot, is pretty much the same as asking anyone to prove it does not exist, and of course that cannot be done short of stripping the entire planet bare and cataloging every speck of matter on the surface. Even then you make an excuse fro not finding it with “Bigfoot is not entirely a physical entity.” Considering the season, I propose that you also cannot prove that Santa exists. There has been no concerted professional expedition to prove one way or the other. He is clearly smarter than we are as he knows who has been naughty and nice, which certainly implies a higher evolution and sensory apparatus. For a jolly fat man to slip down the billions of chimneys he serves in a 24 hour period, he must be more than entirely a physical entity. Finally, we have sought only circumstantial and anecdotal evidence, placing cookies out as bait and only observing the absence of said cookies at a later time without interim observation.
As arguments go for the existence of bigfoot, these really offer nothing of substance. As arguments for why we have not yet found any such creature go, they do nothing to abate the possibility that it merely does not exist.
[email protected]
Follow us on FaceBook for updates and more.(Rochester, NY)… The Rochester Americans announced today that the Amerks’ home game versus the Hamilton Bulldogs scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 21 has been moved to Tuesday, Oct. 23 and will now be played at First Niagara Center in Buffalo at 7:35 p.m.
Tickets for the game will go on sale Friday, Sept. 28 at 9 a.m. and are available at the First Niagara Center Box Office, online at www.tickets.com or by phone at 1-888-223-6000.
Seats in the 100 Level Preferred locations and the 200 Club Level will be available for $25. Tickets in the 100 Level corners and ends will be available for $20, and tickets in the 300 Level can be purchased for $15.
Amerks Season Ticket Holders will not face an additional charge for this game as it is included in their season ticket package. In the event a season ticket holder is unable to attend the Oct. 23 game at First Niagara Center, they will be able to redeem that ticket for an additional ticket to a future Amerks home game this season or can receive a refund for the Oct. 23 game.
The 2012-13 regular season begins Friday, Oct. 12 when the Amerks host the Syracuse Crunch at The Blue Cross Arena at 7:05 p.m. Amerks Full-Season, Half-Season and 12-Game ticket packages for the 2012-13 season are available. Individual game tickets are also now on sale. For more information, visit www.amerks.com or call 1-855-GO-AMERKS.CASUAL DOGFIGHTING, OR “rolling” is on the rise, according to the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA).
The ISPCA this week released photos of an English bull terrier named Garth who was found bloodied and beaten after a suspected dog fight.
The ISPCA’s Conor Dowling says that Garth’s case is not an isolated one.
“It is definitely a problem,” Dowling told TheJournal.ie.
He said that there is two forms of the bloodsport, with the second form becoming a problem.
Though dog fighting has been illegal for 170 years, it has still gone on and is generally linked to criminal community.
“These events would have their own rules and regulations, but it’s difficult to infiltrate.
“Previously, the fights would have been fairly organised and had weight classes and rules. But what we’re seeing is people just putting two dogs together that they think will fight.
“It’s called street fighting or rolling.
It’s a problem in built-up urban areas and is often linked to gangs. It is used to increase the macho image of someone and has been used to settle gang fights, rather than having two people fight.
As Garth proves, the impromptu nature of rolling doesn’t lessen the impact and damage on the dog.
There is also the danger that dogs are stolen for the purpose of rolling.
“There is certainly anecdotal evidence that people see what they think is a violent dog and steal them.”
For that reason, among others, the ISPCA says that anybody who has a dog should be micochipping it.
Dog fighting carries punishments including an up to €250,000 fine and two years in prison. The ISPCA has been buoyed by changes to the law that made attendance at a dog fight and keeping dogs for the purposes of fighting illegal.Celtic have cancelled the club’s official supporters flight after concerns surrounding the safety of fans in Turkey.
It follows the downing of a Russian jet on the Turkey-Syria border, some 500 miles away from Istanbul – which is home to Fenerbahce.
Despite the distance between the Syrian border and the North Western city, Celtic are taking no risks ahead of their final group stage game in the Europa League on December 10th.
Fans travelling to Istanbul will have already decreased following the Hoops exit from the competition was confirmed after Thursday’s 2-1 loss to Ajax.
Around 2,000 Celtic fans were expected to travel to the game, but that number is likely to be significantly less.
Those still travelling to the game will be advised about the best protocol ahead of the game.
A club spokesman said the following on the matter, as quoted by the Daily Mail.An emotional visit to a local school sparked the idea for a national campaign in North Yorkshire MP Rishi Sunak. Political Editor Rob Parsons reports.
Pulling up in a green Range Rover at his constituency office in Northallerton, fresh from his office Christmas party in London the night before, Rishi Sunak is a man in demand.
Rishi Sunak, MP for Richmond, at his office in Northallerton.
He apologises that halfway through his interview with The Yorkshire Post he will have to break off to speak to BBC Radio 4, while Sky and ITV want to talk to him later in the day.
The reason for their interest is not one obviously associated with a Tory MP for a rural Yorkshire patch, namely the threat posed by Russia to the vital communications and internet cables that run under the sea.
But Mr Sunak’s path to Parliament is altogether unusual in a number of ways. Born in Southampton as a third generation Indian immigrant, he studied and worked in California’s Silicon Valley, where he first encountered the undersea cable issue.
“It was the first place I came across the idea that the internet was an entirely physical construct as opposed to something, as we think about it, in the cloud,” he said.
There’s a growing need, because thankfully medical advances mean we keep babies alive who faced difficult births but often they might have disabilities that then need to be managed through their life. Rishi Sunak
Now his paper published by the Policy Exchange, setting out the risk posed to cable systems around the world, has been endorsed by Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, chief of the defence staff, prompting a flurry of media interest.
His other recent public intervention, on the need for changing facilities for severely disabled children that better suit their needs, has nothing in common with the world of undersea geopolitical conflict.
In a recent online piece, the 37-year-old Oxford graduate outlined the need for more Changing Places toilets, which have a hoist, changing bench and privacy screen, at popular sites nationwide.
The article, which he has raised with the Prime Minister and hopes to speak about with Communities Secretary Sajid Javid, was inspired by a visit to the highly-rated Dales School for children with severe and complex learning needs.
Rishi Sunak, MP for Richmond, at his office in Northallerton.
“They showed me a video, they told me about their stories and I was deeply moved and also surprised,” he said.
“I think like most people I assumed, disabled toilets, haven’t we sorted that? You see them everywhere.
“I didn’t realise that for children and adults who are severely disabled a standard disabled toilet just isn’t good enough.
“There’s a growing need, because thankfully medical advances mean we keep babies alive who faced difficult births but often they might have disabilities that then need to be managed through their life but also we have an ageing population, this is something that affects older people as well.
“The need is definitely growing and I believe in equality of opportunity, I believe in people having freedom and choice, those are all things I care deeply about.
“[Someone at the school] had brought a magazine with them of all the things going on in the summer holidays in North Yorkshire and just crossed out every one which it wasn’t possible for them to go to, which was as it turned out essentially 99 per cent of everything in the magazine.”
His ultimate aim is change the buildings code, which would mean shopping centres, train stations and big tourist attractions would be made to install Changing Places facilities.
It’s striking that his former Conservative leader William Hague, his predecessor as Richmond MP who retired from the Commons in 2015, also campaigned on a similar issue and helped bring the Disability Discrimination Act into law under John Major in 1995.
Other areas where the Richmond MP is lobbying include bringing about a system similar to UCAS for apprentices, to give it parity with university admissions.
He also wants a freeport, a free trade zone based around a port in the Teesside area after Brexit, and says it will create manufacturing jobs.
Locally, he says access to healthcare, specifically the local Friarage hospital, is a major issue, and he fears a lack of the appropriate services means patients are having to travel all the way to Middlesbrough for hospital treatment.
He says he is trying to make officials at the South Tees NHS trust aware of the difficulties the long journeys are causing his constituents, but adds: “I would like them to be more receptive”.
After joining forces with the Labour MP |
her matches with you, lets cheer her together!"
Showing just how much she'd improved, Hinata spent less than ten seconds going bright red at the thought of sitting beside Naruto in the stands watching the matches... That would definitely, probably, most likely, count as a date!
That didn't stop her from noticing the slight flaw in his plan though "... But, ano, won't you... Be participating in those matches Naruto-kun?" Hinata thought it was completely silly that Naruto was still considered a Genin, especially after the war. Surely he would be competing this time to finally be advanced?
When she saw his face instantly darken she immediately regretted the question, while it wasn't unusual to see Naruto sulk about something, to see a smile fall off his face that quickly... It was obviously a very sore subject.
"Yeah. I should be, it's stupid... " he twirled his chopsticks searching for words "apparently there's no Genin teams with a spot open and they won't let me enter by myself." He stabbed his chopsticks into the remainder of the food and twisted them around "... Gonna be a Genin for another 6 months at least" he said with a resigned sigh. Baa-chan had made good points (mostly about him being too awesome to get freebie titles), but still, it was hard to accept.
"...Oh..." Now it was Hinata's turn to be depressed. She hated seeing him like this, especially since she knew he didn't deserve it. If she didn't know how close Naruto and the Hokage were, or that he was being groomed as her successor she would have been furious at the lady.
It had been awful after the war, when everyone had received notification of their promotions. She'd rushed to congratulate him, happily told him about her becoming a Special-Jonin and then heard he was still a Genin. He'd taken it much better than most people would, at the end of the day Naruto would always honestly be happy for anyone's achievements, but still, she knew it'd hurt him, she couldn't imagine how hard it would be now for him to just sit and watch the exams.
"I-I'm sorry... That must be, that's terrible." Their previous good mood gone Hinata floundered around desperately for a new topic... Now was probably not the best time to mention how she'd been hoping to team with him for the next Jonin exams after he became a Chunin, with Shino being made Jonin her team had a free spot.
Naruto for his part put just his head on the table and groaned "Urrgh... Yeah. It sucks, I can't believe it!" the full implications were sinking in now "Even mini-Hina's gonna be Chunin before me... Shit!"
It was bad enough he thought, when it was just everyone his age being Chunin and him left behind, even worse with them all Jonin now and him still Genin... Thinking of the kids below him now out-ranking him... No, wait, he definitely didn't want to think about that, he couldn't take it at the moment. Still, he felt bad lying there sulking in front of Hinata, looking up for a moment he could see she was clearly distressed.
"Ah, sorry Hinata-chan" he forced a smile "I only found out a few hours ago, guess I'm still kind'a wound up about it..." another sigh. He didn't want to sit around moping, that wasn't his style, but there didn't seem to be anything else he could do at this stage... Not wanting to vent more at his friend and with no other outlet for his frustrations Naruto's depression quickly turned into a more familiar desire for action.
Decision made, he stood up "Bleh... I'm gonna go train for a bit, let off some steam or something."
He fished out Gama-chan and slapped down a handful of bills "Good seeing you again! Thanks for lunch!"
"Ah... Bye Naruto-kun..." he was already gone, she hadn't thought of anything to talk about and he'd left... Her good mood evaporating quickly she attempted to cheer herself up, Naruto wasn't the type to get depressed over something like this, he'd be okay soon enough. It was a shame their lunch hadn't gone quite as she well as she'd hoped but she'd been having a great time... Right until she'd asked that damn question... "Stupid" she whispered to herself, hanging her head. Was that another chance blown?
A few minutes later, after picking at the remains of her food, she stood to go and suddenly saw how much money Naruto had put down 'oh, he... Paid for my lunch too?' and suddenly the warm feeling she'd missed was back at full strength 'That means it's a date right? A guy paying for a girl's meal...That's definitely a date! A date... With Naruto-kun!' feeling slightly lightheaded and fully aware that all her blood had gone to her head, Hinata left the restaurant in a happy daze.
Truly it's the little things that count.
It was an uncharacteristically subdued Naruto that was heading to the training grounds.
Typically he had no problem celebrating the achievements of others, he was honestly happy whenever someone took a step closer to their dreams; He wanted to be the kind of Hokage that lead a village where anyone could achieve their dream..
He even liked mini-Hina! She was a nice girl, she laughed at his jokes, she was polite and she seemed to have an easier time talking to him than Hinata did... To be fair, part of him noted, Hinata was a lot better at talking to him nowadays.
Still! "Damnit!" still, thinking of her in a Chunin jacket... He'd be happy for her of course, but still!
'Goddamn that old hag! Urgh...This sucks!' he wanted to scream. He couldn't get the thought out of his mind now, running his hands through his hair in frustration he continued on.
"Hey! It's boss!"
So caught up in his thoughts he didn't even hear the shout, 'Yeah, training is definitely the right idea, I need'a blow off some steam, I can try out that new Rasengan I've been thinking of, blow up some rocks!'
Thoughts of destruction easing his mind slightly he finally noticed yells coming behind him "Hey! Oi! Boss! Don't ignore me damnit! Bastard!"
Turning he found himself instinctively dodging a jumping kick from his sometimes-student, said students teammates trailing after "Huh? Oh, hey, sorry Konohamaru. Didn't see you guys there, what'cha up to? Finishing a mission?"
Konohamaru, like Naruto typically had sunny disposition and far too much energy, today however, he was practically glowing with excitement, something big was definitely up.
"Nope! We just got back from seeing Ebisu-sensei! We're finally entering the Chunin exams! It's gonna be great boss!" Suddenly pointing a finger directly at Naruto he proudly challenged "This is it! Me and you as rivals for Chunin! This is the start of our fight for the title of Hokage, don't think I'm gonna lose to you!"
And just like that Naruto's day managed to get even worse.
He'd been so wrapped up in thinking of Hinata's sister as a Chunin he'd completely forgotten the other younger team that would have been eagerly awaiting the exams... Konohamaru would be aiming for Chunin... Konohamaru would be a Chunin before him... He quickly cut that image off before it could form, he most definitely didn't want to let that train of thought go any further in his current mood.
"I-I'm... not going to be entering" he admitted the words tasting like ashes in his mouth "there aren't any teams with a spot I can join"
A dark part of his mind considered asking for one of Konohamaru's team to give him a spot but he quickly squished it. Besides the fact Baa-chan had specifically told him not to do that he didn't want to be the kind of person who'd sacrifice someone's progression for his own.
Konohamaru was a good person, a strong ninja, a dedicated leader and all around pretty upstanding boy. Unfortunately, a part of him that he refused to acknowledge had for weeks been dreading facing Naruto in the exams, having drawn the obvious conclusion that Naruto would crush him, there simply was no denying the strength difference.
Most of Konohamaru thought of Naruto like a big brother and was sympathetic towards his obvious frustrations with being held back from promotion once again. If there was no personal stake he would have been angry on Naruto's behalf... Unfortunately, for the part that feared facing his Boss the news was a very welcome relief.
"Oh wow! You're not gonna be entering!?" He cheered aloud "Woo! We're gonna pass easy then, I'm way stronger than you were when you first entered!"
Part of Naruto's mind regarded that as rather unfair; sure Konohamaru was more powerful than he had been if you discounted Kurama. However Kurama and the villager's corresponding treatment of him was a significant factor in why Naruto wasn't as strong as he could have been heading into the exams.
However most of his mind simply reacted with anger and hurt pride...
"Hey! What're you saying brat!? Who taught you your best techniques!?"
And Konohamaru, being in many ways similar to Naruto, reacted the same...
"So what!? Where I learned them doesn't matter, I'm going to surpass you!"
At this point, Udon and Moegi who'd been wisely trying to stay out of this exchange decided to back up. This was not good, this was going to escalate, Naruto and Konohamaru's personalities were too similar, their emotions would feed off each other and get out of control.
"I'm going to be Chunin for sure, then I'll be ranked above you! I'll be the boss!"
"No way! No way! No way can a brat like you make Chunin ahead of me!"
Konohamaru realised he'd struck a weak point and proceeded to start strutting around rubbing it in "I will! And then I'll be your Squad leader on missions. I'll give you whatever order I feel like!" he grinned evilly already envisioning possible ways to abuse his power.
"Wha!?" Naruto was obviously able to envision the same things
"Oh! And then I'll take the Jonin exams and you'll still be a Genin" he smirked going for the kill "Don't worry, I'll take you on as your Jonin-Sensei... Hey, you can start calling me Konohamaru-sensei already!"
"Whaaa!? You goddamn brat!" Unable to even formulate a real reply all he could think about was having to answer to Konohamaru, being bossed around or answering to him for missions. Naruto had worked hard for the respect he'd gained; the images dancing through his head hit his pride hard.
Being passed over, being screwed around with and now having it rubbed into his face, this was too much! This was way too much! He was quickly losing control of himself, his fists clenched so tight his palms were on the verge of bleeding. It would take a lot before Naruto would ever strike a comrade, however he was getting dangerously close to that point.
"Naruto. Let's go." Luckily that was when Kurama weighed in, breaking Naruto off before he did something he'd regret. "This isn't worth it."
Getting control of himself again, Naruto stepped back, unclenching his hands, he let out a deep breath and turned away from Konohamaru. Sure, the kid was an annoying brat at times, but he was also a good friend, he'd feel terrible if he took this any farther.
'Yeah. Thanks...' for the millionth time he thanked the fact he'd been able to made peace with Kurama. For someone who treasured bonds as much as Naruto, having a best friend built right into your soul was very welcome. Plus the bastard fox did a pretty good job of keeping him in check at times like this.
Still, he was far more frustrated now than after talking to Hinata he knew the best plan was definitely to head to the training fields as soon as possible. He'd go wear himself out destroying things until he felt better, or at least was too tired to care.
Avoiding looking at Konohamaru he moved past him and started to walk away, managing to let go of his hurt pride enough to wish them farewell "Oi... Good luck with the exams you kids. I'll be cheering you on, so don't take it lightly."
While utterly failing at keeping the bitterness out of his tone the sincerity in his words was clearly there. He disappeared over the nearest roof with a quick leap leaving Konohamaru looking slightly abashed, avoiding Moegi and Udon's eyes as they glared at him.
An hour later Naruto was still tearing into a cliffside on one of the far training grounds, sweat pouring down his face as he created new forms of Rasengan on the fly, slamming them into the rocks.
He was currently experimenting with creating a Planetary Rasengan without using the 9-Tails chakra, mostly because it would require so much concentration he couldn't focus on anything but it... Unfortunately he was failing completely. Feeling it fall apart as he charged he quickly transitioned the remaining chakra into a standard Rasengan, dashing forward he slammed it into the rock, drilling a massive crater.
All he could think of was Hanabi and Konohamaru parading infront of him, Chunin vests on, being slapped on the back by all their friends, while he stood back, the Eternal Genin. An S-Rank Ninja stuck at the beginning rank.
"What a fucking joke!" he growled, losing control of his emotions.
Instinctively creating a pair of Kage Bunshin he dashed forward again, this time succeeding at crashing a partially stabilized Plantary Rasengan into the wall, blowing the crater far deeper. Barely a fraction of the damage he'd get in 9-tails mode but he wasn't trying to bring down the cliff.
'I know I'd have no problems if I could just enter the Exams, but I don't know any other Genin teams!'
Leaving the rocks alone for the moment he leapt back, this time creating 4 new clones and stabilizing a Rasenkyugan for almost 15 seconds. The resulting blast when he did lose control knocking him back and far across the clearing.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Urgh" He winced skimming along the ground '...yeah I might have to leave that for 9-Tails mode...'
'Could work well with an Uzumaki Rendan though...' He filed that away for future practice
His stamina finally depleted and at least some of his frustrations worked out, Naruto was content to just lie on the ground for a moment, feeling his wounds heal. His thoughts inevitably drifting back to the all too familiar topic
'This'd be easier if I knew more Genin... But everyone has already been promoted already! There's no-one left like m-Wait...'
Inspiration struck him like a thunderbolt causing him to sit straight upright. Instantly his mind, so wasted on bookwork but so good at schemes, tactics or pranks, started working overdrive...
He thought hard, remembering a half forgotten conversation, spotting a discrepancy, putting together a theory. He was off the ground now pacing around as a plan started to come together, a grin slowly forming on his face, growing bigger by the second.
'No way... No way... It could work though... Oh man, Baa-chan would hate me though' that thought made his grin impossibly wide.
"Hrmph. You certainly never cease to come up with something unexpected."
"OOOOOH YEAH! I'M GONNA ENTER THE CHUNIN EXAMS!"
And with that, all his worries, his frustrations were washed away. Energy was coursing through him, his excitement unbound. He had a plan. An audacious, ridiculous and probably illogical plan, but Uzumaki Naruto had a plan and, as many great ninja had discovered to their peril... That was a very scary thing.
Despite the excitement raging within him, a half hour later Naruto was sitting calmly at the edge of Konoha territory, becoming completely still and focussing on letting the natural energy flow through him.
For anyone who knew him when he was young it may have seemed bizarre for such a hyperactive ninja to have managed to master Sage techniques at a level beyond even Jiraya the famed Toad Sage, whether it was natural skill or part of his lineage from his mothers' side, he never bothered to question. All he knew was that, even as excited as he was he still gained a great sense of peace and wonder at switching to Sage mode.
Feeling yourself become one with nature, feeling the chakra of all the living beings around you, drawing the energy of the natural world into yourself and feeling it strengthen your own. Sage meditation always filled him with deep contentment.
He spent a half hour just meditating, collecting his thoughts and enjoying the peace he'd gained. Probably more than he needed, but he would want plenty of natural energy for the task ahead.
Shifting out of the meditation his standard personality took over once more "Alright! Lets do this!" he yelled opening his biggest chakra reservoir. Shifting into his perfect 9-Tails Chakra form, his eyes gained a vertical foxlike slit through the horizontal bar of Sage mode and chakra burst forth from him like a supernova, the entire village suddenly aware that something must be going on, anyone even remotely chakra sensitive practically bathing in the warm positive energy let off from Naruto's conversion of 9-Tail's malevolent chakra into his own.
Pumping as much chakra as possible into it he quickly formed 3 Kage Bunshin, each mimicking his form, Sage and 9-Tailed modes combined. They stood in a semicircle around him, each wearing wide grins and radiating enough Chakra to level a mountain range twice over.
He appraised his clones briefly, "Okay, that should be more than enough! Go for it!" pointing off into the distance as he finished.
"You got it boss!" the first clone leaped away to the west at full speed, leaving little more than an orange flash as it zoomed into the distance.
"Damn straight!" the second clone's voice trailed off as it quickly vanished into the east.
"Let's get wild!" the final clone barely more than a blur heading north by the time the words left its mouth.
Conversely the real Naruto withdrew his energy, released Sage mode and calmly walked back the way he'd come.
It was of course against various regulations and rules to leave the village for any reason without explicit permission. To do so was to risk becoming a Missing Nin. Luckily he hadn't actually left the village, a Kage Bunshin ultimately was not him.
So, off he went, hands behind his head and a large smirk on his face, as if he was about to pull off the greatest prank of his life.
After that life continued like normal, if anyone was paying attention the only clue that something may be up was that he never seemed to create any Kage Bunshin. While normal for anyone else it was an odd sign for someone like Naruto who'd practically made that his calling card, however since he didn't have any missions it was hardly cause for concern, the only one who even seemed to notice was the ever watchful Kakashi.
The first real sign that there might be something going on happened a week later at Ichiraku's. Naruto was happily eating his third bowl while his pink haired team mate blushed at his praise after excitedly telling him about her latest achievement in the hospital.
"Wow, Sakura-chan! That's amazing! You totally saved that guy's li-Urk"
Slumping over, it suddenly seemed as if a great force had just slammed into him. All his energy was knocked out and for a moment he was almost deathly pale. Eyes glazed over he toppled backwards...
Coming to a few seconds later he shook his head and tried to get his bearings. Looking around he realised he'd fallen off the stool and that Sakura was looking over him clearly terrified at his sudden collapse, desperately running diagnostic chakra into him, "Naruto! Naruto! Are you okay? What happened!? What can I do?"
Feeling his strength slowly come back he waved the chakra off and let her help him back up, taking a second to spare a mournful glance at the now spilled ramen... "Ahh, heheh" he scratched the back of his head, not wanting to tell her the whole truth just yet but feeling guilty about worrying her like that "Ah, I'm fine Sakura-chan! Just got a report back from a little project I'm working on!"
Her worries faded slightly as he took his seat again and ordered a replacement ramen. He seemed to be moving alright at least and she couldn't feel anything wrong with him from her cursory examination... Someone like Naruto suddenly keeling over was extremely odd, but he didn't seem concerned in the least. Not with that giant grin he was clearly trying to hide. She was worried for her friend's health but decided to let him play it off for now.
Naruto's thoughts of course weren't conflicted at all 'OH YEAH! ONE DOWN! ONE DOWN! This is gonna be so great!' it took considerable willpower on his behalf not to start dancing.
A similar scene replayed itself two days later while he was training new taijutsu forms with Kakashi. Leaping back to avoid a snap kick suddenly his guard was non-existent, and he was stumbling forward in a daze...Receiving a vicious cross for his efforts.
Shaking his head as the dizziness passed he found Kakashi looking down at him with an odd look. Having worked on the Rasenshuriken with Naruto it was pretty simple to deduce what had happened to knock the sails out of the typically energetic blonde.
The question from there of course was why it had happened, although, judging from the devious smirk that Naruto seemed unable to bring under control he wasn't sure he wanted to know... Still, you don't become a Jonin without being at least somewhat curious...
"You're planning something aren't you?... Something big" It was less a question than a statement
"Ahh, you know me too well Kakashi-sensei... It should be really surprising!"
Yeah... Kakashi decided he definitely didn't want to know. Just because he was probably paid enough to deal with it didn't mean he'd want to. Better to just stay out of whatever Naruto was planning than risk getting caught up in it.
"Well, I'll leave it at that then." Pulling out his book Kakashi hopped away, deciding it best to avoid Naruto until the other shoe dropped.
His departure left Naruto lying there basking in the wonder of a plan that was all coming together.
"So far, so good brat. I've got to admit, your plan is working out a lot smoother than even I expected."
'It's 'cause I'm a genius! No-one else would think of something like this!'
"Well, that last part is certainly true"
"Tch"
He had backup plans of course, other options in case things didn't work out quite as well, but still, he really had hoped and it looked like he wouldn't be disappointed. Now he just had to wait for the final piece of news.
As it turned out he didn't have to wait long, the final clone dispelling itself a few hours later. Unfortunately his timing continued to be poor, being in the middle of drinking with Shikimaru, Choji and Kiba at the time. The effects of the final clone's dispersal the most disorienting thus far;
"Hahaha! Damn Naruto! You lightweight! Didn't you say alcohol didn't affect you?"
"He's not passed out is he? Tch, troublesome"
"Naruto, Naruto, how many fingers am I holding up?"
Coming to on the floor of the bar he saw his three friends looking over him Choji worried, Shikimaru smirking and Kiba howling with laughter. That almost managed to wipe the massive grin off his face. Almost.
Pushing Chojis offered hand aside he shakily made it back onto the barstool, picked up his glass, slammed the rest of his beer back and turned to his friends. Time to spread the news...
"Yeah yeah, laugh it up boys. More importantly..." he paused for dramatic effect, hooking a thumb towards himself and fixing them with a triumphant glance "I'm entering the Chunin exams!"
"..."
Receiving three deadpan looks in return his smile didn't last long. Not quite the reaction he'd hoped for...
"That's... Uh, that's cool Naruto, congrats" Choji tried to be enthusiastic for his friend
"...Tch" Shikamaru rolled his eyes and went back to his drink. He was happy Naruto would finally leave his Genin title behind but seriously, the whole thing was way too troublesome. Taking an exam for a rank that far below you? What a waste of time.
" Dude..." Kiba pointed to himself, Choji and Shikamaru "we're all Jonin... It's about time, y'know?" Really, all teasing aside, no-one thought less of Naruto for his ridiculously inappropriate rank, still, it was hard to get excited about your friend's dramatic reveal that he was taking a test everyone else had passed years ago.
Naruto slumped back, clearly disappointed with the response.
Seeing this, Kiba continued "Seriously though, I'm glad. It was bullshit you not being able to enter." he paused for a moment to take a long pull from his own glass "Y'know, Mum was pissed when she heard you didn't get promoted after the war. She ended up yelling at a bunch of the council-men"
That perked Naruto up, he hadn't heard that, people had been fighting his case? He'd barely spoken a handful of words to Tsume and she'd fought for him? Suddenly he felt really warm inside.
"My Dad too!" Choji chimed in "The whole Akimichi clan really, he said 'It's shameful for us to ignore a friend who fought so bravely for all of us'"
"Mhmm" Shikimaru added while knocking back the remainder of his glass "...Nara too, most of the clans support you actually. Even the Hyuuga support you and they never openly support anyone."
At that Naruto's jaw was left hanging open, stunned. He knew he was better respected now in the village and being considered the "Hero of the Leaf", he supposed he should have known... But to hear outright that most of the clans supported him, everyone acknowledged him? The implications of that support for his path to Hokage were very clear.
Absolutely dumbfounded at that, he had no clue what to say. Working on autopilot he ended up just chuckling in embarrassment and scratching the back of his head.
Smirking at the typical Naruto response his friends turned back to their drinks. Kiba taking the initiative a few moments later asking "So, who's your team anyway? I thought you said there weren't any teams you could join?"
With that Naruto's triumphant smirk returned "Haha, that's a secret!" at the inquisitive glances from his friends he continued "All I'm gonna say is they're people no-one ever expected to see at a Chunin exam!"
Now that... That was an interesting statement. All three of them puzzled over the meaning,
'Does he mean a team of Genin washouts? Does he know anyone like that?' Choji was confused.
'He's not drafting Civilians into the ninja forces as Genin is he?' Kiba suddenly had to shake the image of Naruto fighting alongside Ayame the ramen lady. It was surprisingly easy to picture actually.
'Tch... A puzzle? Troublesome.' Shikamaru decided to figure it out later.
Seeing their confusion Naruto's smirk was positively evil. Kuarma's chuckling in the back of his head seemed to agree.
Oh there were fun times ahead for sure.
The weeks passed and before anyone knew it, it was the day before the Chunin exams, a certain air of excitement passing around the village. The foreign contestants would be allowed passage into the village today. For anyone interested it was a good time to head to the main gate and look at the various entrants.
Considering it was the first Chunin exam since the War and thanks to the "Global Peace Accord" the largest by far, the crowd at the gate normally little more than a few punters hoping to eye out some potential good bets was turning into quite an event by itself, stalls had been set up and a significant portion of the village had turned up even if just to browse.
The noise and chatter increased markedly as the first group came within sight of the village; it seemed the first group to be admitted in would be the Genin from the Hidden Cloud. As they drew within sight the gossip quickly turned from interest to surprise and shock... At the head of the contingent, leading the other Jonin-sensei was the famed "Lord Jinchuriki" Killer B! As much for his status as the other remaining Jinchuriki as his actions in the war and his wild personality Killer B was almost as famous as Naruto within the Elemental Countries these days.
It was incredibly surprising to see someone like him coming at the start of the Chunin exams, clearly he was here representing the Raikage himself! For him to make an appearance for the finals would be somewhat expected, but to come for the first day of the event was unprecedented. Most decided it further underlined just how important this "First United Chunin Exam" was.
Soon enough the Cloud shinobi were passed through the gates and dispersed, the teams following their Jonin-sensei to their assigned hotels throughout the village. B himself seemed to be left behind, taking in the sights, looking around.
No-one was sure what exactly he was looking for until a loud cry of "Yo! B!" broke above the crowds hubbub, most turned to see the village's Hero himself jumping down from a nearby building, beckoning B over with a giant smile on his face.
It was quite a spectacle by itself, it was difficult not to notice the loud blonde at the best of times but with Naruto's current popularity within the village everyone wanted to follow his actions. The stories you'd hear about him were almost unbelievable!
Still, although they were easily able to confirm the tales they'd heard of a strong friendship between the two Jinchuriki, the villagers near them had to confess they had absolutely no idea what they were up to. After what seemed like some kind of ceremonial fist bump, they started dancing around each other making wierd seals with their hands and talking in rhymes. That was odd, even for a ninja!
The crowd's attention was drawn to the gate again a short time later as the next group came within sight. This time there was a palpable tension in the air... Watching a contingent of Rock Shinobi drawing close to the village was not a comfortable feeling for a lot of people. For the elder members it brought back terrible memories from the previous War, where the idea of Rock Shinobi sieging on the Village was a constant fear. For the youngsters it was simply fear and tension passed down, everyone knew about the animosity between Konoha and Iwa.
Everyone except Naruto it seemed, for no sooner had the Rock Shinobi been granted entrance than he was yelling out "Hey! Kuro-chan!" and waving their leader over to him and B, the bright smile on his face fading only slightly at having to dodge a hurled stone in response to the nickname.
Now the rumour mill was going haywire! Cloud had sent Killer B on the first stage of the exams, and now Rock had sent in Kurotsuchi, the Tsuchikage's granddaughter! The person rumoured to be next in line to succeed the title... Not to mention Naruto apparently considered her a good friend, judging by the way he'd quickly introduced her to Killer B and was laughing between them pulling her into their conversation.
Clearly Naruto's reputation outside the village wasn't to be underestimated. They'd all heard the tales but still, you had to wonder just how many Kage level or highly influential ninja was he friends with? It was hard to believe this was the same no-name brat that had for been disdained by the village as nothing but a nuisance and a potential danger...
After that things died down, Naruto and his friends were talking more quietly by themselves. B still seemed to be dancing and judging by the wierd seals his hands kept making, was probably still rhyming. Kurotsuchi had picked up some of the street vendor food and seemed to be mostly just eating, interjecting the conversation every now and then.
It took another hour after the Rock's entrance for the next group to arrive. This time the feeling of the crowd was mixed, watching Sand Shinobi gain entrance to the village for some brought back all too recent memories of their failed invasion. Luckily, for most those feelings were fairly muted at this point, ultimately times had moved on. Since the war both villages had sent teams to each other's Chunin Exams many times. Added to that was the fifth Kazekage, who had proven himself a staunch ally of the Leaf. There were many tales circulating of joined missions with the Sand, both of lives saved and lives sacrificed.
Having seen two of the great villages send their strongest representatives to look over their teams the villages were less surprised to see the Kazekage at the head of the group. Still, it was an incredibly interesting development, the Kazekage himself! On the first day of the exams!
If it had been perhaps Baki "the Unstoppable Blade", or even Temari "the Wind's Scythe" that would have been understandable, but Gaara the Fifth Kazekage coming at the head of his Genin squad. It was beyond unprecedented!
No-one was quite sure what to think about the rumours that the alliance was due in large part due to Naruto, that the Kazekage considered him almost a brother... However a certain credence was given to them when as before Naruto called Gaara over to him, smiling madly and even shook his hand when he arrived (for all his bluster, Naruto was famously terrible at any form of physical contact, most likely due to his upbringing). Some even claimed to have seen the resolutely stoic Kazekage grinning on his way over. That rumour was quickly shut down as an exaggeration..
After that for the next few hours there was a steady stream of minor village applicants. The representatives from Grass, Rain, Waterfall and a handful of other smaller villages. Most of the interest in them was from the people looking to set up gambling odds, aside from a momentarily mournful look from Naruto at the Waterfall Ninja and a thoughtful one at the entrance of the Rain ninja nothing exciting happened.
It wasn't until the early afternoon that the final of the great villages made its entrance, by now Naruto and his group were all seated around a rock table (courtesy of Kurotsuchi), and by all appearances happily trading stories.
At seeing the Mist ninja gain entrance to the village the rumour mill fired into overdrive again, having expected to see perhaps one of the 7 Swordsman leading the group the surprise at seeing the Mizukage herself calmly walking into the village was palpable. Even moreso when once again, Naruto's cries rang out "Heeeey! Mei-chan! Over here!" and once again not only did a Kage listen to him but actually walk over to him and after being introduced, sit down on a newly created seat and join them. It was noted she did threaten to boil him alive for using that nickname though.
It was almost surreal, to imagine that one day "that Naruto", or any ninja would day sitting down, laughing with and entertaining 4 of the most powerful people in the world. Beyond that, the very idea of hosting teams from all the major villages. To be hosting Cloud Shinobi! Even stranger, to be hosting Rock Shinobi! It was almost unbelievable.
And yet, any civilians that were worried or tense at the thought, any retired ninja caught up in memories of a war long past needed only look to Konoha's current ninja forces.
There was no tension in them, there was no doubt, there was just the sure fire knowledge that the world had changed a little over a year ago. These were the forces that had removed their cherished village headband and instead adorned themselves with the title of "Shinobi"
They had bled beside a Rock Ninja, they had screamed for help as a Cloud Kunoichi passed away in their arms, they had risked life and limb to come to the aid of an overwhelmed Mist team.
This feeling, just as much as the sight of the son of the Yondaime making jokes at the expense of the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage was proof of a new age.
That night found Naruto meditating in his apartment. Having parted ways with his foreign friends to give them time to settle in and recover he had nothing else to do.
He'd already given up on trying to read or distract himself with attempting to make progress on his sealing, quite simply he was too excited to settle down. Tomorrow he'd finally get to unveil his great plan! He'd be finally taking the steps towards getting the title he should have gotten so long ago!
He'd been halfway tempted to head out to the training fields and just try exhaust himself a little, ultimately he'd decided that was probably not the best look on the eve of an exam though. Luckily Sage meditation was a great cure for excitement, he tried to do it anytime he was overly stressed or needed to calm down, it always amazed him just how much value there was in letting his body tune in with nature. Losing himself in the feeling of the energies washing over him, letting them wash away everything else...
Even with Sage mode it was rather difficult to pick out specific Chakra signals in somewhere as dense as Konoha, still, there were some he knew intimately, the signals of his closest friends. That was why he was puzzled as he noticed in the back of his mind a number of them were grouping together 'They're meeting up, is something going on?... Hmm, they're heading this way?'
And indeed, after noticing it was impossible to ignore, a group of his friends were clearly heading towards his home, seemingly picking up more as they went on. He had no idea what they wanted but that was fine, he always looked forward to spending time with friends, especially when he had no other plans!
Keeping Sage mode active he stood up, feeling them walking up the steps towards his apartment. Chucking slightly to himself as he quietly moved over to his door, feeling their presences draw closer 'One benefit of Sage mode...' waiting for just the right moment... Then suddenly yanking the door open with a loud 'Hey guys!" just as Sakura was been raising her hand to knock.
His sudden appearance |
sexuality.
The central claim of this Article is that the law should recognize sexual advance directives for people with persistent acquired incapacity, derived from conditions such as Alzheimer’s Disease, in the context of long-term care institutions. In other words, people facing chronic conditions that threaten their sexual consent capacity should be able to engage in sexual advance planning to preserve the possibility of a sexual life for themselves and their sexual partners….
[T]he Article … draws on insights from the law of wills, criminal law, and fiduciary law to fashion a workable regime of sexual advance directives that adequately protects individuals from the risk of sexual abuse. To ensure that prospective consent is authentic, the sexual advance directive must be executed with the heightened level of formalities required of wills — a writing, signature, and attestation of two witnesses. These formalities provide courts with good evidence of prospective consent and protect individuals in memorializing their sexual wishes.
To ensure that contemporaneous consent is voluntary, the individual must verbally or nonverbally express consent to sexual contact. In other words, silence or inaction should not be taken to constitute consent, as it risks being the product of a cognitive or communicative impairment instead. This affirmative consent standard has been controversial in criminal law, but it is justified with this population to ensure that there is a genuine mental state of acquiescence to a sexual act. In certain cases, ensuring that there is in fact affirmative consent will require privacy tradeoffs in the context of institutional care.
Finally, to protect the individual with cognitive impairments against harmful consequences of sexual activity, long-term care institutions that house said individual and agents acting under a sexual advance directive must comply with a duty of care, taking reasonable steps to shield the person with cognitive impairments from objective welfare threats stemming from the sexual activity.Dish Network has warned of irreparable harm to competition and consumers alike if US regulators allow the proposed merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable goes ahead.
On Monday, Dish network revealed the petition, saying that if the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allows the merger to go forward, the deal could "significantly damage competitive development of over-the-top (OTT) video -- services such as Netflix and Hulu -- and limit consumer access to online video programming."
The satellite television provider's petition (.PDF) outlines a number of key 'harm' points, including the spectre of anti-competitive behaviour, strangled innovation and competition, and obstacles which would prevent online video steaming businesses to expand and evolve.
At the forefront, the firm says "the merger would permit and motivate the combined company to hurt or destroy online video rivals through its control over the broadband pipe, passing an estimated two thirds of US households." For example, the merger company could use 'choke points' to "degrade the online video offerings of competing MVPD and OTT video providers" in three areas -- on the ramp to the Comcast/TWC network, through the last "public Internet" portion of the pipe to the consumer’s home, and via managed or specialized service channels.
This, in turn, could be used to entice more consumers to Comcast/TWC services rather than their rivals -- as choked speeds can make services unusable.
Dish also says that the merger could result in discriminatory data caps, where caps could be used anti-competitively to squeeze out rival firms. The petition states:
"This could be done by exempting Comcast/TWC affiliated content from such data caps and then setting caps so low that consumers are incentivized to choose Comcast/TWC services over competing MVPD and OTT video services."
In addition, Dish insists the merger company could foreclose access to, or raise the prices of affiliated programming, and third-party content owners could be "coerced" to withhold online rights from online video platforms, which would "stifle a crucial source of competition and innovation in the video industry."
Over 40,000 comments have been filed by individuals to the FCC on the proposed merger, and the US agency is currently reviewing the case which would link up the country's top and second-largest cable providers. Douglas County-based Dish has long been a critic of the merger, which was signed in February this year for $45.2 billion.
The stock-swap deal, Comcast insists, is pro-consumer and will improve the firm's service levels as well as better service the enterprise communications industry. Comcast said at the time of the deal's announcement that the merger will result in more Wi-Fi hotspots, improved video streaming services, and better Ethernet and cloud services for the enterprise.
Overall, Comcast believes it will hold less than 30 percent of the whole cable market in the US, but Dish disagrees.
In order to properly service online video companies and stream content properly, Dish says consistent speeds of at least 25Mbps are required in American households -- available only through cable and fiber. This, in turn, would mean that the combined Comcast/TWC entity would "not only pass almost two thirds of U.S. households, but would control 50 percent of the high-speed US residential broadband connections."
"Even at a more conservative threshold of 10Mbps or faster as the relevant product market for broadband, Comcast/TWC would command more than 42 percent of the market," Dish says. "Even at the abysmally low 3Mbps cut-off proposed by Applicants [Comcast], the merger would still result in the combined company controlling 35.5 percent of the market, which by itself would be sufficient to raise serious competitive concerns.”
Finally, Dish says that in the name of public interest, the merger needs to be stopped, and the benefits Comcast cites are little more than speculation. The petition states:
"The claimed benefits do not come close to outweighing the anti-competitive effects of the transaction, and the serious damage that will be inflicted on consumers if the merger is approved. The cost of “getting it wrong” is immense. If the Commission approves the merger under a set of conditions purportedly designed to alleviate the harms, and those conditions fail to work (which DISH strongly believes would be the case), competition and consumers would be irreparably and permanently harmed. The risks are simply too great here, and the only outcome that will serve the public interest is to deny the merger or designate it for hearing."
ZDNet has reached out for comment from Comcast and will update if we hear back.We are starting to run out of accolades for Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, aka Aaron Rodgers 2.0. There is little left to say except "look at these three statistics." They will cause you to be even more amazed.
First, Luck has won five straight games against the NFC, including beating the class of the conference in 2013, San Francisco and Seattle.
Second, Luck has guided the Colts to nine game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime. That's the most through 21 games by any quarterback that started his career since the 1970 merger.
Third, Luck is 15-6 as a starter in the regular season, which makes him the fastest quarterback drafted first overall to reach 15 wins since the merger.
He's winning against top competition.
He's winning when the game is on the line. He's the anti-Tony Romo.
And he's winning, in some ways, at a record pace.
Luck stars in this week's grades because he's a freaking star. Now, onto the good, the bad and the fail.
Team Grade Analysis 49ers A This game showed why Frank Gore is one of my favorite players. He's not explosive, but he's tough and resilient. He gashed that Houston defensive line and moved the chains. Typical, steady Gore. Bears C- The offense never got in sync, mainly because of the splendid New Orleans defense, but also because Jay Cutler was off target. The Bears defense was outsmarted by the Saints offense. On one play, Drew Brees used an aggressive audible late in the game with one yard to go. The Bears jumped offsides to give New Orleans a first down. Bengals B They won an ugly game, but that defense was unbelievably good. They went against below-average New England receivers, sure, but they made play after big play against Tom Brady. Not bad. Bills C- The Bills have shown fight, but losing EJ Manuel, even for a few weeks, is a bad sign. The game against Cleveland shows both why this franchise has hope and why it's so frustrating. C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson both had long touchdown runs, but the offense slowed once Manuel was gone. Broncos A+++ Peyton Manning continues his historic season. So do the Broncos. The team has scored 230 points, which is the most by a team through the first five games of a season in league history. Right now, this team can do no wrong. Browns A Maybe the most inspirational story in football today. Management gives up on the season, no Trent Richardson, lose Brian Hoyer to torn knee ligaments, but the players fight on. Specials teams touchdowns, solid defense, good offensive line play. Buccaneers Bye Cardinals A I said entering this season that Arizona's defense had a chance to be the best in football. They're not so far off. They sacked Cam Newton seven times, once for a safety. They also intercepted him three times. Chargers F A stank, confusing team that makes you want to kick your television. Key division game, and they turn the ball over five times. Philip Rivers tosses three picks; back to being the horrid Philip Rivers. Chiefs A The miracle season continues. We need Torchwood to investigate this franchise, because aliens are inhabiting these players. They continue to win games using defense, mostly error-free offense and guile. Colts A+++ Andrew Luck is ridiculous. Just totally ridiculous with how good he's getting. That is all. Cowboys A- Tony Romo played beautifully. Romo also choked. Both things can be true. You don't have to pick one or the other. That would be socialism. Romo played a typical Romo game. He saved the team. He killed the team. Dolphins C+ Damn kickers. The Dolphins fought back only to see the kicker shank his 4-iron into the rough. Brutal loss. Eagles B The predictable happened. Mike Vick got hurt. When he grabbed that hammy, it was the least surprising thing in football possibly ever. The Eagles remain in the thick of the NFC East title hunt, though—whatever that's good for. Falcons F Chokers. Giants F The temptation is to blame Eli Manning, and he has at times been awful; there were three picks on Sunday against Philadelphia. But the offensive mess isn't totally his fault. On one interception, Victor Cruz didn't fight for the football. The defense stinks. It's a total dumpster fire. Jaguars F This is what happens when doves cry. Prince wrote that, you know. Beautiful lyric. Applies perfectly. Jets A One of the gutsiest performances you'll see. No one expected that to happen. The assumption was they would get obliterated. This might be the game that sparks the growth of quarterback Geno Smith. Lions C They don't get a lower grade because they were without Megatron. He means that much to the offense. Ndamukong Suh attempted to trip Aaron Rodgers and was penalized for it. He just can't stop the dirty stuff. Packers A- Green Bay found a running game. Eddie Lacy had 99 yards and was a beast. If this keeps up, the Packers will be hard to beat. Panthers F The offense is unraveling, and the countdown is on until Ron Rivera is fired. Patriots D Tom Brady's last 12 passes against the Bengals: one completion, 11 incompletions (including one interception). The crappy receiving corps has caught up to New England. Finally. Brady is a magician, but even he can't microwave trash into treasure. Raiders B Terrelle Pryor heard the rumors about Josh Freeman joining the team and responded with a solid performance. Charles Woodson got his 13th defensive touchdown, tying an NFL record. Pryor makes the Raiders...good? Rams B They beat the Jaguars. Whoop-de-damn-do. Ravens B+ The most underrated part of their win was holding Miami's rushing game to 22 yards on 11 carries. Quarterback Joe Flacco also played well despite spending much of the game running for his life. Redskins Bye Saints A+ They aren't just winning with offense. Their defense is dominating as well. Is this the best team in football? Seahawks B They lost, on the road, to one of the hottest quarterbacks in football. But the loss is telling. The Seahawks are a different team on the road. They will need home-field advantage to reach the Super Bowl. Steelers Bye Texans F Matt Schaub will likely get one more game, maybe two, to correct his pick-six infection before he's benched. He looks lost, stunned, almost helpless. Titans C Ryan Fitzpatrick played well in the second half but opened the game with five straight three-and-outs. Vikings Bye
https://twitter.com/caplannfl/status/381945360349818880
—
X0 Jonathan Filz 21 Jan 2015 This number keeps calling and always hangs up without a word said Reply!
0 kytty 21 Jan 2015 | 3 replies called 4 times within a few hours after second call i called them a was put on the no call list..... and they still called two more times since Caller: secure id (from caller id) Reply!
+2 Sir Bedevere replies to replies to kytty 21 Jan 2015 | 2 replies Legally, they have 30 days after putting you on their internal no-call list. Sad but true.
Of course, if this is some kind of scam then they're just lying about putting you on an internal no-call list and you'll keep getting these calls forever. Reply!
+2 BigA replies to replies to Sir Bedevere 21 Jan 2015 | 1 reply I thought they had to do it right away. Especially if they have been notified by US mail. I know the DNC takes 30 days for it to take effect. Reply!
+2 Sir Bedevere replies to replies to BigA 21 Jan 2015 I'm pretty sure even internal lists have a buffer period. I don't see how most big operations *could* make it effective immediately. That said, 30 days is ridiculous; a week should be sufficient for anyone. Reply!
0 Joyce 21 Jan 2015 I blocked this # a long time ago. Now they have chngd the dialing pattern, it shows from"Egypt". If you call back a pre-recorded msg states..... Disconnected. Chk your #, and try again. Caller: do not know Reply!
0 Katie 22 Jan 2015 Recommend Call Control app for cell/smart phones...this # was just blocked by the app from a list of community folks that had reported the #. Call type: Telemarketer Reply!
0 jose barajas 22 Jan 2015 This number has called my goverment phone on multiple occassions after being told not to call anymore Reply!
0 jenny 22 Jan 2015 4 calls asks for a person but leaves no message. Reply!
0 nocallfromyou 22 Jan 2015 I recently switched a landline over to VOIP service with number blocking. These guys have called 5 times in the past week (twice today) despite the fact they just hear an "out of service" recording. It doesn't stop them from showing up in the call history again and again. This is a number on the "do not call" list too. Screw them and whatever they're peddling. Reply!
0 lucy 23 Jan 2015 just received a call from this number; no message Reply!
0 HMMMM 23 Jan 2015 Called back and was given the ability to take my number off list. Called me 4 times in the last 2 hours. no voicemail at all. Reply!
0 me replies to replies to CWG40 23 Jan 2015 | 1 reply You might try telling people to download a free app that blocks calls rather than telling people to spend money on something they can get for free. I use Who's call. But there are tons to choose from. Reply!
0 because replies to replies to sam 23 Jan 2015 it's easier in the long run to block calls rather than wait for scammers and spammers to stop calling... Reply!
0 anon replies to replies to me 23 Jan 2015 Not everyone has a smart phone or wants to run their calls through their computer. Reply!
0 stop calling me 23 Jan 2015 These people call 10 times a day..... STOP CALLING ME!! I am on the don NOT call list so Stop Reply!
0 B replies to replies to DAISY 26 Jan 2015 I think my voicemail was hijacked by these people. I had done what you did and called them back and all of a sudden all my calls went to their voicemail!! So have someone call and see where your voicemail goes! I hope yours is ok. Reply!
+1 It does work.. replies to replies to Eric 26 Jan 2015...but only for legitimate, law-abiding businesses. It doesn't stop scammers and spammers who don't give a flip if they're breaking the law... Reply!
0 jvc 26 Jan 2015 Just got a call from this number at 9 in the morning, Pacific Time. The called ID listed it as “Secure ID”. Of course, we didn’t answer but then we never do for these crank calls.
Caller: Secure ID Reply!The above image shows the measurement of single-cell traction force using gel deformation and a fibrous nonlinear elastic model. Each arrow represents the discrete displacement of a fluorescent bead bonded to a collagen fiber. Photo credit: Matthew Hall/Provided
Interactions between an animal cell and its environment, a fibrous network called the extracellular matrix, play a critical role in cell function, including growth and migration. But less understood is the mechanical force that governs those interactions.
A multidisciplinary team of Cornell engineers and colleagues from the University of Pennsylvania have devised a method for measuring the force a cell – in this case, a breast cancer cell – exerts on its fibrous surroundings. Understanding those forces has implications in many disciplines, including immunology and cancer biology, and could help scientists better design biomaterial scaffolds for tissue engineering.
The group, led by Mingming Wu, associate professor in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, developed 3-D traction-force microscopy to measure the displacement of fluorescent marker beads distributed in a collagen matrix. The beads are displaced by the pulling of migrating breast cancer cells embedded in the matrix. An important part of the puzzle was to calculate the force exerted by the cells using the displacement of the beads. That calculation was carried out by the team led by Vivek Shenoy, professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.
The group’s paper, “Fibrous nonlinear elasticity enables positive mechanical feedback between cells and extracellular matrices,” published online Nov. 21 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Matthew Hall, Ph.D. ’16, now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Michigan, is lead author and engineered the collagen matrices used in the study.
Wu – who also was affiliated with the Cornell Center on the Microenvironment and Metastasis at Weill Cornell Medicine, which existed from 2009 through 2015 – said the group’s work centered on a basic question: How much force do cells exert on their extracellular matrix when they migrate?
“The matrix is like a rope, and in order for the cell to move, they have to exert force on this rope,” she said. “The question arose from cancer metastasis, because if the cells don’t move around, it’s a benign tumor and generally not life-threatening.”
It’s when the cancerous cell migrates that serious problems can arise. That migration occurs through “cross-talk” between the cell and the matrix, the group found. As the cell pulls on the matrix, the fibrous matrix stiffens; in turn, the stiffening of the matrix causes the cell to pull harder, which stiffens the matrix even more.
This increased stiffening also increases cell force transmission distance, which can potentially promote metastasis of cancer cells.
“We’ve shown that the cells are able to align the fibers in their vicinity by exerting force,” Hall said. “We’ve also shown that when the matrix is more fibrous – less like a continuous material and more like a mesh of fibers – they’re able to align the fibers through the production of force. And once the fiber is aligned and taut, it’s easier for cells to pull on them and migrate.”
“I’m a strong believer that every new science discovery goes hand-in-hand with new technology development,” she said. “And with every new tool, you discover something new.”
This article has been republished from materials provided by Cornell University. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.
Research paper:
Matthew S. Hall et al. Fibrous nonlinear elasticity enables positive mechanical feedback between cells and ECMs. PNAS; 2016; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1613058113“It took more than 150 years to bring salmon to the brink of extinction; it may take just as long to bring them all the way back.”
The 2016 State of Salmon in Watersheds documents how Washingtonians have responded to the challenges of protecting and restoring salmon and steelhead. It is a tool to summarize achievements, track salmon recovery progress statewide and by recovery region. The Recreation and Conservation Office is required by law to produce this report every two years.
LINK
Some findings from the report:
· In most of the state, salmon are below recovery goals set in federally approved recovery plans. Washington is home to 33 genetically distinct populations of salmon and steelhead, 15 of which are classified as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. Of the 15, 7 are not making progress or are declining, 6 are showing signs of progress but still below recovery goals and 2 are approaching recovery goals.
· Commercial and recreational harvests have declined significantly because of fewer fish and limits on how many fish could be caught to protect wild salmon. Harvest of coho salmon has fallen from a high of nearly 3 million in 1976 to fewer than 600,000 in 2014, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Chinook harvests have followed the same downward trend, with about 970,000 Chinook caught in 1973 compared to 316,000 in 2014.
· The newly created Fish Barrier Removal Board recently released a report indicating that despite two decades of investments, an estimated 35,000 to 45,000 barriers to fish passage remain.
The news is not all bleak. The report also talks about progress made in habitat restoration and hatchery reform.
· For the first time, more permits were obtained in 2014 to remove shoreline armoring (beach walls and bulkheads) than to build new ones in Puget Sound. Softer, more natural shorelines help increase food and shelter for salmon.
· Hatcheries are operated in more fish-friendly ways. Hatcheries operated by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife release millions of fish annually for harvest by recreational, commercial and tribal fishers. But hatchery fish also compete with wild salmon for resources. Today, hatcheries operate under guidelines to ensure they don’t harm wild salmon and steelhead: 88 percent of the state’s hatchery programs meet scientific recommendations to ensure conservation of wild salmon and steelhead, compared with only 18 percent of hatcheries meeting those recommendations in 1998.
· Statewide, an estimated 6,500 barriers to fish passage have been corrected with fish-friendly culverts and bridges in Washington streams, opening an estimated 6,400 miles of habitat to salmon since 2000.
· Restoration projects have improved salmon habitat along the banks of more than 800 miles of shoreline and more than 4,400 acres of estuary. Examples are the work by the Tulalip Tribes, which restored tidal flow to 350 acres on the Snohomish River, providing unrestricted fish access to 16 miles of upstream spawning and rearing habitat, and by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is setting back a mile-long coastal dike to restore the natural tidal flow of Skagit Bay to 131 acres.With all cylinders now firing on NASA’s exploration planning effort, the development and early mission schedule for the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion are starting to fall into place, with dramatic improvements being worked for NASA’s opening crewed Beyond Earth Orbit (BEO) mission with the Orion (MPCV), which is moving to the left by two years.
SLS Missions:
Only one long term manifest for the SLS had been listed in recent months, showing the debut of the Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLV) in 2017 – an unmanned mission around the moon – prior to a four year gap until the crewed version was to be launched.
That manifest showed that it would take until SLS-13 for the debut of the fully evolved 130mt version of the SLS, scheduled for 2032.
The schedule was rightly criticized. However, it was always represented as a worst case scenario manifest – not least because the full mission outline for the SLS launches was yet to be created. This work is currently ongoing under the leadership of former Space Shuttle Program (SSP) manager John Shannon.
The expected realization of an improved manifest is now starting to be fulfilled, just weeks after the SLS was officially announced, in turn allowing for a full test plan effort to be worked.
SLS-1, a 70mt version of the SLS, is still expected to debut in 2017, with a “crew capable” Orion (Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle) being sent on a test trip around the Moon. The 2021 debut of SLS/Orion for the crewed version of this mission is now being pushed to the left by two years, with a launch date of 2019.
The news came via notes associated with a meeting between SLS and Orion managers, which discussed the upcoming Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution (PPBE) process, in turn providing “high level guidance” to schedule planning.
“MOD (Mission Operations Directorate) is to prepare a bottoms up budget for an 2017 un-crewed circum lunar mission. MPCV (Orion) wants that vehicle to be crew capable. Additionally MPCV wants to pull the proposed 2021 manned mission to the left to 2019,” added the notes on L2, dated September 26. “MOD is also to prepare a budget for a 2019 crewed High Lunar Orbit mission.”
This realigned schedule effort slips the Orion Flight Test (OFT-1) – involving the MPCV being sent on a multi-orbit mission around the Earth via a Delta IV-H – to December, 2013. This slip of around six months had been expected for some time, and the test may yet slip into 2014.
The AA2 test – which involves an unmanned ascent abort test of Orion at MaxQ velocities – will follow the OFT-1 mission, although no date has yet been listed.
“The (new) schedule is OFT-1, Dec 2013. AA2 following that mission, then the 2017 and 2019 flight. Guidance from (managers) will be forth coming, as there is open work on procedure, displays, training, etc to support the purposed schedule.”
Unlike the Constellation Program (CxP) – which appeared to start with an unsustainable schedule, prior to almost yearly slips being noted during Program Milestone Reviews (PMRs) – sources note that all SLS mission schedules are being worked with large amounts of margin.
It has been noted that the crewed mission around the moon may even be advanced to 2018, one year after the debut SLS-1 launch, should funding projections remain stable over the coming years. Even with the two year advance to SLS-2, the downstream manifest is expected to improve to the point the evolved SLS may be ready “many years” ahead of the previous schedule.
However, no official notes – which would counter the long-term worst case scenario from SLS-3 onwards – have been published at this time.
SLS Development:
Although teams at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) had already moved from the study phase into the development phase, prior to the official SLS announcement – known as the RAC (Requirements Analysis Cycle) and DAC (Design Analysis Cycle) efforts, with a System Requirements Review (SRR)/Checkpoint Review later this month – there continues to be a notable increase of activity within the SLS related community.
At a public level, NASA leaders met with space flight companies on Thursday in what was known as the SLS industry day – used to discuss acquisition plans for NASA’s new flagship launch vehicle.
The meeting involved hundreds of representatives of aerospace industry companies, small businesses and independent entrepreneurs, hosted at MSFC, providing industry with an overview of the SLS Program and defined its near-term business requirements, including details of NASA’s acquisition strategy for procurement of critical hardware, systems and vehicle elements.
“We’re proud to be where we are today,” noted Marshall Center Director Robert Lightfoot, who used the opportunity to remind people just how much effort went into what turned out to be many, many months of seemingly endless trade studies into the SLS configuration.
“We’ve done the due diligence necessary to get to this point – thousands of configuration trades and studies – and now it’s time for us to start working on the hardware.”
Mr Lightfoot’s “time to start working on hardware” comment appeared to point to earlier comments he made about his frustration with the fallout during the FY2011 budget proposal and post Authorization Act timeframe.
At that time the MSFC leader intimated they had no need to go through yet another study, that they had the vehicle design, and that it was time to start building it – only to be put through several more months of studies, which resulted in the pre-FY2011 winning design of a Shuttle Derived (SD) HLV.
Delayed yet again by a decision to put the vehicle through a cost study, and then only announced days after the estimates had been reviewed, following pressure from several Senators, NASA’s administrator, Charlie Bolden, and deputy administrator, Lori Garver, often took the brunt of the accusations relating to “stalling tactics” – as much as it’s their job to follow orders from their political paymasters.
For SLS/HLV Articles, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/hlv/
Ironically, with SLS now officially announced, Ms Garver is now full of praise for the monster rocket.
“This is a milestone moment for NASA, for our industry partners and for our economy,” noted the Deputy Administrator Lori Garver. “We at NASA have worked hard the past year to analyse and select our Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and space launch systems designs.
“The SLS heavy-lift rocket will take American astronauts farther into space than any human has ever gone before. It will expand our knowledge of the universe, reap benefits to improve life on Earth, inspire millions around the world and create good jobs right here at home.”
Importantly, signs of progress at a program and engineering level are being seen, with an updated SLS presentation acquired by L2 this week, showing both MOD working their involvement into the program, whilst a proposed refinement of the SLS configuration was also shown for the first time (article upcoming).
This “trade study” effort is a natural element of the development drive, although it is encouraging that such changes are being made very early in the post-announcement timeframe, as opposed to Constellation’s continual design changes years into the program, which played a major role in causing delays to the overall schedule.
(Images: Via L2 content, driven by L2′s new SLS specific L2 section, which includes, presentations, videos, graphics and internal updates on the SLS and HLV. Other images via NASA.)
(L2 is – as it has been for the past several years – providing full exclusive SLS coverage, available no where else on the internet. To join L2, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/)"Helsingfors" redirects here. For the village in Västerbotten County, Sweden, see Hälsingfors. For the 2009 Finnish film, see Hellsinki. For the ships, see SS Helsingfors
Capital city in Uusimaa, Finland
Helsinki (;[7][8] Finnish: [ˈhelsiŋki] (); Swedish: Helsingfors [hɛlsɪŋˈfɔʂː] ()) is the capital city and most populous municipality of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of 648,650.[9] The city's urban area has a population of 1,268,296,[10] making it by far the most populous urban area in Finland as well as the country's most important center for politics, education, finance, culture, and research. Helsinki is located 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia, 400 km (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 390 km (240 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It has close historical ties with these three cities.
Together with the cities of Espoo, Vantaa, and Kauniainen, and surrounding commuter towns,[11] Helsinki forms the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, which has a population of nearly 1.5 million. Often considered to be Finland's only metropolis, it is the world's northernmost metro area with over one million people as well as the northernmost capital of an EU member state. After Stockholm and Oslo, Helsinki is the third largest city in the Nordic countries. The city is served by the international Helsinki Airport, located in the neighboring city of Vantaa, with frequent service to many destinations in Europe and Asia.
Helsinki was the World Design Capital for 2012,[12] the venue for the 1952 Summer Olympics, and the host of the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest.
Helsinki has one of the highest urban standards of living in the world. In 2011, the British magazine Monocle ranked Helsinki the world's most liveable city in its liveable cities index.[13] In the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2016 liveability survey, Helsinki was ranked ninth among 140 cities.[14]
Etymology [ edit ]
According to a theory presented in the 1630s, settlers from Hälsingland in central Sweden had arrived to what is now known as the Vantaa River and called it Helsingå ("Helsinge River"), which gave rise to the names of Helsinge village and church in the 1300s.[15] This theory is questionable, because dialect research suggests that the settlers arrived from Uppland and nearby areas.[16] Others have proposed the name as having been derived from the Swedish word helsing, an archaic form of the word hals (neck), referring to the narrowest part of a river, the rapids.[17] Other Scandinavian cities at similar geographic locations were given similar names at the time, e.g. Helsingør in Denmark and Helsingborg in Sweden.
When a town was founded in Forsby village in 1548, it was named Helsinge fors, "Helsinge rapids". The name refers to the Vanhankaupunginkoski rapids at the mouth of the river.[18] The town was commonly known as Helsinge or Helsing, from which the contemporary Finnish name arose.[19]
Official Finnish Government documents and Finnish language newspapers have used the name Helsinki since 1819, when the Senate of Finland moved itself into the city from Turku. The decrees issued in Helsinki were dated with Helsinki as the place of issue. This is how the form Helsinki came to be used in written Finnish.[20] As part of the Grand Duchy of Finland in the Russian Empire, Helsinki was known as Gelsingfors in Russian.
In Helsinki slang, the city is called Stadi (from the Swedish word stad, meaning "city"). Hesa (short for Helsinki), is not used by natives of the city.[1][21] Helsset is the Northern Sami name of Helsinki.[22]
History [ edit ]
Construction of Suomenlinna began in the 18th century.
Early history [ edit ]
In the Iron Age the area occupied by present day Helsinki was inhabited by Tavastians. They used the area for fishing and hunting, but due to a lack of archeological finds it is difficult to say how extensive their settlements were. Pollen analysis has shown that there were cultivating settlements in the area in the 10th century and surviving historical records from the 14th century describe Tavastian settlements in the area.[23]
Swedes colonized the coastline of the Helsinki region in the late 13th century after the successful Second Crusade to Finland, which lead to the defeat of the Tavastians.[24][23]
Founding of Helsinki [ edit ]
Helsinki was established as a trading town by King Gustav I of Sweden in 1550 as the town of Helsingfors, which he intended to be a rival to the Hanseatic city of Reval (today known as Tallinn). Little came of the plans as Helsinki remained a tiny town plagued by poverty, wars, and diseases. The plague of 1710 killed the greater part of the inhabitants of Helsinki.[25] The construction of the naval fortress Sveaborg (in Finnish Viapori, today also Suomenlinna) in the 18th century helped improve Helsinki's status, but it was not until Russia defeated Sweden in the Finnish War and annexed Finland as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809 that the town began to develop into a substantial city. Russians besieged the Sveaborg fortress during the war, and about one quarter of the town was destroyed in an 1808 fire.[26]
Russian Emperor Alexander I of Russia moved the Finnish capital from Turku to Helsinki in 1812[27] to reduce Swedish influence in Finland, and to bring the capital closer to Saint Petersburg. Following the Great Fire of Turku in 1827, the Royal Academy of Turku, which at the time was the country's only university, was also relocated to Helsinki and eventually became the modern University of Helsinki. The move consolidated the city's new role and helped set it on a path of continuous growth. This transformation is highly apparent in the downtown core, which was rebuilt in the neoclassical style to resemble Saint Petersburg, mostly to a plan by the German-born architect C. L. Engel. As elsewhere, technological advancements such as railroads and industrialization were key factors behind the city's growth.
Twentieth century [ edit ]
Despite the tumultuous nature of Finnish history during the first half of the 20th century (including the Finnish Civil War and the Winter War which both left marks on the city), Helsinki continued its steady development. A landmark event was |
the opposition accused her of fostering a personality cult, and of demanding absolute loyalty from AIADMK legislators and ministers who often publicly prostrated themselves before her.[6]
Jayalalithaa first came into prominence as a leading film actress in the mid-1960s. Though she had entered the profession reluctantly, upon the urging of her mother to support the family, Jayalalithaa worked prolifically. She appeared in 140 films between 1961 and 1980, primarily in the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada languages. Jayalalithaa received praise for her versatility as an actor and for her dancing skills, earning the sobriquet "queen of Tamil cinema".[7] Among her frequent co-stars was M. G. Ramachandran, or MGR, a Tamil cultural icon who leveraged his immense popularity with the masses into a successful political career. In 1982, when MGR was chief minister, Jayalalithaa joined the AIADMK, the party he founded. Her political rise was rapid; within a few years she became AIADMK propaganda secretary and was elected to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's Parliament. After MGR's death in 1987, Jayalalithaa proclaimed herself his political heir and, having fought off the faction headed by Janaki Ramachandran, MGR's widow, emerged as the sole leader of the AIADMK. Following the 1989 election, she became Leader of the Opposition to the DMK-led government headed by Karunanidhi, her bête noire.
In 1991 Jayalalithaa became chief minister, Tamil Nadu's youngest, for the first time. She earned a reputation for a punishing work ethic and for centralising state power among a coterie of bureaucrats; her council of ministers, whom she often shuffled around, were largely ceremonial in nature. The successful cradle-baby scheme, which enabled mothers to anonymously offer their newborns for adoption, emerged during this time. Despite an official salary of only a rupee a month, Jayalalithaa indulged in public displays of wealth, culminating in a lavish wedding for her foster son in 1995. In the 1996 election, the AIADMK was nearly wiped out at the hustings; Jayalalithaa herself lost her seat. The new Karunanidhi government filed several corruption cases against her, and she had to spend time in jail. Her fortunes revived in the 1998 general election, as the AIADMK became a key component of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 1998–99 government; her withdrawal of support toppled it and triggered another general election just a year later.
The AIADMK returned to power in 2001, although Jayalalithaa was personally disbarred from contesting due to the corruption cases. Within a few months of her taking oath as chief minister, in September 2001, she was disqualified from holding office and forced to cede the chair to loyalist O. Panneerselvam. Upon her acquittal six months later, Jayalalithaa returned as chief minister to complete her term. Noted for its ruthlessness to political opponents, many of whom were arrested in midnight raids, her government grew unpopular. Another period (2006–11) in the opposition followed, before Jayalalithaa was sworn in as chief minister for the fourth time after the AIADMK swept the 2011 assembly election. Her government received attention for its extensive social-welfare agenda, which included several subsidised "Amma"-branded goods such as canteens, bottled water and salt. Three years into her tenure, she was convicted in a disproportionate-assets case, rendering her disqualified to hold office. She returned as chief minister after being acquitted in May 2015. In the 2016 assembly election, she became the first Tamil Nadu chief minister since MGR in 1984 to be voted back into office. That September, she fell severely ill and, following 75 days of hospitalisation, died on 5 December 2016 due to cardiac arrest.
Early life, education, and family [ edit ]
Jayalalithaa was born on 24 February 1948 at Melukote, Pandavapura taluka, Mandya district, then in Mysore State (now Karnataka) to Jayaram and Vedavalli in Tamil Brahmin Iyengar family.[8][9][10][11]
The name Jayalalitha was adopted at the age of one for the purpose of using the name in school and colleges. It was derived from the names of two houses where she resided in Mysore. One was "Jaya Vilas" and the other "Lalitha Vilas". Her paternal grandfather, Narasimhan Rengachary, was in the service of the Mysore kingdom as a surgeon, and served as the court physician to Maharaja Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV of Mysore. Her maternal grandfather, Rangasamy Iyengar, moved to Mysore from Srirangam to work with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. He had one son and three daughters – Ambujavalli, Vedavalli and Padmavalli. Vedavalli was married to Jayaram son of Narasimhan Rengachary. The couple Jayaram-Vedvalli had two children: a son Jayakumar and a daughter, Jayalalitha.[12] Her mother, her relatives and later co-stars and friends referred her as Ammu.[13]
Jayalalitha's father, Jayaram, was a lawyer but never worked and squandered most of the family money. He died when Jayalalitha was two years old. The widowed Vedavalli returned to her father's home in Bangalore in 1950.[6] Vedavalli learnt shorthand and typewriting to take up a clerical position to help support the family in 1950. Her younger sister Ambujavalli had moved to Madras, working as an air hostess. She also started acting in drama and films using the screen name Vidyavathy. On the insistence of Ambujavalli, Jayalalithaa's mother Vedavalli also relocated to Madras and stayed with her sister from 1952. Vedavalli worked in a commercial firm in Madras and began dabbling in acting from 1953 under the screen name Sandhya. Jayalalitha remained under the care of her mother's sister Padmavalli and maternal grandparents from 1950 to 1958 in Mysore.[6][12] While still in Bangalore, Jayalalithaa attended Bishop Cotton Girls' School.[14] In later interviews, Jayalalithaa spoke emotionally about how she missed her mother growing up in a different city. She had the opportunity to visit her mother during summer holidays.[12]
After her aunt Padmavalli's marriage in 1958, Jayalalitha moved to Madras and began to live with her mother. She completed her education at Sacred Heart Matriculation School (popularly known as Church Park Presentation Convent or Presentation Church Park Convent).[12][15]
She excelled at school and was offered a government scholarship to pursue further education.[14] She won Gold State Award for coming first in 10th standard in the state of Tamil Nadu.She joined Stella Maris College however discontinued her studies due pressure from her mother and became a film actress.[16][17] She was fluent in several languages, including Tamil, Arabic, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam and English.[18]
Her brother's wedding took place at her Veda Nilayam home in Poes Gardens in 1972.[19] Her brother Jayakumar, his wife Vijayalakshmi and their daughter Deepa Jayakumar lived in Poes Garden with Jayalalitha till 1978[20] and then moved to T.Nagar Chennai at the bungalow 'Sandhya Illam' which was bought by mother of Jayalalitha.[21] Her brother was unhappy with adoption of Sudhakaran, a relative of Sasikala, as foster son of Jayalalitha.[22]
Jayalalithaa had adopted Sasikala's nephew Sudhakaran in 1995 and disowned him in 1996.[23] Her brother died in 1995 of heart attack.[24]
She was fond of having dogs as her pets.But after death of Julie, a Spitz, in 1998 she could not bear loss of death of her pets and hence discontinued keeping pet dogs at her home.[25]
Film career [ edit ]
Early career [ edit ]
In Chennai, Jayalalitha was trained in Carnatic music, western classical piano[26] and various forms of classical dance, including Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Mohiniyattam, Manipuri Kathak.[27] She learnt Bharatnatyam and dance forms under K.J.Sarasa. She had also learnt Kuchipudi under Padma Bhushan Guru Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam. She became an accomplished dancer and gave her debut dance performance at the Rasika Ranjani Sabha in Mylapore in May 1960.[28] The Chief Guest at the Arangetram was Shivaji Ganesan, who expressed wish that Jayalalitha becomes a film star in future.[29]
While a child, Jayalalithaa acted in the Kannada-language film Sri Shaila Mahathme (1961), which had Rajkumar and Krishna Kumari in lead roles.[30] She had been taken to the studio by her mother as she was shooting in the same premises for a different film. While Jayalalithaa was watching the shooting, a problem arose as the child actress playing the Goddess Parvathy in a school drama scene in the film failed to show up and the producer Neerlahalli Thalikerappa and director Aroor Pattabhi asked Sandhya if Jayalalitha could be asked to act in the dance sequence. Sandhya agreed and Jayalalitha was swiftly dressed up as Parvathy and the scene was shot in Sri Shaila Mahatme.[31]
She played Krishna in a three-minute dance sequence held on stage in the Hindi film Manmauji (1962) and danced with Kumari Naaz who played Radha. Y. G. Parthasarathy ran the drama troupe United Amateur Artistes (UAA), which staged English and Tamil plays. Soon Jayalalitha while a schoolgirl began acting in some plays of Parthasarathy along with her mother and aunt. She acted in small roles in plays such as Tea House of the August Moon and Undersecretary between 1960 and 1964.
Shankar Giri, the son of the former Indian President V. V. Giri, saw her small role in the English play Tea Houses of August Moon and was impressed. Shankar Giri approached her mother Sandhya and told he wanted to cast her daughter in an English film called The Epistle. Sandhya reluctantly agreed with the condition that shooting should be held only during weekends or school holidays.[28]
Sandhya had acted in the 1964 Tamil film Karnan, produced and directed by Kannada film-maker B. R. Panthulu. Jayalalithaa accompanied her mother to a party related to the film and was spotted by Panthulu, who then decided to cast her opposite Kalyankumar in the Kannada movie Chinnada Gombe. He promised to finish all shooting within two months in order not to interfere with her education. Since Jayalalitha would be studying for her PUC in two months' time, Sandhya had declined the offer initially.[32] Sandhya agreed when that promise was made and Jayalalithaa started acting and she was paid ₹3,000 (equivalent to ₹110,000 or US$1,600 in 2017). Panthulu kept his promise and completed shooting in six weeks. Jayalalithaa had forgotten all about films after acting in her Kannada debut film and had got ready to attend classes at Stella Maris as she had the ambition to be a lawyer. But the Kannada debut film became a blockbuster in 1964 and she became a well-known face.
Meanwhile, Jayalalithaa continued acting in Parthasarathy's plays. She played the leading role in plays such as Malathi, The Whole Truth, and the dance drama Kaveri Thanda Kalaiselvi between 1960 and 1966. She made her debut as the lead actress in Kannada films while still in school, age 15, in Chinnada Gombe (1964).[32] She also appeared in a dance sequence of a song named "Malligeya Hoovinantha" in the movie Amarashilpi Jakannachari (1964).[6]
She made her debut in Tamil theatre in April 1964, when she played a sales girl in the drama named Undersecretary. Parthasarathy and Sandhya were the lead characters, while Jayalalitha and Cho Ramaswamy were paired together and A. R. Srinivasan was also involved. The play was based on the lives of middle aged couple and Jayalaitha played character of sales girl in the drama. Her performance caused Parthasarathy to make her lead heroine in a drama named Malathy. Meanwhile, the films she had shot during her vacation in April–May 1964 – Chinnada Gombe and Manushulu Mamathalu – became blockbusters. By end of 1965, she had become popular among film producers and directors.[32] She was approached by C. V. Sridhar for her Tamil film debut as well. Between 1964 and 1966 she did around 35 shows of drama named Malathy and later discontinued as she became very busy in films.[28] It was during the year 1964, financial debts had increased of Sandhaya and she suggested her daughter make use of the increasing film offers to come her way.[33]
Jayalalithaa's debut in Tamil cinema was the leading role in Vennira Aadai (1965), directed by C. V. Sridhar. She made her debut in Telugu films as lead actress in Manushulu Mamathalu opposite Akkineni Nageshwara Rao. Her last Telugu release was also opposite Akkineni Nageswara Rao in the film Nayakudu Vinayakudu, which was released in 1980.[34] She was the first heroine to appear in skirts in Tamil films.[35] She acted in one Hindi film called Izzat, with Dharmendra as her male costar in 1968.[36] She starred in 28 box-office hit films with M.G. Ramachandran between 1965 and 1973.[37] The first with MGR was B.R. Panthalu's Aayirathil Oruvan in 1965 and their last film together was Pattikaattu Ponnaiya in 1973.[38]
Jayalalitha donated gold jewelleries she had to the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri during the 1965 Indo-Pak war.[39]
She had 11 successful releases in Tamil in 1966. In the opening credits of Arasa Katalai, for the first time her name was affixed with the phrase Kavarchi Kanni.[40] In 1967 she bought her bungalow, Veda Nilayam, in Poes Gardens for ₹1.32 lakh (equivalent to ₹50 lakh or US$70,000 in 2017).[41]
Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar was on the lookout for a regular heroine for his production after he had fight with the actress Savithri after the release of Vetaikkaran, and he signed Jayalalitha on in 1965. She became a regular heroine for production house Devar films from 1966.[42]
Jaishankar was romantically paired with Jayalalithaa in eight Tamil films including Muthuchippi, Yaar Nee?, Nee (film), Vairam, Vandhale Magarasi, Bommalattam (1968 film) (1968), Raja Veetu Pillai and Avalukku Aayiram Kangal whereas the films Thanga Gopuram and Gowri Kalyanam had him play elder brother to her.
Jayalalitha acted in twelve films as heroine opposite N. T. Rama Rao, in Telugu – Gopaludu Bhoopaludu (1967), Chikkadu Dorakadu (1967), Tikka Shankaraiah (1968), Niluvu Dopidi (1968), Baghdad Gaja Donga (1968), Kathanayakudu (1969), Kadaladu Vadaladu (1969), Gandikota Rahasyam (1969), Ali Baba 40 Dongalu (1970), Shri Krishna Vijayam (1970), Shri Krishna Satya (1972), and Devudu Chesina Manushulu (1973). Jayalalitha had eight films with Akkineni Nageswara Rao in Telugu – Manushulu Mamathalu (1965), Aastiparulu (1966), Brahmachari (1968), Aadarsa Kutumbam (1969), Adrushtavanthalu (1969), Bharya Biddalu (1972), Premalu Pellillu (1974) and Nayakudu Vinayakudu (1980).
She also made guest appearance in Telugu film Navarthi (1966). Her films in Telugu also included two films with Krishna and one each with Sobhan Babu, Jaggayya, Ramakrishna and Haranath.[43] She has been given on-screen credit as Kalai Selvi in most of her Tamil films since 1967.[32]
Later career [ edit ]
Between 1965 and 1973, Jayalalithaa starred opposite M. G. Ramachandran in a number of successful films, including Aayirathil Oruvan, Kavalkaran, Adimai Penn, Engal Thangam, Kudiyirundha Koyil, Ragasiya Police 115 and Nam Naadu.[36][48] Cho Ramaswamy cast her in the lead role in his directorial venture Yarrukkum Vetkam Illai.[49]
She acted with Ravichandran in ten films — Gowri Kalyanam (1966), Kumari Penn (1966), Naan (1967), Magarasi (1967), Maadi Veettu Mappilai (1967), Panakkara Pillai (1968), Moondru Yezhuthu (1968), Andru Kanda Mugam (1968), Avalukku Aayiram Kangal and Baghdad Perazhagi (1974).[32] In 1972, she acted opposite Sivaji Ganesan in Pattikada Pattanama, which went on to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil in 1973.
In 1973, she acted in Sri Krishna Satya, which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress in Telugu.[50] Her other films with Sivaji Ganesan include Galatta Kalyanam and Deiva Magan; the latter holds the distinction of being the first Tamil film to be submitted by India for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[51]
Jayalalitha was paired opposite Sivaji Ganesan in 17 films. She acted in six films with R. Muthuraman as a romantic leading pair – Dhikku Theriyadha Kaattil, Thirumangalyam, Kanavan Manaivi, Avandhan Manidhan, Suryagandhi, Anbu Thangai[32] and Muthuraman played supporting roles in Kannan En Kadhalan, Major Chandrakanth, Naan (1967 film), En Annan, Adi Parashakti, Thaer Thiruvizha, Dharmam Engey, Chitra Pournami and Oru Thaai Makkal. She made her debut in Malayalam with Jesus (1973).[52] Her 100th film was Thirumangalyam (1974), directed by A. Vincent.[53]
She was romantically paired opposite Sivakumar in Kandan Karunai and Sri Krishna Leela. Sivakumar played supporting roles in Shakti Leelai, Yarrukum Vetkam Ilali, Thirumangalyam, Annaivelakanni, Kavalkaran, Motoram Sunderapillai and Ganga Gowri.[54]
The heroes of her films never objected to the title of the film being conferred on the female lead played by Jayalalitha. Adimai Penn, Kanni Thaai, and Kannan En Kadhalan had Ramachandran as the lead male hero but the story and the title was built around the character played by Jayalalithaa. Similarly, Engerindo Vandhaal, Sumathi En Sundari, Paadhukaappu and Anbai Thedi had Sivaji Ganeshan as the male lead but the title and the story was built around her character. She did many female-centric films where the story revolved on her character, such as Vennira Adai, Yaar Nee?, Kumari Penn, Nee, Gowri Kalyanam, Magaraasi, Muthu Chippi, Thanga Gopuram, Avalukku Ayiram Kangal, Annamitta Kai, Vandhaale Magaraasi, Suryagandhi, Thirumangalyam, Yarukkum Vetkam Illai, and Kanavan Manaivi.
She received the title "Nadippuku Ilakkium Vahuthuvar" and also won Tamil Nadu Cinema Fan Award for Best Actress for her 100th film in 1974.[55] Her last film in Tamil was Nadhiyai Thedi Vandha Kadal (1980).[36] Her last film as the heroine was Nayakudu Vinayakudu in Telugu,[56] which became the highest grosser of the year in Telugu.
Her successful Kannada films include Badukuva Daari (1966), Mavana Magalu (1965), Nanna Kartavya (1965), Chinnada Gombe (1964) and Mane Aliya (1964). Jayalalithaa holds the record for having been the Tamil actress with maximum silver jubilee hits in her career – 85 hits of 92 Tamil films as main female lead heroine and in addition she also has all 28 films in Telugu as silver jubilee hits.[33] She was the highest paid Indian actress from 1965–1980. She made guest appearances in nine films and six of her films were dubbed into Hindi. She had 119 box office hits between 1961 and 1980, of the total 125 films she did as the main female lead. She made a brief appearance in 1992's Neenga Nalla Irukkanum.[57]
Jayalalithaa won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress for Thanga Gopuram in 1971, Raman Thediya Seethai in 1972, Suryagandhi in 1973, Thirumangalyam in 1974, Yarukkum Vetkam Illai in 1975.[58] She acted in mythological films like Kandan Karunai, Aadhi Parashakti, Shri Krishna Satya, Shri Krishna Vijayam, Shri Rama Katha, Shri Krishna Leela, Shakti Leelai, Ganga Gowri, Annai Velankanni, and Jesus. Her period dramas include Ayirathil Oruvan, Neerum Neruppum, Mani Magudam, Adimai Penn, Ali Baba 40 Dongalu, Arasa Katalai, and Baghdad Perazhagi.
She acquired the reputation of being a multi-faceted actor equally comfortable in fantasy and mythological genres as well as in modern social dramas[59] and hence in 1969, in Tamil Conference, she was given the tag of Kaveri Thandha Kalai Selvi.[60]
She and Saroja Devi have been cited as the first female superstars of Tamil Cinema. She did double roles in eight films.[61]
She received Special Award from Filmfare for her performances in 'Chandhrodhayam', 'Adimai Penn' and 'Engirundho Vandhaal' in the years 1966, 1969 and 1970 as the Filmfare Award for Best Actress was introduced only in 1972.[62] Her performance in Pattikada Pattanama, Suryagandhi were critically acclaimed and won her consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Actress in 1972 and 1973 respectively.
From 1968-73, Jaya at peak of career took interviews and wrote columns in the magazines like Bommai. She wrote a column-Ennanga Selar in magazine Tughlaq in the 1970s. She also wrote short story "Oravin Kaidhigal" for the magazine Kalki, Manadhdai Thotaa Malargal for Thaai magazine in the early 1980s etc.[63] She wrote about her own life in a serialised memoir in the Tamil weekly magazine Kumudam.[64]
In 1980, she decided to voluntarily decline any new film offers. The journalist Brian Laul wrote an article specifying Jayalalitha was trying for a comeback but was not being offered any roles. Jayalalitha chose to respond to him by writing a letter, in which she mentioned that she was not struggling to make any comeback and that she turned down the offer from producer Balaji to star in Billa opposite Rajnikanth. She added she wanted to pursue other interests and was not interested in pursuing her film career any further.[65]
Her closest friends from film industry included Manorama,[66] Cho Ramaswamy,[67] Rajasree, Jamuna, Saroja Devi, Kumari Sachu, Anjali Devi, Sowcar Janaki, Sukumari,[68] Ravichandran, R.Muthuraman, Nagesh, M.N.Nambiar, Venniradai Nirmala, S.A.Asokan, Jaishankar, V.K.Ramaswamy, Major Sunnderajan, P.Susheela, Sheela, M.S.Vishwanathan, L.R.Eshwari, R.S.Manohar.[69]
She quoted on M.G.Ramachandran, "He was a very warm and caring kind of a person. And after Mother died, he replaced her in my life. He was everything to me. He was mother, father, brother, friend, philosopher, guide. Everything. He sort of took over my life." In many of her interviews she often said she entered films on being asked by her mother and entered politics on request by M.G.Ramachandran.[70]
Political career [ edit ]
Early political career [ edit ]
Jayalalithaa denied claims that MGR, who had been chief minister for the state since 1977, was instrumental in introducing her to politics.[6] In 1982, she joined the AIADMK, which was founded by MGR.[71] Her maiden public speech, "Pennin Perumai" ("The Greatness of a Woman"), was delivered at the AIADMK's political conference in the same year[72] and was well received.Even the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the Rajya Sabha member Khushwant Singh came to witness her speech which was widely acclaimed for its clarity of diction and elegant prose.[73] Her seat number in Rajya Sabha was 185,which was coincidentally the same as that of what C.N.Annadurai had while he was a member in the Rajya Sabha.[74][75] In 1983, she became propaganda secretary for the party and campaigned extensively for the party candidate in the by-election for the Tiruchendur Assembly constituency.[71]
Jayalalithaa with then prime minister Manmohan Singh
MGR wanted her to be a member of the Rajya Sabha because of her fluency in English.[76] Indira Gandhi lauded Jayalalitha for the various speeches she made on issues including the one on internal security in Rajya Sabha.[77] Jayalalithaa was elected to that body in 1984 and retained her seat until 1989.[78] Her success in her role as propaganda secretary caused resentment among high-ranking members of the party. By engineering a rift between her and MGR, these members influenced MGR to stop her writing about her personal life in a Tamil magazine. Despite these machinations, she remained admired by the rank and file of the party.[6] She was given key responsibilities, including in the implementation of the landmark noon-meals scheme when M.G.Ramachandran was the CM and this taught her lessons in welfare politics. Later when MGR fell ill, she campaigned extensively for the party before the 1984 election.[79]
In 1984, when MGR was incapacitated due to a stroke, Jayalalithaa was said to have attempted to take over the position of chief minister or the party on the pretext that his health would prevent him from the proper execution of his duties.[80] She successfully led the campaign in the 1984 general elections, in which the ADMK allied with the Congress.[78] Following his death in 1987, the AIADMK split into two factions: one supported his widow, Janaki Ramachandran This faction was called AIADMK(JA)and the other favoured Jayalalithaa called AIADMK(J).Jayalalithaa faction was supported by senior leaders like V.R. Nedunchezhiyan, Aranganayagam, KKSSRR Ramachandran, Thirunavukarasar. Janaki was selected as the Chief Minister on 7 January 1988 with the support of 96 members; due in part to irregularities by speaker P.H. Pandian, who dismissed six members to ease her victory, she won a motion of confidence in the house. However, Rajiv Gandhi used Article 356 of the Constitution of India to dismiss the Janaki-led government and impose president's rule on the state.[6][81][82]
At the age of 41, Jayalalithaa entered the Assembly successfully contesting the subsequent 1989 elections on the basis of being MGR's political heir.[83]
Leader of the Opposition, 1989 [ edit ]
She was elected to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in 1989 as a representative of the Bodinayakkanur (State Assembly Constituency). This election saw the Jayalalithaa-led faction of the AIADMK win 27 seats and Jayalalithaa became the first woman to be elected Leader of the Opposition. In February 1989, the two factions of ADMK merged and they unanimously accepted Jayalalithaa as their leader and the "Two leaves" symbol of the party was restored.[28]
On 25 March 1989, as claimed by the party and a section of the members present in the assembly, amidst heavy violence inside the house among the ruling DMK party members and the opposition, Jayalilatha was brutally attacked by the ruling DMK members in front of the assembly speaker on the behest of Chief Minister Karunanidhi.[84] Jayalalitha left the Assembly with her torn saree -drawing a parallel with the shameful disrobing of Draupadi in the epic Mahabharata.[85][86][87][88][89] At the peak of the situation, Jayalalithaa was about to leave the house, she vowed to not enter the house "until as a Chief Minister".[90][91] In spite of some sections of media terming it as a theatrics, it received a lot of media coverage and sympathy from the public.[92][93][94] During the 1989 general elections, the ADMK allied with the Congress party and was handed a significant victory. The ADMK, under her leadership, also won the by-elections in Marungapuri, Madurai East and Peranamallur assembly constituencies.[78]
First term as Chief Minister, 1991 [ edit ]
In 1991, following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi days before the elections, her alliance with the Indian National Congress enabled her to ride the wave of sympathy that gave the coalition victory.[95][96] The ADMK alliance with the Congress won 225 out of the 234 seats contested and won all 39 constituencies in the centre.[78] Re-elected to the assembly, she became the state's youngest chief minister, and the first woman to serve a full term, serving from 24 June 1991 to 12 May 1996.[78][82] In 1992, her government introduced the "Cradle Baby Scheme". At that time the ratio of male to female in some parts of Tamil Nadu was skewed by the practice of female infanticide and the abortion of female foetuses. The government established centres in some areas, these being equipped to receive and place into adoption unwanted female babies. The scheme was extended in 2011.[97] Her party had 226 elected members to the assembly. Her government was the first to introduce police stations operated solely by women. She introduced 30% quota for women in all police jobs and established as many as 57 all-women police stations. There were other all-women establishments like libraries, stores, banks and co-operative elections.[98] She began to be referred as Thanga Gopuram, Thanga Chillai and Thanga Tharagai (Golden Maiden) by her followers.[99]
She first invited Ford Motor Company to establish business in Tamil Nadu in 1995.This was followed by numerous companies setting up factories here especially from automobiles sector which included Hyundai Motor, BMW, Daimler, Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Wright, Yamaha. Due to this, Chennai began to be called as the Detroit of India under her first term.[100] Royal Enfield made significant expansion in Tamil Nadu and apart from Ashok Leyland, TAFE and TVS Motors became key players in Tamil Nadu.
Loss of power, 1996 [ edit ]
The Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK lost power in the 1996 elections, when it won 4 of the 168 seats that they contested.[101] Jayalalithaa was herself defeated by the DMK candidate in Bargur Constituency.[102] The outcome has been attributed to an Anti-incumbency sentiment and several allegations of corruption and malfeasance against her and her ministers.[96][101] The wedding event of her foster son Sudhakaran, who married a granddaughter of the Tamil film actor Shivaji Ganesan, was held on 7 September 1995 at Chennai and was viewed on large screens by over 150,000 people. The event holds two Guinness World Records: one is for the most guests at a wedding and the other is for being the largest wedding banquet.[6][103][104] Subsequently, in November 2011, Jayalalithaa told a special court than the entire ₹6 crore (equivalent to ₹25 crore or US$3.5 million in 2017) expenses associated with the wedding were paid by the family of the bride.[105]
Her fortunes revived in the 1998 general election, as the AIADMK became a key component of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 1998–99 government; her withdrawal of support toppled it and triggered another general election just a year later.
There were several corruption cases filed against her by the ruling DMK government headed by Karunanidhi. Jayalalitha was arrested on 7 December 1996 and was remanded to 30-day judicial custody in connection with the Colour TV scam, which charged her with receiving kickbacks to the tune of ₹10.13 crore (equivalent to ₹43 crore or US$6.0 million in 2017). The investigation alleged that the amount through the TV dealers were routed in the form of cheques to a relative of Sasikala, who had quoted Jayalalitha's residence as hers. She earlier filed an anticipatory bail in the trial court, which was rejected on 7 December 1996.[106] She was acquitted in the case on 30 May 2000 by the trial court and the High Court upheld the order of the lower court.[107][108]
Though Sudhakaran was adopted by Jayalalitha as her foster son in 1995, when she became aware that Sudhakaran began to interfere in her financial affairs and that he took money without intending to repay, she disowned him in 1996 within one year of adoption.[109]
When questioned on her views on Sasikala, Jayalalithaa quoted in 1996 "Sasikala never functioned as extra constitutional power centre. Calling her defacto chief minister is nonsense. She is not interested in politics and I have no intention to bring her into politics." It annoyed her when people said Sasikala was behind many of her political decisions and termed such news as rubbish and insult to her position as chief minister.[110]
Second term as Chief Minister, 2001 [ edit ]
Jayalalithaa was barred from standing as a candidate in the 2001 elections because she was found guilty of criminal offences, including allegedly obtaining property belonging to a state-operated agency called TANSI. Although she appealed to the Supreme Court, having been sentenced to five years' imprisonment, the matter was not resolved at the time of the elections.[111] Despite this, the AIADMK won a majority and she was installed as Chief Minister as a non-elected member of the state assembly on 14 May 2001.[82] She was also convicted in Pleasant Stay hotel case on 3 February 2000 by a trial court to one-year imprisonment. Jayalalithaa was acquitted in both the TANSI and Pleasant Stay Hotel cases on 4 December 2001 and the Supreme Court upheld the order of the High Court on 24 November 2003.[112][113]
Jayalalitha receiving Prime Minister Modi at Chennai airport
The AIADMK returned to power in |
going to turn the video into a blog and “freedom flash it out.”
The emails also show employees’ attempts to make the work of the attorney general’s office confidential. “Don’t forget to take our name off our appearance,” reads one email from Oklahoma Assistant Attorney General Nicole King. Another email sent to three people in the attorney general’s office reads, “As you will see there is some confidential and highly sensitive confidential information. I am working on a confidentiality agreement based on what the Commission has been approving.”
In keeping with this effort to keep Pruitt’s communications private, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office still has not released all the emails the Center for Media and Democracy first requested more than two years ago. Even after Oklahoma Judge Aletia Haynes Timmons criticized the office for its “abject failure” to follow the open records law, the AG’s office withheld an unspecified number of documents on the grounds that they were privileged. Many of those that it did release were redacted. Judge Timmons ruled that the attorney general’s office has to supply additional records by February 27.
Methane Regulation
On May 2, 2013, Scott Pruitt and 12 other attorneys general sent a letter to the EPA urging the agency to avoid regulating methane emissions. The emails released Tuesday make clear that Devon Energy had a hand in drafting the letter, which argued that voluntary industry efforts to restrict emissions were sufficient, that federal emissions estimates were inaccurate, and that regulating methane fell outside the purview of the law. The letter was meant to counter threats by northeastern states that they would file a lawsuit against the EPA for failing to regulate methane. “In sum,” the letter reads, “regulation of methane emissions from oil and gas facilities is not ‘appropriate’ under the analysis contemplated by [the Clean Air Act].”
William Whitsitt, vice president for public affairs at Devon, had reached out to Oklahoma’s solicitor general, Patrick Wyrick, less than two months before, on March 21, 2013, writing, “Attached is a potential first-cut draft of a letter a (bipartisan if possible?) group of AGs might send to the acting EPA administrator and some others in the Administration in response to the NE states’ notice of intent to sue for more E&P emission regulation.”
Two months later, on May 1, Deputy Solicitor General Clayton Eubanks reached out to the Devon vice president, asking him explicitly for input. “I would like to get the letter out in the morning,” he wrote. “Any suggestions?”
Whitsitt did indeed have suggestions, writing back, “Here you go. Please note that you could use just the red changes, or both red and blue (the latter being some further improvements from one of our experts) or none. Hope this helps.”
Attachments to Pruitt’s emails were not released, leaving it unclear whether the letter remained as unchanged by Pruitt’s office as an October 2011 Devon-drafted letter he signed that was published by the New York Times in a Pulitzer-winning 2014 series. A press release for the May 2 comment boasted about the success of that earlier letter.
“In October 2011, General Pruitt wrote a letter to the nation’s AGs alerting them to new inaccurate methods being used by the EPA to measure the amount of methane gas released into the atmosphere by conventional natural gas wells and unconventional wells used for hydraulic fracturing,” the 2013 release said. “Following the letter and other public comments of concern, the EPA declined to regulate methane emissions from oil and gas facilities, and instead remain within their role of the Clean Air Act to review state standards.”
In May 2016, the Obama administration’s EPA finally released a rule regulating methane emissions on new oil and gas equipment. Three months later, Pruitt joined a lawsuit fighting the rule.
The documents contain additional examples of the ways in which the oil and gas industry shaped Pruitt’s work as attorney general. On January 28, 2014, Stephanie Houle, who was then a staff attorney for the energy company OG&E, reached out to Pruitt’s office to note that “It has come to our attention that the filed PDF version” of the company’s comments on a rule affecting electricity providers “did not capture the revisions OG&E made in redline format. The attached word document should clearly indicate the changes.” While input from public utilities on rules that affect them isn’t necessarily problematic, it indicates a coziness that raises questions.
The emails record the attorney general’s staff setting up numerous meetings with energy company executives: arranging for Pruitt to have dinner at the Petroleum Club, responding to an invitation for dinner at the governor’s mansion with the board of ALEC, and dining time and again with employees of Devon Energy.
In an email, Devon Energy spokesperson John Porretto told The Intercept, “Our engagement with Scott Pruitt as Attorney General of Oklahoma is consistent — and proportionate — with our commitment to engage in conversations with policymakers on a broad range of matters,” adding, “We have a clear obligation to our shareholders and others to be involved in these discussions related to job growth, economic growth and domestic energy. It is important that we give full consideration to policymaker requests for information and expertise on industry issues. It would be indefensible for us to not be engaged in these important issues.”
Oklahoma, like the rest of the country and the world, is already experiencing catastrophic consequences of the kind of unrestrained energy production Pruitt promoted as attorney general. In the past eight years, earthquakes in the state have increased by some 4,000 percent, a change that researchers attribute to the injection of fracking wastewater into the earth. Temperatures and extreme weather events are also on the rise around the country and world.
Pruitt doesn’t seem concerned about how the consequences of his energy and environmental policy will affect the lives, health, and homes of the public at large. But after an unusually severe thunderstorm hit Tulsa in the early morning of 2013, Pruitt did seem concerned about his own house. According to an email his assistant Ashley Olmstead sent that day to Howard L. Ground, manager of governmental and environmental affairs for the Public Service Company of Oklahoma, “General Pruitt asked that I reach out and see if there is any timeline on when he and the surrounding area might begin to have their power restored,” Olmstead wrote, adding, “Hope you are well and that you are getting to spend time with your grandbaby!”One of the major highlights of Animal Kingdom’s new nighttime offerings is having the ability to take a night trip through Kilimanjaro Safaris. Areas of the wildlife preserve are lit lovingly with a sunset-colored light, or fabricated moonlight later in the attraction. It’s something to behold!
Check our little speed-through video below!
Without a doubt, these brand-new nighttime experiences are nothing short of breathtaking and will absolutely turn Animal Kingdom from a “half-day park” into a “full-day park”. The imagineers have put a ton of love and respect into this new endeavor, and it pays off in spades. Guys, if you’re reading this, you should all be very very proud of yourselves. But you don’t need me to tell you that. The proof is in the pudding. Nighttime at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a must-see.
So what do you think? Are you excited to see it all for yourself? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and as always, stick with Inside the Magic for all Disney parks news!The government is determined to protect high-ranking Israeli officials from arrest in the UK, the attorney general said, as it emerged that a further visit by the Israeli military had been cancelled.
Speaking at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem today, Baroness Scotland said Israeli leaders should not face arrest for war crimes under the law of "universal jurisdiction", following attempts by British lawyers last month to obtain a warrant for the former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni.
"The government is looking urgently at ways in which the UK system might be changed to avoid this situation arising again," Scotland said. "Israel's leaders should always be able to travel freely to the UK."
Scotland's assurance comes as the Guardian learned that the Israeli military had cancelled a visit by a team of its officers to Britain after fears they risked arrest on possible war crimes charges.
A group of officers, reportedly from the rank of major up to colonel, were invited by the British army for a meeting on military co-operation but cancelled last week. There were also reports today that Israeli officials feared possible arrest warrants and contacted British authorities to demand a guarantee that the officers would not be arrested.
Last week, British officials reportedly said they could offer no such guarantee and the Israeli military promptly cancelled the visit. The Israeli military, also referred to as the Israel Defence Force, declined to comment. News of the latest cancellation by high-profile Israeli politicians or army officers is likely to intensify debate around the ability of UK-based lawyers to obtain arrest warrants.
In October, Moshe Ya'alon, a former general and current cabinet minister, turned down an invitation to visit London for fear of arrest over an Israeli air strike in Gaza dating back to 2002. Two weeks earlier, lawyers also tried to secure an arrest warrant against Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister, while he was visiting Britain. They did not succeed since as a serving minister Barak still has diplomatic immunity.
Israeli leaders have grown increasingly frustrated about the threat of legal action against individuals and said they would be pressing Scotland to change UK law in meetings today in Jerusalem.
"The risk to senior Israeli figures does concrete and immediate damage to bilateral relations", said the deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, today.
"Organisations that are hostile to Israel try to exploit the legal channels and legal tools to threaten the Israeli and British decision-makers, including the authorities of the attorney general herself, and to thereby create political facts that should be determined around the diplomatic negotiating table."The UK is one of a number of countries where private prosecutions can be brought for alleged war crimes committed abroad. Following the attempt to obtain an arrest warrant for Livni from a London magistrates' court last month, the Guardian reported Foreign Office plans to change the legal process so that the attorney general would first approve warrants before suspected war criminals could be arrested. The "safeguards" were to apply to all visiting foreign leaders, not just Israelis, but provoked outrage from lawyers.
"If there is evidence against Israeli leaders and a judge thinks that there is a case to answer, then why does the process need to be changed?", said Daniel Machover, a partner at Hickman & Rose, whose firm obtained an arrest warrant in 2005 for the Israeli general, Doron Almog.
"In my view, it is not constitutionally proper to give the attorney general involvment at the arrest stage. We would not have a politician standing next to a policeman who decides whether or not to arrest someone, why should we have a politician standing next to a judge?"Hamilton city councillors will vote to reaffirm their commitment to Light Rail Transit (LRT) at a council meeting Wednesday and force the mayor to represent their position.
Coun. Brian McHattie's motion will direct Mayor Bob Bratina to reflect council's stance when he talks about LRT to other levels of government. The proposed LRT line would run 13.5 km from McMaster University to Eastgate Square and cost about $800 million.
Some of Bratina's recent comments "confuse the issue," McHattie said.
"There's the perception of mixed messages when city councillors are saying one thing and the mayor is saying something else."
"If you're the province of Ontario, you wonder what's going on."
Bratina made headlines last week when he was quoted in local media as saying that Hamilton would have to commit to all-day GO service or LRT.
According to Bratina, Premier Kathleen Wynne's comments alluded that the city "would have to look at" whether it wants the province to extend all-day, two-day GO service to Stoney Creek or to reaffirm its commitment to a lower-city LRT line.
But Kelly Baker, Wynne's spokesperson, said that does not accurately reflect the province's position.
"The government is committed to all-day GO service, and that is unrelated to our plans for Hamilton LRT," she said.
Coun. Sam Merulla successfully initiated a motion to censure the mayor last year.
"The only reason I'm not seeking a censure is due to compassionate grounds surrounding his obvious issues and our need not to be distracted by nonsense," Merulla said.
By "issues," he said, he is referring to the mayor inconsistently communicating council positions.
The motion will also direct Bratina to include councillors McHattie, Jason Farr and Lloyd Ferguson — members of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce LRT task force — on correspondence with the province.
Bratina said he has no reason to oppose the motion.
"It simply reflects our procedural bylaw and the Municipal Act with regard to dealing with other levels of government, and so I have no reason to oppose it since this has always been my practice," he told CBC Hamilton in an email.
The council-approved plan for LRT is already in the hands of Metrolinx, and the next issue will be how to fund it, Bratina said.
"At some point, council will decide on how to proceed upon receiving a report from our director of finance which will show how the strategy impacts on local residents."
McHattie worries an inconsistent message could jeopardize the project.
"There are a lot of competing projects in the GTA and Hamilton," he said. "If it's easier to put money into Mississauga because there's no confusion or hint of controversy, that's where they'll put their money."
Also on Wednesday's council agenda:
Confirming a memorandum of understanding between the city and the Hamilton Port Authority to take control of Piers 7 and 8. The city plans to open the waterfront lands to commercial and residential development.
Confirming Wi-Fi installation at 26 city recreation centres, community centres and arenas.
The meeting starts at city hall at 5 p.m. CBC Hamilton reporter Samantha Craggs (@SamCraggsCBC) will tweet throughout the meeting.NASSAU, Bahamas — When Kentucky Coach John Calipari bestowed perhaps his highest compliment on Alex Poythress Sunday, he wasn't kidding. Actually, he was Michael Kidd-ing, as in Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
Calipari likened the he's-everywhere performance he saw from Poythress to Kidd-Gilchrist, whose intangibles helped Kentucky win the 2012 national championship.
In kicking off UK's Bahamas trip with a 74-49 victory over reserves for the Puerto Rico National Team, Poythress did almost all. He jumped center. He rebounded. He dunked. He defended. He provided a presence.
What Poythress didn't do was make jump shots, missing his only three-point attempt and two of his four free throws. Then again, Kidd-Gilchrist was nobody's idea of a jump shooter and became the soul of a national championship team (and the overall second pick in a NBA Draft).
Sign Up and Save Get six months of free digital access to the Lexington Herald-Leader
"That's what 'Michael Kidd' was," Calipari said. "'Michael Kidd' was exactly the same thing."
Until Sunday, the idea of comparing Poythress (or just about any player) to Kidd-Gilchrist might seem a jest. In his first two UK seasons, Poythress was the subject of concern for UK fans and coaches, who frequently yearned for more because of his combination of size and athleticism.
Against the Puerto Ricans, Poythress rebounded a missed free throw and scored on a putback inside the first two minutes. It was a prelude of things to come. Later, he ripped a rebound away from an opponent and scored. And when the Puerto Ricans scored in transition enough times to annoy Calipari, Poythress got the UK coach to clap his approval by knocking another driver to the floor.
"He was aggressive," Calipari said. "Came up with balls out of nowhere.
"He just does things that normal players can't do. And to be honest, the stuff he does, I can't teach. I wish I could, but I can't."
Calipari, who labeled Poythress' busy stat line (10 points, six rebounds, one block officially) as "as good as he's played" for Kentucky.
Seldom willing to self-promote or reveal deeply-held thoughts, Poythress allowed that his play represented "a great start to build on."
A building block to add might be perimeter shooting. In the relaxed atmosphere of a half-filled Kendal G. L. Isaacs National Gymnasium, Calipari came onto the floor during warmups and seemingly offered advice on shooting technique. Leaning backward in an exaggerated fashion, Calipari seemed to be telling Poythress to stay perpendicular to the floor as he rose for a shot.
"He's still not a consistent shooter," Calipari said. "We have to work with that."
A killer jump shot seems like an unfair extravagance given Poythress' combination of size and spring.
When asked what he thought Calipari meant by saying the player had attributes that a coach can't instill, Poythress said, "Just use my athletic ability to my advantage.... I try to use my god-given abilities."
But, Calipari added, Poythress is more than the sum of vertical leap and foot-pound measurements.
"He's got a toughness to him," the UK coach said.
That came as a surprise given Poythress' history of soft-spoken sessions with reporters. But fresh in mind was the sight of Poythress taking the rebound from one Puerto Rican player and flattening another.
"Not many players can play that way," Calipari said. "That means you're in great condition. You're mentally tough and you're mentally aware and you're mentally on point. Because that's the best part of what you do."
No special reason Poythress jumped center to start the game, Calipari said. In another starting lineup, Marcus Lee or freshman Karl-Anthony Towns might.
Poythress played power forward rather than small forward, the latter the position he said last week he wanted to win. After the victory over Puerto Rico, he amended that statement.
"Both of them feel natural to me," he said.
Coincidentally or not, Calipari extended the Poythress/Kidd-Gilchrist analogy to the current Cats and the 2012 champs in terms of capability of overwhelming opponents with transition offense.
"It's going to take us time to get to where we were in 2012 when we flew," the UK coach said. "That ball went (or) missed, and here we come. And we've got to get to that point. That means Aaron (Harrison) and Alex and other guys, you've got to fly. But that doesn't mean you leak out. It means you've... got to sprint."Several theories propose that the cortex implements an internal model to explain, predict, and learn about sensory data, but the nature of this model is unclear. One condition that could be highly informative here is Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS), where loss of vision leads to complex, vivid visual hallucinations of objects, people, and whole scenes. CBS could be taken as indication that there is a generative model in the brain, specifically one that can synthesise rich, consistent visual representations even in the absence of actual visual input. The processes that lead to CBS are poorly understood. Here, we argue that a model recently introduced in machine learning, the deep Boltzmann machine (DBM), could capture the relevant aspects of (hypothetical) generative processing in the cortex. The DBM carries both the semantics of a probabilistic generative model and of a neural network. The latter allows us to model a concrete neural mechanism that could underlie CBS, namely, homeostatic regulation of neuronal activity. We show that homeostatic plasticity could serve to make the learnt internal model robust against e.g. degradation of sensory input, but overcompensate in the case of CBS, leading to hallucinations. We demonstrate how a wide range of features of CBS can be explained in the model and suggest a potential role for the neuromodulator acetylcholine. This work constitutes the first concrete computational model of CBS and the first application of the DBM as a model in computational neuroscience. Our results lend further credence to the hypothesis of a generative model in the brain.
The cerebral cortex is central to many aspects of cognition and intelligence in humans and other mammals, but our scientific understanding of the computational principles underlying cortical processing is still limited. We might gain insights by considering visual hallucinations, specifically in a pathology known as Charles Bonnet syndrome, where patients suffering from visual impairment experience hallucinatory images that rival the vividness and complexity of normal seeing. Such generation of rich internal imagery could naturally be accounted for by theories that posit that the cortex implements an internal generative model of sensory input. Perception then could entail the synthesis of internal explanations that are evaluated by testing whether what they predict is consistent with actual sensory input. Here, we take an approach from artificial intelligence that is based on similar ideas, the deep Boltzmann machine, use it as a model of generative processing in the cortex, and examine various aspects of Charles Bonnet syndrome in computer simulations. In particular, we explain why the synthesis of internal explanations, which is so useful for perception, goes astray in the syndrome as neurons overcompensate for the lack of sensory input by increasing spontaneous activity.
Funding: This work was supported in part by grants EP/F500385/1 and BB/F529254/1 for the University of Edinburgh School of Informatics Doctoral Training Centre in Neuroinformatics and Computational Neuroscience ( www.anc.ed.ac.uk/dtc ) from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), and the UK Medical Research Council (MRC). It was also supported by a fellowship within the Postdoc-Programme of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Hence, with visual input degraded due to eye disease or other defects in the visual pathways, homeostatic over compensation is a strong contender to be the neuronal cause underlying the emergence of hallucinations in CBS. This is the mechanism we explore in our computational model.
A neuron might track its current activity level by measuring its internal calcium levels, and several cellular mechanisms have been identified that could then implement its homeostatic adaptation. Among them is ‘synaptic scaling’, a change to synaptic efficacy that is thought to affect all synapses in a neuron together, keeping their relative strengths intact. Alternatively, the intrinsic excitability of a neuron can be regulated by changing the distribution of ion channels in the membrane. Both mechanisms have been observed experimentally, dynamically regulating neuronal firing rate over a time-span from hours to days [34] in compensation for external manipulations to activity levels–in particular, in response to an activity decrease caused by sensory deprivation.
Such adaptive changes of neuronal excitability have been studied extensively over the last two decades in experimental and theoretical work on homeostatic plasticity (see [31] for review; also [32], [33] ). Rather than deeming them artifacts or epiphenomena, such changes have been attributed important physiological functions, allowing neurons to self-regulate their excitability to keep their firing rate around a fixed set-point. Homeostatic regulation is thought to stabilise activity in neuronal populations and to keep firing within the neurons' dynamic range, compensating for ongoing changes to neuronal input either due to Hebbian learning, or due to developmental alterations of the number of synapses, connectivity patterns, etc.
How deficient input in CBS leads to the emergence of hallucinations is unclear. Classic psychological theories suggest that the lack of input somehow ‘releases’ or dis-inhibits perceptual representations in visual association cortex. This somewhat vague notion has been made more concrete by taking neuroscientific evidence into account which shows that cortex deafferentiated from input becomes hyper-excitable and generates increased spontaneous activity. As [14] argues (also [12] ), changes to neuronal excitability as a consequence of decreased presynaptic input, based on for example synaptic modifications, could thus underlie the emergence of neuronal activity which establishes hallucinatory perception in CBS.
While hallucinations in general might relate to an imbalance of bottom-up and top-down in the cortex, the causes behind specifically CBS and the involved mechanisms are poorly understood (for discussion, see [1], [4], [12], [15] ). Evidence from CBS and other pathologies suggests that an intact visual association cortex is necessary as well as sufficient for complex visual hallucinations to occur (e.g. [15] ). For example, lesions to visual cortex can cause hallucinations, but only if they are localised to earlier areas and do not encompass the higher association cortex. One of the insights emerging from the debate is that the pathology in CBS appears to entail primarily a loss of input at stages prior to association cortex. In contrast, hallucinations accompanying epilepsy, for example, are thought to be caused by an irritative process that directly stimulates association cortices.
As Yu and Dayan [27] state, a shortcoming of concrete Bayesian models such as theirs is that they are often formulated over very simple, low-dimensional, non-hierarchical variables. It is not clear how their treatment of priors and uncertainty translates to models that deal with high-dimensional problems like images in a biologically plausible manner. This is what we need to address if we hope to develop a computational model of CBS, and in this context we will introduce a novel model of the action of acetylcholine in similar spirit to Yu and Dayan's framework.
In computational neuroscience over the last two decades, this notion of analysis by synthesis and related ones have often been framed in probabilistic or ‘Bayesian’ terms. Generally speaking, Bayesian approaches theoretically describe how inferences about aspects of the environment are to be made from observations under uncertainty (for reviews and introductions, see [24] – [26] ). For hallucinations, the relevant aspect of Bayesian models could be that they offer a way of formalising notions of ‘bottom-up’ processing driven by sensory input, and internally generated, ‘top-down’ processing conveying prior expectations and more high-level learnt concepts. An imbalance of, or erroneous interaction between, such ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’ information could underlie hallucinations [27] – [29]. More concretely, the mathematical entities in a Bayesian model or inference algorithm could map to neural mechanisms and processing in the cortex. For example, inference in a hierarchical model could describe hierarchical processing [21]. Top-down processing then would correspond to information flow from higher areas to lower areas, and inference would be implemented via recurrent interactions between cortical regions. Similarly, in the model of Yu and Dayan [27], a concrete biological mechanism is hypothesised to represent the uncertainty of the prior, namely the neuromodulator acetylcholine. The authors thus refer the latter's relevance in some hallucinatory pathologies as evidence, where deficient acetylcholine, corresponding to an over-emphasis of top-down information in Yu and Dayan's account, could lead to hallucinations [6], [15], [30].
The occurrence of complex visual hallucinations in various pathologies [6], [15] as well as the imagery we all experience in dreams show that the brain is capable of synthesising rich, consistent internal perceptual states even in the absence of, or in contradiction to, external stimuli. It seems natural to consider hallucinations in the context of theoretical accounts of perception that attribute an important functional role to the synthesis of internal representations in normal perception, not just in pathological conditions. In particular, one relevant notion is that of perception entailing an ‘analysis by synthesis’, which is an aspect of approaches such as predictive coding or Adaptive Resonance Theory [16] – [23]. The idea is that ambiguous sensory signals inform initial hypotheses about what is in an image in a bottom-up fashion (from low-level image features to high-level concepts, like objects and faces). These hypotheses are then made concrete in a synthesis stage that tests a hypothesis against the image (or low-level representation thereof) by making top-down predictions using a generative process.
CBS is a complex phenomenon with manifold symptoms and little data beyond clinical case reports and case series. The aim of our computational model is thus to qualitatively elucidate on possible underlying mechanisms, to demonstrate how several common aspects of CBS could be explained, and to gain some potential insights into the nature of cortical inference.
Fourth, with regards to the issue of whether CBS should refer to hallucinations in the context of eye diseases only, our model is meant as a model of processing in the cortical hierarchy, and due to the level of abstraction we only require that visual input is lost somewhere at a preceding stage and do not differentiate further. We do however address the distinct roles of cortical areas within the hierarchy.
Third, we consider hallucinations on the complex end of the spectrum, i.e. objects, people, and so forth. As we currently lack good generative models of realistic images (biological or otherwise, not counting here of course purely generative algorithms from computer graphics that cannot be inverted for inference) the model we employ still relies on relatively simple binary images. However, it attempts to capture at least some aspects of how complex, object-based hallucinations might be created in the brain. For example, the content of complex hallucinations presumably cannot be accounted for by appealing to anatomical organisational properties of lower visual areas, which [14] suggested for simpler hallucinations of geometric patterns in CBS (referring to anatomical “stripes” in V2 etc.). Our model relies on distributed, high-dimensional, hierarchical representations that go beyond local low-level visual features (e.g. V1-like edge detectors). The representations are learnt and reflect structure in sensory data beyond local correlations.
Second, in the context of CBS we are interested in hallucinations that are perceptually rich in the sense that the experience is similar to that of actual seeing. Presumably, this implies that the representations instantiated in the neuronal activity patterns share significant commonalities in both seeing and hallucinating, though this requires further elaboration.
For this modelling study, we identify the following key aspects of CBS we aim to capture and elucidate on. First, we take the common definition of hallucinations as compelling perceptual experiences in the absence of external stimuli. They are to be contrasted [4], [6] to illusions as misperceptions concerning an actual external stimulus, as well as to mental imagery. Unlike hallucinations, the latter is under complete volitional control, lacks perceptual vividness (it appears to be ‘in the mind's eye’ rather than in the world), and might also have a different neurobiological substrate [13].
The eponym CBS itself is somewhat ambiguous or even controversial [4], [11] – [13]. Some authors put the emphasis on complex hallucinations in visually impaired but psychologically normal people, where the visual pathology can be anywhere in the visual system from the retina to cortex; others define CBS to be necessarily related to eye diseases only. Similarly, the delineation of the term ‘complex’, and whether CBS should include complex hallucinations only, appears to be not fully clear. On one end are simple or elementary hallucinations consisting of flashes, dots, amorphous shapes, etc., while on the other are fully formed objects or object parts like animals, people, and faces [4], [6]. Somewhere in between are geometric patterns (‘roadmaps’, brickwork, grids, and so forth). Some authors include the latter in CBS [13], [14]. It should be noted that simple hallucinations are actually more common in visually impaired patients than complex ones, with a prevalence of about 50% vs. about 15%, respectively [4]. Both types can occur in individual subjects, possibly with a tendency to progress from simple to complex over time.
CBS is characterised by complex recurring visual hallucinations in people who suffer from visual impairment but no other psychological condition or hallucinations in other modalities [1] – [4]. In particular, patients generally gain insight into the unreality of their experiences. The phenomenology of CBS is multifarious, with the nature and content of hallucinatory episodes as well as the conditions favouring their occurrence varying from patient to patient or episode to episode. Common themes are the vividness and richness of detail of the hallucinations, the elaborate content often entailing images of people or animals (though often of a bizarre nature–figures in elaborate costumes, fantastic creatures, extreme colours, etc.), as well as possibly common triggers, such as being in a state of drowsiness and low arousal. Episodes can last from seconds to hours, and hallucinations can reoccur over periods lasting from days to years.
The purpose of this computational study is hence threefold. First, to gain theoretical insights into important principles of cortical inference by employing the deep Boltzmann machine (DBM) as a model system which is based on such (hypothetical) principles. Second, to examine concrete causal mechanisms for CBS, we model homeostatic regulation of neuronal firing activity, elucidating on various aspects of CBS. Moreover, to examine a potential role of the neuromodulator acetylcholine, we introduce a novel model of its action as mediating the balance of feedforward and feedback processing in the cortical hierarchy. And third, with our results we aim to demonstrate the relevance of Deep Learning approaches such as the DBM as models of cortical processing. A preliminary version of the presented work has been published [10].
From a theoretical perspective, there has been an attempt to unify complex visual hallucinations in various pathologies in a single qualitative model [6], but many argue that the underlying causal mechanisms are too varied to do so [7] – [9]. That hallucinations occur in many different circumstances however speaks to them relating to essential aspects of perceptual processing. Thus, theoretical explanations that pose that perception inherently involves some form of active synthesis of internal representations might be well positioned to shed light on the generation of spontaneous imagery in hallucinations, which occur even in CBS where there seems to be little defect in the visual system other than at the input stage. Therefore, two key questions arise here: what do complex hallucinations tell us about perceptual processing in general, and what are the mechanisms triggering CBS in particular?
Visual hallucinations can offer fascinating insights into the mechanisms underlying perceptual processing and the generation of visual experience in the brain. A pathology known as Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS) [1] – [4] is of particular interest, for two reasons. First, hallucinations in CBS can be very complex in the sense that they entail vivid, life-like, and elaborate imagery of objects, people, animals, or whole visual scenes. Second, the primary cause of CBS is loss of vision due to eye diseases, with no clear pathology in the brain itself and no necessary impairment to mental health other than the hallucinations. De-afferentation of the visual system and sensory deprivation thus seem to be the important factors in the development of CBS, and comparisons have been made to phantom limb phenomena. Unlike for example in the case of schizophrenia, most often accompanied by auditory hallucinations [5], in CBS there thus does not seem to be a more pervasive malfunction of the cognitive system, but rather some form of over-compensation or maladaptation of the relatively healthy brain to the lack of sensory stimulation.
For the more varied MNIST data set, there are no fixed templates, nor do generated images necessarily match instances from the training set (which is the point of having a model that can generalise, as mentioned above). To obtain a measure of hallucination quality, we classified the decoded image as belonging to any of the digit categories, using the confidence of the classifier as a measure of the image's quality. Specifically, we used an instance of the DBM model itself (not affected by homeostasis) with a classification unit attached (see e.g. [67] ). Taking the maximum of the posterior over the digit categories again yielded a measure with maximum value 1. Inspecting the generated image and resulting posterior values, we also confirmed that for images that did not look like well-defined MNIST digits, classification scores computed in this manner tended to be lower. It should be noted that the aim of our work was not achieving high classification performance, hence we did not train the full model, fine-tune the hyper-parameters, nor necessarily implement classification in an ideal fashion. Classification is merely used to analyse the quality of the internal representations. The reported error rate for MNIST (7%) is hence higher than the state of the art, the latter being around 1% for this type of model (e.g. [68] ).
To analyse the perceptual state of the model, we decoded the states of the hidden layers as described earlier, obtaining a reconstructed image for each layer at each sampling step. To evaluate the internal representations w.r.t. their possibly hallucinatory content, we analysed whether the decoded images corresponded to the kind of objects the models had learnt about in training, using the topmost hidden layer's states after 50 sampling cycles for quantitative analysis. For the shapes data set, we employed a simple template matching procedure, matching the image to the shape templates used in training by convolving the former with the latter (each image had its mean subtracted and was then normalised). The maximum value of the resulting 2D vector was taken as quantitative measure for the correspondence, termed the ‘hallucination quality’, where a perfect match corresponded to a hallucination quality of 1.
To measure the preferred activity for each hidden neuron, we averaged its activation over all training data (after learning), with one trial per input image consisting of 50 sampling cycles. Here and elsewhere, the hidden states were generally initialised to zero at the start of a trial. Similarly, to measure the current average activation during homeostatic adaptation, activities were measured over 50 cycles in 100 trials per iteration. Depending on the experiment in question, the visible units were set to a different image for each trial or remained blank (when modelling complete blindness). The adaptation rate was set to 0.1 and 0.04 for models trained on shapes or MNIST, respectively, with a lower rate for MNIST as the model was found to effectively adapt faster for this data set. For the overall results, the precise value of the rate did not matter.
For MNIST, the visible layer had units corresponding to the size of the images in pixels, and,, and units in the three hidden layers, from lowest to highest, respectively. Receptive field sizes were,, and. The model was trained layer-wise for 30 epochs (i.e. iterations through the training data) in each layer, using 5-step Persistent Contrastive Divergence (Supplementary Text S1 ). The training set contained 60,000 images, 6,000 per digit category (0 to 9). For the shapes data set, the visible layer had units and the hidden layers units each, with receptive field sizes,,. Here, layer-wise training consisted of 30 epochs of 1-step Contrastive Divergence (Supplementary Text S1 ). The training set |
Republicans in the Senate against him. His personal attack on MSNBC anchor Mika Brzezinski was roundly denounced by politicians -- and humans -- of all stripes.
Take just this week as an example of what Trump's Twitter addiction is doing to his presidency.
* Monday (9 tweets, 3 retweets): Trump used Twitter to twice attack Ken Frazier after the Merck CEO stepped down from a presidential council on manufacturing due to Trump's tepid condemnation of the white supremacists and Neo-Nazis who protested in Charlottesville. Trump tweeted: "Now that Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President's Manufacturing Council, he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!"
Tuesday (2 tweets): A slow day on social media for Trump -- although he made lots and lots of news when, in a press availability at Trump Tower, A slow day on social media for Trump -- although he made lots and lots of news when, in a press availability at Trump Tower, he said there was blame on "on both sides" for Charlottesville and that the removal of the Lee statue would lead to a sort of culture relativism that would eliminate statues of past presidents like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. ( Presidential historian Tim Naftali disagrees.)
Despite the relative paucity of tweets, Trump did manage to take a shot at the growing number of CEOs following Frazier's lead in resigning from White House executive councils following the controversy caused by what the President said (and didn't say) after Charlottesville. Trump tweeted: "For every CEO that drops out of the Manufacturing Council, I have many to take their place. Grandstanders should not have gone on. JOBS!"
* Wednesday (12 tweets, 4 retweets): Trump started his hump day bright and early with a 6:12 a.m. ET attack on Amazon. Trump started his hump day bright and early with a 6:12 a.m. ET attack on Amazon. Trump tweeted: "Amazon is doing great damage to tax paying retailers. Towns, cities and states throughout the U.S. are being hurt - many jobs being lost!" (Amazon owner Jeff Bezos has been a regular target for Trump, likely due to Bezos' ownership of The Washington Post.) Three hours later, Trump retweeted Harlan Hill, a prominent Trump ally, who, two days earlier, had sent this: "Watching MSM you would have no idea @realDonaldTrump clearly, unambiguously & repeatedly condemned the bigotry & violence in Charlottesville."
Thursday (8 tweets): Trump has taken it to another level today. Not only did he attack Graham and Trump has taken it to another level today. Not only did he attack Graham and offer words of praise for a primary challenger to Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, he also seemed to cast the removal of the Lee statue as a first step in a broader elimination of a culture he very much values.
"Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments," he tweeted. Worth noting: The Lee statue in question was built in the 1920s, according to Naftali. "The push to remove these statues is not equivalent to an ahistorical effort to remove the story of the Confederacy from US history," Naftali said
Trump's sum total for 4 (really 3 1/2) days: 31 tweets, 7 retweets.
For Trump, each tweet and retweet represents a small victory for him over his many enemies (some within his administration, the media, Democrats, liberals, PC police, etc., etc.). As he sees it, he's already spoken directly to his 36 million Twitter followers 38 times this week, delivering exactly the message he wanted to send. And no one could stop him!
The obvious problem here is that Trump isn't the President of just his (shrinking) base. He is the President of everyone -- including the 65 million+ people who voted for Hillary Clinton and the tens of millions of eligible voters who didn't vote for either candidate.
That's the fundamental difference between being president and being a candidate for president. In the latter role, all you need to know is make sure the people who love you really love you -- and turn out to vote for you. In the former role, you are asked to be bigger, more magnanimous -- a leader not just for one party or the other but for the country.
Trump, largely through his tweets and other off-the-cuff pronouncements in the five days since the Charlottesville tragedy, has abdicated that role of moral leader of the country. Throwing red meat to a base hungry for it is the opposite of what is required of a leader in moments like these.
And, from a purely political perspective, Trump's burn-all-the-bridges approach to politics -- with Twitter as his preferred incendiary device -- makes little sense either.
Trump may not like McConnell or Graham or McCain or Flake (or Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, whom he has also bashed on Twitter ), but the reality is that they are elected representatives who he needs to pass his agenda. (The failure of health care reform is indicative of just how direct -- and negative -- an impact Trump's burn-the-bridges approach has on his agenda.)
You can't spend your day running down a guy's car to everyone you meet and then ask him for a ride home. That's not how the world works. But it is how Trump operates. And it's why his presidency is headed in reverse.
The problem with burning every bridge you come across is that, eventually, you will be stranded -- a man on an island. Which is exactly where Trump finds himself today.The prime minister draws a distinction between sexuality and the controversial marriage issue – but pledges to accept the verdict of a plebiscite
Tony Abbott says 'it's OK to be gay' but insists same-sex marriage is not OK
Tony Abbott has affirmed the principle that “it is OK to be gay” as he drew a distinction between the dignity of people regardless of their sexuality and the issue of same-sex marriage.
The prime minister, who firmly opposes same-sex marriage, also said he would “accept wholeheartedly” the verdict if Australians endorse the change in the so-called people’s vote he has promised some time in the next term of parliament.
The Coalition held a six-hour meeting to wrestle with internal divisions over the issue two weeks ago and decided against granting its MPs and senators a free vote on the issue during this term of parliament.
Abbott emerged from the meeting flagging a plebiscite or referendum after the next election, although senior ministers – including the attorney general, George Brandis – publicly rejected a referendum on the basis that no change to the constitution was needed.
The Liberal backbencher Warren Entsch sought support from colleagues for same-sex marriage by highlighting a video by Lachlan Beaton, who described how he had kept his sexuality hidden for 12 years because he felt it was wrong to be gay.
Abbott was asked during a radio interview on Monday whether he had seen Beaton’s video, which urges MPs to support same-sex marriage to help young Australians who are struggling to come to terms with their sexuality.
“I haven’t seen the video but his case has been raised with me by, funnily enough, one of your radio rivals, Alan Jones,” Abbott told 2UE’s Justin Smith.
“He made the point to me privately, it has to be said, that what this gentleman wants is someone to say that it’s OK to be gay and look, I’m happy to say that. I’m very happy to say that.
“I think it’s absolutely clear that there are two different issues here. One is the rights and dignity of people regardless of their sexuality and the other is whether we want to move down the track of same-sex marriage and I think they’re two different issues.”
Beaton, 34, who grew up in regional Victoria but is now based in Sydney where he is campaigning on mental health issues, welcomed Abbott’s remarks as sending a positive signal to young people who were struggling with feelings of exclusion.
“The whole reason I came out with this video is that I felt that decision makers are not taking into account the impacts that this can have on same-sex-attracted people,” Beaton said.
“Like him or not, he is the leader of the country. If I heard him say it’s OK to be gay, it’s OK to be yourself, I would have felt far more comfortable talking about my sexuality as a child rather than all I’ve ever heard him say up to today is that gay people can’t be married.”
Beaton said he hoped Abbott’s remarks would also send a message to the whole community that delegitimised discrimination on the basis of sexuality.
In the radio interview, Abbott was also asked whether he thought change was inevitable. Abbott said if same-sex marriage was legalised it “should be change by the whole people rather than change simply brought about by the parliament” because it was a very personal issue.
“I take the traditional position that marriage is between a man and a woman,” he said.
“It’s been the position since time immemorial. I don’t say that there can’t be change. There are many things that were taken for granted in previous times that we no longer take for granted. There were things that were just regarded as the natural order of things in times past which we now think were dead wrong and it’s to our credit that we now think those things are dead wrong.
“So I’m not saying that change is out of the question, I’m just saying that if there is to be change it should be change that’s owned by the people, not just by the parliament.”
Abbott’s comment contradicts his statement to parliament in May that the decision “ought to be owned by the parliament and not by any particular party”. The original remark was in response to the introduction of a private member’s bill by the Labor leader, Bill Shorten, and was interpreted as signalling a preference for the parliament to consider a cross-party bill co-sponsored by MPs from all sides of politics.
When asked on Monday whether he would support the people’s decision if they voted to support same-sex marriage, Abbott said: “Obviously I’ll accept it wholeheartedly because that’s what you do in a democracy. When the people speak on something which has been rightly and properly entrusted to them you respect the decision.”Communities The beauty of the wood pile
The six-and-a-half pound maul making its way around my head travels through the October sunshine: dull gray, blunt, serious as an elk in rut. It windmills beneath the yellow larch needles and outstretched arms of evergreens, their fall odors incensing an already heady mix of dried grass, wood smoke, and sun-warmed bark. A wedge of backwoods kinetic energy and violence, its target—my target—is the 16-inch tall, 12-inch across round of Ponderosa pine, cut and bucked this morning by yours truly, which, along with the rest of the standing-dead beetle-killed tree, I bucked into rounds and (with only a smattering of sweating and swearing) wheelbarrowed 100 yards to be dumped here, just outside my woodshed. Back and forth, arms stretched long as a chimpanzee’s, I pushed the loads up hill. Now, the whine of the chainsaw a distant memory, I swing and split, swing and split, the rounds separating into halves like magnets of similar poles repelling each other, jumping apart as if dynamited.
For 19 of the last 20 years, I’ve undertaken something that resembles the above, its combination of utility and spiritual renewal not to be overlooked. Such labor, rumored to build character, may in fact have it backwards, while the cords of wood cut, long turned to ash and smoke, have indeed left their impressions—some tangible, others not: a ding on my right shin from a flying piece of wood inexpertly split; the memory of a row of black walnut stacked against a West Virginia sky; the box of worn leather work gloves I keep in my shed, their fingers stiff and curled as bird claws, duct-taped to an alarming degree; a history of blisters healed, calloused reabsorbed, beer drunk and Aspirin popped; evenings of long, slow burn.
The cutting, splitting and stacking of firewood is without doubt the quintessential fall chore, and if one job could stand in for all the romance and backache imagined in a rural life, this trifecta would be it. As my maul comes down, my stomach muscle clench, my held breath holds, I know there is little that separates me from hundreds of thousands of other weekend warriors escaped to the woods, working out in new Carhartts and with old Husqvarnas their inner Paul Bunyan.
As the afternoon wears on, I continue to work at a steady pace. With practiced skill, I place each round on the stump I use as a chopping block and rotate the piece until it balances. I swing the maul, aiming for the slight check in the top of the round. With each swing, there is a fine ache in my back and a broad sense of doing something right. If I remember correctly, Rick Bass in his book Winter, tells of having to put away 38 cords of firewood when he first moved to The Yaak. As much as I enjoy cutting and splitting wood, that much I couldn’t imagine. As my pile of rounds decreases, the pile of halved, quartered and slivered pieces grows, and periodically I stop to transfer the split wood to the shed, fitting the knotty and ill-split pieces in with a certain artistic pride. When I’m done, I sit on the stump among the wood chips and stare at the newly filled shed. Because it’s what I do, I take out a pen and write in my journal:
I’ve been to the Louvre. Stared up at the ceiling of the 16th Chapel. Stood on the tops of I don’t know how many mountains, gazing down on river valleys and the backs of eagles, or across rows of peaks disappearing to the horizon. My wife is beautiful, and I could look at her all day. There are Ferraris, wine bottles, the shape of an egg, or a wave. There are deer. In fact, there are any number of beautiful things in the world—some handmade, others, well, not. But this is Montana, October, and my woodshed is full; I can’t think of a prettier sight.
***
Charles Finn is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News(hcn.org). He is the editor of the High Desert Journal.
Note: the opinions expressed in this column are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of High Country News, its board or staff. If you'd like to share an opinion piece of your own, please write Betsy Marston at [email protected].In a game that saw the Dash get their first win in franchise history, it also saw the Boston Breakers remain at the bottom of the table, looking for their first win. While Boston was dominated last week in their defeat to Seattle, this time while a draw was probably a more fair result, the Dash left Boston with three valuable points.
Don’t let the score deceive you. While there may have been five goals between the two teams, tactically the two coaches could walk away knowing they did all they could. The team’s conflicting systems for the most part canceled each other out. Which made for tactically a uneventful game. Houston let Boston have the flanks, and Boston let Houston have the center of the pitch. The goals instead came from individual errors. Three of the goals could have been prevented from surer hands from Houston and Boston’s goalies, while a fourth from a bad foul from a Boston defender.
Formation:
Both sides came out in a 4-3-3, what this game showcased was the versatility of how the 4-3-3 can be deployed. Houston for example was a more compact. Their central three stayed close together, with two central midfielders and third midfielder sitting behind the two. Essentially they packed the midfield space and forcing Boston to utilize the flanks. With the dominance of the midfield space, Houston looked to play more through the middle of the field.
For Boston, the 4-3-3 was fueled by the flanks and runs from midfield. When Boston traded away Sydney Leroux in the off-season they traded away 11 goals. Boston this year is deploying Lisa De Vanna as their sole striker. While De Vanna scored 5 goals for Sky Blue last year, she is a different kind of striker, not as powerful as Leroux, she drifts out wide more. The problem was even though De Vanna was often able to receive the ball in space, she also left a large amount of space behind. Boston relies then on people making runs into the space that she leaves behind. While for Houston the third midfielder sat behind the other two, for Boston the third midfielder was in front of the central two, looking to make runs in.
Space Key:
De Vanna is seemingly the catalyst of Boston’s attack. Yes, Boston relies on Heather O’Reilly’s play on the flanks to create chances, but much like for the US National team, you know what you’re gonna from O’Reilly. Speed down the flanks, good service, and occasionally more central runs. With De Vanna, it is more up in the air. When the Breakers are on the same page as De Vanna it leads to dangerous opportunities. When someone comes in late to the space it leads to goal scoring chances.
For example the first goal was a result of an in-cutting occupying the space that De Vanna vacated. As you can see De Vanna, in blue, has dropped into space for the ball. As she turns, number 9 O’Reilly is curling into space and makes a run that leads to the goal. More often though this space was left vacant, instead Boston often was relegated to the flanks.
This space on the flanks for Boston was seemingly by design. Boston took advantage of the space that Houston left open for them on the flanks. However they could only really capitalize on it once. The problem was that when De Vanna drifted into space, the only person there was a midfielder or winger making a run in which was often picked up. The one time Boston scored was when Boston’s Lohman was left unmarked from her midfield run as the Breaker’s Heather O’Reilly served in the ball from the flank.
Here on the set up of Boston’s 2nd goal, you can see how deep and wide De Vanna has to drop to get the ball at her feet. For Houston, in orange, this is exactly what they want, the play is in front of them and there is no one really attacking them or the space behind them. The problem is they go to sleep as Joanna Lohman makes her run through the defense, while McCloud doesn’t do a good job of coming out and claiming the ball.
Packing it in:
When Boston had the ball on the flank though, did their best to make sure that it stayed there. For example while Sky Blue last week used their flanks to play a diagonal ball onto the straight run from Maya Hayes at striker, Houston didn’t let that happen. Boston’s only play from the flanks was either a long change of field or to serve the ball into box. Houston did a good job of not only keeping their three compact but also moving as a unit.
In this shot, early in the game, Boston has the ball in the middle of the field. In this one shot though, you can see nine Dash players in the shot. Effectively jamming the midfield and making sure that there are not only no easy passing lanes but no space for the Boston ball carrier to operate in as the Dash players close in on the ball.
However, in this shot you see the downside of the packed middle. If teams are able to find a seem quickly, there is tons of space on the other side. Here you see De Vanna is able to play a quick outlet through the defense, exposing the tons of space behind Houston. This play quickly develops into a track meet as the ball is played to an on running fullback.
Once Boston is able to play it through the midfield, Houston is forced to recover. In this shot you can see the players scramble to get back in position. As a new team this is going to be a problem, their unfamiliarity with each other means that they are going to find themselves in trouble from time to time. For the most part it seemed to work, however this is the danger that Houston is going to have to deal with if they keep playing this way.
Conclusion:
The game was even for the most part. It will be interesting to see how both teams continue to develop. Boston has seemingly gone from a mid-table team, right out side of the play-off spot; to a team with zero points after two games and two tough losses. Houston though has shown they are going to be tough to play while stuffing the midfield. Holding the Portland Thorns high powered attack to 1 goal and were unlucky to come away with a point in that game, while stealing three points from Boston. Tactically as the team gels, I would not be surprised if by the end of the year we see Houston hanging around 5th with a chance to make the play offs.
AdvertisementsThere it is. After more than eight months of waiting, LA Galaxy forward Landon Donovan has finally notched goal No. 135 to become the new MLS all-time goal king.
The goal, assisted by Robbie Keane, came in the 50th minute of the Galaxy's match against the Philadelphia Union at StubHub Center. Keane was released in behind the Philly defense, where he eluded a tackle and played a cross to the far post. Donovan was there to slam the ball into the open net.
With his 135th goal, Donovan surpassed Jeff Cunningham on the all-time goalscoring list. Cunningham held the record of 134 goals since scoring for the Columbus Crew on August 27, 2011.
Donovan then added a second goal – the 136th regular-season goal of his career – in the 81st minute. He was replaced two minutes later, walking off to a standing ovation from the Galaxy crowd and chants of "USA! USA!"
Donovan's record-breaking feat comes just days after being told that he would not be on the US national team's World Cup roster and returning to Los Angeles.Montana's chief federal judge admitted on Wednesday that he forwarded an email comparing African-Americans to dogs and implying that President Barack Obama's mother had sex with animals.
Richard Cebull's email, obtained by the Great Falls Tribune, reads: "Normally I don't send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine."
A joke then follows: "A little boy said to his mother; 'Mommy, how come I'm black and you're white?' His mother replied, 'Don't even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you're lucky you don't bark!'"
Cebull forwarded the offensive email from his official court account to six "old buddies," who then forwarded to others.
In an interview with the Tribune, Cebull maintained he did not send the email because it was racist, but because it was 'anti-Obama.'
"The only reason I can explain it to you is I am not a fan of our president, but this goes beyond not being a fan," Cebull said. He agreed the email was racist, but said he personally was not.
"This is a private thing that was, to say the least, very poor judgment on my part," he said.
Cebull was nominated to his current position by George W. Bush. He has served since 2008.
This is not the first instance of an official coming under fire for sending a racist Obama email.By Wil Fulton
The wunderkinds over on reddit took a break from uncracked safes and banana-based measurements to post a mega-thread addressing the best of the best of all things free on the interwebs, and I couldn't help but share some of the highlights with you all. If you're savvy, you might recognize a few of these bad boys already, but don't spoil the Supermarket Sweep-style fun for the rest of us, OK?
1. COLLEGE COURSES, NO TUITION
Is the fear of smothering, unbearable student debt steering you away from the path of higher education? Class Central exposes hundreds of online class courses from the likes of Harvard, Stanford, and MIT, without that pesky tuition nonsense. This means you can educate yourself in subjects like Molecular Biology, Advanced Operating Systems, or The Rise Of Superheroes And Their Impact On Pop Culture. It's all the information you need to become a fully functional adult in today's global economy, without the loans, leftover futons, and career-debilitating Facebook photo rolls.
2. SELF-DESTRUCTING EMAIL ADDRESSES
With 10 Minute Mail, you can create an extremely temporary email address that will automatically self-destruct in 10 minutes, allowing you to sign up for sites, lists, and deals without the unbearable spam cannon that normally accompanies your quiet compliance. Also good for anonymous threats and insults to friends/family members. Not that I'd do that, of course.
3. AMBIENT SOUNDS FOR ANY OCCASION
If you simply can't work/sleep/make love without some kind of comforting white noise cascading over your eardrums, A Soft Murmur has you covered with all the classic ambient noises, and the somewhat odd ability to play a bunch of them at once. DJ Careless Whisper? You had me at "singing bowl" and "fire."
4. LEARN EVERY LANGUAGE ON EARTH
If you've ever felt devastatingly isolated at your Swedish cousin's wedding to her Argentinean lover in Seoul (due to the triple language barrier), Duolingo might be right for you. Touted as the free Rosetta Stone—and some consider it to be even better—Duolingo softens the blow of learning another language by taking the pressure off your wallet. You'll be ordering with cultural authenticity at Taco Bell en un santiamén, muchacho.
5. UNLIMITED ACCESS TO A MEGA-LIBRARY OF DOCUMENTARIES
Documentaries have been experiencing a recent boom thanks to their accessibility on Netflix, but one can only watch Jiro Dreams of Sushi so many times, and there's no chance in hell I'm buying a DVD again. With Documentary Heaven, you have access to an endless river of reality piping through your computer monitor, like trout swimming upstream during their annual mating season (watch the documentary, you'll see what I mean).
6. SOMEONE TO SPILL YOUR GUTS TO
Everyone needs somebody, sometime—as Dean Martin once famously crooned, and most of the time, you don't have the funds or time to drop on a therapist or high-end escort. Welcome to 7 Cups of Tea, a completely free way to connect live with a "listener," with a bounty of free counseling options available. It's all anonymous too, so you don't have to worry about any of your dirty little secrets becoming public. What an age to be alive.
7. AUTOMATIC ALERTS OR ACTIONS FOR EVERYTHING YOU CARE ABOUT
While it's been notorious on the Internet for quite some time, If This, Then That is one of those sites that's bound to blow up one day (in a good way). Once you log in, you can create a "recipe," programming an alert or action that will happen anytime two correlating actions occur on the web. For instance, you can automatically push photos posted on your Facebook to a secure Dropbox, the second they are posted. Or, have an email sent to you anytime someone mentions "Cat," "Shaving," and "Wanted by Authorities" on all your local news sites. The possibilities are endless.
8. FREE USED SH*T
Craigslist, the domain of questionable career opportunities as well as questionable sexual opportunities, has become a digital smorgasbord of totally free sh*t. If you select your appropriate region, you’ll see a “Free” section under the “For Sale” category (confusing, I know) chock-full to the innuendo-soaked rim with perfectly good items folks are just begging to give away. Check out what you can snag sans payment in NYC alone. Pro Tip: Avoid any cloth-based furniture (for obvious, soiled reasons) as well as any intimate products, also for obvious reasons.
9. OLD-SCHOOL VIDEO GAMES
For my generation, some of the best childhood memories consist of gathering around a glowing TV screen, slowing rotting our minds with video games while vehemently ignoring the shining sun and temperate climate outside. Man, those were the days. For a quick blast of nostalgia to the face, hit up this SNES, NES, and SEGA emulator to relive your pasty glory years. All you have to worry about is your boss catching you playing Castlevania in between TPS reports. Unless you don’t have a job. Then you probably shouldn't be playing SNES emulators, anyway.
10. ALL THE FONTS YOU COULD EVER WANT
Normally, finding the right font for your situation isn't a huge problem. But that's probably because you don't know the dizzying heights design has reached in recent years. You are in for the shock of a lifetime, pal, because Lost Type has you covered from stylized head to sans-serif toe. With psychoactive billboard sets and funkadelic superfly stylings, your eyes will be widened to the magical world of spectacular fonts, all free to use in any way you wish. But please, type responsibly.
11. PHOTO EDITING WITH PANACHE
For those who want their photos to shine a little bit brighter or to casually drop themselves into Ariana Grande’s vacation pics (no judging), but balk at the big bucks for Photoshop, the photo editing app Pixlr is available for your computer and smartphone for the low price of absolutely nothing. Though it doesn’t have the absurd level of customization and features that Photoshop so smugly touts, it's a very serviceable application for amateur to mid-level Instagrammers who are sick of using Valencia as a crutch.
12. PILES AND PILES OF VALUABLE COUPONS
This is extremely relevant for those who not only want free swag, but want their free swag to turn into other free swag. RetailMeNot is an aggregate of comped codes, coupons, and other door-busting deals for both online services and brick & mortar outfits—with offerings varying from H&M to Domino's. So, you can get those organ-constricting skinny jeans on the cheap, with money left over to get cheese-soaked, grease-stuffed sugar sticks to ensure you will never fit in them again.
13. MANAGE YOUR FINANCES AND YOUR FUTURE
Living paycheck to paycheck? Can't afford to buy milk for your nonexistent cereal? Is your life literally crashing down around you as we speak? The sleek, financial management site Mint is a payment-free resource that allows you to check your credit, pay bills, and manage your bank accounts on a safe, well-designed platform. It will pretty much handle everything that has to do with your hard-earned bacon, aside from actually earning it for you. Still waiting for that upgrade, slackers...
14. HELP FEED THE WORLD
Meet the only thing on this list ideal for those instances when you are trying to actually give the world something, instead of just reaping the bounty of comped items and services like a cyber-glutton. With Freerice, you can exercise your noggin and help feed hungry humans all over the world, without sparing a dime. The site presents you with a series of questions in subjects like English grammar and basic chemistry, and for every correct answer, the World Food Programme will donate 10 grains of rice to the global cause. You can rack up the grains pretty quickly, though -- and all for a worthwhile cause. It's trivia that can make an actual difference. Unlike Trivial Pursuit, which just tears families apart. Trust me, I haven't spoken to my sister in years. Denise, if you're reading this, please call me.
All images courtesy of Shutterstock unless noted otherwise.
MORE FROM THRILLIST
How to Get Rid of That Damn 'Not Enough Storage' Alert
*
How to Save Even More Money on Amazon
*
12 Netflix Hacks You Aren't Using (But Should Be)If you wish upon a star, remember,
Rule of gender: gender is formed in the brain
We are all constantly bombarded with the information that women have vaginas and men have penises.
For transgender women, this translates to, “I have to have bottom surgery to be accepted as a woman.”
This thought is reinforced by the first question often asked of a transgender woman, “Have you had “the surgery.” The message is that “the surgery” is necessary if you want to be a woman.
Rule of gender: gender is formed in the brain
Before surgery, many transgender women view “the surgery” as the end of their journey; “Woo hoo, I’m a woman now!”
But it is not the end of the journey; rather, “the surgery” is a waypoint along life.
We think of “the surgery” as the endpoint, because we’ve forgotten the Rule of gender: gender is formed in the brain, and we’ve fallen into the trap of being driven by those who keep up the drum beat and pound into our heads, “Women cannot have penises. People with penises cannot be women.”
Thus, it is not uncommon for transgender women to suffer from depression after “the surgery.” Because, essentially, nothing has changed after the surgery except a very private body part that isn’t visible to most of the people in our lives.
I think of this as the Rule of gender trap.
This trap might be avoided by turning one’s attention inward when the thought of surgery come to the fore.
Some basic questions to start with are, “Do I know why I want the surgery?” “Do I (yes, me) want the surgery for my own well-being?” “Do I want the surgery so I will fit in?”
Not every transgender woman wants the surgery because she wants a vagina.
Not every transgender woman or every transgender man is uncomfortable with their body.
Let me repeat: Not every transgender woman or every transgender man is uncomfortable with their body.
These individuals have accepted that genitals do not a woman or a man make. They’ve internalized the Rule of gender: gender is formed in the brain.
When we view surgery as the end point, we can be flummoxed by still not being accepted afterward, and we may find ourselves wondering, “Why am I not happier?”
Partly, of course, there is the let down; we were very busy, very focused and then, it’s over. Now we have to go on with life.
Partly, we discover that “the surgery” was not a magic bullet that makes a transgender individual look like they want to look. That’s a bummer.
Parlty, we discover that “the surgery” is not a magic bullet that makes others see u sas we want to be seen.
In short, getting genitals “fixed” doesn’t entail a gender fix.
Rule of gender: gender is formed in the brain
When an individuals reasons for having surgery are unclear or society driven, post surgery depression is almost a certainty.
Depression can occur through the realization there is no going back after surgery and recovering relationships broken by transitioning. The post surgical permanent loss of the relationships can drive or contribute to post surgical depression.
With increased access to healthcare benefits, more and more transgender women are seeking and getting “the surgery.”
Can they avoid the post-surgical let down depression?
I think it’s possible.
First, they must remember the Rule of gender: gender is formed in the brain.
They must ask themselves frankly address why they, a transgender individual, want to have the surgery.
When deciding on Hormone Replacement Therapy, the answers are relatively easy: transwomen want softer skin, breasts, no more testosterone driven moods. Transmen want facial hair, body hair, deeper voices.
These are visible (and aural) changes that help others recognize the gender of the transperson.
But deciding to have genital surgery is more complex.
My own decision to have “the surgery” is a case in point.
I am too old to let society tell me what my body should look like, but there were two reasons I wanted the surgery.
First, looking into the mirror naked looked funny. It did not look like me.
Second, if I become infirm and have to move into a managed care facility, I want to be assured that there is no chance of me being housed on a ward with grumpy old men.
A corollary is that I want to die in the body that feels right to me.
After surgery, when looking into the mirror, I was happy. I look right.
I assume many transgender men have top surgery for much the same reason, although top surgery for transmen does visibly change their bodies where everyone can see.
Many heterosexual transgender women have surgery in order to have proper heterosexual intercourse.
I had some post surgical depression related to the permanence of the loss of some relationships. L
There are many other reasons why surgery might be necessary to or desired by any particular transgender individual, but knowing, clearly knowing the reason one wants “the surgery” can help one see and understand that surgery not the endpoint of transition and is not a magic bullet. Knowing the reason(s) allows the person to focus beyond a surgical endpoint.
The Take away
Rule of gender: gender is formed in the brain, and changing one’s body should be decision made for personal reasons; it should not be driven by societal expectations.
When you wish upon that star remember your heart wants your true gender to show through.
RenateAfter threatening to curse Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball, Lil B has now put his famous Based God Curse on former NBA star Kenyon Martin.
The move comes after Martin called out Brooklyn Nets point guard Jeremy Lin for getting dreadlocks, and Lil B didn't like the move. " In a tweet posted on Friday (Oct. 6), the rapper wrote, "NBA Kenyon Martin is cursed for his no reason hating on Jeremy Lin.. he is cursed until further notice that's from 'The BasedGod' - Lil B."
While Lil B's curses usually come with a warning, his latest one was handed down out of nowhere, prompting NFL player Brandin Bryant to ask, "No warning Lil b??" To which the rapper replied, "Sorry man Kenyon went a bit far."
On Wednesday (Oct. 4), Martin slammed Lin for getting dreads, saying, "Do I need to remind this damn boy that his last name is Lin?" The former NBA star went on to say, "Somebody really need to tell him, like, 'Alright bro, we get it; you want to be Black.' Like, we get it. But the last name is Lin, alright?"
Lin took the high |
), and there wouldn’t be other visiting spacecraft that could bring an ailing astronaut (or dead body) back to Earth. While we probably won’t see boots on Mars for at least another 15-20 years, those concerned with planning the early missions are already beginning to consider the host of unique methodological and ethical questions that such a journey will surely entail.
How should crew members deal with a colleague’s death on long duration missions? At what point do mission prerogatives outweigh considerations of an individual astronaut’s safety? Is it OK to use the bodies of Martian settlers’ corpses for composting? If NASA learns that a mission is on the precipice of disaster, should it inform the crew members? These are just a few of the questions that must be dealt with prior to launch and keep people like Paul Root Wolpe awake at night.
Wolpe, a professor at Emory University and senior bioethicist at NASA, deals with all kinds of unexpected issues pertaining to manned space travel, including the challenges posed by death and dying in microgravity. In theory, dealing with extraterrestrial fatalities shouldn’t differ much from handling deaths in some of the more remote regions of Earth, such as Antarctica or Chile’s Atacama Desert, both of which have been used as space-analog research environments. According to Wolpe, however, deaths in the void boast one fundamental complication not found on Earth-based analogs: the nature of the living crew members’ responsibility to the deceased. For instance, if someone dies six months into a multiyear mission to Mars, are the astronauts expected to store the body for burial back on Earth?
While it would be simple to suggest that we start incorporating some sort of mausoleum into spacecraft design, the costs would be rather prohibitive. At the moment, it costs about $10,000 for each pound a space agency puts into orbit around Earth, which means that something as simple as storing some coffins on board a spacecraft could amount to a multimillion-dollar proposal. Then there’s the psychological impact that such a morbid use of cabin space might have on the surviving astronauts.
Nonetheless, NASA has attempted to address the problem of storing bodies in space. In a conceptual study in 2005, the agency commissioned Promessa, a Swedish company that specializes in organic burial solutions, to advise on engineering spatially economic astro-coffins. The result was the Body Back, which is essentially a vibrating Gore-Tex sleeping bag for the deceased.
The Body Back makes use of a process called promession, an ecologically friendly method of burial developed by biologist Susanne Wiigh-Mäsak, who founded Promessa in 2001 to capitalize on her idea. The promession process was slightly modified for the Body Back to meet the requirements of space travel, but the core ideas remain the same: First, a body is placed in an airtight bag and exposed to the freezing temperatures of space. (On Earth, this freezing is accomplished by placing the body in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of about minus 200 degrees Celsius.) After about an hour, the now-frozen body is brought back into the cabin from the airlock and vibrated at a high frequency, effectively shattering it and reducing it to a fine powder. Subsequently the powder is dehydrated, resulting in roughly 50 pounds of body dust. This dust is then stored in a container outside the craft until it is time to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, at which point it would be retrieved and stored in the cabin for the few minutes it takes to descend to the Earth’s surface from space.
Wiigh-Mäsak says she believes the Body Back could conceivably be aboard missions for Mars in the next few decades, although there is quite a bit of fine-tuning to be done before it goes orbital. “It was [NASA’s] task to come up with suggestions for adopting [promession for space], and they never went that deep into details,” she told me. “If and when it becomes a reality, we will have to go into the details together with a team of engineers. There will be a number of challenges to solve, I am sure.”
As macabre as this process may sound, it is really the only realistic method for organically dealing with bodies in space. Nonetheless, promession still seems like a lot of effort when one might simply strap the body to the craft and call it a day. According to Wiigh-Mäsak, however, that would raise a host of other issues—chiefly that there would not be much of a body left after re-entry.
The more frequent suggestion for the disposal of bodies is to simply open the airlock and send them off into the cosmos, à la Dr. Poole in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The problem here is that, as Body Back designers Karin Tjerrild Lund and Mikael Ploustrup found out, a U.N. charter forbids littering in space. This includes corpses, even if the astronaut’s expressed wish is to have his or her body launched into open space. This is probably for the better, Wiigh-Mäsak told me, given that these bodies could potentially become hazardous impactors for other spacecraft or end up contaminating pristine extraterrestrial environments—also like Dr. Poole who, following his death in Arthur C. Clarke’s novel, “became the first of all men to reach Saturn.”
It is this latter scenario that Wolpe finds most worrisome, although in a slightly different context. He’s not concerned with rogue bodies finding shelter on Saturn so much as the intentional disposal of bodies on early missions to Mars. At this point in our exploration of the red planet, a massive amount of intensive research is being conducted to understand the planet’s microbiome—was there ever life there, and if so, what was it like?
Disposing a body on Martian soil would probably introduce extraneous variables into further probes of the planet’s microbial life (or lack thereof), making it very difficult to determine whether subsequent discoveries are of organisms native to the planet or introduced by way of decaying earthlings. If humanity is serious about establishing a permanent presence on Mars, Wolpe concedes that at some point the burial of bodies, and environmental contamination, becomes inevitable. This, however, is a long way off, and in the interim the disposal of bodies for the first Martians (at least, human ones) raises interesting methodological questions for those planning initial missions.
A radical idea is that the bodies could perhaps be used as fertilizer for the Martians. Certain colonization models, such as those proposed by NASA and Mars One, involve Martian colonists growing their food locally rather than importing it from Earth, which would require fertile soil. But neither Mars One nor NASA has made any suggestions that body-based fertilizer will ever be formally incorporated into mission design. (That doesn’t preclude using human waste however, which has been favorably discussed as a mission component.) This is probably for the better, according to Wolpe, who is skeptical regarding the feasibility of using bodies for fertilizer for both biological and social reasons.
“I’m not sure human bodies make particularly good fertilizer. I mean, no society has done that on Earth that I know of,” he told me. “There are societies that desperately need fertilizer, and even they don’t use their dead bodies for the purpose. There’s always been an extremely strong taboo for using dead bodies for instrumental purposes.”
A further, far more perverse concern for future astronauts and their Earthbound commanders is whether to inform the astronauts of their impending demise should Houston learn that the astronauts are in a situation where their deaths are unavoidable. This very situation arose in 2003 with the Columbia shuttle crew, who were re-entering Earth’s atmosphere with a damaged wing. Ultimately, the decision was made not to inform them of the potential for disaster, although this may have been more the result of lack of certainty rather than any steadfast ethical policy, according to both Wolpe and Wayne Hale, a NASA flight director at the time of the disaster.
In Wolpe’s opinion, choosing such recourse to action in the future would be entirely out of step with astronaut ethics. “I think [informing them about impending disaster] is part of what it means to be a professional in those circumstances, to give them the dignity of letting them know they’re going to die and maybe they can get some last words out to their loved ones,” he said.
This also raises questions of what to do in the event that an astronaut becomes terminally ill during a mission, or as is more likely the case, sustains a life-threatening injury. A mission to Mars will cost billions of dollars and have required decades of effort from people around the globe—would astronauts have an obligation to turn back when one of their own discovers a lump?
This is largely a question of priorities set by NASA and other space agencies. If astronaut safety is priority No. 1, the question is easy. But when astronaut health and safety only becomes one of a number of competing priorities, such as mission success, it is less clear what should be done. In Wolpe’s opinion, this ambiguity in mission priorities is something NASA is going to need to sit down and discuss ahead of long duration space flight.
Astronauts at NASA are civil employees, which means there is no court-martial if they refuse to obey orders from command—at worst, their flight permissions will be revoked. So on a mission to Mars, where communications between the spacecraft and mission control can carry up to a 20-minute delay, these decisions between life and death will often devolve onto the astronauts themselves. Unfortunately for NASA, this seems to be a decision that no amount of training can ever completely prepare you for.
The good news is that there have been only 18 deaths during space flights, a small fraction of the more than 500 people who have gone into low Earth orbit or beyond in the past half-century. All of those deaths have happened either while a spacecraft was lifting off or returning to Earth.
While the space fatalities of the future are unlikely to be as dramatic (or physically impossible) as George Clooney’s death in Gravity, they are likely to retain the overwhelming sense of tragedy that is felt as Sandra Bullock watches her partner drift into the cosmos. Astronauts have left behind friends, spouses, parents, and children to risk their lives exploring the final frontier for the sake of our species. In this sense, the experience of losing a loved one and the grieving process that follows is not unique to space and is all the more reason to give special attention to the impact death and dying has on space travel in the years leading up to the next giant leap for mankind.Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
Aug. 24, 2017, 1:57 PM GMT / Updated Aug. 24, 2017, 2:50 PM GMT By Kalhan Rosenblatt
President Donald Trump launched into a Tweetstorm on Thursday morning, retweeting a meme from someone who has complained about Jewish drivers and sending out typo-laden tweets to his followers — then deleting and retweeting them again.
The president's morning on Twitter kicked off with a post attacking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan about the debt ceiling and legislation he hoped GOP leaders would pass.
"I requested that Mitch M & Paul R tie the Debt Ceiling legislation into the popular V.A. Bill (which just passed) for easy approval. They..." Trump wrote in the first tweet. He soon added, "...didn't do it so now we have a big deal with Dems holding them up (as usual) on Debt Ceiling approval. Could have been so easy-now a mess!" He later added: "The only problem I have with Mitch McConnell is that, after hearing Repeal & Replace for 7 years, he failed!That should NEVER have happened!"
About an hour after the first posting, Trump set the Twitterverse abuzz after he retweeted a meme showing himself "eclipsing" President Barack Obama.
President Donald Trump retweeted an image of him covering former President Barack Obama. @realDonaldTrump / Twitter
The four-way split image shows Trump moving slowly into frame until he completely covers the image of Obama. Trump is in color. Obama is in black and white.
The text on the meme reads, “The Best Eclipse Ever!"
YouTube actor and self-described political junkie Jerry Travone says he found the image on the internet and tweeted the meme at Trump.
An unrelated tweet on Travone's account from Sunday reads, "We have enough of these jews where I live lol someone else take them. They just can't drive."
Related: Trump Retweets User Who Called Him a ‘Fascist’
Travone denied he is anti-Semitic and explained his reason for writing that message. "It was just an emotional expression I was referring to lakewood [sic] New Jersey and the horrible drivers of that town and that happens to be mostly Jewish people that live there."
He earlier told NBC News he found the image that Trump retweeted on social media.
"I got tired of hearing people say how our president hasn't accomplished anything and I knew that wasn't true at all, so I wanted to express what myself and millions of Americans already knew and that was our president is a once in a lifetime leader and I told many people during the election that I would crawl over broken glass to cast my vote for Donald J Trump," Travone wrote in a Twitter message.
However, Travone said he wasn't expecting for his tweet to end up on the president's account.
President Donald Trump watches the solar eclipse from the Truman Balcony at the White House in Washington on Aug. 21, 2017. Kevin Lamarque / Reuters file
"I thought I was dreaming lol, and the president took time out his extremely busy day to retweet my picture and it's such an honor," he wrote.
He said he's received lots of attention on Twitter since the presidential retweet, and that if anyone was offended by the meme, they should worry about bigger issues facing the nation.
The majority of top responses to Trump's retweet suggested he take the image down or asked why he felt inclined to retweet the image.
“This is unbelievably inappropriate. You are the president to all Americans. Stop egging racists on,” one Twitter user, @AngelaBritzman, replied.
The Daily Beast writer Erin Gloria Ryan wrote that Trump didn’t understand the science of an eclipse.
“So he's the smaller thing that temporarily blocks the much bigger & brighter thing.... please my god teach this man how analogies work,” Ryan wrote.
Trump's morning wasn't done, though. He then tweeted twice, slamming the press over its coverage of the tonal shifts during his three most recent speeches.
“The Fake News is now complaining about my different types of back to back speeches. Well, their [sic] was Afghanistan (somber), the big Rally.....,” Trump tweeted. “...(enthusiastic, dynamic and fun) and the American Legion - V.A. (respectful and strong).To [sic] bad the Dems have no one who can change tones!”
Trump then again tweeted the same two sentences, correcting the word "their" to "there" in the first tweet, but leaving the second the same.
He then sent out yet another tweet saying, "James Clapper, who famously got caught lying to Congress, is now an authority on Donald Trump. Will he show you his beautiful letter to me?"
Clapper, the former Director of National Intelligence, had questioned Trump's ability to lead the nation during an appearance on CNN Wednesday night.
But just as soon as they appeared, Trump deleted many of the tweets, and then sent them again, correcting his spelling.
The White House did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment.
On Tuesday, Trump told a crowd in Arizona that Twitter storms weren't his style.
"You'll notice when I go on, I send a tweet or a couple of tweets — 'he's in a Twitter storm again!'" Trump said mocking the media. "I don't do Twitter storms."
Trump recently tweeted — then deleted — another set of baffling messages.
One tweet showed a train with Trump's name on it running over the CNN logo. The other was a retweet of a user calling Trump a “fascist.”
Both tweets were removed less than an hour after they appeared.
One White House official, requesting anonymity, said at the time those tweets were sent out in error and deleted as soon as they were brought to the White House's attention.Three priests and a former priest in Scotland have reported the most senior Catholic clergyman in Britain, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, to the Vatican over allegations of inappropriate behaviour stretching back 30 years.
The four, from the diocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh, have complained to nuncio Antonio Mennini, the Vatican's ambassador to Britain, and demanded O'Brien's immediate resignation. A spokesman for the cardinal said that the claims were contested.
O'Brien, who is due to retire next month, has been an outspoken opponent of gay rights, condemning homosexuality as immoral, opposing gay adoption, and most recently arguing that same-sex marriages would be "harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of those involved". Last year he was named "bigot of the year" by the gay rights charity Stonewall.
One of the complainants, it is understood, alleges that the cardinal developed an inappropriate relationship with him, resulting in a need for long-term psychological counselling.
The four submitted statements containing their claims to the nuncio's office the week before Pope Benedict's resignation on 11 February. They fear that, if O'Brien travels to the forthcoming papal conclave to elect a new pope, the church will not fully address their complaints.
"It tends to cover up and protect the system at all costs," said one of the complainants. "The church is beautiful, but it has a dark side and that has to do with accountability. If the system is to be improved, maybe it needs to be dismantled a bit."
The revelation of the priests' complaints will be met with consternation in the Vatican. Allegations of sexual abuse by members of the church have dogged the papacy of Benedict XVI, who is to step down as pope at the end of this month. Following the announcement, rumours have swirled in Rome that Benedict's shock move may be connected to further scandals to come.
The four priests asked a senior figure in the diocese to act as their representative to the nuncio's office. Through this representative, the nuncio replied, in emails seen by the Observer, that he appreciated their courage.
It is understood that the first allegation against the cardinal dates back to 1980. The complainant, who is now married, was then a 20-year-old seminarian at St Andrew's College, Drygrange, where O'Brien was his "spiritual director". The Observer understands that the statement claims O'Brien made an inappropriate approach after night prayers.
The seminarian says he was too frightened to report the incident, but says his personality changed afterwards, and his teachers regularly noted that he seemed depressed. He was ordained, but he told the nuncio in his statement that he resigned when O'Brien was promoted to bishop. "I knew then he would always have power over me. It was assumed I left the priesthood to get married. I did not. I left to preserve my integrity."
In a second statement, "Priest A" describes being happily settled in a parish when he claims he was visited by O'Brien and inappropriate contact between the two took place.
In a third statement, "Priest B" claims that he was starting his ministry in the 1980s when he was invited to spend a week "getting to know" O'Brien at the archbishop's residence. His statement alleges that he found himself dealing with what he describes as unwanted behaviour by the cardinal after a late-night drinking session.
"Priest C" was a young priest the cardinal was counselling over personal problems. Priest C's statement claims that O'Brien used night prayers as an excuse for inappropriate contact.
The cardinal maintained contact with Priest C over a period of time, and the statement to the nuncio's office alleges that he engineered at least one other intimate situation. O'Brien is, says Priest C, very charismatic, and being sought out by the superior who was supposed to be guiding him was both troubling and flattering.
Those involved believe the cardinal abused his position. "You have to understand," explains the ex-priest, "the relationship between a bishop and a priest. At your ordination, you take a vow to be obedient to him.
"He's more than your boss, more than the CEO of your company. He has immense power over you. He can move you, freeze you out, bring you into the fold … he controls every aspect of your life. You can't just kick him in the balls."
All four have been reluctant to raise their concerns. They are, though, concerned that the church will ignore their complaints, and want the conclave electing the new pope to be "clean". According to canon law, no cardinal who is eligible to vote can be prevented from doing so.Ten years after: Looking back at homes sold during bubble era’s peak
Las Vegas’ housing bubble reached its most bloated point 10 years ago this month, at least by one gauge: resale prices hit their peak.
In June 2006, the median sales price of previously owned single-family homes in Southern Nevada rose to $315,000, according to the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. Prices eventually plunged 63 percent to a low of $118,000 in January 2012, after the bubble burst and the recession clobbered Las Vegas harder than almost any metro area.
House prices have since climbed from the depths, to a median of $229,250 last month.
But looking back, whatever happened to homes that sold at the height of the real estate craze?
Their fate mirrored the broader housing market’s: widespread foreclosures, plunging property values and an uptick in sales prices for some homes — though none has reached the levels of the go-go years again.
A total of 28 previously owned single-family homes were purchased for $315,000 in June 2006, according to a VEGAS INC analysis of Clark County property records.
Among those, 18 were lost to foreclosure, including one home twice; four homes still are owned by the June 2006 buyers; and 23 homes were sold again, almost always in the $100,000 range. (Those sales do not include foreclosure auctions.)
Overall, Las Vegas-area home values are 34 percent below their peak, the biggest gap nationally among large metro areas, according to a March report by home-listing service Zillow.
Other cities have recouped their post-bubble losses and reached new highs, but not Las Vegas.
“In some markets, these new highs are a return to normalcy,” Zillow chief economist Svenja Gudell said in the report. “The fact that other markets are still off by double-digits may not mean those markets are far from being recovered. It just highlights how extraordinarily inflated home values had been during the housing bubble.”
A one-story, 1,725-square-foot house on Valley Regal Way in North Las Vegas was one of the few that sold at the peak of the bubble and didn’t change hands over the next decade — until lenders seized it through foreclosure in April.
At first glance, the house doesn’t look vacant — no overgrown lawn, boarded-up windows or other obvious signs of abandonment. But a padlock hangs on the front door-handle; a push-button lock is installed above that, with general instructions from a home-inspection company on how to unlock it; and a blue-taped foreclosure notice is stuck to the door.
A neighbor said people come by about once a month to clear the weeds, but the house has been vacant for some time.
“We’ve only been here for a year and a half, and it’s been empty ever since,” she said.
Here’s a look at where homes sold in Clark County at the peak of the bubble a decade ago, and what happened to them. Data for this graphic came from Clark County Recorder and Assessor records. Note: To protect their privacy, VEGAS INC has withheld the names of the property owners.The numbers on the contract for Cam Newton were posted this morning by Joel Corry of CBS Sports, so now we have a very concrete idea of the contract breakdown. The contract looks to be a near exact match for Matt Ryan’s with a signing and option bonus structure over the term of the deal. Newton’s contract is clearly one of the big four in the NFL now that the breakdown is available and is not loaded with out clauses like in many of the contracts the young quarterbacks in the NFL have recently signed.
Here is the yearly cash breakdown of the big four players I referenced above.
Player Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Rodgers $30,150,000 $41,750,000 $54,350,000 $68,000,000 $88,900,000 $110,000,000 Roethlisberger $23,650,000 $41,400,000 $53,400,000 $70,400,000 $87,400,000 – Ryan $20,000,000 $41,500,000 $53,000,000 $68,750,000 $84,500,000 $103,750,000 Newton $16,334,000 $39,334,000 $53,000,000 $68,000,000 $84,700,000 $103,800,000
In looking at the numbers, about the only tradeoff for Newton is the lower “Year 0” new money salary (prepayment on the extension years) but that was likely to be expected considering his $14.666 million salary that was already on the books this year. His total income of $31 million this season does surpass Ryans total cash in the first year of his contract by $1 million.
The contract more or less mimics Matt Ryans, throughout. Ryan is probably the most logical comparison for Newton since he had a high draft pedigree (Ryan was picked 3rd and Cam 1st) and limited playoff success. Ryan put up better numbers than Newton, but there are two ways that it could looked at when comparing the two deals.
One is that Ryan had a supporting cast that included Julio Jones, Tony Gonzalez, and Roddy White plus an effective Michael Turner at the time of signing. This is in contrast to Newton’s cast of injured running backs, Greg Olsen, an older Steve Smith, Jerricho Cotchery, etc…Newton is one of the few quarterbacks in the NFL where I think a clear argument can made that he had no help at all in Carolina when it came to padding his stats.
The second is simply that if we adjust for inflation Newton’s contract is lesser than Ryan’s. Ryan signed his contract in 2013 at the time when the cap was relatively flat and projected to barely increase over the next few years. Since then, however, it has increased surprisingy by over 15% despite the projections of limited raises each year. So if we consider contracts to grow linearly with the cap (they dont as a practical matter) you could argue that the lesser stats are taken into account by having the same price here.
Regardless I would consider this one of the strongest player friendly contracts in the NFL based on size, structure, cash flows, and likelihood of earning. Of the big 4 (and Joe Flacco, not listed) Rodgers has the most team friendly deal due to the Packers extending him when he had two years remaining on his prior contract.
I have to wonder somewhat if the Carolina cap problems of the past kept them from extending Cam sooner or if the sides were that far apart and waiting to confirm that the cap was increasing before going over $20 million, which became a certainty after Ryan Tannehill recently signed a contract. Based on the structure of this contract I can’t picture anything that Newton did last season to change their opinion to jump into this and I would think they would have made out better by extending him a year earlier in terms of contract flexibility.
Had the Panthers franchised Newton for the next three seasons it would have cost them a minimum of $69.1 million between 2016 and 2018. His new money cash flow over that time is $68 million so the Panthers do gain a few dollars over the three year period, but the cash they will pay him over the first two seasons far exceeds his franchise tag figures unless they were going to use the non-exclusive franchise tag. So this was a far better option for both sides than playing it out and going the tag route.
It is also possible that the Panthers realized just how poor the quarterbacks are in the NFL and that there was litte college talent on the horizon to even consider an alternative solution. At this point every quarterback in the NFL considered to be worth anything is locked up and earns, in most cases, over $17 million a year. The available players are true journeymen like Josh McCown, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Matt Cassel and those players are going nowhere fast on their respective teams. If you pulled Newton off the Panthers their offense would be horrible.In CURE, not only do you have to defeat your multiplayer opponents, but you also have to navigate and survive against a living and hostile environment. In this week’s development blog, we will talk about an upcoming feature that is in development for the CURE Closed Alpha: Macrophages!
The Immune System in CURE is made up of two major parts: Passive and Active defenses.
While an immune system is enabled, it will passively roam around the environment using Macrophages (aka: White Blood Cells). Macrophages search around for foreign contaminants – usually resulting in their demise by phagocytosis. In multiplayer matches in CURE, the immune system will not take sides, so it is best to stay clear of these massive hostile enemies. Once one of your units are found in this way, it can greatly alert the immune system of your presence.
The immune system can also be activated in response to player�s actions. In this case, Macrophages will actively seek out specific areas and units. The amount and types of actions made by any player will impact how aware the immune system is of your units, and once your infection becomes a threat or an annoyance, the immune system can respond with overwhelming force. Certain actions garner more attention than others, for example killing cells is a great way to alert the immune system to your presence. In multiplayer matches the immune system will respond to both you and your opponents, and with enough cunning, you can manipulate this response in a way that greatly impacts your opponents in a very negative way; Or you can engineer your units to less visible to the immune system so you can grow quickly without being detected.
Just like in the human body, this is just one of many parts of the immune system that we hope to add to CURE.
We are happy to say that a basic version of the immune system will be added into the next patch. Our new white blood cell also demonstrates new technology we are using on some units to make them even more lifelike. Also, the next patch has a great number of other small improvements and new additions!Two senior lawmakers from the Communist Party caucus have asked Russian prosecutors to use the recently introduced law on “undesirable” foreign groups against George Soros’s Open Society organization.
“The anti-Russian activities of Soros’s foundation must be recognized as undesirable before they assume the destructive forms that we could observe in Ukraine, Georgia and other countries,” MPs Valery Rashkin and Sergey Obukhov said, appealing to the Prosecutor General.
The Communist leaders claimed that the Open Society NGO had conducted “persistent anti-Russian activities for decades and that it happened both in Russia and in other countries. They said that the group was allegedly promoting hatred against Russians in Ukraine and also launched some “proxy subversive operations” in the Russian Federation.
In particular, the two MPs blamed George Soros’s NGO for the destruction of the Russian education system, manifested in the much-criticized system of single state exams for schoolchildren as well as underfinancing of schools and institutes.
The Law on Undesirable Foreign Groups that came into force earlier this week charges the Prosecutor General’s Office together with the Foreign Ministry with the task of creating an official list of “undesirable foreign organizations” and outlaw their activities in the country. The main criterion for putting a foreign or international NGO on the list is “the threat to the Constitutional order and the defense capability or security of the Russian State.”
Once the group is recognized as undesirable all its assets in Russia must be frozen, offices closed and distribution of any of its information materials must be banned. Violating the bill is punished with heavy fines both for the personnel of the banned organizations and Russian citizens who cooperate with them. A repeat offense can carry up to six years in prison.
From the moment it was drafted, the new law was sharply criticized by the Russian rights community, foreign NGOs and officials. The European Union and the United States have officially expressed their concern over it and warned that the move banning cooperation with various foreign groups could bring about the isolation of the Russian people from the outside world.
The two opposition MPs who originally drafted the bill have described it as a preventive measure and denied that it was targeting any specific foreign organizations.
The Open Society Institute, also known as the Soros Foundation after its main sponsor, US billionaire George Soros, has worked in Russia since 1995 and financed many projects in the humanitarian and educational spheres. In 2003, the organization stopped issuing direct grants and announced that it had stopped all Russian operations but to this day it maintains representative offices in Russia’s four largest cities – Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Novosibirsk.
READ MORE: ‘Self-appointed advocate of new Ukraine’: Soros emails leaked by anti-Kiev hackers
George Soros has openly admitted that his organizations played a key role in the so called “color revolutions” – forceful regime changes through violent political rallies – in many post-Soviet states, including Ukraine and Georgia.
Earlier this month a group of hackers from Ukraine released some leaked texts that show that Soros was still actively involved in the Ukrainian politics, advocating EU financial aid and military assistance to Ukraine to restore Kiev’s fighting capacity without violating the Minsk peace deal.I wanted some Undertale stuff, but the current merch is a tad bit… limited. I’m hoping we’ll get more cool stuff in the future (specifically plushies) but until then, I’ve started making my own stuff. Behold! Undertale headphone covers!
These are all the attacks I used on you!
‘sup. i tried to convince her to use head dogs, but bones are p’good too.
One of the super cool things about the sans side is he has magnets in his eye sockets which makes his pupils posable. (Be careful if you make similar magnet mods to other stuff, magnets can damage some electronics!) I put Papyrus on the side with the controls to reduce the risk of knocking sans’s eyes off.
*Megalovania intensifies*
NYEH HEH HEH! THEY’RE BLUETOOTH! THAT’S MY SPECIAL ATTACK!
*SIGH* NOW HERE’S A COMPLETELY NORMAL ATTACK.
I think glow in the dark stuff is really cool, so the bones and skellybros glow in the dark. The photos don’t capture it very well, but all the parts painted with blue paint glow blue too (Mostly the edges around the bones, the seams, and heart), it looks very Tron-esque when the lights first go out. However, white glow in the dark paint glows brightest and unfortunately that’s all the camera could pick up.
sans looks REALLY scary in the dark as a disembodied skull when I don’t have his eyes in. So here’s the happy version.
For anyone curious about the headphone base, I’m using the Beyution BT513 Bluetooth Headphones with built in mic, track selection, and volume controls - deep blue. Not only do they have a nice flat surface (as I was originally considering painting the design rather than cutting it out of foam) but it’s really CHEAP for what it offers- the sound quality is better than some corded headphones I’ve bought in the past. I was so sick of having the wires on my headphones get caught on door handles and PAINFULLY ripped out of my ears and often broken from this- now that I’ve got these (they’re rechargeable and hold that charge for a VERY long time) I’m NEVER going back to corded again.English [ edit ]
Etymology [ edit ]
From Middle French vicissitude, from Latin vicissitudo (“change”), from vicissim (“on the other hand, in turn”), from vicis (“change, vicissitude”), whence Spanish vez and French fois (“time (as in next time), occurrence”).
Pronunciation [ edit ]
Noun [ edit ]
vicissitude (plural vicissitudes)
Regular change or succession from one thing to another, or one part of a cycle to the next; alternation; mutual succession; interchange. ( often in the plural ) A change, especially in one's life or fortunes. 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, vii, 351, And God made.. the Stars, and set them in the firmament of Heaven to illuminate the Earth, and rule the day in their vicissitude...
, John Milton,, vii, 351, 2003, "US redeployments afoot in Asia", Christian Science Monitor, Nov. 18, Pg. 6., The vicissitudes of war in Iraq cast a dreary backdrop for Donald Rumsfeld's first visit to Asian military allies since he became US Defense Secretary in 2001.
, "US redeployments afoot in Asia",, Nov. 18, Pg. 6., Seneca Happy is the man who can endure the highest and lowest fortune. He who has endured such vicissitudes with equanimity has deprived misfortune of its power.
Synonyms [ edit ]
ups and downs ( informal )
Translations [ edit ]
regular change or succession from one thing to another Arabic: تبدل m
Dutch: onbestendigheid
Finnish: vaihtelu (fi)
French: vicissitude (fr) f
Georgian: ცვალებადობა ( cvalebadoba )
German: Unbeständigkeit f, Wandel (de) m Irish: tréimhseacht f
Italian: vicissitudine (it) f
Portuguese: vicissitude (pt) f
Russian: сме́на (ru) f ( sména ), чередова́ние (ru) n ( čeredovánije )
, Spanish: vicisitud (es) f
Turkish: değişim (tr) istikrarsızlık
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked Latin: (please verify) vicissitudo
References [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]
vicissitude in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
, G. & C. Merriam, 1913 vicissitude in |
the creation of the “Exile zone.” All cards that remove another spell or permanent from game send them into exile. Thus, Swords to Plowshares no longer removes a card from game, but sends it into exile. Same with Yawgmoth’s Will.
This would all be well and good if not for one key thing: In 2002, Wizards printed a set called Judgment that had a cycle of Wishes modeled on Ring of Ma’ruf. These wishes, like Ring of Ma’ruf, could retrieve either cards from the sideboard or cards that had been removed from game. This was especially important in certain combo decks and control decks that used Burning Wish and Cunning Wish. In a Psychatog deck, for example, the Tog pilot could cast Ancestral Recall, then exile Ancestral with Psychatog, only to cast Cunning Wish to retrieve it. Similarly, cards exiled with Demonic Consultation or Yawgmoth’s Will were routinely retrieved with Burning Wish before Burning Wish was restricted in January, 2003. In fact, an entire Doomsday combo was built around Research/Development.
Judgment’s Burning Wish
The use of Wishes in this manner was essential to their overall utility and the strategy of important historical Type I and Vintage decks. Unfortunately, since the Exile zone is no longer “outside of the game,” these cards can no longer retrieve cards that are exiled by Jester’s Cap, Swords to Plowshares, or Tormod’s Crypt. Players wishing to restore the Wishes original functionality may have to play under a pre-Magic 2010 rules paradigm, or create an exception to it (such as allowing Wishes to retrieve cards in the exile zone).
Conclusion
As you may better appreciate now, the rules of the game dramatically shape the strategic possibilities and options within a format. Old School communities need not feel compelled to unreflectively adopt modern rules frameworks. In fact, that’s part of the fun of Old School. Just as you get to play with old school cards in old school metagames, you can certainly experiment with old school rules concepts. These ideas, such as interrupt, putting damage on the stack, or dying at the end of the phase are responsible in no small part for the power of cards like Power Sink, Morphling and Mirror Universe. Experiencing old school cards in their original milieu may require some deviation from the contemporary rules sets. I hope this article has given you a guide map to consider your options as a well-informed traveler.
Until next time,
Stephen MenendianThe timing of the latest Hillary Clinton email probe suggests there may be some significant information in the case, two Republican congressmen told CNBC on Friday.
With just 11 days until the election, the Federal Bureau of Investigation sent a letter to lawmakers on Friday stating it is investigating new emails related to Clinton.
The emails were discovered during an FBI investigation in which the devices of former Congressman Anthony Weiner and Clinton aide Huma Abedin were seized, NBC News confirmed. The New York Times first reported the news.
"I would imagine that they have some evidence that's relatively significant to go through the extraordinary step to write a letter to the leaders of all these committees," Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Florida, said in an interview with CNBC's "Closing Bell." DeSantis is a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told "Power Lunch" he has taken issue with FBI Director James Comey's decision to not prosecute Clinton and the fact that five people got immunity agreements in the case. Because of that, he thinks the probe into the new emails sends a strong message.
"We don't know what it is but it sure seems like it must be something pretty darn important for that fact pattern to play out and for them to announce just a week and a half before an election that they are going to reexamine things and look at these new emails," said Jordan, who sits on the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees.PPA repository to easily install extra Cinnamon themes, applets and extensions in Ubuntu, Linux Mint and
The PPA is new but it already provides around 40 packages, including a classic menu applet, Gpaste, hardware monitor applet, messaging menu, places applet, force quit, window menu, window icon list, coverflow alt-tab as well as themes like Eleganse, Holo, ICS, elementary, Ambiance, Glass, Baldr and many others. WebUpd8 reader Brian Bentsen has created ain Ubuntu, Linux Mint and LMDE The PPA is new but it already provides around 40 packages, including a classic menu applet, Gpaste, hardware monitor applet, messaging menu, places applet, force quit, window menu, window icon list, coverflow alt-tab as well as themes like Eleganse, Holo, ICS, elementary, Ambiance, Glass, Baldr and many others.
Here are a few screenshots with some of the applets / extensions available in this repository:
Linux Mint Classic Menu
Window Icon List
Messaging Menu
Cinnamon hardware monitor
Coverflow alt-tab
Ambiance
Baldr
Eleganse
Add the Cinnamon Extras PPA and install applets and themes in Ubuntu, Linux Mint and LMDE
The PPA is only available for Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot and 12.04 Precise Pangolin. Add the PPA in Ubuntu / Linux Mint using the following commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:bimsebasse/cinnamonextras sudo apt-get update
To add the Cinnamon Extras repository in Linux Mint Debian (LMDE), run the following commands in a terminal:
echo "deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/bimsebasse/cinnamonextras/ubuntu precise main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/bimsebasse-cinnamonextras.list echo "deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/bimsebasse/cinnamonextras/ubuntu precise main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/bimsebasse-cinnamonextras.list sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 4FA9719D sudo apt-get update
Once the Cinnamon Extras PPA repository has been added, use Synaptic or the Linux Mint Software Manager, etc., and search for "cinnamon" - you should see all the available themes, applets and extensions available for installation. Then use Cinnamon Settings to enable newly applets, extensions or change the Cinnamon theme.
And themes (there are many other themes available in the PPA):Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton is a "deep corporatist and deep militarist" who has made peace with the nation's power structure, said Ralph Nader."I think Hillary is not the Hillary of when she was 30 years old. She made peace with the power structure, and she is a deep corporatist and a deep militarist. One can almost forgive the corporatism. She moved to New York with Bill because that's where the power is and Wall Street, but her militarism is absolutely shocking," Nader said.The former Green Party and independent presidential candidate made the comments during a discussion about his new book, "Return to Sender," which discusses letters Nader wrote to past U.S. presidents on a range of issues.Nader cited the war in Libya during President Barack Obama's first term to support his claims on Clinton."She almost single-handedly did the Libyan war. The Defense Department was against it, [Secretary Robert] Gates, and she persuaded the White House that it was an easy topple without knowing that in a tribal society — with nothing to replace it — you would have a civil war, sectarian killings spilling into Africa, weapons everywhere, Mali, Central Africa."And she's being accused of Benghazi — the big thing is the huge amount of geography that has been destabilized because of the Libyan overthrow," he said.Nader also said Clinton "never met a weapons system she didn't like" when she was a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee."This is the problem of women trying to overcompensate in becoming more aggressive and macho so they are not accused of being soft on the need to kill and war, right? Instead of taking the tradition of women of peace, and turning into a muscular waging of peace of conflict and prevention, she [Clinton] did the reverse, and [Madeline] Albright did the reverse, and Anne Marie Slaughter did the reverse and some of Obama’s advisers did the reverse," he said."We have to be transcendent on this. We have to really go right to the core of what people are standing for, fighting for and fighting against."Nader ran for president in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008.The first 24 hours of NBA free agency is in the books, and it was an absolutely crazy day full of big contracts, big moves and stunning drama. And we haven't even gotten to Kevin Durant yet.
With an absurd amount of money changing the sports landscape forever, here's a look at who came out ahead and behind after Day 1 of NBA Free Agency.
WINNERS
Memphis Grizzlies
Yes, there are huge injury concerns. Yes, Mike Conley's five-year, $153 million deal is the most in NBA history, and it went to a guard with no championships or All-Star appearances. But it's not just that they landed the biggest free agent in franchise history in Chandler Parsons, or that they re-signed a top-flight point guard in Conley. (Or that they're in the hunt for Courtney Lee or Eric Gordon according to reports). It's that they avoided disaster. Conley leaving would have set the franchise back to the stone age and set off a massive, soul-crushing rebuilding process that could take a decade to pull off. For every Portland that rebuilds quickly, there is a Sacramento or Orlando.
The Grizzlies landed a big upgrade at a position of need that takes care of one of their major problems -- shooting and playmaking on the wing. They also kept their franchise point guard who has been a leader on and off the court for them for six years.
This on top of a great draft and the hiring of a potentially great coach in David Fizdale means Memphis has staved off NBA mortality and retained its place in the Western Conference playoff hierarchy.
There will be no blues on Beale Street this week.
New York Knicks
I know it sounds crazy, but look at where the Knicks are now relative to last year. Yes, Joakim Noah is a big gamble with his injury history, and the same is true for Derrick Rose. But if Noah gets back to even 70 percent, he and Kristaps Porzingis are going to cause absolute mayhem.
With word that the Knicks are in the race for Dwyane Wade, there's a chance the Knicks start Rose, Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Porzingis and Noah next year. While that team would have been great in 2010, it could still be very good in 2016. These are gambles, but New York is in play for major upgrades and that's a good sign.
Everyone in this class. Some of these deals are just financial realities of the new cap, like Mike Conley's $153 million, which is simply a function of his max being 35 percent of the $94 million cap at his veteran experience level. Some were the function of urgent teams trying to make sure moves got made, like Evan Turner. But the amount of money that was handed out -- $1.706 billion by Jared Dubin's count -- is simply mind-boggling. There are all sorts of explanations, but you look at $70 million for Kent Bazemore after Marshawn Lynch made $49.6 million in his entire career, and it just boggles the cerebral cortex.
These players haven't made good money or great money. They made life-changing, "screw you" money, and it could have incredible impacts on the player market going forward.
Mike Conley. Not only did Conley manage to get the largest contract in NBA history and make $153 million, but he added Chandler Parsons -- the kind of wing upgrade that he knew the Grizzlies needed. He improved his chance of winning, while staying in a city he has said he wanted to leave a legacy. Mike Conley has been under-appreciated for six years. He's now going to be called overpaid and overrated, but in the end, it was a great day for Conley.
Atlanta Hawks
Let's call them tentative winners. We'll see what they do with Al Horford. If they can manage to keep Horford, Bazemore and add Dwight Howard on a deal that is just three years, even at $23 million per year? That's really great return. If Mike Budenholzer can get the best out of Dwight, they'll have an even stronger team than last year. But if they lose Horford, they switch to losers very quickly.
Good deals for Bazemore and Howard don't make up for losing Horford.
Mike Conley had himself a good Friday. USATSI
LOSERS
Orlando Magic
The Magic traded Tobias Harris last year and took on Ersan Ilyasova and Brandon Jennings to clear cap space. They had big plans for this summer. So far, they managed to land Serge Ibaka while sending out Ilyasova and Victor Oladipo, trade for Jodie Meeks and sign D.J. Augustin and Jeff Green while retaining Evan Fournier for what is a combined $39.5 million in salary for next year alone. Green's one-year deal is fine, it's low risk, but it's still steep for a guy who has been overpaid at every stop and constantly flamed out. Augustin is good value, but it's a longer contract which seems dubious. Fournier is good value, even if his game is incomplete.
It's not that the Magic's moves are incomprehensible, it's that there's no reason to think this team will be substantially better than last year's team, unless Ibaka hits a level we have not seen from him yet. Is Harris at his very-affordable deal better than Augustin, Green and Ibaka at their combined price? The Magic cleared big cap space and outside of Ibaka, have yet to come up with a certified win in free agency so far.
Los Angeles Lakers
Man. In the 24 hours since free agency opened, the Lakers have:
Failed to get a meeting with Kevin Durant.
Failed to get a meeting with Hassan Whiteside, who signed in Miami.
Failed to sign Kent Bazemore despite offering $2 million more reportedly than Atlanta did.
Gave Timofey Mozgov a four-year, $64 million deal right out of the gate without even waiting to see what the center market did.
Yikes.
Even with word surfacing that Mozgov's deal has a team option in the fourth year knocking it down to $48 million, that's a ridiculous contract for Mozgov, who doesn't fit what the Lakers need, their timeline, and was coming off a major devaluation after a pitiful year.
The Lakers have this great young core, but with all the money they have available, for their only good signing to be a deal for Jordan Clarkson at the most he could make, that's just not good return.
Everyone who signed a deal in the last three years. John Wall is now making $48 million less than Bradley Beal. LeBron James has made less in his entire career than what Mike Conley signed for today. There's the obligatory Steph Curry comment which doesn't really make sense considering his ankle history at time of extension, but still. There's going to be a lot of jealousy when training camp starts. This is like the Dr. Seuss book "The Sneeches" only instead of bellies on stars, it's being in this free agency class. Just an unfathomable amount of money that creates a huge disparity between some truly elite players and the guys who happened to come up for deals this summer.
Dwyane Wade. The Heat are reportedly only offering $10 million for his services. That's just downright insulting. There's a good chance that his basketball legacy could be stained by being in a different uniform for the first time in his career. Yes, he has options, but he loves Miami and Miami loves him. Leaving would be tough.
Houston Rockets
Swung out on Mike Conley. Swung out on Kent Bazemore. Considered in the back of the pack for Al Horford. The Rockets are having a hard time making contact on big upgrades.October brings fall weather and Halloween. If you choose to participate in Halloween activities, we encourage you to think about your choices of costumes and themes. Some Halloween costumes reinforce stereotypes of particular races, genders, cultures, or religions. Regardless of intent, these costumes can perpetuate negative stereotypes, causing harm and offense to groups of people. Also, keep in mind that social media posts can have a long-term impact on your personal and professional reputation. The University of Florida’s Division of Student Affairs Diversity and Social Justice Statement reminds us that UF fosters a community that values and respects diversity. An inclusive definition of diversity recognizes the variety of personal and social experiences that make individuals and communities different from one another.
As a community, we aspire to demonstrate integrity, respect, and compassion that strives to maintain an affirming campus climate for all members of our community. If you are troubled by an incident that does occur, please know that there are many resources available. Please take advantage of the 7 day a week presence of the U Matter, We Care program at the University of Florida by emailing umatter@ufl.edu. Additionally, there is a 24/7 counselor in the Counseling and Wellness Center available to speak by phone at 352-392-1575. Lastly, the Bias Education and Response Team at the University of Florida is able to respond to any reported incidents of bias, to educate those that were involved, and to provide support by connecting those that were impacted to the appropriate services and resources. You may submit a bias incident report at www.umatter.ufl.edu/stopbias.Thank you for being mindful of these values, and have a fun and safe HalloweenWith tanking approval ratings, a failed attempt at producing healthcare legislation, and a swirling investigation into possible collusion with Russia, President Donald Trump's first hundred days were looking pretty bleak.
It was against this backdrop that the president late Thursday took unilateral and illegal military action against the Syrian government in alleged retaliation for Tuesday's chemical weapons attack against Syrian civilians, though no proof was presented to confirm reports that President Bashar al-Assad had ordered the deadly strike.
Now, as many foreign governments, U.S. lawmakers, and the corporate media are lining up in support of the bombing campaign, observers say it appears like a 'Wag the Dog' moment for Trump, distracting the opposition while conveniently flipping the script about Russia.
In a column on Friday, The Nation's Greg Grandin pointed out that with the one assault, the president successfully splintered the Democratic resistance, won the praise of the media, and changed the story of his friendly relations with the Kremlin.
Similarly, New Republic columnist and Georgia Southern University assistant professor Jared Yates Sexton outlined in a lengthy Twitter thread how the strikes have effectively changed the "entire conversation and narrative," writing:
War changes entire conversation and narrative. Always has, always will. We've entered new territory and it's important to understand that. Already networks are talking about operations, the weapons. Instead of links of Russian suspicions, we have footage of missiles launching. Russia was warned, and might have been involved in the gassing, they had enough time to move troops. Yet, Trump "stood up" to Putin. If you think for a second this wasn't organized with Putin's blessing and cooperation...but yet it changes the conversation. Little in way of results, but yet missile launchings are on a constant loop now. Trump projects strength, decisiveness. War wipes the slate clean, changes all attention. You can be all things to all people with the aid of war, and we're seeing that now. Next couple of days we're going to see media go into War-Mode, which is just slobbering over our armed forces expertise. There'll be no time to talk about Nunes, the Nuclear Option, Russian investigations. Now it's Trump—Commander-In-Chief.
In his column, Grandin also referenced the New York Times' reporting that "The Pentagon informed Russian military officials, through its established deconfliction channel, of the strike before the launching of the missiles, the official said, with American officials knowing when they did that that Russian authorities may well have alerted the Assad regime."
"In other words," Grandin wrote, "the object of Trump's Tomahawks was not Syria's capacity to deploy gas, but domestic liberal opponents who base their resistance to Trump entirely on the premise that he is anti-American because he is too close to Putin, and that he is a traitor to a bipartisan policy of humanitarian military interventionism. He bombs, drones, and kills, but he doesn't do it, like his predecessors, in the name of humanity. Until yesterday."
Many of Trump's conservative supporters have also come out against the military action for the very reason that it goes against the president's campaign rhetoric that he would avoid unnecessary wars. Indeed, many of Trump's former statements, and tweets, have come back to haunt him in recent days, particularly those criticizing former President Barack Obama for threatening to attack Syria in 2013.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Help Keep Common Dreams Alive Our progressive news model only survives if those informed and inspired by this work support our efforts
Others, too, picked up on what they say appears to be a "fake fight" now between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Now Trump looks strong to his supporters even though the strike changes nothing. His dismal approval ratings improve. He & Putin fake fight. pic.twitter.com/zBboTN9FTz — April (@ReignOfApril) April 7, 2017
To recap: 1. Trump never previously cared about Syria.
2. Gave a heads up to Russia re: bombing.
3. "Attack" didn't hamper Syria. Hmmm... — Charles Clymer (@cmclymer) April 7, 2017
Meanwhile, others pointed to the dominance of the military industrial complex and how that dovetails with Trump's fixation on creating more domestic jobs. Not to mention the overall "popularity" of war within dominant political circles.
We need to REALLY pay attention to Trump's strike in Syria. It's a distraction from his failing domestic agenda. War is a jobs program — britni danielle (@BritniDWrites) April 7, 2017Stone Temple Pilots’ surviving members Robert DeLeo, Dean DeLeo, and Eric Kretz honored their late bandmate Chester Bennington in a new Yahoo interview. Robert discussed why a quote he heard about the ‘battle inside’ really fit Chester.
“With Chester it wasn’t all about his talent. It was the energy that he brought into it that we so desperately needed at the time. He came into that going, ‘I can do this. I’m going to do this.’ He didn’t need to do that, he was in a huge band, he had plenty going on, but he wanted to do this, and he was excited about doing this. He memorized all of the lyrics, and he went out there and he gave everything that he had.
Being a- I hate to use the word fan, but growing up with our music, and growing up with Scott, and growing up with STP. He gave everything he had, and that was such a great thing for the three of us. I mean I just look back at the touring that we did and the time we spent together, and it was just laughing and having a good time. It was such a positive thing, and going out there, feeling really energetic and great. He made us look back at our legacy, and go yeah, this is what it could be.
Now that he’s gone I hear from people that he was so excited about doing this. I forget who it was that said it, it was someone who quoted this in the 1800’s of saying: ‘Everyone you meet has a battle inside that you know nothing about.’ It stuck with me. It was like wow, it couldn’t have been any more pointed than with Chester. It was a huge huge surprise.”
“We live in the same community, so we took our kids to school, to baseball games, I saw him all the time. It hit really hard being from the same community. For all of us it did, and very surprising. We still get together weeks later here, and we’re scratching our heads, and wondering what made sense to him at that moment.”
Eric Kretz added, “We’re still trying to figure that out.”
Robert said, “Yeah we are. It’s definitely left some things.”Appeals Court takes on Texas voter ID law
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A controversial law could prevent more than half a million Texans from voting. The 5th U.S. Circuit of Appeals will hear arguments on Tuesday concerning the Texas voter ID law.
This law mandates voters present a state issued photo ID; whether it is a driver's license or a concealed handgun license. It was passed by lawmakers in 2011 who said they wanted to stop voter fraud, which critics say is something that doesn't happen.
Two courts have already ruled this law violates the Voting Rights Act by discriminating against minority voters. Critics of the law say an estimated 600,000 Hispanics and African American voters do not have the necessary ID to vote. This is because while the ID is free, they have a hard time accessing the necessary documents in order to obtain the ID; like purchasing a birth certificate for $30 to $40.
"If the 5th Circuit rules and the Supreme Court is fine with it and doesn't need to review it you could see this in play by November 2016 hopefully it's decided very soon this law has been in the court system for five years," said Phillip Martin, Executive Director of Progress Texas.
In August, a three judge panel with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the law discriminates against voters. However, the state appealed that ruling, saying they wanted the full 15 judges on the court to hear the case, which begins on Tuesday.
No ruling is expected from the appeals court. If they rule against the law it will likely go to the Supreme Court who may not hear the case until January when they have all of the judges in place. This means the law is still up in the air on whether it will be in effect come November for the Presidential election.Stuck in traffic on North Lake Shore Drive after a long day working in the south suburbs, Erik Wood said he faced a problem that he’d love to eliminate if he ever had the power. The problem? The lone stoplight on North Lake Shore Drive near Chicago Avenue that slows the commutes of hundreds of thousands of drivers every day.
“If I were mayor of Chicago, it’s one of the things I would destroy immediately,” Wood said of his budding political platform.
This single stoplight has inspired a number of questions from Curious City fans who, like Wood, were presumably trapped in traffic thanks to this light. Those questions included: Does the light at LSD and Chicago Ave. cause or prevent more traffic? Others, like Wood, wanted to know why the stoplight operates during the evening rush hour and not during the morning rush hour.
Funny enough, city officials have asked their own questions about the stoplight. They’ve come up with proposed changes, but you might be waiting in traffic for a while.
A closer look at North Lake Shore Drive’s single stoplight The light allows northbound vehicles to exit North Lake Shore Drive at Chicago Avenue. It also allows vehicles to enter North Lake Shore Drive from Chicago Avenue. The stoplight switches from green to yellow to red all day except from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m., when it stays green for vehicles on North Lake Shore Drive and the Chicago Avenue exit is blocked off with traffic cones. Loading... Perhaps unsurprisingly, the intersection at Lake Shore Drive and Chicago Avenue snagged an “F” grade for the “level of service” it provides during the evening rush hour, according to a 2014 report by state and city officials. This grade refers to drivers’ access on and off the drive but shows how difficult it is for both those already on the drive and those trying to leave or enter it. Loading... City officials say that while the stoplight causes headaches for evening commuters on North Lake Shore Drive, it helps people drive to and from nearby universities and hospitals, which you can see in the map below. City officials say access for ambulances is not a factor in keeping the exit open, but these organizations face traffic problems when the stoplight remains green throughout the morning rush, the 2014 report found. Loading... The stoplight also helps people who work in the Streeterville area get home, says Jeffrey Sriver, who heads planning and programming for the Chicago Department of Transportation. But if the city can essentially close the intersection in the morning and keep traffic flowing on North Lake Shore Drive, why not do the same during the evening rush hour? Nearly 900 vehicles use the Chicago Avenue intersection on weekdays between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., so shutting it down means nearby entrances and exits at Grand and Michigan avenues would see more traffic, Sriver says. Loading... City transportation officials have proposed eliminating the stoplight by creating a flyover and ramps at Chicago Avenue, the kind of ramps seen at most exits and entrances off of Lake Shore Drive. The proposal, called Redefine the Drive, would require an expansion of the area with landfill to make room for the ramps and a park. Loading... But completing this project will take some time. The planning process is expected to finish in 2020, and the actual construction might not wrap up until 2040, Sriver says.
Stay up-to-date with the latest news, stories and insider events. Please enter a valid email address Oops, something went wrong! Sign Up Try Again You've signed up to receive emails. Please check your email for a welcome confirmation.
When we brought these answers to Erik Wood, he seemed less than thrilled.
“Oh great, so by the time we have flying cars and teleportation, the city will have fixed the Chicago Avenue problem on Lake Shore Drive, which we won’t have to use anymore,” he said.
Wood said the city’s rationale for the stoplight — that it helps universities, hospitals, and people who work and live downtown — doesn’t make a lot of sense in a broader context.
“The city is sacrificing people who live and work in neighborhoods, from Old Town to Evanston, for a very small population that lives and works in Streeterville,” he said.
More about our questioners
Erik Wood, who is an auditor for a public accounting firm, grew up in west suburban Villa Park, which he likes to remind people is “home of the Ovaltine factory and Portillo's.”
When he lived in Chicago, he frequently traveled on Lake Shore Drive for work. He now lives in Des Moines, Iowa, where he says “the traffic is much better.”
Elissa Gitlow works at the University of Chicago’s Chapin Hall, where she researches and evaluates programs for at-risk youth and families. She moved to city 20 years ago and lives with her husband, son, and rescue dog. On most weekdays, Elissa’s commute takes her from the North Side to the South Side along Lake Shore Drive, a route that raised her awareness of the Chicago Avenue stoplight.
She says she loves Chicago’s lakefront, the local theater scene, and all of the great places for biking and dog walking. But she says there’s one thing she’d change to make the city more enjoyable.
“That would be to turn off the light at Lake Shore Drive and Chicago Avenue.”
Monica Eng is a reporter at WBEZ. Write to her at meng@wbez.org or follow her on Twitter @monicaeng.
Corrections: An earlier version of this article mischaracterized which direction of Lake Shore Drive's traffic can exit directly at Chicago Avenue. Only northbound traffic on North Lake Shore Drive can exit at the Chicago Avenue intersection. An earlier version of this article also mischaracterized what is graded by "level of service." A 2014 report refers to drivers' level of service when it comes to getting on or off of Lake Shore Drive at Chicago Avenue.BUGÜN NELER OLDU
Evinizin atmosferine en çok etki eden unsurlardan biri de renkleri. Hem duvarlar hem mobilyalar açısından uygun bir renk seçimi yapmak, yaşayacağınız ortamı güzelleştirebilir, daha huzurlu kılabilir. Saç rengi bir insanı nasıl değiştiriyorsa, bir evin rengini değiştirmek de o evi bambaşka kılabiliyor. Evinden sıkılanlar için de en basit ve en etkili yöntemlerden biri bu. Sıkıldıysanız, evinizi başka bir renge boyatıp, uygun aksesuvar veya eşyalar edinebilir, yastık ve koltuk kılıflarınızı da değiştirebilirsiziniz.Eğer yastık ve koltuklarınızda kılıf yoksa, onlara uygun istediğiniz renkte ve kumaşta kılıflar yaptırmanız da mümkün tabii. Önemli olan evinize hâkim olacak renkleri doğru seçebilmek. Tabii burada üzerinde durulması gereken en önemli nokta da duvarların renklerinin ne olacağı...Ev eşyalarınız sade, düz ve açık renklerden oluşuyorsa bazı odalarda duvar kâğıtları deneyebilirsiniz. Hem duvar kâğıtları yeniden moda oldu, bu da çeşitlerin artması açısından avantaj sağlıyor. Gazete kupürlerinin yer aldığı duvar kâğıtlarından, çizgi roman desenlilere, puantiyeli veya çizgili olanlara kadar pek çok çeşit duvar kâğıdı bulmak artık mümkün. Bu duvar kâğıtlarını boydan boya değil de, belli kısımlara yerleştirerek de kullanabilirsiniz. Duvar kâğıtlarını şerit halinde kullanmak da evinize renk katacaktır. Ancak daha renkli fakat ciddi bir ev dekorasyonuna sahip olmak istiyorsanız, duvar kâğıdından ziyade boya kullanmanız istediğiniz izlenimi yaratmak için daha uygun olur. Renkli duvarlara sahip olup, ciddi bir ev dekorasyonu yaratmanın mümkün olmadığı düşüncesi ise tamamen yanlış. Renkli ama ciddi bir eve sahip olmak için, soğuk renkleri veya kırmızıyı tercih etmekte fayda var. Her ne kadar gergin bir atmosfer yarattığı söylense de, kırmızı evine şık ve karizmatik bir görünüm kazandırmak isteyenlerin ilk aklına gelmesi gereken canlı renklerden. Kırmızının gerginlik yaratan bir özelliğe sahip olduğuna inanıyorsanız ve yine de kullanmak istiyorsanız, bu rengi daha az girip çıktığınız bir odada deneyebilirsiniz. Yalnız eviniz küçük veya darsa, daha açık renkleri tercih etmelisiniz.Koyu renkler mekânları daha dar gösterir, açık renkler ise daha geniş. Duvarlar için beyaz rengi seçmek belki kolaya kaçmak olarak düşünülebilir. Ancak evini geniş göstermek isteyenler için de birebir bir renktir. Beyaz evinizi, gümüş tonlarındaki mobilyalarınızla daha canlı gösterebilirsiniz. Tabii bu evinize gösterişli bir imaj da katar. Uzmanlar, evde huzur için yeşil ve mavi tonları tercih etmek gerektiğini söylüyorlar. Özellikle de salonda, oturma odasında ya da mutfakta iyi bir seçim olacağı kanısındalar. Aslında her rengin ifade ettiği şey veya yarattığı etki ayrı. Sarı iyimser, sıcak ve pozitif. Mekânınızın aydınlık ve eğlenceli olmasını sağlıyor, insana zihinsel ve fiziksel olarak enerji veriyor. Çalışma odanızda ya da mutfağınızda sarı kullanarak kendinizi enerjik hissedebilirsiniz. Mavi, gökyüzünün, denizin, suyun rengi. İnsana ferahlık hissi verdiği söyleniyor. Mavi rengin en önemli özelliği ise mekânı olduğundan büyük göstermesi. Mavinin tonlarını evinizin her yerinde kullanabilirsiniz... Özellikte salon duvarlarının mavi olması ve ona eşlik eden doğru renkte ve malzemedeki mobilyalarınızla evinize çok şık bir görünüm kazandırabilir. Mavi duvar, karamel, kahverengi veya bej tonlardaki mobilyalarla çok şık duracaktır.Traffic on I-26 was a complete disaster this morning after an overly aggressive A-hole in a pick-up truck collided with a dumbass who was texting and driving. Now all the roads are crammed full of slow-moving cars and everyone’s schedules are completely screwed.
Even though the cars involved sustained minor damage and could be moved, the drivers just let them clog a lane during the busiest part of the morning commute. Things reached gridlock-level when a firetruck responded and parked diagonally across another lane, sending all commuters into mental madness. Drivers who tried to escape into side streets became stuck in more traffic within minutes, because Charleston’s transportation infrastructure is a disaster and goes to shit when there’s a single road incident.
Local commuter Frank Bruin said he’s considering a change of careers so he doesn’t have to deal with the traffic anymore. “Traffic in Charleston is a never-ending, soul-sucking beast that is only getting stronger,” he said. “I’m thinking about leaving my job as a software engineer and just taking online surveys all day. I may have to move into a trailer in Goose Creek, but it’s better than sitting in traffic all day.”
Local drivers should expect more morning traffic tomorrow when construction crews block two lanes of I-526 for five miles to repair a ten foot stretch of road.HBO’s “Real Time” host Bill Maher wondered, “Where are the liberals” to stand up for those in the Muslim world who, because of Islamic extremism can’t come out of the closet, leave the faith, or draw a cartoon, and why people on the left “are not to be heard” on the gender apartheid in the Muslim world on Friday.
Maher began by sating, “I thought Barack Obama really nailed it when he said, about eight years ago, that Americans cling to their guns and their religion, because this tragedy was brought to you by guns and religion.”
He added that only one religion bombs and kills gay people, saying, “Yes, the God hates f*gs people show up with placards and posters, and they’re despicable, but they don’t show up with guns and bombs. |
: This also occurs with redstone, small, mushrooms, torch's, repeaters, etc. this may be on purpose, but if so its really annoying. (This basically only occurs if the block is updated from above, not from the side.) DefianceUnstable 22:56, 11 September 2011 (UTC)
- If snow falls on rails, they will disappear and only the snow will remain.
Step Blocks [ edit ]
Nothing seems to connect or stick to step blocks, torches, glass panes etc.
Stone/Grass/Gravel bug [ edit ]
It would appear that some dirt/grass and gravel blocks were rendered as stone. If the "stone" is broken/force updated (placing a torch or other light source), the bricks will turn to dirt/grass/gravel. 173.23.95.245 20:58, 12 September 2011 (UTC)
Fence Gate [ edit ]
fence gates dont react to redstone
World Generation [ edit ]
When you teleport to someone in multiplayer game, it takes about 30sec-1min for the world to load.
THIS. It's a very bad issue because if you teleport someone now far away it takes them up to 2 minutes to load, even if they disconnect and reconnect. It's terrible. Doesn't seem to happen to people that are hosting the server on the same computer they are playing on.
World Generation [ edit ]
Survivor world generated with seed "seedy" (109314088) never has passive mobs spawn.
The game will print the errors "Unable to find spawn biome" and "Placed stronghold in INVALID biome at (6, 49)". Propably because near the starting area is just one kind of biome.
Noticed a bug where location x:0 y? z:0 sets a world chunk discontinuity on multiple random seeds. the main effect of this bug is that there is a dicontinuity separating clearly the terrain between x+/x- and z+/z- leaving the general + coord quarThe OnePlus team has today announced a CyanogenMod 11S update for the OnePlus One. The update will begin rolling out from today, bringing with it numerous fixes and improvements, but highlights include SwiftKey and MaxxAudio, both of which are now bundled with the OS. No, we're not on Android 5.0 Lollipop just yet.
As we continue to improve the camera on the One, there are now three video focus options: auto, continuous, and infinity. Other things that were added include regulatory information, audio output latency optimization, LED overlays, and an ANT+ library.
We previously looked at OnePlus teaming up with Waves Audio to offer MaxxAudio on its smartphone and SwiftKey was confirmed to be hitting the device too. If you've failed to use either software in the past, you'll now be able to choose a new keyboard and fiddle with some more settings.
Check the source link for the full log of changes. Expect to see the update hit your OnePlus One soon.
Source: OnePlus
This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy for more details.WASHINGTON -- Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) is so fed up with the anti-Republican "War on Women" narrative that he went on a rant Thursday, accusing Democrats of trying to convince women they need the government to help them "control their libidos."
"Our party stands for the recognition of the equality of women and the capacity of women," Huckabee told his audience at the Republican National Committee's winter meeting in downtown Washington. "That's not a war on them. It's a war for them. And if the Democrats want to insult the women of America by making them believe that they are helpless without Uncle Sugar coming in and providing for them a prescription each month for birth control, because they cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of the government, then so be it."
Huckabee, a former preacher and 2008 Republican presidential candidate, was referring to the provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires most employers to cover the full range of contraception in their health insurance plans. Many Republicans argue that employers should be allowed to refuse to provide such coverage on moral grounds, and conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh called one women's health activist a "slut" for advocating for contraception coverage.
Huckabee told GOP leaders on Thursday that women are "outraged" when Democrats paint them as nothing but "victims of their gender."
"Women I know are outraged that Democrats think that women are nothing more than helpless and hopeless creatures whose only goal in life is to have the government provide for them birth control medication," he said. "Women I know are smart, educated, intelligent, capable of doing anything that anybody else can do."
The "War on Women" charge against the GOP refers to Republicans' opposition to equal pay legislation; repeated attacks on family planning funding and legal abortion; lack of women in leadership roles; controversial comments about women, rape and birth control; and push to leave it to employers to decide whether contraception should be part of health insurance plans. Presidential nominee Mitt Romney's loss in 2012 and the major gender gap in the voting booth have been attributed to the GOP's poor reputation among women voters.
Still, this week the Republican National Committee is considering a resolution that would urge Republican candidates to speak out more aggressively on the subject of abortion.
Huckabee had made similar comments on his radio show Sunday. "It doesn't help that some of the supposed rock stars of Republican consulting tell candidates not to even discuss issues like the sanctity of life for fear of offending women voters," he said.
Huckabee added on Sunday, "For Democrats to reduce women to beggars for cheap government-funded birth control is demeaning to the women that I know who are far more complicated than their libido and the management of their reproductive system."
White House press secretary Jay Carney was asked about Huckabee's comments at his daily briefing on Thursday. A reporter read aloud the quote about women's libidos.With exactly a week to go before our historic referendum on Scottish independence The Scotsman gives its verdict on the choice before us
We have been given a historic opportunity. We have a say in a decision that will have a fundamental and far-reaching impact on all our lives, our country and its future. We will all make that decision on where we believe the best interests of Scotland and the Scottish people lie. We will make that decision from a position of pride in our country and belief in ourselves.
One of the questions at the heart of the referendum debate has been: “Could Scotland be a successful independent country?” There is only one answer to that: of course it could. We are a nation of innovative and hard-working people, with a culture of altruism and egalitarianism. We can stand alongside any country in the world, large or small, and hold our own.
Scotland could be a successful independent country, but next week’s question is: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” What we then have to look at is whether this is where the greatest success will lie.
As we approach this pivotal moment in our history, there are issues to be weighed and measured. There are some areas where straight answers are not clear, and they are not only worthy of examination but it is absolutely crucial that examination takes place.
The debate has seen strong arguments on both sides and throughout we have endeavoured to air all arguments fairly and give a voice to as many shades of opinion as possible. That will continue regardless of the position we take on the referendum today.
Perhaps the first area to be examined is currency. The Scottish Government’s preferred option is a formal currency union between an independent Scotland and the rest of the UK (rUK). The Scottish Government has accepted that our best economic interests lie with the pound. The Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said in a speech in Edinburgh that, for a formal currency union to be possible, an independent Scotland would have to cede some sovereignty.
He said this week that a currency union between rUK and an independent Scotland would be “incompatible with sovereignty” and both statements probably amount to the same thing; that some political power over factors that would have an impact on the currency would have to sit with the remainder of the UK. We don’t know exactly how much sovereignty we would have to cede yet.
There are other problems with a formal currency union that would allow Scotland to continue operating under the UK economic mantle. The three main Westminster political parties have declared against it, saying they will not enter in to one. The First Minister has dismissed this as “bluff and bluster”, saying that position will change after a Yes vote. To add pressure to bring about that change, the First Minister has said that if rUK won’t share the Bank of England in a formal currency union then Scotland would not pay any share of the UK’s accumulated £1.6 trillion of debt. It is argued that Scotland would have no legal or moral obligation to pay that debt. What English politician would lay his people open to that financial cost, goes the argument.
And although this rejection of formal currency union may be political posturing, because that’s what politicians do, and of course pledges have been broken in the past, underlying a formal currency union is a political decision that would seem to be difficult to thole if you were an rUK politician.
You would be asking the people of your country, with their savings and assets and taxes, to be the ultimate backing for a foreign country. A foreign country that has just decided to leave a union with you and set out on its own. And all this when the very real banking collapse is still a vivid memory with the effects still being felt. Those taxpayers are already unwittingly large stakeholders in the Royal Bank of Scotland. That has to be a difficult ask. And it may well be right, under the law, following a Treasury statement to reassure money markets, that Scotland has no legal responsibility for the UK’s debts and the UK has taken full responsibility for them, but the assertion that Scotland has no moral obligation for part of that debt will sit awkwardly with a lot of Scots; Scotland had a part in running up that debt. Is it fair and right to walk away from that? Is it the best way to start a new relationship with a country that is still going to be your closest partner and ally?
Should the politicians all act as they have said they will, and refuse a formal currency union, the most likely fall-back position is sterlingisation – an informal currency union where we just keep the pound. But there are significant problems with an informal currency union without any political union. There are arguments over the effects of this and the cost of this, but regardless of them, political power over decisions that could affect Scotland’s currency would sit in London with no input from Scotland.
It is clear that any currency union would leave some power residing outside Scotland. But we don’t know how much. We also do not know what impact Scotland walking away from the UK debt would have – some say the markets would welcome a debt-free country which had the nous to get itself in to that position and it could then borrow at really good rates, others that we would be regarded as untrustworthy defaulters. We just don’t know. And in the event of Scotland going its own way on a new currency, that would also probably have an impact on borrowing costs and interest rates. What can we take from all that? It seems highly likely that there will be a cost implication here, but we don’t know what it is.
The issue with EU membership and what that brings is also a difficult one. It seems clear now that Scotland will not be automatically and immediately accepted as a member of the EU and that there will be some admission procedure to be gone through. We do currently fulfil many of the convergence criteria, but what we would have to do for membership is unclear. It may well be the case that common sense on the rest of Europe’s part would be to accept Scotland in, and that we would be welcomed as a valuable member, but there is no certainty of that. Possibly of greater consequence is doubt over some of the special agreements the UK has negotiated and enjoys over the euro, borders and rebates.
This whole issue is, of course, complicated by the doubt over the UK’s position in Europe, with the referendum on membership promised by David Cameron. But it is probably wise not to let that form a part in Scotland’s decision, given there are fairly fundamental questions, not least whether Mr Cameron will still be in power in 2017 to deliver on his promise.
So, in tick-list terms then: Europe is generally seen as a good thing for Scotland, but the future for an independent Scotland in Europe is unclear. We just don’t know what the terms of that would be.
Defence is another major issue. It is said that the primary responsibility of the state is the safety of its citizens. Some people will vote for independence just because it will come with a pledge to clear nuclear weapons from our country. Weapons of mass destruction are an emotive subject, there are deep and fundamental issues about their morality. There surely must be huge doubts about whether our society now would mandate their use in any circumstances, there are questions over their military value given the changing nature of the threats to our security, and there is the far more pragmatic question of their cost for their perceived benefit. But those issues should be separated from Scotland’s constitutional future. The proposal, as things stand, is that an independent Scotland would become nuclear-free but would still be a member of Nato. How we can take the principled stance to free ourselves of nuclear weapons and then shelter under Nato’s nuclear umbrella is difficult to reconcile. The bottom line is that, as a Nato member, we would be part of an organisation whose back-stop is nuclear strikes. All this assuming we were to be accepted as a Nato member on the terms we outline. Again, opinion is divided on the subject but we don’t know for certain. It stands to reason we would be more secure as a member of a larger alliance, especially when it comes to intelligence sharing.
There are many other unknowns in many other fields, not least the actual cost of creating a separate Scotland and how that Scotland would be represented around the world and what relationships it would have with other countries.
But unknowns are a part of all life, we all have to deal with them and plan for them as best we can.
The benefits for an independent Scotland are posited as bringing decision-making vital to our creation of the society we want to see to the people best-suited to make them – the Scots. And that by doing so we will improve social justice in our society, making us fairer and more equal and reflecting and retaining our cultural values and sense of identity.
But we are already holders of many of the levers that allow us to create a society that reflects our desires and values. And more are on the way in the Scotland Act 2012, including greater control over taxes.
And that’s without any more powers which have been promised as part of this referendum battle.
We are in complete control of education, which must be the surest way of shaping the future we want, we are in charge of health, which is the very practical delivery of how we care for people. The NHS has become an emotive topic in this debate, because it is close to us all for very practical reasons but also because it is the embodiment of the altruism and egalitarianism that forms a large part of our collective identity. But we can shape the NHS in Scotland as we choose.
We have our own unique legal system and we are predominantly in charge of the policing of our society.
All these policies are formulated by the people we Scots vote for, with the decisions taken by our parliament in Scotland.
We have already gone our own way and created a different country in many big areas, including no tuition fees, free care for the elderly and free prescriptions.
The biggest factor in creating a prosperous and equal nation is the economy, and an independent Scotland would, of course, be able to stand on its own two feet, but under current proposals some of the levers needed would lie elsewhere and stability is under threat and that could come at a cost.
Next week, for many people, it will be independence at any cost. Others will weigh cost against benefits, risks against potential gains and losses.
There are significant uncertainties with the proposals before us. There are some major parts of life that will be changed and we do not know what those changes are or what impact they will have, and at a cost we cannot calculate at present. It is clear there will be some constraints on what an independent Scotland can do.
The political Union has helped to provide security and stability. And over the centuries Scots have played a large part in shaping that Union. Many, many Scots have benefited from opportunities it has afforded. We are a part of the fabric of the United Kingdom. We are a significant part of its history.
Does the Union cast a dark shadow over us? It does not seem that way, Scotland is a prosperous, peaceful, successful country. We are confident in our national identity with our own distinctive society. We have our history and heritage.
So, with the choices before us, the conclusion is that we are better together, that Scotland’s best interests lie not in creating division but in continuing in the Union and using its strengths to help us continue in our success.
That is not a view taken because of fear, or lack of confidence, or lack of patriotism. It is the very opposite.
It is not a view that simply does not want to take risk. It is a measured view that assesses risk against possible benefit and loss. It is seeing where the best interests of the Scottish people lie, understanding the benefits of working with the people in these islands in collaboration and partnership and seeing the opportunity to shape the strongest, most secure, fair and just society that we all want.
SEE ALSO
• Get the latest referendum news, opinion and analysis from across Scotland and beyond on our new Scottish Independence website[Update: AA 331 did land on Runway 12 as I had guessed. A reader pointed out that there is no ILS approach to runway 30. Thus it makes perfect sense that they chose the ILS to Runway 12. However, some people reported that the aircraft touched down nearly half way down the runway. If true, that will undoubtedly turn out to be a contributing factor to this accident] At shortly before 10:30 PM last night, a landing American Airlines Boeing 737-800, that originated at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, overan the runway at Kingston, Jamaica's Norman Manley International Airport. Flight 331 reportedly crossed a road and may have ended up on a beach just short of the Caribbean. The Jamaica Observer reported 40 injured passengers and Jamaica TV reported in a CNN video that 4 of the injuries were serious. There were conflicting reports about whether the aircraft broke up into as many as three pieces after the accident.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration web site, the 10 PM weather in Kinston was reported to include heavy rain showers. The temperature was 69°F, dew point was 66°F and the winds were out of the northwest at 13 knots. Looking at a Google Maps satellite photo and comparing it with Jamaica TV’s report that the aircraft overran the runway and “crossed a road,” suggests that the aircraft landed on runway 12 with a tailwind. If so, the accident may turn out to be similar to a December 2005 accident at Chicago’s Midway Airport in which a Southwest Boeing 737-700 landed downwind with a 11 knot tailwind. It encountered poor braking action due to snow and ice on the runway and was still traveling at 53 knots as it overran the runway.
Landing with a tailwind increases landing distances. For example, a landing distance calculator for a Boeing 737-500 indicates that when landing at 61 tons with no wind on a dry runway, 4565 feet is required. However with poor braking action, the required landing distance increases to 8855 feet. The only runway at Kingston’s airport is 8786 feet long. With a 10 knot tailwind, the landing distances increase to 5055 feet and 10,370 feet respectively. With a 10 knot headwind, the landing distances decrease to 4435 feet and 8455 feet respectively.
While pilots are generally encouraged to land into a headwind, there are operational reasons when landing with a tailwind is preferred. In the case of the Southwest jet, an AOPA Pilot article said “Changing runways might have had a negative impact on operations at Chicago O’Hare International, 13 nm to the northwest, so the air traffic considerations must be weighed against the safety implications.”
It’s less clear that there were any compelling reasons why American Airlines flight 331 had to make a downwind landing. If the pilots did choose to land with a tailwind, more than likely they did so because they wanted to decrease their taxi time to the terminal. Had they landed with a headwind on runway 30, they would have had to taxi more than a mile to return to the terminal. By landing on runway 12, they would have rolled out next to the terminal, saving several minutes of taxi time.
If the pilots did make a downwind landing onto runway 12, then another subtle factor may have played a role: Flight 331 was running late. The flight stops in Miami before continuing on to Jamaica and according to American Airlines online schedule, Flight 331 departs at Miami at 7:25PM. But, according to www.flightaware.com, for the last seven days, the flight departed on average at 7:46 PM. But last night, it departed at 8:53 PM, about an hour and a half late.
Could Flight 331’s crew have felt pressured to save 2-3 minutes of taxi time because they were running late? Absolutely. Would a downwind landing have mattered with a normal, dry runway? No, not at all. But with heavy rains and a wet runway, the crew may have been betting that everything else would go right. In the case of the Southwest overrun at Midway airport, a compounding factor was that the thrust reversers were not deployed until 15 seconds after touchdown; the four airliners that landed in the 20 minutes prior all deployed their thrust reversers in 4 to 6 seconds after touchdown.
Risk management and safe flying is all about building in lots of extra margin into every decision. It’s reasonable to shave the margins—for example by making a downwind landing—but then it’s important that there are no additional compounding factors. It will be a long time before we know the full story behind exactly what happened last night at Jamaica, but one thing is certain. Somewhere in the process, a decision or malfunction eroded the safety margins, causing this accident.In a stunning move, the DEA has allowed a clinical trial which would give patients with life-ending illnesses access to MDMA-assisted psychotherapy. This is a huge step forward ladies and gentlemen. The DEA has been exceptionally resistant to research on drugs such as MDMA, LSD and marijuana in the past. Without DEA approvals, researchers are not able to study controlled compounds, and have in the past spent years waiting for the DEA to ultimately reject their appeals. It seems the times they are a’changing.
Brad Burge, communications director for MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) reinforced that research has shown that pure MDMA has been proven sufficiently safe to be used in a therapeutic environment. I wanted to stress that this is a new step forward, even if you’ve been paying attention to the MDMA/PTSD trials that MAPS has been coordinating. While MDMA has been previously studied for its uses in PTSD, this is the first time the DEA has approved a study investigating it to be used for end-of-life illness anxiety and existential distress. Currently, psilocybin, or the active ingredient in mushrooms, is being studied at NYU to help people deal with anxiety & distress associated with an end-stage cancer diagnosis.
This is a kind of issue that doctors and psychologists have been trying to deal with for decades, and pharmaceuticals really don’t help. Only psychedelics have been shown to be effective in causing existential relief, improving quality of life and decreasing anxiety, weeks and months after they’ve been ingested. Xanax, coke and lithium don’t even come close, guys. This is a really important thing that’s happened, so can we not go and cock it all up by taking fist fulls of molly this summer and take it away from those who need it.
MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is a multi-session treatment plan that provides people with a whole host of sober coping skills in addition to experiential processing afterwards. There’s a whole host of benefits when it comes to this being added to good treatment, but it’s going to take time for the scientists to prove something we all had a feeling about in the first place. Let’s act right, focus on enjoying ourselves safely and getting one back for those who are tangling with the DEA every day.
Photo via Al JazeeraTony Abbott sitting on the backbench in November. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Mr Abbott would not have been considered for the vacancy, but his comments in a weekend opinion piece in The Australian are set to end any hope he had of a return to the cabinet under Mr Turnbull. Mr Turnbull is committed to a minimalist reshuffle, but is still weighing up the case for assigning cabinet secretary and acting health minister Senator Arthur Sinodinos to the role. While Senator Sinodinos is regarded as a "safe pair of hands", his appointment would mean the new health minister would not be in the lower house to confront Labor on what Mr Turnbull concedes is one of the most contested policy areas. Mr Turnbull is weighing up whether this drawback would be outweighed by the complications of switching one of the government's heavy hitters in the lower house to health and having a gap to fill in another key portfolio as a consequence.
Senator Arthur Sinodinos suffered a humiliating stint in the witness box during the ICAC inquiry. Credit:Christopher Pearce One minimal change would be to give Industry Minister Greg Hunt the health role and assign his portfolio for Senator Sinodinos, though there was no sense on Sunday that this was actively being canvassed. Having indicated a desire to return to the front bench late last year, Mr Abbott appears to have concluded that Mr Turnbull has no intention of accommodating him, so he will exercise his right to speak freely from the backbench. In a piece ostensibly about the challenges of the Trump presidency, Mr Abbott lamented that Mr Turnbull had abandoned the tax reform and federation reform white papers Mr Abbott commissioned and said the government was in "a worse position" than it was 18 months ago (when he was leader) to embark on a major new round of economic reform. He said the government's first move this year should be to introduce legislation to protect existing renewable generation "but to remove all further mandatory use requirements".
Mr Abbott said the existing policy would almost double renewable energy supplies in the next four years, increasing power costs and reducing reliability. "If it goes ahead, it will be the death knell for the heavy industries of Whyalla and Port Pirie in South Australia and almost certainly will destroy the aluminium industry everywhere," he wrote. "Ending any further mandatory increase in the use of renewables will mean a huge fight in the Senate, but at least the government will be on the side of lower power prices and more jobs, while Labor will be stuck on a dangerous limb with the Greens." Aside from inviting such a fight in the Senate, government figures say such a move would be disastrous, breaking an agreement with Labor on the 2020 RET, giving industry more uncertainty and inviting an electoral backlash. Coalition MPs were not expecting a major reshuffle on Sunday, saying any major reshuffle would not be contemplated before mid-year. "Not this time," one said. "Ultimately, there will be, but I don't think there is any appetite for a larger reshuffle at this stage.
"But obviously it is an important portfolio, so there is a need to put in someone very strong." "Nothing is certain and there are still calls being made," another said. "But there hasn't been anything to indicate that there will be a wider reshuffle, at this stage." Loading With Amy Remeikis Follow us on TwitterIdolatry is a horrible, dangerous thing.
Sadly, far too many Christians are so very guilty of it.
You can see it in the way they complain on social media, in the way they comment on the news of the day; in the defeatist, alarmist language that they use as to describe the world.
You see it in the way they furrow their brows and throw up their hands and slam their pulpits.
It shows-up in the lazy stereotypes and the religious rhetoric that flows so easily in church lobby coffee chats and extremist blog rants.
It’s as if everything has now become an imminent threat: Muslims, Atheists, Gays, The President, inner city criminals, Hollywood, the media, illegal immigrants, The Government.
The world outside the church building is broadly painted as a vile, immoral war zone, with “God’s people” hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned.
Parroting the politicized partisan talk show hosts and reposting the latest terrible news stories, they perpetuate the now comfortable, largely White Evangelical Christian narrative of impending destruction, and they make it clear at every opportunity: The whole damn sky is falling.
Though they loudly, repeatedly, and confidently proclaim Christ as Lord, in reality they no longer practice faith in a God that has any real power, any true control, and inherent God-ness. They seem to have little more than a neutered figurehead Deity who doesn’t seem to be able to handle much at all anymore.
He’s lost his Old Testament swagger.
Dig just beneath the sunny “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Bible covers and the shouted “God’s judgment is coming” bullhorn warnings, and you can see that the Emperor is buck naked.
For far too many Evangelicals all that flowery, blustery spiritual talk is a loud paper tiger dressed-up as religion.
The truth is, Fear has become their false God, one they worship with complete and undying devotion.
The symptoms of Fear Idolatry are pretty easy to spot.
When you’re not sure that God is there or that God will really come through, you start to spend most of your time defending that God in absentia. You become a self-appointed Crusader of Truth, whose mission is to do the holy work of policing the world (just in case God can’t or won’t).
You spend a lot of time calling out evil, forecasting disaster, and predicting damnation.
When Fear is your God, you start majoring in Exterior Sin Management. You slowly yet ultimately turn all of your attention to the things in other people that you’re certain really tick God off, and you make it your sacred business to modify their behavior in the name of Jesus.
When your God isn’t big enough you’ll try to do in others what you’ve decided God wants, instead of actually trusting God to do it.
I really feel for Christians whose Jesus seems so integral to personal salvation in the afterlife, and so irrelevant for the life we live now.
God may be able to save souls, but is apparently freaked-out by a Muslim prayer breakfast or gay marriage vote or school prayer policy.
Is that really God? Is that Divinity?
Is that the One about Whom the psalmist wrote: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1
Is that the God who spoke the world into being and calmed the seas and healed the blind and raised the dead?
I’m praying for so many of my Evangelical brothers and sisters in Christ, to stop worshipping the false idol of Fear.
I’m praying that they recapture a God Who is worthy, not just of defending and quoting—but trusting.
I’m praying for the rest, joy, and humility that comes from putting faith in something greater than themselves and in the things they fear.
Every day, even with the mystery that grows on my journey, my security grows too.
I know how big my God is.
Do you?
Share this: Facebook
Twitter
Google
Pinterest
Reddit
Print
EmailHALTON residents will have free tolls across The Silver Jubilee bridge and the Mersey Gateway, the Chancellor has announced today.
In an unexpected u-turn, George Osborne said he didn't think it was fair that people living in Runcorn and Widnes should pay to cross a river in their borough.
The cost will be met by the Government.
The decision will be welcomed by thousands of Halton residents who have been campaigning for free tolls.
THE Chancellor George Osborne came to the site of the new Mersey Gateway crossing today to tell Halton residents they will not have to pay any tolls.
The unexpected announcement has been welcomed by thousands of people who have been campaigning for the charges to be lifted.
It comes just two days after the World highlighted the fears of workers and employers about the tolls.
Speaking at the Merseylink consctruction office in Astmoor, Mr Osborne said: “I am announcing that people will be able to use the two bridges free if they are local to Runcorn and Widnes.
“We wanted to make sure that local people were not penalised.
“I have spoken a lot to Graham Evans and Derek Twigg and between the three of us we could see that local people used the bridge a lot.
“I am a neighbouring MP and know this area well. I was stopped in traffic on the Silver Jubilee bridge on the way here.”
The initial discount scheme offered Halton residents 300 free return trips for a £10 annual registration fee.
The 100 per cent subsidy will be funded by the government.
Mr Osborne said: “We can afford these things because the economy is recovering. Efficiencies have been made on the bridge itself. The team has done a great job.
“We are building this new bridge. It will open in 2017.
“It will get rid of all the congestion. I want people to be able to travel freely in their own borough.”
HALTON MP Derek Twigg who has campaigned for many years for free travel across the bridges welcomed the announcement.
He said: “I am delighted that George Osborne listened to the concerns that I and Graham Evans raised with him earlier this year about the placing of a toll on what is currently a free road and the negative impact it would have on my constituents.
“I want to place on record my sincere appreciation to the Chancellor for the additional support he has provided to allow Halton people to continue to travel free on the A533 when the Mersey Gateway opens.
“I am also grateful for the invaluable support I have had from the leader and chief executive of Halton Council in helping make our case.
“Nowhere else in the country was it being proposed that local residents should pay to use their local road.
“It is right and proper that Halton people should not have to pay to use what is currently their free local road, the A533. Local people use this local route to shop, go to work, to visit the hospital, get to the train station and visit family and friends, all within the borough.”
Runcorn MP Graham Evans MP has welcomed free tolls on both bridges.
Weaver Vale MP Mr Evans said: “I have been campaigning strongly for a fairer transport system for all, so the announcement that residents can save up to £300 per year is great news for the people of Halton.
“I have been working closely on this issue with the Chancellor, Derek Twigg, as well and the the leader and chief executive of HaltonCouncil, and I am grateful for their collaboration and hard work addressing local people’s concerns.
“Transport infrastructure is hugely important for improving quality of life across Halton as well as encouraging investment. The Mersey Gateway bridge is a great boost for local employment and will have a vitally important role in invigorating our local economy.
“This announcement shows that this government is committed to supporting growth in Cheshire and Merseyside to build a northern powerhouse as part of our long term economic plan.
“I am delighted that people in Halton are going to get a fairer deal thanks to the Chancellor’s removal of the tolling plans for residents.”
CAMPAIGNERS fighting the tolls have welcomed the free crossings but say they don’t go far enough.
Businesses will still have to pay £90 per vehicle per month.
Chris Kelly from Widnes, chairman of Halton Against Tolls, vowed to continue their crusade. He said: “Although we are very pleased about what the Chancellor said today, it’s a great battle, but the war isn’t over.
“It will still cost Halton firms money.
“We pay fuel duty, income tax, 20 per cent VAT and council tax.
“The government should be paying for all road and bridge infrastructure. There is no need for tolls anywhere.”
HALTON Council leader Clr Rob Polhill said: “Halton Council is absolutely delighted by the Chancellor’s announcement earlier today that the Government will provide the additional funding which will ensure free trips across Silver Jubilee Bridge and the new Mersey Gateway Crossing for all Halton residents
“This is great news for the people of Halton and I would like to say a personal thank you t Derek Twigg MP who has championed our cause in parliament and also to Graham Evans MP who has also played an important role in the cross party discussions.
“We will now begin the process of detailing the new scheme and will release more detail in due course “
Halton Council chief exeuctive David Parr said: “This fabulous outcome for Halton residents is due to the determination of Clr Rob Polhill and our local MPs Derek Twigg and Graham Evans.
“Since the government approved the scheme back in 2006, Halton Council and our MPs have worked tirelessly, with Steve Nicholson and the Mersey Gateway team, behind the scenes, to persuade Government to meet the full cost of tolls for all Halton residents.
“This has been a long process and not many believed we would achieve our aim, but we have.”
Steve Nicholson, Interim Chief Executive of the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board, said: “The £250 million savings we have made on the project through our innovative approach to procurement has helped make a toll free crossing for local residents more affordable to Government. I would like to thank the project team and also our contractors, Merseylink for delivering such vital procurement savings.”
Halton residents will still need to register to use the bridges and there will be a small charge for this.At the time when there are so many ideological clashes, rising intolerance among people of various communities, growing inequality, suppression of women, LGBT and minority rights, knowledge of Indian Constitution can free an individual from the shackles of discrimination. Over 200 city youngsters assembled at Samvidhan Square on Constitution Day, yesterday, to do their bit to raise awareness on fundamental rights and duties mentioned in the Indian Constitution for every citizen…Students from various colleges rallied from Indora chowk to Samvidhan Square to celebrate the Constitution Day on Saturday morning and they turned up with placards and pamphlets. “It is surprising to see that so many people know nothing about the Indian Constitution. When we asked some of the bystanders about their fundamental rights and duties, most of them were unable to give any answer. And this is shocking. We want to change this,” said one of the youngsters, Amit Sahare.It was interesting to see so many youngsters trying to educate the citizens about their rights mentioned in the |
, but sometimes that doesn’t work. (That’s Microsoft for ya, am I right? Ha ha!)
Anyway, I’d like to apologize for the things I wrote. I feel I’ve done both of us a disservice by refusing your generous offer to be a featured guest writer for Joel On Software.
If you want to know the truth, my unwarranted outburst stems from a core insecurity. Had you rejected my article, I would have been crushed. I guess this was my way of rejecting you before you could reject me. Juvenile, I know.
In fact I have deep respect for what you’ve done for the software development community over the past decade. I myself have been inspired by you since 2000; I can still remember the glee of getting new articles delivered to my inbox.
As an entrepreneur, you’ve taught me everything from how to hire great people, how to think properly about bootstrapping, how new projects help you cope with burn-out, and even how to run tech support. In fact, there’s very little I do each day that isn’t influenced by you in some way.
That’s incredible, if you think about it.
What I’m trying to say is, I would be honored to accept your invitation, and I trust that you will disregard my first email.
Apologetically and humbly yours,
Jason Cohen
Hi Joel!
I haven’t heard from you, so I’m forwarding a copy of an email I sent earlier this week.
You must get an ass-ton of email! So no hard feelings.
Talk to you soon,
Jason
Hi Joel,
Oh man, that article about hanging the blinds at Fogcreek was awesome. Did you really do all that? Of course you did, it was in the photo! I loved how you tied in the army story — it’s really motivational.
I’m so glad Inc is featuring you. They need someone to speak truth to power and put the stuffed suits in their place. You’re like the Moses of software developers! What’s next, the New York Times? Why not!
Speaking of articles, I’ve got some article ideas I’d love to discuss! I know you’re super-busy — that’s what I keep telling my friends. They’re such nervous nellies — they think you’re ignoring me! A quick little two-second reply from you would really reassure them. Thanks!
+1 for Joel in the NYT!
Jason
Joel-
Quick idea: I was thinking of doing an interview series about how your writing has inspired successful software projects. Maybe even make a short film? You could attach it to your next “Interning at Fogcreek” DVD. What do you think?
Here’s what I’d say: Your three part series on designing software for real people permanently changed my perspective and continues to be my bible. It’s the kind of thing you have to re-read every few months to make sure you’re building great, usable software.
P.S. I still haven’t heard back about the guest post. Should I be worried?
Thanks again,
J
Hey hey J-Spol!
I was just telling a friend about your offer. You know, all I have to say is “Joel” and everyone knows exactly who I’m talking about. I guess that’s how you know you’ve made it!
Anyway, this friend thinks that if you were truly interested, we would have had more conversations by now. Imagine how surprised she’ll be when you publish my article! Ha ha, we’ll both get a kick out of that.
Let me know.
Waiting expectantly,
Your boy JC
Hi Joel,
This will be my final email. I don’t want to seem like a stalker!
So it turns out I have some influence over one of your interns (one of those friend-of-a-friend-who-owes-a-favor-to-a-friend type deals). He (or she!) set up me with a Copilot account behind the FogCreek firewall, so I’ve been playing with the Joel On Software system myself.
Seems like it’s a custom job. No problem — I’m Smart and I Get Things Done — I’ll figure it out.
So you should see my article appear soon! I’m glad I found a way we could work together without interfering with your schedule. Cheers!
–Jason
Share this: Twitter
Facebook
Modeled after “Dear Oprah” from Steve Almond ‘s fantastic short story book Rants, Exploits, and Obsessions (Not that you asked). Good artists copy; great artists steal. (Said by Steve Jobs, stealing a quote from Pablo Picasso.)Credit: Marvel Comics
Secret Wars #2 cover by Alex Ross Credit: Marvel
The Marvel Universe, as we have known it since 1961, is ending.
Yes, you read that right.
During a live "Secret Wars Kick-Off" press event at New York City's Midtown Comics, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso and Senior Vice President of Publishing and Executive Editor Tom Brevoort confirmed that the upcoming eight-issue limited series Secret Wars will represent the end of both the Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe.
[STAN LEE Reacts to the END OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE Check out what Stan Lee himself has to say about the news of the end of the Marvel Universe.]
Saying that the mainstream Marvel Universe and Ultimate Universe would "smash together" during the upcoming Secret Wars crossover event, Alonso and Brevoort went on to elaborate that, by the time Secret Wars #1 hits the stands in May, every world in Marvel's multiverse will be destroyed, with pieces of each forming Battleworld, the staging ground for the Secret Wars storyline
"Once we hit Secret Wars #1, there is no Marvel Universe, Ultimate Universe, or any other. It's all Battleworld," Brevoort said.
Speculation regarding the end of the Ultimate Universe has been rampant, as fans have known for some time that, as of February, Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man will be the sole remaining title in the Ultimate line. What has been less clear is the future of the mainstream Marvel Universe moving out of Secret Wars.
[Check out Ten Lingering Questions About Secret Wars and the upcoming new Marvel Universe.]
We now know that the Marvel Universe, post-Secret Wars, will be an all new world combining elements not just of the Ultimate Universe and the mainstream Marvel Universe, but possibly bits and pieces of other worlds as well under the moniker of "All-New Marvel."
"The Marvel Universe will be Battleworld, and every single piece of those worlds will be building blocks for the universe," said Alonso, adding that all the universes represented in "Battleworld" will have "legs" moving forward.
“…We are taking the best and biggest pieces of [Marvel history] and seeing how easily they coexist with one another,” Alonso said in answer to a press question about this being a'reboot.' “We don't expect all our moves to make everyone happy, but we think it will make for a really fascinating read through Secret Wars and beyond.”
Driving home the point that anything will be possible, Alonso also teased the possibility of bring back old characters during Secret Wars. "If we wanted to resurrect Gwen Stacy," he said with a smile, "this would be the place to do it."
[UPDATE: 'LAST DAYS' SECRET WARS Title Brand Revealed]
While Marvel already teased earlier this month that the company would launch The All-New, All-Different Avengers, after having confirmed Avengers and New Avengers would end in April, Alonso confirmed that Marvel would be launching a "wealth" of new series, both ongoing and minis, during Secret Wars.
When asked what would happening to the existing ongoing series, Brevoort told press that “most” current creators will continue to work with their characters, but not necessarily in “the same book.”
“Every creative team has known this was coming. We've had a line of demarcation in the sand. Get your most immediate business done by this point because we're going into Secret Wars and it's going to have an impact on everything,” Brevoort said.
“Most of those creators are working on books during Secret Wars. They may not be exactly the same book,” Marvel’s Executive Editor continued. “There may not be a Guardians of the Galaxy book but there's probably going to be something that involves some bit of that business, or stuff that may be done in Guardians in the future. Everything is going to kind of change and shift as we go. We're not entirely ready yet to map it all out for you."
The events of Secret Wars represent what Brevoort described as "the culmination of Jonathan Hickman's plans from when he first came onto Avengers and New Avengers."
Brevoort added that Marvel's Free Comic Book Day issue, Secret Wars #0 written by Hickman, will bring readers "up to speed" for the event before it begins in may with Secret Wars #1 and an oversized issue #2.10:32 - Everyone’s screaming fire, fire.
I had to do it.
Computer games are my sin, my soul. At night when I’m tired, in the morning when I awake, they are there, always ready for another round of generated joy. Every so often I go under, bingeing on photons and electrons as though they were electric cocaine. For 72 hours straight.
I play first-person shooters, the heavy metal of the medium. Simulations, on the other hand, are easy listening. So when Will Wright released a new simulation called simply The Sims, I passed. If it was anything like his earlier creation, SimCity, it was not for me. SimCity is an exercise in urban planning—a meager form of recreation. After a day on the subway, the last thing I want is to mess with a virtual IRT. I prefer killing—blood-sport games played online against real enemies, with the bass thumping and thunder in my hand.
In The Sims, you just play house. Create a family and attend to domestic affairs. There is romance here, and though gay affairs are hard to maintain, polygamy is not that difficult. The game’s object is simple: Make your Sims happy, or else they’ll sink into depression.
But nurturing kids and building relationships had more appeal than I expected. A Sims subculture has already blossomed online, where players post their houses and peek into each other’s virtual families. The game debuted at the top of the bestseller list in February, as men and women alike bought it in droves.
And when I heard even self-respecting shooters talking about how addictive The Sims is, I couldn’t help but feel the itch. A junkie will try anything once.
I wound up playing The Sims for three days. Hardly sleeping and never working, I ate pizza out of the box and let the bonds with other humans slip away. What follows is a partial record of those hours.
DAY 1
10:00 a.m. The buy. The route to Software Etc. is crowded with people who actually work for a living.
10:30 Back home. While the CD loads, I scan the manual, then toss it in the trash.
10:40 Snug in my chair. I give birth to my Sim family. The Boals: seven adult females and one adult male. Choose faces for them. Clothes. Body type. Skin color. Where’s the body armor?
10:45 Assigning the Sims personalities. To six women I give high points in the categories of being active and outgoing, so they’ll perform well on the job, bring home the bacon for the man. He is assigned points for being playful. Stud duty. The seventh woman, neat and tidy: family house-slave.
I have a whorish imagination. My mind will wrap itself around any fantasy, lay down for any fairy tale. I am a sucker, in particular, for myths involving superhuman powers or other magnifications of self. Like Narcissus. He would love video games. Perhaps that’s why children, with their fragile egos, love them too.
10:50 Home is an empty lot. The Boals move in. They are cartoonish, and they jerk when they walk, revealing an ugly bump in the code. I study their surroundings: a classic suburban landscape. Leave It to Beaver in color.
I can zoom in or out. Rotate the plane of perspective. Peer at my plot of paradise, enclosed by a moat of blacktop roads. Will Wright told me French audiences complained about the width of these roads—too American.
11:00 A newspaper girl drops off a paper and hurries away. Pigtails flapping.
The prompt says:
—Read
—Recycle
—Find a Job
11:02 I get Yolanda and Jenni jobs as “team mascots.” Pay: $100 Simolians a day.
11:05 Jenni throws the newspaper in the trash before I can employ the others. Have to watch these Sims. They move on their own Artificial Intelligence. But those who prophesy the advent of spiritual machines make a mistake: AI is not the same as free will.
12:00 p.m. John Boal crosses his legs. A cartoon bubble appears above his head showing a picture of a toilet. We don’t even have a front door, let alone a toilet. I’m considering what to do about this, when he goes in his pants, leaving a puddle on the green grass.
12:15 Nancy goes on the grass.
12:16 Yolanda goes too.
12:17 Judy pees.
12:18 My lot looks like a swamp. Fuck.
1:00 I’ve discovered shopping.
“Hygeia-O-Matic Toilet, $300. Ingenious flipping seat and flush handle make using the Hygeia-O-Matic a blast.”
1:25 I also bought a fridge, couch, TV, couple of beds, stove, and kitchen cabinets, and dumped everything on the lot. But now that I have a toilet, I can’t get the Sims to use it. They just throw up their arms and start yelling at me.
2:00 My Sims are sad. I can tell this because their “happiness bar” has dipped into the red danger zone.
2:15 I try to cheer them up with a round of group backrubs.
2:30 Mary Boal begins to sob. Cries in short little bursts. When the Sims talk they sound like a cross between Charlie Brown and the Teletubbies. An infantile gurgle. Also, the volume warbles: The soundtrack fades and grows, producing a kind of aural hypnosis.
2:35 Flies are buzzing over dirty plates in theliving room.
2:40 I debate whether to fish my manual out of the trash. It’s not so much the banana peel on top that gives me pause, but the fact that I never use manuals. Find them obvious. But this game is hard, and I’d like to win it sooner rather than later.
2:42 To hell with it. I need the manual.
3:30 I’ve learned that Sims won’t piss in public. I’ve also discovered the building tool.
3:35 Laying bricks. With a cross between a drafting application and an interior-design program, I build the Boals a simple house. Then I decorate.
4:30 I’m eating pizza, taking a break. Notice that my apartment is smaller, proportionally, than the Sims’ house.
6:00 A Sim day runs out several times faster than a day in real life. It’s already getting dark in Sim land. They fall asleep on the floor. Snoring loudly.
6:30 A new Sim day. The carpool comes to take Yolanda and Jenni to work. Jenni says: “I’m too depressed to work,” refuses to budge off the couch. I try to get her to make out with Sharon. No luck. I consult the manual.
It says Sims can be het or gay. What’s wrong with my girls?
7:30 I have to go outside. I’m tired of worrying about what happens to these cartoons. On the street, I am startled by the darkness. The streetlights loom above the ground. People look vaguely menacing. I head uptown to see a Sim addict I know. Figure he can explain about the girls.
7:32 The cab drops me off a block too soon. After studying angles in the game for so long, I’m struck by the straightness of the street. How it forces me to walk in one direction. Grids.
7:35 Inside. The addict knows. Last week he flew from JFK to Hong Kong, an 18-hour trip. On a flight sim. Navigating in the weather in real time so that when it rained over France on his screen, it was raining over France, the country. He says The Sims is far less complicated than steering a real plane. But he had the same problem as me: couldn’t get two guys to kiss. He’s gay and found this annoying. I tell him I wasn’t annoyed by the lack of kissing, just... never mind. It’s stupid.
10:00 Home again.
10:20 How are my lovely Sims? Sharon is in the kitchen, preparing lunch with a food processor. John is jumping up and down, complaining about something. Yolanda is watching TV. Two others are slapping each other.
10:30 Fire!
10:31 Sharon set the damn kitchen on fire.
10:32 Everyone’s screaming fire, fire.
10:33 The second cabinet is aflame.
10:35 I find Extinguish.
10:36 Too late. As Yolanda puts down one flame, Sharon has already caught fire.
10:37 Sharon is dead, burned alive. A gravestone rises to mark her passing.
10:38 Fuck this.
10:39 I need some good, clean action. Loading Unreal Tournament, my latest shooter.
11:40 I’m darting through time-space. Circle strafing some punk from the Five Towns. He goes down easy. Move. Kill. Move. Kill. The reptilian pleasure of a clean shot to the head. Survive. Taste immortality.
We don’t know why, exactly, games bathe the brain in endorphins. But the pleasure must be one percent survival—the adrenaline of fight and flight—and 99 percent the result of mathematics woven into light.
Pythagoras was a vegetarian and a spiritualist. Thought math would save his soul. His mantra: Numbers are things.
12:00 a.m. Still playing. Polygons crash my retina, enter the cortex, set dendrites on fire. The code renders my enemy as a stack of squares. My ammunition: tiny, tiny squares that must reach the opponent’s square before he moves, along a line, to another square in space. Every second a new puzzle.
12:45 Somersaulting in zero gravity, on a roller coaster in four dimensions, I draw a bead on a moving target, spray blue orbs of death at his back, spiral down and—slam—hit the bounce pad, rocket up again, soaring into starry space as his lasers explode beneath my feet in a dazzle of yellow light. Missed, bitch.
1:30 Enough. My eyes belong to someone else. My hand is a rock. I shut the box down. Drink a shot of rum (it was lying around). Pass out.
DAY 2
8:30 a.m. Wake up starving. Delivery order: Scrambled eggs, bacon, rye toast, and extra home fries. Vanilla milkshake.
9:30 I bulldoze the Boal family. Start again with a new brood. Just two adults, easier to take care of. Caution is the order of the day.
10:00 Discovered that the Sims’ radio plays MP3 files. Very cool.
10:30 Discovered another secret. The way to excel at The Sims is to pretend you are the characters. You have to give a shit. I’m making sure Sim Mark takes a shower. Goes to the bathroom. Has a quick snack. Then there are phone calls to make after work, to keep the social score up. Sitting in the hot tub relaxes Mark and Mary. They like it in there with all the bubbles, outside in the backyard, with the sun setting, radio playing their favorite tunes—my favorite tunes.
11:30 Managing their joy effectively.
1:30 I like the way Mark looks when he’s working out. The little weights on the bench press move up and down. He huffs and puffs, getting stronger.
3:00 Doing splendidly. I’ve made friends. Advanced Mark up the career ladder by getting him to study hard. Mary has a great job, too. They are both happy most of the time. Occassionally, they are supremely happy. My favorite new purchase: a color flat-screen TV. You can change the channels.
3:15 Watching Mary in the kitchen prepare dinner. I am watching Mark watch Sim TV.
“Surveillance: n. A watch kept over a person, group, etc., esp. over a suspect or prisoner.”
3:20 Mark and Mary are kissing. Finally. Would you like to have a baby? Sure.
3:30 A phone call. A social worker is coming to take away the baby. Child abuse. What the hell? I fed her.
3:35 I need help. Surf to thesims.com, where true believers congregate. Find thousands of postings. Links to hundreds of fan sites. People write fictional stories about their Sims and post them. Fantasy within a fantasy. Found this tip:
“In order to keep that love alive, EVERY morning, and after work, and right before they sleep, they both hug and kiss each other, no matter what, unless either one of them is in a bad mood. I find that strategy to work the best for me, and I hope it works for you. Good Luck :-)”
4:30 I keep Mark and Mary kissing. Her hand caresses his back, slides down to his ass. This gives me a brief jolt. A little jealous, I consider my own sex life—find it lacking.
5:30 Debating the merits of downloading the naked “skin” for Mary. A skin is a hacker modification that lets you change what the Sims look like. Playing Barbie.
6:31 I must be crazy.
7:00 I go for a walk. Someone once said a schizophrenic going for a walk is healthier than a neurotic in a chair. Bump into a lamppost I’ve passed millions of times without mishap. Call comes in on the cell: Have dinner with me. Get lost finding the restaurant. I try to explain about the game, how it casts a spell of scale, how you get pulled into this generous miniature and you can’t easily find a way out. She looks at me like I’m a little off.
7:15 It’s not me, I say. It’s the game.
7:20 She says, “Relax, I’m used to dealing with lunatics.” She’s an editor at a fancy magazine.
9:00 Back home. Thank God. That was taxing.
10:00 I am Mark. And Mary. But less Mary than Mark. I know this because I make Mary pay the bills. My bills are buried under newspapers. The inside of my fridge: a biology experiment. I need (a) Mary.
11:00 I don’t care about this game.
11:02 I do care.
11:03 Damn.
DAY 3
9:00 a.m. Still playing.
12:00 p.m. Ditto
1:00 Drinking Go-Go to stay awake. It has a rad can: an anime babe with giant eyes, orange hair, purple micromini. Dolores in a digital line.
1:15 I’m hard-wired from two sips. Cut Go-Go with two fingers of Bombay gin. Not bad.
I remember this: “The difference between art and games? I don’t know. Art is such a big word that means different things to different people. Art is a form of communication. Games are a form of symbolic manipulation.” Will Wright, March 16, 2000.
2:00 When you’ve been playing for 17 hours, and are now in a silent dialogue with your Sims, this distinction falls away.
3:00 I think I need a new couch.
4:00 And a few more friends.
4:30 Feel slightly insane, out of touch with the present. Think perhaps the present does not exist. Nor the future. Think we invent the future to escape the present, and all its horrible immediacy.
5:00 I turn back to the Sims. For solace.
5:15 I am good at this now. Playing is contemplative. Relaxing.
5:30 When the future arrives, we’ll all play at being ourselves in a game like The Sims. We’ll upload our little fantasies and then—gaze at them. Which is to say that in the future we’ll regress, since fantasy always looks backward over the shoulder of Time, to a moment that never happened.
6:00 I zoom in to touch my Sims, pan out to watch. Telescoping intimacy.
7:15 Bathing Mary in a bathtub. Can hear her lather up. One thing the definition of surveillance doesn’t tell you about keeping watch: The voyeur doesn’t just gaze; he connects. Think of guards who watch prisoners. They sometimes date the convicts. Even get married to them. Surveillance as a form of love.
7:30 What am I learning, right now?
7:31 Either this is a special experience, or an utter waste of time. Or both.
7:40 I need a break. My social meter is low. I turn off the game.
Can’t take this lonely sim. I know science isn’t done with us yet, but I hope when it is we turn out to be more than digits in a wetware shell.Scott Harris and Stacy Przybysz begin a new series charting the A to Z of The Transformers.
This year is the 30TH anniversary of The Transformers, and with the sweet-looking new movie starring Mark Wahlberg and Grimlock on its way to cinemas this summer, we decided to show our appreciation of the iconic series about giant robots punching each other (or shooting each other in the equilibrium, if you prefer) with this, our A to Z of The Transformers.
Ark, Armada, Astrotrain, Axalon, the list goes on, but we did not set out to write a definitive guide to the franchise. There are already two entire wikis designed exactly for that purpose ( “A” could stand for an awful lot of things. Aaron Archer (double for him), Aerialbots, Action Masters, Alpha Trion, Arcee,, Astrotrain,, the list goes on, but we did not set out to write a definitive guide to the franchise. There are already two entire wikis designed exactly for that purpose ( here and here ), and they do a marvelous job of it already. We’re just two fans talking about our passion. Still, it can sometimes be difficult to figure out what deserves a spot in our list, so each entry in this A to Z will consist of up to three different subjects, and only the ones that we feel we can talk about the most.
So, without further ado, let’s roll for it!
A is for AUTOBOTS
Throughout the years, The Transformers have been reimagined, rebooted, revived and everything else in between. Originally cobbled together from a hodgepodge of Japanese toy lines such as Diaclone, Macross and Microman during the early 1980s and given a story to bind them all together, it started a cultural phenomenon that has spawned comic books, cartoons, movies and enough conflicting continuity to make even seasoned Whovians give up and go home. In spite of all this confusion, however, there is one thing that can always be counted on, one thing that is always at the heart of the great and seemingly never-ending interstellar conflict, and that is:
“Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons.”
-The Transformers theme song
The Autobots are the ultimate force for good in the universe. Under the leadership of the powerful robot Optimus Prime, they stand for law, order and peace across the stars. There are a few rules that the Autobots arguably always follow in their various incarnations, which we will look at more closely in the article below.
They are restricted to working on land. In the earliest versions of the story, the Decepticons’ power of flight gave them an edge on the battlefield. Although the Autobots could supplement this with equipment such as rocket packs and transport ships, only a handful of them have ever been capable of full flight under their own power. Generation 1 gave us the Aerialbots and others such as Jetfire/Skyfire, Powerglide, Cosmos and Blades to name a few, while Animated provided the combining twins Jetfire and Jetstorm. An even lesser number of them have adapted themselves for marine operations, with Seaspray and Broadside being the only original Autobots of note to do so. Their terrestrial design is seen in their frequent usage of cars, motorcycles, trucks and other such domestic vehicles as their alternate mode-of-choice.
Bluestreak, Huffer and Alpha Trion show off those baby blues.
In continuities where optic colour goes hand-in-hand with allegiance, the Autobots possess soft blue eyes in contrast to the harsh crimson ones of their Decepticon counterparts. Not all continuities maintain this rule, with the comics frequently depicting yellow as the most recurring optic colour for both factions, but that divergence remains just as iconic today as their famous badges.
Regardless of general backstory, and believe you me there are more than enough to choose from, the Autobots were never designed for combat. Whether it’s because they were built as general consumer goods as in the Generation 1 cartoon or that they were shrinking, feudalistic bureaucrats as seen in several later interpretations, it was the Decepticons who taught them the ferocity of warfare. They are a conclave of explorers, traders, engineers, scientists and scholars who have been forced to take up arms in order to ensure their own continued survival in the face of overwhelming odds. Certainly there were often more Autobot toys to be had than Decepticons, but only because the Autobots really needed the numbers. Their non-confrontational policy may also attest to their preferences in alternate modes, although over the years the Autobots have accepted a scattering of malcontents among their ranks and some take more combat-oriented configurations, such as Generation 1’s Warpath, on the basis that they have little choice in the matter. The Cyber-Ninja Corps introduced in Animated also suggests that the Autobots began studying martial arts as a means of stealing back an advantage from the aggressive Decepticon armies.
The eight Primes depicted in the Generation 1 cartoon. Upper: Primon, Prima, Prime Nova, Guardian Prime Lower: Zeta Prime, Sentinel Prime, Optimus Prime, Rodimus Prime
Perhaps most importantly of all, the Autobots respect the hierarchy without question. He who carries the name of “Prime” is not only their supreme military commander, but a holy figure. The Prime is the bearer of the Matrix (of Leadership or otherwise) and epitomises everything the Autobot cause stands for. Although many Autobots show an understanding of the key difference between loyalty and obedience and have questioned their leader’s decision-making, they always keep in mind why that Prime is who he is instead of them.
The Autobots are instantly recognisable by their badge, which each member always displays somewhere on his body, typically on the chest or shoulders. It is equal parts organisational insignia and tribal marking. According to the Generation 1 comics, the badge is referred to colloquially as an “Autobrand” and represents the Last Autobot, an ancient guardian of their God-figure, Primus. Meanwhile in the cartoon, it was a slave brand used by the alien Quintessons and kept by the robots after they rebelled as proof of their struggle for freedom.
The Generation 2 line attempted to popularise a simpler variant of the badge in the early 1990s that more closely resembled the face of Optimus Prime, by now the beloved poster-bot for the franchise, but subsequent series have reverted to the original design, sometimes adding to it but never removing the core elements.
In both the live action films directed by Michael Bay and the recent Prime animated series, the word “Autobot” has been stated as a contraction of “autonomous robot life-form.” Seems legit.
Tomorrow Scott and Stacy take a look at Transformers Animated as they continue their A to Z of The Transformers.Looking for news you can trust?
Subscribe to our free newsletters.
From a “senior banker,” explaining to the Financial Times why the bailed-out-and-still-taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland is determined to pay its CEO a huge bonus in the face of official disapproval:
This person defended Mr Hester as a “highly credible banker”. If the chief executive turned down his bonus it would “demoralise” staff members and would send a signal that they now effectively “worked for an arm of the civil service or a utility, rather than for a bank”.
Roger that. Wouldn’t want to demoralize all those tellers and branch managers who will probably break out in a North Korean-esque hail of tears if Stephen Hester receives a bonus that’s a pence less than £1.5 million. Probably best just to keep shoveling money out the door as always.
Via Keith Humphreys.Police say air rifle used to kill two young geese, three ducks and a moorhen in Hartley Wintney
Several ducks, geese and a moorhen have been shot dead at a village pond. An air rifle was used to kill the birds in Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, between Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon.
A Hampshire police spokesman said: “During this time period, an unknown number of people have used an air rifle or something similar to shoot dead the majority of birds at the pond.
“The birds that died are described as two recently born geese, two wild ducks, a female Muscovy duck and one moorhen. Another duck had been shot in the head but was recovered by a member of the public and taken to the local vets. It is expected to make a full recovery.”
PC Geoff Hill, of Farnborough police station, said: “It is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to kill, injure or take any wild bird. The duck pond is at the heart of the village and has provided amusement for generations of families. It is disgusting that someone should curtail this by killing innocent and defenceless wildlife.”Watch these videos and you will never see built environments in the same way again. Some tackle timeless questions of light, dark and color, while others address emerging technologies and the architectural problems of tomorrow. Skim the descriptions below to decide which you want to view – or take an hour of your day to enjoy them all!
Richard Kelly starts out with Le Corbusier’s modern classic Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp, illustrating the amazing plays of light and dark that together make for a deeply spiritual experience of space. He goes on to talk about Richard Kelly, a pioneer of lighting design, who talked in terms of focal glow (space-dominating sources), ambient luminescence (mood lighting) and plays of brilliants (bright points in a dark space). If you have any doubt about the importance of light and color in architectural design, you need to watch this video.
Daniel Libeskind is a designer who preaches what he practices. He abhors neutral and strives for inspirational, emotional, complex, risky, raw and story-telling architecture that both describes but also rises above the times in which it is built. At the same time, he is not a proponent of artistic expression for its own sake, but shows surprising pragmatism – architecture, like the Ground Zero memorial towers, should fit the consensus and respond to the needs of people occupying it. Whether or not you are a fan of his elaborate Deconstructivist-style monuments and institutions, this talk will help you put one of today’s most energetic architects in context.
Rachel Armstrong proposes self-repairing and evolving metabolic materials that will step beyond design and history. She boldly proposes that sustainability means connecting to nature in a fundamental way: namely, with building blocks that can grow and change. It is more than just a vision, though – she brings actual material developments to the table that defy the inert qualities of familiar concrete, wood and bricks. These can respond in real time to environmental conditions. Instead of imposing structure upon matter, these concepts, like what they contain, are necessarily dynamic – they will literally grow out of material science in the coming years.
Magnus Larsson has an improbable but grand project in mind, turning bacteria and grains of sand into a sandstone wall that could span the entire continent of Africa. Each second, one billion grains of sand are created in the world – some become sandstone, but others collect in dunes and deserts. Each day, the Saharan frontier moves a meter forward, taking over human-occupied lands and displacing populations. To reclaim vast and uninhabited areas of the Earth, it only makes sense that we turn the destructive desertification power of sand to our advantage. This proposal would have multiple benefits, reclaiming such spaces, reducing droughts and curbing climate change.
Bjarke Ingels asks how we tell the architectural design stories outside of the finished project, using alternative media (including comic books!) to talk about history, evolution and the avante garde of architecture. If you enjoy offbeat comparisons, visual juxtapositions, comedic concepts and experimental expression, this is a much-watch video.
Cameron Sinclair was and is an early proponent of open-source architecture to address everyday issues of sustainable global design, from emergency housing and transitional shelter to shipping container infrastructure, straw bale construction, mobile health clinics and more. This talk is now nearly a decade old, but the lessons are just as applicable today, or perhaps more so than ever.
Liz Diller (of Diller + Scofidio) describes architecture as a special-effects machine – beyond basic shelter, it is theatrical in essence. Her work challenges conventions of spatial use and building technology. Notably, she recognizes that her projects are not always easy to capture and display in museum retrospectives – they are about a time, place and experience, for better (and/)or for worse. This video should be a fittingly light-hearted end to these series of somewhat-heavy features.Ready to fight back? Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter.
Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and |
. NEITHER LET HIM WHICH IS IN THE FIELD RETURN BACK TO TAKE HIS CLOTHES. AND WOE UNTO THEM THAT ARE WITH CHILD, AND TO THEM THAT GIVE SUCK IN THOSE DAYS–Mt 24:15–19. What should a mother do? If she goes to get her child, both of them will be caught, tortured, and killed. A father has a thought to get a jacket, so he hesitates and gets caught. The obedient will escape. If a person is caught, the full wrath of Satan will be poured out against them, unless they take the mark and worship the image.
As the Jews that are trusting in Jesus flee for their lives with God’s help, Satan tries to stop them with a flood, but the earth opens its mouth and swallows the water, and they escape. God will take care of them for the next 3 ½ years. Satan is wroth that the elect Jews escaped. He goes forth to make war against the rest that did not escape, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. The Scriptures tell the Jews that will flee–Mt 24:20–BUT PRAY YE THAT YOUR FLIGHT BE NOT IN THE WINTER, NEITHER ON THE SABBATH DAY– Mt 24:20. This confirms it will not be 1260 days following the covenant, as the season, day, and date should be locked in and could be figured out. The number that shall escape from Judaea is unknown. The total number of Jews that will be protected will be 1/3rd of Israel.
It is written: When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, “if” thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (for the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them–Deut 4:30,31.
(Take The Mark. 666 Or Cannot Buy Or Sell)
The False Prophet causes all people to receive a mark, or the name of the Antichrist, or the number of his name (which is 666) in or on their right hand or forehead. No one can buy or sell without the mark. Without the mark, it will be nearly impossible to survive. A person cannot buy anything, anywhere. They cannot pay their rent, or utilities, or even their taxes. They cannot receive a salary. This mark will be needed to conduct all financial transactions. The world will become a cashless society that is totally under the control of the Antichrist.
How can a mother get food for her baby? Those that follow Christ, their faith will be severely tested. The word goes out from an angel. The wrath of God will be upon all that take the mark and worship the Antichrist. It is an unforgivable sin. There will be only two choices. These will be?follow the Antichrist and survive, or follow Christ and then be beheaded. The faith of some will fail under the pressure. How about you?
(THESE WILL LOSE THEIR LIFE, BUT GET THE VICTORY)
Following the image being set upon a wing of the temple, people being beheaded should begin, because they will not worship the image. However, those that are beheaded, actually get the victory over the Antichrist and over the image. These did not receive the number of the name of the Antichrist. These did keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. These get the victory by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and because they loved not their lives unto death. The instant they are killed, they will be in the presence of God.
(Power Over All the World)
Power is given to the Antichrist by his father, Satan, over all kindreds, and tongues and nations. All that dwell on the earth shall worship the Antichrist, whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life. During these last 3½ years (called the Great Tribulation), world conditions continue to worsen. The Antichrist shall be allowed to make war against the saints and the holy people, and will overcome them. The Gentiles throughout the world that choose to follow Christ will have to hide or flee. As said, survival will be difficult. There will be betrayals in families. Authorities can be expected to pretend they follow Christ in order to trap others that really do. Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles for the last 42 months.
The Antichrist continues in power for 1260 days and prospers. The people of the world will be under his control, except those whose names are written in the book of life. He blasphemies the God of heaven over, and over but glorifies and honors Satan with gifts. There are no bounds regarding the hatred of Satan, the Antichrist, and False Prophet toward God and those that follow Christ. The last 1260 days of the Tribulation will be filled with many judgments from God against those that follow the Antichrist. Trees will begin to wilt. The fields will be drying up because of no rain.
(Babylon is Fallen, is Fallen)
(The Whore—That is, the Roman Catholic Church is Burned With Fire)
During the first part of the Tribulation, “the Great Whore” ( the Roman Catholic Church) will grow and prosper as never before. The kings of the earth will go a whoring with her. They will become intoxicated with her fornication (or her hypnotic ceremonies and teachings). But then the Antichrist will proclaim himself to be God and move into the newly rebuilt temple. The Vatican will be hated by the 10 kings and the Antichrist. They will burn her with fire. She competed for the souls of people as did the Antichrist. The Great Harlot will come to a fiery end. Her judgment will be from the Lord. The Antichrist will reign supreme and unhindered.
(Rome)
The city of Rome will prosper and become a great financial and trading capital. But it is laiden with sin. During this general time, the city of Rome will also be destroyed by fire in one hour. The Scriptures list them as two events with each being destroyed for different reasons.
(Authorities Seek the Followers of Christ. Many Betrayals)
During the second part of the Tribulation, the authorities will be looking for people that follow Christ. Surveillance devices will be everywhere. Is this beginning to happen right now? It will be a time of great fear. People betraying people will be common. AND YE SHALL BE BETRAYED BOTH BY PARENTS, AND BRETHREN, AND KINSFOLKS, AND FRIENDS; AND SOME OF YOU SHALL THEY CAUSE TO BE PUT TO DEATH–Lk 21:16.
It is also written, THEN SHALL MANY…HATE ONE ANOTHER–Mt 24:10. AND BECAUSE INIQUITY (or wickedness) SHALL ABOUND (or increase), THE LOVE OF MANY (or most) SHALL WAX (or grow) COLD–Mt 24:12.
However, many Gentiles, through the mercy of God and His protection, will survive the Tribulation—hiding and running for their lives. These will go into the Millennium to repopulate the earth. There may be 4 million or more.
(Falling Continues Throughout the Tribulation)
The falling away from the faith will continue throughout the Tribulation, as people are confronted with torture and death versus life. It is written, AND THEN SHALL MANY BE OFFENDED (or trapped) (or at that time, many will turn away from the faith)–Mt 24:10. Yet, during the Tribulation, many will also come to faith in Jesus Christ.
(The Two Witnesses Continue)
The two witnesses (that is, Moses and Elijah) continue to cause great problems for the Antichrist. No one can stop their miracles or plagues. No one can bring back the rain they stopped. No one can stop the testimony that they are giving. Anyone that tries to kill them are, in turn, killed by fire. Despite the enormous power the Antichrist and False Prophet have, they cannot stop the two witnesses until their time is up, which is 1260 days after they appear. They are given power by God to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.
The two witnesses have the power to turn the waters to blood. This was one of the miracles Moses did thousands of years ago. They also have the power to strike the earth with whatever plague they desire. Moses did such miracles thousands of years ago. Elijah also had powers to smite the earth with a curse. Elijah also turned the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just and made things ready for the return of the Lord.
(Living Conditions)
Living conditions in Israel and the world will become worse and worse; yet, two–thirds of the Jews and much of the world will take the mark and worship the image. They will follow Satan and the Antichrist, even though it can clearly be seen the God of heaven working through Moses and Elijah is far stronger than the Antichrist. As bad as the violence will be in the first part of the Tribulation, the last part is far worse. Violence will reach the point of being as bad as it can get.
(The Plagues and Results of No Rain)
(Plagues. Terrible Things Torment the People)
(Locusts. First Woe)
As time passes during the last 3½ years, many more plagues will come upon people. Some type of LOCUSTS that cannot be numbered will sting men with a sting like a scorpion. It will be horrible. People will be in agony. They will be several inches long. They come out of the bottomless pit. This is the first of three great woes.
Men will seek death and shall not find it. The locusts will not affect those that did not take the mark or worship the image. Their faces resemble humans. They have long hair like a woman, and their teeth are long and sharp. They have a hard shell like iron, and their tails are like a scorpion. They swarm over all the earth. They are able to go over water and land. They do not hurt the vegetation. For 5 months, they will torment the people of the earth, then it will be over. Two more horrible woes are yet to come.
(Sores)
The world has already gone through a traumatic experience from the stings of the locusts for 5 months. Then, all of a sudden, on the face of the whole earth—horrible, disgusting, grievous and painful sores begin to appear on all that take the mark and worship the image. It is as an ulcerated, ugly, and malignant sore. The pain will be intense. Men will blaspheme the God of heaven, because of their pains and their sores; but they will not repent. Moses and Elijah are given power to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they wish. Moses with Aaron had brought this same plague in Egypt against Pharaoh. They had taken handfuls of ashes from a furnace and tossed it into the air. It became fine dust over all the land. It then became loathsome and malignant, ugly and painful sores—festering boils that broke out on people and even animals.
(The Oceans, the Rivers, the Fountains of Water Will No Longer Support Life)
Moses and Elijah will turn the seas so they will become as the blood of a dead man. They will no longer sustain life. Every living thing in the sea will die. Then the rivers and fountains will be turned to blood throughout the world. Drinking water will be scarce and food more difficult to find. The blood of saints and prophets will be shed at the hands of many, and, in return, God will give them blood to drink. Moses had done this in Egypt also. He had stretched out his rod upon the waters of Egypt, their streams, rivers, ponds, and pools. As a result, the people digged around the river for water to drink, for they could not drink of the water of the river.
(The Sun and Heat)
Next there shall come HEAT. For a time, the sun will send forth intense heat. People are tormented. They are scorched or burned with fire. The people of the world will curse God and speak all manner of evil against the God of heaven, Who controls these plagues. There is much blindness upon the people because of sin.
(Darkness and Earthquakes)
As time progresses toward the end of the Tribulation, both the throne of the Antichrist and his kingdom are plunged into thick darkness. Israel was his kingdom, and the Temple Mount was his headquarters. The darkness is so intense that it can be felt. It is so thick that it is difficult to even move. The people cannot see each other. No light can penetrate it. The people still have their sores and are in agony. Do the people repent? No. Moses had brought darkness in Egypt that had lasted for three days. Earthquakes continue to increase both in number and intensity.
(Diseases)
The spread of diseases will get worse. For some, there is no cure. This is one of the signs of the return of Christ. Sexual diseases keep increasing, as multiple sex partners keep increasing. Epidemics will arise in various places, which will be hard to control, as people travel all over the world.
(Wars and Rumors of Wars and Wild Animals)
Nation will be against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be wars in households, between governments, and between people. Many people will be hungry, but so will the wild animals. With the rains shut off, conditions will get worse. The animals begin attacking people.
(A Famine of Hearing the Word)
(The Seven Last Plagues)
During the first part of the Tribulation, the 144,000 will bring forth God’s Word. Then they will be gone. During the second part of the Tribulation, there will be famine of hearing God’s Word, except for Moses and Elijah. It is written, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the Word of the Lord, and shall not find it–Amos 8:11. The second part of the Tribulation will be a time when no man can work the works of God, except Moses and Elijah–ref Jn 9:4. As the Tribulation was draws to a close, God’s wrath comes through seven plagues.
(THE ARMIES OF THE WORLD BEGIN ASSEMBLING FOR ARMAGEDDON)
(The Tribulation is Nearing Its End)
The unclean, spirits of devils, that is, the spirits of Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet (like frogs) go forth to the kings of the earth to gather and assemble the armies of the world to the battle (or war of the) great day of God Almighty. This is the war of all wars. It was to be fought in the Valley of Megiddo, Jerusalem, and surrounding areas. This is called the BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON. The armies of the world did not know they were coming to fight against the return of Jesus. Rather, many were fighting against each other for a time.
(China and the World)
Before the RAPTURE, China began a great military buildup. With their new weapons of mass destruction and a massive number in their military, they become the dominant military force in the last part of the Tribulation.
The Kings of the East, 200,000,000 strong, led by China, began their march toward Israel.
The mighty men of war, all over the world, will be awakened. Their weapons will be prepared. They will say they are strong. They are coming to be slaughtered by Jesus Christ and His armies, but none will suspect this.
(The Advance)
China had boasted publicly, even before the Rapture, that they could put forth an army of 200,000,000. They will indeed put together such a military, which will include other kings of the east allied with them. These will head westward toward the Euphrates River, and then on to Israel. The army will be so large that it will stretch beyond the horizons. They will be like a line of ants that has no end and cannot be stopped. As they go forth, they will seem invincible.
The Kings of the East arrive at the river Euphrates. Normally, this great river wound some 1700+ miles southward to the Persian Gulf, and ranged up to about two–thirds of a mile wide. When they arrive, they will find the great river will be mostly dried up. This is because Moses and Elijah had caused the rain to cease about 3½ years previously.
At this time, as a result of the weapons China will have?ONE–THIRD OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION WILL BE KILLED. We call this WW4.
The Tribulation will be nearly over. The Battle of Armageddon is ahead.
The Kings of the East will continue to travel toward Israel. A devouring fire will go before them. What will be left, as they pass through various areas, will be a desolate wilderness. Their aircraft will leap over the mountains with a noise like the roaring of a forest fire. The nations will be in anguish at the sight of them. As they march, they will not break their ranks.
(The World and Israel’s condition)
Right up to the time of Armageddon, people will be eating and drinking, getting married, and going about their lives not realizing the end of nearly all life on earth was only days away, and Jesus was returning.
Israel’s condition will be terrible. Their strong cities will be broken down. The trees will be withered. The fields will be wasted. The harvest will have perished. The seed will have rotted. The vines will be dried up. The animals will groan for water and pasture. Fires will burn up much of the wilderness.
(Estimated Population and Numbers)
The world population, at the time of the Rapture, may be (plus or minus) seven and one–half billion (7,500,000,000). When the Rapture comes, a very small number of people will be taken by the Lord. It will be much lower than most think. This is because many profess they know Christ, but in their fruits and works they deny Him–Titus 1:16.
Then, as a result of the Russian–US war, twenty five percent of the world’s population will die. Also an unknown number will be killed for their faith during the first part of the Tribulation. This may leave under 5,625,000,000 people on the earth, including new births.
Also millions will be beheaded, who refused to worship the image of the Antichrist, during the second part of the Tribulation. Others will continue to die from famines, various wars around the world, diseases, and from other things.
Then one–third of what is left of the world’s population will die, during the time the Kings of the East come to Israel. That should leave a world population of under 3,751,875,000 at the time of Armageddon.
Despite all that will happen, the world will not repent.
(THE TWO WITNESSES OF GOD ARE KILLED)
It will be about 3½ days before the end of the Tribulation. Moses and Elijah will be witnessing and prophesying for 1260 days. Most of the world will reject their message. No one can kill them until their 1260 days are finished.
The Antichrist will then be able to kill them, as their time is up.
Their dead bodies will be left in the street of Jerusalem where all can see, which is the SAME PLACE WHERE JESUS CHRIST HAD BEEN CRUCIFIED. It is as if the world wants to make sure no one will steal their bodies, and afterward say, they rose from the dead. So people all over the world will see their dead bodies.
(THE TWO WITNESSES COME BACK TO LIFE. THE WORLD WILL BE IN SHOCK)
For 3½ days, the dead bodies of the two prophets will remain in the street—then, all of a sudden, the seemingly impossible will happen. Precisely 84 hours after Moses and Elijah are killed, the spirit of life from God enters into them, just as prophesied. The two witnesses stand upon their feet. Great terror comes upon those that see this.
Then they shall hear a GREAT VOICE from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” Then the two witnesses will go up in a cloud, while their enemies all over the world will watch. The laughing and giving of gifts suddenly stop. A deafening silence may come, as people are terrified. Some people’s hearts will fail, as they consider what lies ahead.
Even though the world had been told that Jesus will return, few probably believed it until now. Some may began to scream, “No, no, it isn’t possible!”
As soon as the two witnesses depart, there will be the FIRST OF 4 GREAT EARTHQUAKES. Each will be greater than the one before it. The first will be so great that a tenth of the city of Jerusalem will lie in ruin, and seven thousand people will be killed. This adds to people’s fears. The temple the Antichrist had occupied may collapse at this time. The world continues to blaspheme the God of heaven.
“The Tribulation Ends”
(THE FIRST OF THE 4 GREAT EARTHQUAKES ENDS THE TRIBULATION)
At the time of this great earthquake, the Tribulation ends. The 1260 days, since the Abomination of Desolation happened, will expire. From the time the two witnesses ascend up, to the time of Armageddon, will be a very few days; yet, about 92 major events should take place.
The soldiers of the world’s armies may number between 250 to 300 million. They should stretch from the Carmel Mountains and Megiddo eastward to the nearby Jordan Valley, and then southward all the way to Bozrah, which is SE of the Dead Sea. The total distance is about 161 miles The armies will also stretch up to the Kidron Valley (also called the Valley of Jehoshaphat, or Valley of Decision) which is around Jerusalem. The world’s most advanced weapons will be there. The land will be full of gold and silver from the armies of the world.
The power of the holy people had been broken. Armageddon is on the doorstep, and Jesus is about to return. The seventieth week of Daniel 9:27 is ended. Jerusalem’s spiritual condition is reflected by the words SODOM AND EGYPT.
There will be no boundries or limitations to the sins of the people. Every imagination of the thoughts of people’s hearts will be only evil continually as violence completely fills the entire planet. Hatred without bounds will be everywhere. As it has been stated—if Jesus had not returned at the exact time He does, there would be no one left alive.
(Few Understand How Very Small Israel Really Is)
The shape of Israel is approximately 263 miles long (or 424 km) and not very wide. It is slightly smaller than the state of New Jersey in the USA. Its narrowest point is about 12 miles. At 60 miles per hour, a person could drive across it in a straight line in about 12 minutes. The length could be driven in about 4½ hours.
THE SECOND OF THE 4 GREAT EARTHQUAKES will happen in the short period between the end of the Tribulation and the beginning of the Battle of Armageddon. The clouds begin to grow thick. The sun begins to disappear. The moon becomes a reddish color like blood, and then disappears as the clouds increase. Darkness begins to envelope the land.
Jerusalem is the center of the attack. All the nations are gathered against it. As the ruthless soldiers enter Jerusalem, the light from the moon and the stars will be disappearing. The soldiers show no mercy. They take whatever they want. Half of the city goes into exile, but the rest of the people are not taken out. The invaders will run around the city, and back and forth in the city. They will be numerous like ants. They enter the houses like thieves. The women are raped. The invaders of Israel will cast lots for and sell the children of Israel. A boy will be given for a harlot. A girl will be sold for wine, so they can drink.
THE THIRD OF THE 4 GREAT EARTHQUAKES occurs. Armageddon will now be ready to explode. The mountains begin to move. Volcanoes begin to pour out smoke and ash. There will be lightnings, voices, thunderings, and great hail.
It could simply be said Jesus comes back to the earth. The battle lasts 24 hours, few people are left alive, and then it is over.
It is written: The heavens will roll together as a scroll. The great Day of the Lord is near. Behold, the Day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. Alas for the day! for the Day of the Lord is at hand.
Satan will put thoughts into people’s minds, and, as a result, man, in his pride, will believe he can fight against God, and win.
There was silence in heaven. It will be ABOUT THE SPACE OF (or what seemed like) HALF AN HOUR. The Battle of Armageddon, at this time, is at hand.
(Jesus—The First Time)
When Jesus came the first time, He came as a lamb to be slaughtered. He was tortured. His beard was ripped off His face. He was marred worse than any man. He was almost unrecognizable. He suffered an agonizing death. He did this to pay the price for the sin of every person that would repent and trust in Him as their only hope of salvation.
When Jesus departed about 2000 years ago, two men stood by and said: YE MEN OF GALILEE, WHY STAND YE GAZING UP INTO HEAVEN? THIS SAME JESUS, WHICH IS TAKEN UP FROM YOU INTO HEAVEN, SHALL SO COME IN LIKE MANNER AS YE HAVE SEEN HIM GO INTO HEAVEN.
(Jesus—The Second Time)
Approximately 2000 years after He was crucified and rose from the dead—Jesus will return. However, this time, He will return as the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. He will return in power and great glory to a world that will be so full of sin, rebellion, violence, and hatred that words cannot adequately convey it. Since that time, those that follow Christ have watched. Titus 2:13–Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. The world will reject the God of heaven for the Antichrist. Technology and false knowledge had also replaced the God of heaven. Even communion reveals the coming of the Lord. It is written in 1 Cor 11:26–FOR AS OFTEN AS YE EAT THIS BREAD, AND DRINK THIS CUP, YE DO SHOW THE LORD’S DEATH (TILL HE COME).
The temple of God will open. Heaven opened. His eyes will be like a flame of fire. On His head will be many crowns. He will be dressed with a robe dipped in blood. On His robe and on His thigh, there will be the name written: KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. The armies that were in heaven will follow Him also on WHITE HORSES. Those that follow Jesus will be clothed in fine linen, clean and white.
“The Battle of Armageddon”
Regarding Armageddon, there should be six parts.
The first is when Satan and his angels confront Jesus returning in the air.
The second is when the Antichrist and False Prophet are eliminated.
The third part is when Jesus arrives on the earth. His feet stand upon the Mt. of Olives.
The fourth part is Jesus on Mt. Zion. He defends Jerusalem.
The fifth is Megiddo.
The sixth and last part is the whole world.
There are more verses of Scripture in the Bible regarding the Battle of Armageddon, than any other single event.
(THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON, PART 1—IN THE AIR)
(Satan Overcome)
Satan and his angels will meet the Lord in the air, but will be overcome. He will be brought down to hell, to the depths of the pit. He will have a seal put upon him, so he cannot deceive the nations (or people) any longer. From the fall of Adam and Eve until this point, there has never been a time when the human race was free from being bombarded with evil, deceptive, lustful, enticing thoughts that were put in their mind by the devil; but they never understood this. Neither do the churches teach it. A man might be angry with his children—then, all of a sudden, the anger is gone, as Satan’s power to deceive is eliminated.
When Satan is in hell, those already there shall NARROWLY LOOK UPON him, AND say: IS THIS THE MAN THAT MADE THE EARTH TO TREMBLE, THAT DID SHAKE KINGDOMS; THAT MADE THE WORLD AS A WILDERNESS, AND DESTROYED THE CITIES THEREOF; THAT OPENED NOT THE HOUSE OF HIS PRISONERS? As a result of Satan having that seal put upon him, a most incredible thing will happen.
Suddenly, throughout the world, the multitude of wrong, evil, accusing, hateful, self–reliant and self–centered thoughts, everyone has had from their childhood, will be gone. One moment the armies of the world are confident. Then, all of a sudden, they see things as they really are. Terror will fill their hearts. The tamborines will stop. The harps will go silent. Minutes before, the armies were prepared to do battle. Now, they are terrified. They will have no leader to give them direction in their thoughts.
And the great men, and the rich men, and the heads of armies, and the mighty men, plus both the free and slaves will HIDE THEMSELVES in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains in the area of Megiddo.
They will want the rocks to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of Jesus Christ, as they will now know JESUS will soon appear. They will say, “Who is able to stand?”
(BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON, PART 2)
(The Antichrist and False Prophet Are Destroyed)
As Christ returns, the Antichrist will stand up against Jesus, but will be broken by spiritual power. Jesus will consume him with the breath of His mouth. The Antichrist will be destroyed with the brightness (or splendor, or glory) of the coming of the King of kings. The Antichrist and False Prophet will be cast alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. They will go into perdition. Once Satan, the Antichrist, and False Prophet are eliminated, the armies of the world in Israel will be in complete disarray. They will be confused. They will be terrified.
Fear will grip the earth. The power of Satan to blind people’s minds will cease. As already said, this has never happened since the fall of Adam and Eve.
(BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON, PART 3)
The Total Battle Lasts 24 Hours
(The Mount of Olives First, Then Mt. Zion)
The sun is darkened, the moon no longer will give her light.
Then, the sign of the Son of man will appear all over the earth.
Amazingly, somehow the people of the world will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING ON THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, AND (then) COMING IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN. This will happen on the tenth day of the seventh month, according to the Jewish calendar. This is usually in the month of September. It will be the fulfillment of the Day of Atonement. At the beginning of the day (which is the evening) Jesus should return. The King of kings and Lord of lords will return with fire and clouds, in power and great glory. Thousands upon thousands of His saints will be with Him.
The Day of the Lord will be a day of darkness and not light. It will be a day of gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness. Jesus will make darkness His canopy. The saints that will be with Him will be called, and chosen, and faithful. He will come with His chariots like a whirlwind. As Jesus returns, lightnings will encircle and lighten the entire world. Many all over the world will instantly be killed because of the lightnings.
The people of the earth will see and be terrified. Every eye will see Him. Even those that had pierced Him, about 2000 years earlier, will see Him return. He will come in flaming vengeance against those that know not God, and against those that do not obey the Gospel.
Jesus has total power over all the forces of nature, including the wind, storms, lightnings, hailstones, and tidal waves.
There will be much crying in Jerusalem and Megiddo. He will silence the speech of the wicked. The cursing of the name of the Lord ceases, for they that did such things will be perishing. As already said: If Jesus had not returned at the exact time He does, no life would be left on planet earth.
God did not spare Sodom and Gomorrah because of sin. God will not spare the earth, during Armageddon, because of their sin. And God will not spare you, because of your sins, if you do not repent.
Zech 14:4–7–AND HIS FEET SHALL STAND IN THAT DAY UPON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, WHICH IS BEFORE JERUSALEM ON THE EAST, AND THE MOUNT OF OLIVES SHALL CLEAVE IN THE MIDST THEREOF TOWARD THE EAST AND TOWARD THE WEST, AND THERE SHALL BE A VERY GREAT VALLEY; AND HALF OF THE MOUNTAIN SHALL REMOVE TOWARD THE NORTH, AND HALF OF IT TOWARD THE SOUTH…BUT IT SHALL COME TO PASS, THAT AT EVENING TIME IT SHALL BE LIGHT.
(BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON, PART 4)
(Mt. Zion)
Then Jesus will come down to Mt. Zion, which is just southwest of the Old City in Jerusalem. The people will look upon Jesus, Whom they had pierced. They will cry bitterly, in the same way one cries over their firstborn son. In that day, the weeping in Jerusalem will be great.
The Lord saved the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants would not be greater than that of Judah. As birds flying, the Lord defended Jerusalem, Passing over, He preserves it. All that choose to fight against Jerusalem are cut to pieces. Their flesh will rot away, while they stand on their feet. Their eyes will rot (or disintegrate) in their sockets, and their tongues will rot away in their mouth.
In the Day of the Lord, the Lord's people will be strong. Jerusalem will remain intact. Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. Then the battle at Judah and Jerusalem will be over. The enemies of the Lord will be destroyed.
(BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON, PART 5)
(Meggiddo and Israel)
Jesus saves Israel next. The Day of the Lord will be very dreadful. Who can endure it?
The greatest weapons of mass destruction ever created by man will be in the Valley of Megiddo.
As the morning comes, there will be a great people, both upon the mountains of Israel and the area stretching from the hill of Megiddo all the way to Bozrah, about 161 miles. The kings of the earth are gathered. The grapes (or people) of the earth will be cast into the “great” winepress of the wrath and fury of God.
It is written: Rev 16:16–21–AND HE GATHERED THEM TOGETHER INTO A PLACE CALLED IN THE HEBREW TONGUE ARMAGEDDON (or Har Megiddo). This was also referred to as the great WINEPRESS.
Note: MOUNT MEGIDDO is a tel, which is a hill with 26 layers of ruins from ancient cities. Its height varies. It is app. 115 feet high and covers app. 15 acres. It sits on the edge of a vast plain, known as Esdraelon, or the Jezreel Valley. This fertile farmland of northern Israel extends to the Jordan Valley and then curves southward. The top of the hill is somewhat flat with excavations from various time periods, dating back thousands of years. It provides an excellent view of the valley for a long distance. The large valley will be filled with the armies of the world. Hundreds of millions of soldiers will be there and cover an area of about 161 miles long, extending southward along the Jordan Valley to Bozrah.
What happens next is almost indescribable. The soldiers will be as fully ripened grapes ready to be crushed. Then they will be crushed. Their blood will come out. There will be a sea of blood (as the Bible describes) to the reins of the horses, as far as the eye can see, even about 161 miles.
IN THAT DAY A MAN SHALL CAST HIS IDOLS OF SILVER, AND HIS IDOLS OF GOLD, WHICH THEY MADE EACH ONE FOR HIMSELF TO WORSHIP, TO THE MOLES AND TO THE BATS.
Isa 2:21 NIV–THEY WILL FLEE TO CAVERNS IN THE ROCKS AND TO THE OVERHANGING CRAGS FROM DREAD OF THE LORD.
Jesus had said: I HAVE TRODDEN THE WINEPRESS ALONE; AND OF THE PEOPLE THERE WAS NONE WITH ME: FOR I WILL TREAD THEM IN MINE ANGER, AND TRAMPLE THEM IN MY FURY; AND THEIR BLOOD SHALL BE SPRINKLED UPON MY GARMENTS.
Rev 14:20–AND THE WINEPRESS WAS (trampled) (outside) THE CITY (which is, Jerusalem), AND BLOOD (flowed) OUT OF THE WINEPRESS, (rising)EVEN UNTO (or as high as) THE HORSE BRIDLES, BY THE SPACE OF A THOUSAND AND SIX |
one quarter of the world’s supply. This is due, in part, to Chinese mines using extraction methods banned in the US. China has repeatedly reduced REE exports by as much as 30 percent per year. As a result, manufacturers dependent on these supplies have had to relocate their factories to China, and it is more profitable for China to export finished products instead of raw materials. This, in turn, has led to a range of geo-political consequences, such as recent American surveys for REEs in Afghanistan.”
Dr Frahm sees parallels between REEs for electronics and obsidian for stone blades. The residents of ancient Syrian cities, he notes, imported raw materials like obsidian and locally produced the tools, rather than importing finished objects from distant workshops. He explained: “Knowing where these stone blades were produced allows us to start answering questions regarding the social relations linked to their production and distribution.
“Was there large-scale production under government control, or were the blades made by entrepreneurs working out of their homes? Who had the skills to made the blades, and where did they live and work? There were also effects on activities linked to these blades. Was agricultural output dependent on shipments of tools made by distant labourers, or were the tools made by the farmers themselves during the off season?”
Dr Frahm concluded: “Archaeological research can demonstrate that there are broad societal effects due to our choices regarding which raw-material sources to use and where our goods are produced.”
Additional information Science Direct Department of Archaeology The University of Sheffield With nearly 25,000 of the brightest students from 117 countries coming to learn alongside 1,209 of the world’s best academics, it is clear why the University of Sheffield is one of the UK’s leading universities. Staff and students at Sheffield are committed to helping discover and understand the causes of things - and propose solutions that have the power to transform the world we live in. A member of the Russell Group, the University of Sheffield has a reputation for world-class teaching and research excellence across a wide range of disciplines. The University of Sheffield has been named University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards 2011 for its exceptional performance in research, teaching, access and business performance. In addition, the University has won four Queen’s Anniversary Prizes (1998, 2000, 2002, 2007), recognising the outstanding contribution by universities and colleges to the United Kingdom’s intellectual, economic, cultural and social life. One of the markers of a leading university is the quality of its alumni and Sheffield boasts five Nobel Prize winners among former staff and students. Its alumni have gone on to hold positions of great responsibility and influence all over the world, making significant contributions in their chosen fields. Research partners and clients include Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Unilever, Boots, AstraZeneca, GSK, Siemens, Yorkshire Water, and many more household names, as well as UK and overseas government agencies and charitable foundations. The University has well-established partnerships with a number of universities and major corporations, both in the UK and abroad. The White Rose University Consortium (White Rose) is a strategic partnership between 3 of the UK's leading research universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York. Since its creation in 1997 White Rose has secured more than £100M into the Universities.The Denver Wrangler, a popular bear bar, faced criticism for its "gender matching ID" policy. Now, management changed their controversial rules and teamed up with the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
Americans first learned Matthew Shepard’s name when he was brutally murdered for being gay 19 years ago. Almost one year earlier, Chris Dawkins and his then-business partner opened the Denver Wrangler bar. Those two events are not easily seen as relevant to each other. However, this month the foundation created in Matthew’s name and the gay bar known for its one-time hostility toward female patrons and a very controversial "gender matching" ID policy — where the gender of patrons' photo identifications had to match their presenting appearance — came together for a charity event.
The Matthew Shepard Foundation's Bear-lesque to Make a Difference has become an annual part of the weekend preceding the organization’s big Denver gala, Bear to Make a Difference. This year's Bear-lesque event took place at the Denver Wrangler.
Many on social media questioned how the ideals of the Matthew Shepard Foundation reconciled with an LGBT business they felt discriminated against transgender and lesbian people. Matthew Shepard Foundation executive director Jason Marsden recounted an email that excoriated him for partnering with the Wrangler, calliing out the bar's one-time policy, which has since been changed.
"That was a painful thing to hear," Marsden admits.
As part of teaming up with the foundation, Dawkins committed to a public apology for his former ID policy. But in early September, months after agreeing to hold the Bear-lesque event, the Wrangler's website had not posted an apology, or even updated their website with the new door policy. Finally, on September 11, the long-sought apology came.
Dawkins agreed to sit down for a one-on-one interview — at the Matthew Shepard Foundation in Denver — to discuss his "gender matching" policy and why it took so long to dump it. During our discussion, Dawkins admitted it was a “difficult policy to uphold” while also saying, it “wrecked a couple of careers and a couple of people's lives.” Watch below.
Watch extended interviews about this story here. Find out more about the Matthew Shepard Foundation and the Denver Wrangler.
EDEN LANE is a freelance journalist based in Denver. Follow her on Twitter @edenlane.Share....And a movie?...And a movie?
Note: Full spoilers for Community: Season 6 follow.
6 seasons. 110 episodes. No matter what the future holds for Community, the entirety of this series has to be looked at as a big success for the show itself, the fans, the cast and crew and, of course, for creator Dan Harmon... even if he wasn’t involved in 13 of those episodes. Most TV shows fail and in the grand scheme of things, a relatively small amount make it to and beyond 100 episodes. So for this ever-endangered series, filled with a surprising amount of backstage drama, to make it this far is a win, plain and simple. And if this was truly The End, Community went out with its head held high.
Yes, Season 6 was different, which is saying something, given Season 4 and 5 were also different, reflecting changes in front of and behind the camera, including cast departures and additions and Dan Harmon’s firing and re-hiring. But Season 6 not only saw more cast upheaval, it saw the show rise from the ashes of cancellation by NBC into a new realm on Yahoo – which suddenly took many restrictions away, including those involving content and running time.
Harmon, Chris McKenna and their writers used this new platform very well. As promising as it can be, there is also an inherent danger in taking a network sitcom and removing any restriction on its running time and form, as we found out with Arrested Development: Season 4, where many episodes felt meandering and overlong. But, by and large, Harmon used his ability to let episodes run longer in smart ways. There were bits that were allowed to be more subtle or play out longer that often led to some wonderfully inspired tangents, without the whole episode feeling like it was going on too long. Yes, there was also a couple of episodes were the pacing felt off, but for the most part, Community used its expanded running time in just the right way – even the 31-minute “Queer Studies and Advanced Waxing” felt like the appropriate length for that particular episode, and its two big storylines.
The beloved Community end tags particularly benefited from the expanded running time. Without concern that they wrap up quickly, they morphed into something different this year – oddball little short movies of sort, often taking a peripheral character from the episode (or simply an idea from the episode) and turning it into its own story, almost suggesting 13 different offbeat ideas for spinoffs we’ll never see.
As for the cast changes, this was (once again!) handled very well. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get to see an onscreen exit for Shirley -- especially given Yvette Nicole Brown made two cameos this season! -- but with Shirley joining Pierce and Troy as former members of the study group, and even Hickey and Duncan suddenly gone thanks to Jonathan Banks and John Oliver’s other commitments, Keith David and Paget Brewster were brought in as Elroy and Frankie, and both fit in great.
Brewster was incredibly game and easily able to deliver when Frankie was given funny material like her attempts to console the Dean continually turning into insults over his intelligence – though the character was, by her design, a more stern, less overtly comedic one. David in the meantime was given something special with the behind-the-times Elroy and wow, did he nail it. One of the MVPs of the season, he was continually hysterical – from bonding with Britta over their love of Season 6 running joke Natalie is Freezing to his amazing delivery of “paint…ball?” to his moments of outrage at the others. Elroy quickly became a go-to source of hilarity on the show and David was a joy to watch.
Amongst the returning characters, this was Ken Jeong’s year to shine. Chang had always been a tricky inclusion on the show – often his shtick was that he didn’t really fit in and the writers ran with that and purposely reinvented him year after year. While he already had begun to be more firmly integrated into the group, it was Season 6 that gave him his best material yet. From giving a power point presentation way out of his skill set to laughing hysterically at obvious, racist jokes from a shock comedian to starring in a stage production of The Karate Kid, Chang was funnier than ever and Jeong really got to show off his abilities throughout the season. They also successfully managed to show the character’s more sympathetic side, amazingly enough (given his history), from that aforementioned Karate Kid episode, which found him bonding with Annie, to a funny, yet meaningful wedding speech he gave.
The whole cast continued to deliver, and even six years in, I never felt anyone was phoning it in, with Gillian Jacobs (who got a lot of big episodes this season), Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Joel McHale and Jim Rash all still delivering, as we saw the original characters in new situations, and dealing with the new additions to the group.
Exit Theatre Mode
The show took the risk of pseudo-sequel episodes a few times, mostly pulling it off. The exception was “Advanced Safety Features”, which once more tried to pull off a winking, “We’re in on the joke” mega-product placement episode, but didn’t do it quite as deftly as before. However, episodes once again utilizing Abed making a documentary and the beloved paintball scenario were terrific – particularly the latter, “Modern Espionage”, which was one of Community’s best episodes ever.
Community: Will There Be a Season 7?
There were some other misses through the season – episodes focused on a class on grifting, Annie’s anger over finding out a dog may have graduated from Greendale and the group’s trip in an RV were below the show’s strong standards, never quite finding that perfect, Community vibe. But it rarely felt like Harmon, McKenna and the writers were playing it safe or on auto-pilot – they were always working hard and coming up with strange new scenarios, as Community delved into weirder and sometimes more dramatic places than before.
It all wrapped up with a terrific season – or series? – finale in “Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television.” I rated the episode a 9 when I reviewed it and now find myself thinking even more highly of it. With it feeling like this really could be the end, Harmon and McKenna offered a reflective and appropriately meta look back and forward, while also giving some nice closure to a growing subplot this season – Jeff’s sadness and hurt feelings over the group leaving, one by one, while he remained at Greendale. Seeing Jeff come to terms with this and wrapping up on a poignant yet uplifting note was a perfect way to end Community, should this be the end, even as we actually closed out the show with a wonderfully inspired, Dan Harmon-narrated fake commercial for a Community board game that was just perfectly... Community.There's a fairly shocking piece of research floating around out there telling us how much of the traffic on Tor, the anonymising system, is apparently people searching for child porn and paedohilia. The way the numbers are presented I'd give it no more than 72 hours before someone, somewhere, tells us that as a matter of public policy Tor must be disabled, shut down or otherwise censored. We've already had at least one senior cop shouting that Google and Apple shouldn't encrypt phones because that might endanger one child, one hypothetical child at some hypothetical future date. I forsee something very similar happening here:
The study paints an ugly portrait of that Internet underground: drug forums and contraband markets are the largest single category of sites hidden under Tor’s protection, but traffic to them is dwarfed by visits to child abuse sites. More than four out of five Tor hidden services site visits were to online destinations with pedophilia materials, according to Owen’s study. That’s over five times as many as any of the other categories of content that he and his researchers found in their Dark Web survey, such as gambling, bitcoin-related sites or anonymous whistle-blowing.
That's right, once you strip out the botnets and the like then 80% of the visits to darknet sites through Tor seemed to be to paedophlia related sites. Which isn't good of course: we would probably prefer that there were no visits to such sites.
There are arguments about those numbers, of course there are. It's not quite as simple as it is being said it is, and certainly not as simple as those who will call for it all to be closed down will say it is (you can see it now, can't you? "80% is sick child perversion! Jail them all!").
Here are some of those caveats:
First, some background. Basically, a Tor client makes a hidden service directory request the first time it visits a hidden service that it has not been to in a while. (If you spend hours at one hidden service, you make about 1 hidden service directory request. But if you spend 1 second each at 100 hidden services, you make about 100 requests.) Therefore, obsessive users who visit many sites in a session account for many more of the requests that this study measures than users who visit a smaller number of sites with equal frequency.
There's more there for those interested in the technical details. It's safe to say that the method chosen might be the best available but it's a horribly misleading one to give us a good picture of the true usage patterns. To put it into terms that an old toper like me is comfortable some people drink their win by the litre carafe (and, as an old toper, why don't they have 2 litre carafes?), some like a fresh small glass each time. If we measure the number of times the waiter has to come to the table we're not going to be accurately measuring alcohol intake, are we?
But I want to point to a very different number. And that's the one where they say there's 45,000 destination sites on this dark web under Tor, and 2% of them are about paedophilia. So, that's 900 sites. Yes, 900 sites too many.
But then think again for a moment. Tor also has value, "good" value if you like. Sure, there's drugs n'all. But there's also people in regimes with heavy censorship who are able to communicate without the authorities finding them. And sure we like to say that we've got free speech and all that stuff but the very existence of a system that cannot be censored aids in keeping other speech free.
The real public policy question here is are we going to put up with 900 child porn sites as a distressing but worthwhile cost of those good things that Tor allows?
The researchers who collated this data do say that it might be possible to monitor the dark web, note those that are about paedophilia and then censor them and only them. But that then introduces a method of censorship to Tor and that's not the point of the system at all.
This isn't something that I've got a glib answer to either. I tend to think that a little of most things is a good idea. A little government, a little taxation, even a little censorship. But I'm equally aware, as a glance at our own economies shows, that a little government and a little taxation all to readily turns into the bureaucrats asking for 50% of our incomes or diversity advisers will die. And that's also true of a little bit of censorship. Once the tools are introduced into Tor to make that possible then other people will start using them too, on other subjects.
Sorry, no answer, but that is the question we need to be asking.
As economics continually tries to get over to people, there really are no solutions. There are only trade offs. But what on earth is the correct trade off here?Following the bowl ban lift, students could be seen celebrating in Penn State apparel — some a T-shirt issued by The Family Clothesline displaying the phrase, “We’re Back.”
The shirts were printed and sent to the store as soon as the news broke. The phrase was painted on the store window.
Caroline Gummo, apparel buyer of The Family Clothesline, said the design was approved back in 2005 by Penn State Licensing.
However, a few days after the shirts sold in the store after the bowl ban lifted, restoring all 85 scholarships by 2015-16 and lifting the postseason bowl band, Penn State Licensing contacted the store and said it was no longer interested in the design and wanted the shirts removed, Gummo said.
While Gummo said she does not know the specific reason why Penn State Licensing recalled the shirts, The Family Clothesline had to follow its wishes. Anytime a shirt has a Penn State logo on it, the design must be approved by Penn State Licensing, she said.
The Family Clothesline did not follow the licensing guidelines, Penn State’s spokeswoman Lisa Powers said via email. Designs must be reviewed during the term of manufacturers’ agreement, Powers said.
“We certainly want the opportunity to look at how our trademarks and name continue to be used to ensure they are in line with our current marketing efforts,” Powers said.
Gummo said she and other employees were surprised by Penn State Licensing’s response, especially since the shirt design was already approved.
“We felt the shirt really captured the mood and atmosphere through the community,” Gummo said. “People felt it was the right response too.”
Even though the T-shirts were not in the store long, Gummo said they were very popular. Students could be seen wearing the shirts around campus and also at the rally that took place Sept. 8 on Beaver Avenue.
Alex Crowe (freshman-public relations) also expressed his confusion about the situation.
“We were just showing our support,” Crowe said. “We never really left.”
Back in 2011, when the sanctions were first announced, The Family Clothesline printed T-shirts with phrases like “We Are… Pissed Off.” Because those shirts did not have any Penn State logos on them, Penn State Licensing did not have any influence over them, Gummo said.08 December 2014
Fungus-growing ants selectively cultivate their crops
Ants Ever since agriculture evolved ca 10.000 years ago, plants have been artificially selected to become the fast growing and highly productive varieties we know today. However, humans were not the first to see merit in cultivating their own food, as ants have been doing this for 50 million years. A lineage of South-American ants collect leaves and recycle their own feces to manure a fungus garden for food. New research shows that these ants have an evolutionary history of improvement of their fungal crops.
A joint effort by researchers at the Universities of Copenhagen and Lund has produced a reconstruction of how fungusgrowing ants have stepwise improved their clonal crops into a
robust and superbly efficient farming system. The results, published today in the prestigious journal Nature Communications, show that reliable delivery of some enzymes and vital amino acids in the fungal food explains that the ant farmers have lost the ability to produce these compounds themselves.
Leaf-cutting ants and fungi in close collaboration
Leaf-cutting ants use a broad range of fungal enzymes to degrade harvested leaf fragments in what appears to be an optimal joint venture with sophisticated division of labor. The fungus produces clusters of inflated food packages for the ants. These symbiotic organs provide carbohydrates, lipids, fungal enzymes and vital amino acids and satisfy all the nutritious needs of the ant farmers and of their brood, which also eat garden-fungus. These foodpackage organs evolved ca. 20 million years ago and represented an innovation that allowed today’s leaf-cutting ants to evolve truly large-scale farms.
Fungus-growing ants became farmers ca. 50 million years ago, but the first 30 million years they only had small-scale subsistence farms in which they used plant debris to make tiny fungus gardens grow. However, that suddenly changed and from then on developments accelerated.
“Although it took ages of slow natural selection, today’s ant farms are ca. 100.000 times larger than those of the first ancestors that invented farming”, says Henrik De Fine Licht –the first and corresponding author.
This is comparable to what most modern human agricultural systems have achieved, and it is striking that the scale of environmental effects appears to have increased to the same degree. Not like human farming that uses enormous amounts of water, fertilizer and pesticides, but for the ants the key resource is access to fresh leaves. Their most advanced societies became aggressive herbivores that cause massive defoliation damage in natural ecosystems and human farmland in Latin America.
Slow natural selection versus fast cultural evolution
Human farming practices took less than 10.000 years of cultural evolution to reach today’s
sophistication, so progress in the fungus-growing ants has been orders of magnitude slower. Doing this “the ant way” also came at the price of complete mutual dependence of each family of ants on a single clonal crop. This life-time symbiotic matrimony allowed the ants to lose an entire amino acid synthesis pathway as it could become outsourced to the fungal crops. However, where specialization in human farming normally increases susceptibility to disease and unfavorable weather, the ant farming symbiosis remained remarkably robust. In fact, they are renowned for having very few serious diseases, which makes it very difficult to control them with environmentally friendly means.
"It is as if the farming ant families and their underground gardens have become single
organisms where queen, nurses, foragers, brood and fungus are connected in a huge
interaction network. All parties make complementary contributions just like different tissues in a single body. So far studies have only looked at division of labor among the ants, but now we know that fungal organs are also of key significance. No other fungus has evolved such organs because they are only meaningful when you rely on farmers. This is similar to cultivated wheat varieties that no longer drop their seeds because humans only propagated lineages that allowed them to harvest the spikes rather than having to pick up the seeds one by one", says Henrik De Fine Licht.
The study analyses specific signatures of selection on fungal genes and provides new
understanding of the genetic and protein adaptations that optimized fungal crop performance. We expect that such insights can inspire our own thinking about clever biotechnological solutions to handle green natural resources.
Article
Henrik H. de Fine Licht, Jacobus J. Boomsma & Anders Tunlid (2014). Symbiotic adaptation in the fungal cultivar of leaf-cutting ants. Nature Communications. Published 1 December 2014
Contact
Postdoc Henrik Hjarvard de Fine Licht
Tel: +45 3532 0097
Mob: +45 6168 5769Anti-LGBT Texas Republican Links Peeping Tom Incidents to Target Policy
One week after having dinner with the family of a transgender boy, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton demonstrated Friday that the encounter won't do anything to temper his hateful anti-LGBT rhetoric.
Paxton issued a disgusting statement in which he linked two recent "peeping tom" incidents at Target stores in Texas to the retailer's policy of allowing trans people to use restrooms and dressing rooms based on their gender identity.
Mind you, there's no indication whatsoever that either of the incidents involved a trans person or was in any way related to Target's policy — which happens to be similar to those of countless other retailers. But Paxton's statement effectively implies that trans people are sexual predators:
AG Paxton Offers Assistance to Target After Another Security Breach AUSTIN - In the wake of multiple Dallas/Ft. Worth media outlets reporting another breach in customer security at Target stores in North Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton issued the following statement: "After this latest incident, I hope Target finally recognizes the importance of protecting its customers, especially in environments where they can be at their most vulnerable. I am offering them the resources of my office to help assist them in improving their safety procedures." On May 3, 2016, a man was peering over the changing room wall with a cellphone camera at a Target store in Frisco, Texas. Since last Thursday, police in Dallas are looking for a man who committed a similar act in a Target changing room on Northwest Highway at Abrams.
Back in May, Paxton sent a letter to Target warning that the policy could lead to criminal activity and threatening action by the Texas Legislature.
Since then, Paxton's office has filed two lawsuits against the Obama administration seeking to legalize discrimination against trans people by public schools and healthcare providers. In one of the cases, Texas obtained a nationwide preliminary injunction barring the administration from implementing its recent guidance saying public schools should allow trans students to pee in the right place.
Last Thursday night, after finally accepting their longstanding invitation, Paxton had dinner with the family of Adam and Amber Briggle, the parents of an 8-year-old trans boy, MG.
Paxton hasn't commented on the dinner, but his statement Friday — along with his continued pursuit of the anti-trans lawsuits — speaks volumes.
See a mistake? Email corrections to: [email protected]By Dr. Helen Marshall, General Director of the Centre for Science Fiction and Fantasy
This was adapted from the keynote delivered at the Virtual Futures Salon hosted by Near-Future Fictions under the auspices of Stephen Oram and Luke Robert Mason.
*
Thank you very much for inviting me here today and thank you to the organization team who have put together such an amazing line-up of speakers, particularly Stephen Oram and Luke Mason.
My name is Helen Marshall and I’m a writer and lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University as well as the general director of the new Centre for Science Fiction and Fantasy, a research network whose goal is to study the formation of science fiction and fantasy within the publishing and entertainment industries as well as to champion it to a wider audience, people who may not have thought about how science fiction might be a useful tool for understanding their lives.
I wanted to begin with a quotation from T. S. Eliot’s poem, “Little Gidding”:
For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The evening’s theme is “Interrogating the Future” which seems particularly appropriate for a period of time in which the future seems to be a giant, scary question mark.
I come at this talk from a somewhat strange perspective, I suppose. I was one of the people – and likely not the only person in this room – who woke up on November 9, 2016 in what seemed to be an alternate reality. I remember logging on that morning and experiencing almost a doubling of vision, as if the universe had split into two tracks that were radically diverging from one another. There was a hallucinatory space of about a week where I still felt as if I could see another world layered underneath mine. I felt shock and disorientation, not a little fear—but also bewilderment at the fragility of the norms and traditions I had come to understand to be bedrocks of reality.
My point in this is not to rehash politics and to vent frustration but to look at this experience critically as a way of thinking about what literature—especially the literature of ideas, the literature of science fiction—is and what it ought to do.
A week ago a friend pointed me in the direction of Junot Diaz’s excellent article on the earthquake in Haiti which was published in The Boston Review. He writes of the etymology of the word apocalypse, which means “to uncover and unveil.” There are three kinds of apocalypses, he argues: there are the those that follow the actual imagined end of the world; there are those the comprise catastrophes which resemble the imagined end; and there are those disruptive events that provoke revelation. The apocalypse, he says, quoting James Berger, “is the End, or resembles the end, or explains the end.”
We are, by all accounts, no matter where we might fit ourselves in the political spectrum, in an apocalyptic moment. We are witnessing the end of something, or an event that resembles it; we are searching for an account that can explain that end.
On November 9 I had the privilege of teaching a group of MA Short Story writers at my university. It was an evening class. The students had always been a lively bunch, eager, full of questions and comments and jokes and affection for one another. I felt at a loss at how to address them. One colleague had told me not to talk about Trump, to just leave it out of the room, but that seemed impossible. Still, I didn’t know what to say.
It struck me as interesting, though, that despite all the anger and anguish I saw on Facebook and Twitter—as if, to quote Obi Wan Kenobi, a million voices were all crying out at once—people were turning to literature for consolation—and for answers. People were discussing 1984 and Brave New World; they were quoting from Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale; they were welcoming each other to the Hunger Games.
So I told my students the only thing I could reasonably think of to say in the situation, a phrase Ben Markovits, from Royal Holloway, had said: that the purpose of teaching creative writing is, on the one hand, to help students to become published (in the best cases)—but in all cases, regardless of the quality of the writing, it was to help students to become better witnesses to the world. And that is what we all are. We are all witnesses to the world. The tools of storytelling can help us, in this respect: they help us to understand our world, to observe it, to process it. This is a fundamentally imaginative act and it is an act with great power—the power to witness.
We are living in an apocalyptic moment and we have a duty to be witnesses. We have a duty to observe, to imagine, to speculate, and to create.
Science fiction is a genre that knows about the apocalypse.
I have a new PhD student named Chandra Clarke, and her project argues that although much recent science fiction has been dystopian, we need alternative visions of the future to help us find better ways forward. It is easy to forget that we are also witnessing the beginning of something, a moment whose direction has not yet been fully determined. And the reader of science fiction is, I think, in the best possible position to take advantage of this. That reader’s mind has been shaped by the exploration of imaginative worlds, by possible futures, by alternative pasts. The science fiction reader is adept at finding himself—or herself—in a strange new land.
And yet when I find myself speaking to writers of science fiction the one thing I have heard most frequently is how very different the landscape of writing feels at the moment. Our readers don’t have the same shared assumptions about reality that we might have counted on a year ago. It seems impossible to write without acknowledging this change.
Gary Dunion on Twitter cleverly captured the zeitgeist by pulling together a number of headlines screengrabbed from the Guardian’s feed of “most viewed” articles that day:
Suspect in North Korea killing “thought she was taking part in TV prank”
Robert Mugabe could contest election as corpse, wife says
German parents told to destroy doll that can spy on children
His caption? Season 4 of Black Mirror is coming along nicely…
Indeed.
The Twitter account for Black Mirror states: “Our job is to explain what’s happening to you as best we can.” As we have seen in the last eighteen months, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction. I can only imagine the problem is going to get worse.
And so I go back to T. S. Eliot:
For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
This reminds me of an article written by the brilliant but provocative Jonathan McCalmont about the state of weird fiction.
Weird fiction is a strange beast, an eclectic genre, or subgenre. It originated at the turn of the century with the works of authors including Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Machen, and M. R. James, amongst others and has since developed to includes new writers such as China Mieville, M. John Harrison and others. Weird fiction is notable for its generic uncertainty; it is a blend of science fiction and horror (perhaps!) or of literary fiction and horror (perhaps!) or of Lovecraft and whatever happens to be floating close to hand at any given moment (perhaps!).
Michael Kelly of Undertow Press invited me to be the series editor for the fourth volume of Year’s Best Weird Fiction which reprints material published from the previous year, and so I have needed to grapple with what weird fiction is…
In “Notes on Writing Weird Fiction,” Lovecraft stated that his desire in writing weird fiction was to “achieve, momentarily, the illusion of some strange suspension or violation of the galling limitations of time, space, and natural law.”
He said:
These stories frequently emphasise the element of horror because fear is our deepest and strongest emotion, and the one which best lends itself to the creation of nature-defying illusions. Horror and the unknown or the strange are always closely connected, so that it is hard to create a convincing picture of shattered natural law or cosmic alienage or “outsideness” without laying stress on the emotion of fear. The reason why time plays a great part in so many of my tales is that this element looms up in my mind as the most profoundly dramatic and grimly terrible thing in the universe. Conflict with time seems to me the most potent and fruitful theme in all human expression.
In this respect, weird fiction seems a perfect vehicle for exploring our present moment. For it does seem to us, I think, to many of us, anyway, that time is out of joint; are we moving back to the happy utopia of the 1950s? Are we moving toward the dystopia of 1984? Are we returning or progressing? We do not know. We cannot decide. And the possibilities are not so much divergent as layered overtop of one another. We are existing in multiple moments at most, in multiple times at once.
And it is scary.
Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, in their introduction to The Weird compendium recognize the murky taxonomy of weird fiction writing:
Because The Weird often exists in the interstices, because it can occupy different territories simultaneously, an impulse exists among the more rigid taxonomists to find The Weird suspect, to argue it should not, cannot be, separated out from other traditions.
Weird fiction then is used to this strange overlapping, this occupation of simultaneous moments at once. When I asked my students to give me a personal definition of weird fiction there was one – Marian Womack, a wonderful short story writer who had appeared in a previous volume—who had the most interesting answer.
She said:
We have a long tradition of this in Spain, and this only increased during the dictatorship as new symbolic ways of communicating ideas were rehearsed in narratives (cinematic and literary). This kind of fantasy, in which “something is not quite right”, lends itself very well to Gothic sensibility, with its convoluted use of language and its tormented heroes. And then there is an element of irrationality built into the rational and, coming from a Spanish background, I interpret this as surrealism, for me this is a major element I recognize in weird writing, and one that is present in my own understanding of the weird.
This definition struck me as capturing the essence of the weird tale, the embedding of irrationality within the rational: a way of writing which uses the one to expose the other, to make the reader realise that all rational systems are ultimately irrational.
It is a revelatory mode of writing, an apocalyptic mode of writing.
But Jonathan McCalmont! McCalmont traces the history of the resurgence of weird fiction in the twentieth century. In particular, he focuses on several months in 2003 when the TTA Press message boards were alive with a great discussion about the nature of the “New Weird”.
The discussion was prompted in part by the success of Mieville who published The Scar in 2002 and received critical acclaim in the British Fantasy Award and Locus Awards of 2013. The topic of discussion was the rise of a new type of writing that seemed to have links with the past, but the forum conversations were riven with disputes as to the act of naming. M. John Harrison succinctly summed up the problem:
If I don’t throw my hat in the ring, write a preface, do a guest editorial here, write a review in the Guardian there, then I’m leaving it to Michael Moorcock or David Hartwell to describe what I (and the British authors I admire) write.
There was a distinct suspicion of the rise of both the conventional and commercial frameworks which tended to define new “waves” of writing historically and which would go on to attempt to define the nature of the so-called New Weird.
In describing the discussions that took place on that message board, Jonathan McCalmont said something that really struck me:
Every cultural entity (be it a genre, a sub-genre, a scene, a movement, or a school) is born of a particular place and time… a sudden awareness that the wider culture has changed and that the old tools are no longer up to the job.
I believe we are in one of those moments. The old tools of writing no longer seem up to the job. As T. S. Eliot, said, “last year’s words belong to last year’s language / And next year’s words await another voice.”
The language I have found for myself is the language of weird fiction, which, in my mind, speaks to the irrationality of our present, floundering systems. We are living in weird times; we are either seeking to recall a distant, glorified past while we simultaneously rocket toward an uncertain future, with little in the way of maps to guide us.
We need new tools to |
. Rather, as with his pamphlets, he sought to educate Americans on the entire history of black people in America, connecting the legacy of slavery as the antecedent to cruel indignities endured by the children of the African diaspora. By the early 2000s, the museum received around 25,000 visitors a year. Cameron displayed objects he collected over the years, which included paraphernalia from lynchings, postcards, photographs from the Jim Crow era, newspaper clippings that depicted black Americans, caricaturized miniatures, and the wax installation of Beitler’s photograph. In 1999, he also expanded the facility to host the traveling exhibition of the wreckage of the slave ship Henrietta Marie. However, it was always Cameron himself who was the biggest draw.
"We need a museum like that in America to show what happened to us black folks and the freedom-loving white people who’ve been trying to help us."
Fran Kaplan met Cameron on an ordinary day in 1999. The granddaughter of Russian Jewish immigrants, she was born 70 miles away from Marion in Lafayette and had vague memories of hearing about lynching growing up. Cameron guided Kaplan and her son, who was visiting from out of town, through the museum's exhibits and finally to a seated area to screen the 1995 BBC documentary Unforgiven: Legacy of a Lynching, which retold the story of the night of August 7. In one scene, William Deeter, Claude Deeter’s brother, tearfully embraced Cameron at a Marion church; it was the first time the two ever met. Both men exchanged words of forgiveness and faith. When the film ended, Kaplan recalled, Cameron came out to sit with them and talk. “I was just silent,” Kaplan remembered. “[I] couldn’t connect with him because I was so awed.” Patrick Sims was a graduate student in theater at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, when he first visited the museum in 1997. Now a vice provost for diversity at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, he recalled that he saw in Cameron’s story parallels between his own encounters with police officers. “That could have been me. That could have been my grandfather,” he said. His thesis, a one-person play based on Cameron’s life called 10 Perfect: A Lynching Survivor’s Story, intentionally concluded with a reconstruction of Beitler’s photograph. In performances, Sims occupied the spot where 16-year-old Cameron would have been lynched. The project created space to share stories otherwise hidden. Sims learned that his own grandmother had aided a black man fleeing an angry mob of white men in rural Missouri. “Why are we not sharing these experiences?” he asked, noting how trauma can be unintentionally passed down between generations. “Why aren’t we talking about these things?” For some, however, there was a reticence to enter ABHM’s doors. Lucas Johnson, 32, a lifelong Milwaukee resident, told me that he “always wanted to go, just never got around to it.” Members of my own family have remarked about making a plan to visit but never did. I too shared some of this reticence. I supported the museum’s existence in spirit, but dreaded the work of confronting America’s ugly history of violence toward black people. When I finally entered those doors, unaware that my August 1996 visit fell so close to the anniversary of Cameron’s near murder, I had no idea what to expect. I don't remember most of the conversation. I do remember meeting a powerful and reserved spirit who showed me the rope from the lynching tree and other artifacts of racial bigotry. I didn’t want to know any of it, but I understood that I needed to. I also felt psychic pain. I also felt gratitude. In a world that challenges the forward assertion of black life, I thought over and over, Thank god he lived. Thank god. Thank god.
Jessica Tefft / MCT / Getty Images Cameron at the Capitol in 2005.
In 2005, more than 105 years after federal anti-lynching legislation was first introduced to Congress, former Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu sponsored a resolution to formally apologize for the Senate’s failure to pass anti-lynching laws that would have brought the men responsible for the deaths of Smith, Shipp, Till, and so many others to justice. While the House of Representatives passed several bills to address the epidemic of lynching from the 1930s and 1940s, these bills died on the Senate floor or faced filibuster from Southern Democrats. “There may be no other injustice in American history for which the Senate so uniquely bears responsibility,” Landrieu said before the vote.
Cameron, then 91 and using a wheelchair, was the only living representative who could attend on behalf of the nation’s 5,000 known lynching victims. When he entered the press room, he was greeted by 100 photographers and reporters, and thunderous applause. He recalled how, after he was taken back to the jail in Marion, Sheriff Campbell told him, “I’m going to get you out of here for safekeeping” — only to learn later that Campbell himself was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. “I was saved,” Cameron said, “by a miracle.”
"My father had that strength. That he could forgive the thing that people tried to do to him.”
“It was amazing for him,” Virgil said. “He thought it was the final recognition for what slavery was. It was the apology he was looking for that America should have apologized long ago.” Virgil’s voice broke a bit. “My father had that strength. That he could forgive the thing that people tried to do to him.” Cameron died a year later at the age of 92 after living with lymphoma for five years. The devout Catholic's funeral was held at Milwaukee’s Cathedral of St. John, with hundreds in attendance, including current Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Rep. Gwen Moore. His wife, Virginia, died in 2010 at the age of 92; he is survived by three of his children and 18 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. For two years following Cameron’s death, America’s Black Holocaust Museum remained open, with a modest staff of five and as many as ten to fifteen volunteer guides — known as “griots” — who hosted group and school visits. However, it operated on a shoestring budget and was eventually forced to close its doors in 2008, when the recession exacerbated its financial struggles. I wonder now, with each anniversary of his near murder, how did Cameron stomach it? How, with each group of visitors, was he always willing to relive his trauma? Cameron’s commitment to educate the American public, including black people and "freedom-loving whites," as he would say, of the terror of racial violence required strength and unyielding resolve that I’m not sure any one of us could ever know.
Adam Ryan Morris for BuzzFeed News Fran Kaplan
“It’s amazing that over the years that people have written plays about lynching, people have written poetry, people have done visual art … for one thing, you can’t get too much more dramatic than this,” Fran Kaplan told me in her home office in Milwaukee last August, as her finger landed on the folds of a book opened to a photo of a lynching from Texas in 1920. “What is the psychology of committing these kinds of murders?”
Kaplan’s initial meeting with Cameron in 1999 would go on to have a profound impact on her. At 69, she is now virtual museum coordinator for ABHM, which continues to live online, receiving approximately 700,000 visitors annually from 200 countries and hosting public events like talks, screenings, and intergroup dialogues on anti-racism. An all-volunteer operation, it centers itself around four principles: remembrance, resistance, redemption, and reconciliation.
Adam Ryan Morris for BuzzFeed News Beitler's photo in A Time of Terror.
In 2015, Kaplan was contacted by a white woman whose friend was lynched in her home in Mississippi during the 1960s, a killing that she felt responsible for. She had tried reaching out to the victim’s family, but they wanted nothing to do with her. Kaplan encouraged the woman to look into Coming to the Table, an organization that brings together descendants of lynching perpetrators and victims to begin the work of reconciliation. For Kaplan, the encounter only underscored the vision behind her work today: to collect and tell the stories of lynching victims. “My perspective, as a white person in this setting, is to help white people understand the tremendous jigsaw puzzle that is racism in America,” Kaplan said. “So they can see the picture, so that they understand the picture, so that they can dismantle that picture.” The stories ABHM hopes to collect are not only of how lynching victims died but also of the lives they led. So often, the story of lynching is the retelling of what led to somebody’s death and, for the families left behind, the shame and fear of the aftermath. “It goes to the whole sense of Black Lives Matter,” said Reggie Jackson, chair of ABHM’s seven-person board. “[The] lives of the people who were lynched, their lives didn’t matter — so there’s no reason to mention anything about them other than the act they committed that led to their lynching. The newspapers were like, ‘Who really cares who they were?’”
Adam Ryan Morris for BuzzFeed News Reggie Jackson
Jackson grew up near Money, Mississippi, the town where Emmett Till was murdered. “For years, I just wanted to go there,” Jackson said. “And my family was like, ‘You don’t want to go asking questions about it.’” Jackson, 50, visited ABHM in the 1990s after moving back to Milwaukee from California when he completed his service in the Navy. Cameron was alone and gave Jackson a tour, and Jackson bought copies of pamphlets and his book. Before Jackson left, Cameron told Jackson his story and why he started the museum. The two men talked for over three hours. “I told myself, I have to come back and help this man,” Jackson said. He returned to volunteer at ABHM in 2001 and eventually grew close to the Camerons, visiting the elderly couple often in their home. In Kaplan’s eyes, Jackson is the protégé of Cameron. “I wanted to follow in his footsteps,” Jackson said. He currently works as a special-education teacher for a charter school, and in his free time, dedicates his energies to ABHM. Jackson, along with Kaplan, Virgil, and core members of the board, are working with a local real estate developer to reopen ABHM at its former location on North Avenue in Bronzeville, though the neighborhood is also struggling to return to its halcyon days. Like most former urban centers that served the black community, it experienced rapid economic decline, a victim of “urban renewal” efforts that led to the dispersal of black communities and businesses in the area. In May, Maures Development was awarded tax credits to facilitate the construction of a low-income apartment complex in Bronzeville, the ground floor of which is anticipated to provide space for the museum. “I hope it reopens,” my aunt told me recently. “To see an actual piece of history … real things that were used to keep our people captive. And divided. It would be a good thing for Milwaukee to have back.” Museums educate a class of citizens in the hopes that presenting the narratives of their nation will shape identity and fidelity, pass the story forward, and, perhaps, correct past wrongs. In the act of remembering, they can serve to remind a people to do better, be better. Museums are not always mausoleums to greatness; they can be an instructional look at the fullness of humanity, so we never forget what monsters we can become and endeavor to resist it. If we forget, we repeat. In 1998, three white men tied 49-year-old James Byrd to the back of a pickup truck and dragged him to death. In 2011, a group of Mississippi teens beat and ran over 48-year-old Craig Anderson “for fun.” In 2014, the death of 17-year-old Lennon Lacy led the Justice Department to open an inquiry to determine if his death was a lynching in North Carolina. Nooses proliferate on college campuses; perpetrators feign ignorance of its meaning. Last year, a Florida graphic design company featured a noose dangling from a tree as part of an ad campaign for Photoshop tools. And just a month after that, in Marion, the boss of a firefighter tossed a noose into his black employee’s hands. The employee is married to a distant relative of Abram Smith.
If we forget, we repeat.
Yet perhaps the moment is right for Marion to again properly revisit and memorialize its lowest moment. In Glendora, Mississippi, there’s now a museum honoring Emmett Till’s life and educating the public about his murder. Duluth, Minnesota, where three black circus workers were lynched by a mob of an estimated 10,000 in 1920, dedicated a memorial to the men in 2003. The recent opening of the Whitney Plantation in Louisiana and the forthcoming National Black American Heritage Museum at the Smithsonian Institute also seem to point toward a public readiness to confront the sins of the nation's past, even as they persist in our present. And yet, Marion is a place of selective memory. A few people have contacted Kaplan proposing to place a memorial there or to relocate ABHM in the town, but it has simply remained talk. Occasional visitors to the Marion Public Library and Grant County Museum come asking questions. Last August, I was one of them, when I visited on the 85th anniversary of the murders of Tommy Shipp and Abram Smith. Outside the genealogy room in the library, where some records of the lynching are housed, there was a modest exhibit of the history of the county. A dusty photo and display of James Dean, who was born in Marion, was showcased. Jim Davis, the illustrator who created the Garfield comic strip, also held a place of honor. That week, a small exhibit celebrating the heritage of notable black citizens of Marion, including Flossie Bailey, was also displayed. There was no mention of Cameron anywhere. Perhaps Marion believes it can forget its greatest tragedy now that the only survivor and witness to the crime died 10 years ago. Marion today has endured a fate not dissimilar from many Rustbelt cities. Its population of approximately 30,000 has remained steady, but it bears the scars of economic depression. Foreclosed homes and empty lots stretch for blocks. The grounds around the courthouse are still manicured and preserved. They are home to a boulder with a plaque honoring Martin Boots, the first white man to set foot in Marion, who later founded the county. The intersection of Third and Adams streets — where Smith and Shipp were lynched — is now a memorial to Grant County residents who died in the Vietnam War. When I reached the intersection, I took out my camera. I had taken great care, making sure to charge the battery of my fancy SLR. Mysteriously, it didn’t work. The once-charged battery was dead. Fate or coincidence would not let me mark the occasion. A week later, when I met with Virgil in Milwaukee, I told him about my camera’s malfunction, to which he responded with a knowing look. “You know the tree died, right?” he said. Virgil continued to recall a family visit to Marion for an event for his father. “The impression that you get is that Marion … the state that it’s in, it has not progressed,” he said. “It’s got that stigma and I think that lynching has a lot to do with it.” More people filled the café patio where we sat, their chatter bouncing off the canopy while wind rustled the leaves of trees nearby. Milwaukee weather, fickle as ever, brought a chill to the late August heat. “Marion died because of that incident. It’s just like something is hovering over that city.” ●
Adam Ryan Morris for BuzzFeed News Virgil Cameron and Reggie Jackson.The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to GN Saibaba, a Delhi University professor arrested for alleged Maoist links, on medical grounds.
“You have been extremely unfair to the accused, specially given his medical conditions. Why do you want him in jail if key witnesses have been examined? You are unnecessarily harassing the petitioner,” the bench headed by justice JS Kehar--which allowed Saibaba’s bail plea--told the Maharashtra government counsel when he opposed the release petition.
The lawyer said eight witnesses were left to be examined who, he assured, would be examined in two days.
Arrested in May 2014 from the Delhi University campus, the wheelchair-bound teacher has been in Nagpur jail. He had moved the SC complaining that he was made to travel 170 km every time to attend his case.
On the last date of hearing, the Maharashtra government had opposed moving Saibaba out of Nagpur jail to Gadchiroli district where the case against him is being heard. The state government said the area was infested with Maoists who may try to rescue him.
The SC had on February 23 questioned Saibaba’s solitary confinement and asked the state government to make alternate arrangement to house him at Gadchiroli.
“We want you (state) to make him comfortable. Tell us how you will make him comfortable. You cannot have him in solitary confinement,” the SC had told state counsel Nishant Katneshwarkar, directing the state to provide sufficient medical facilities to Saibaba.
In response, Maharashtra said it received intelligence inputs that Maoists have launched a campaign to free the professor.
“There were instances wherein the Naxal leaders were rescued by the Naxalites in Jahanabad (Jharkhand), Dantewada (Chhattisgarh) and Belampalli (Andhra Pradesh),” the government affidavit read.
It referred to a press note published on a website, calling upon the cadres to launch a nationwide public agitation for Saibaba’s release. The note, it said, called upon the cadres to use all means to get him out of custody.
The government was willing to have video recording facility to avoid him undertake long distance road journey.
First Published: Apr 04, 2016 17:05 ISTMazda and Toyota are working together on a Linux-based connected car navigation and entertainment system, according to reports.
Toyota's Entune in-car infotainment platform is a one-stop shop for all your in-car functions: hands-free phonecalls over Bluetooth, music streaming, satnav and so on. You can even bellow at Apple’s Siri after button-mashing your steering wheel while doing the supermarket run, if that’s the sort of thing that tickles your fancy.
Built in Linux, Entune will receive the benefit of input from fellow Japanese car firm Mazda, according to Japanese business newspaper The Nikkei, which reckons the joint effort is at least partly due to a shortage of vehicle-focused software devs in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Entune essentially aims to put smartphone-style functionality into the central dashboard touchscreen, meaning it is not written to interact with key car systems such as acceleration, braking or steering.
Auto Trader has an overview of it here, noting that access to core apps is free for the first three years. Those core apps include Bing, music app Pandora, radio station streaming app iHeartRadio, a film tickets app, restaurant booking app OpenTable and an in-house Toyota app featuring various news and weather feeds.
As CNET notes, "the system still does not support Apple Carplay or Android Auto". This may be because Entune competes against Android Auto and Apple Carplay, which largely do the same things. The two rival systems each have a number of car-makers from around the world already signed up.
Mazda and Toyota will in future each maintain their own separate Entune feature and app sets running on the same common platform. Its first appearance in the West will be in Toyota's 2018 Camry for the US market. ®While most filmmakers shy away from anything remotely related to BitTorrent, Swedish director Stina Bergman has partnered with The Pirate Bay for the release of her latest movie. Today the film, titled "Die Beauty", debuts in Swedish theaters as well as on The Pirate Bay.
Die Beauty is described by its makers as a surreal thriller set in a feverish fairytale world. A story about friendship and alienation, family ties and kindred blood.
The film tells the story of a group of girls who are looking for some excitement. They figure that discovering a dead body floating down the river would be ideal, and as in most fairytales, wishes can come true.
Tonight the film premiered offline at the Bio Rio theater in Stockholm, Sweden. However, the filmmakers didn’t want to limit the release to an offline venue. With that in mind they are quite possibly the first to have also arranged a premiere on the largest BitTorrent site on the Internet – The Pirate Bay.
A dual premiere is quite unusual, and The Pirate Bay fully support the idea as they are actively promoting the release of Die Beauty on their homepage. Obviously, the filmmakers don’t mind being in the spotlight at all.
“For me a release on The Pirate Bay was an obvious thing to do because I believe that it, without competition, is the best way to promote a film today,” director Stina Bergman told TorrentFreak commenting on her unusual move.
While Hollywood traditionally sees The Pirate Bay as a threat, Stina Bergman recognizes that it may actually benefit the film. “Not only do I get thousands of viewers on the web, I am also convinced that the release will increase the number of people watching it on the big screen,” Stina said.
Instead of having a potential audience of a few hundred people, now millions can see it in their own homes at their own convenience. The makers think that the unlimited availability, and the free promotion that comes with it, may actually boost theater visits and thus boost revenues instead of hurting it.
“It’s a fact that people watch more movies when the access increases, and that’s a good thing. As a filmmaker I want to take advantage of that,” Skina noted, adding, “I hope to prolong the life of Die Beauty. I want to give the film a fair chance to be seen by as many people as possible.”
The film, including subtitles for non-Swedes, just premiered on The Pirate Bay and can be downloaded for free. It is released under a BY-NC-SA Creative Commons License which allows the public to copy and remix the film for non-commercial purposes as long as they give credit to the makers.The purpose of this essay is to summarize a key text on the relationship between patriarchy and capitalism, written by a socialist feminist organization Advance the Struggle is politically close to, Pan y Rosas. In their book, Pan y Rosas: Gender and Class Antagonism under Capitalism, the author Andrea D’Atri wages political war against the various strains of liberal and postmodernist feminism, boldly upholding the mantle of revolutionary feminism from the beginnings of the capitalist era in Europe to the modern struggle against the brutal conditions women face in Latin America and worldwide.
Pan y Rosas, a women’s socialist organization under a larger Marxist-Trotskyist formation in Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, and other Latin American nations, takes its namesake from the 1912 Bread and Roses strike by women textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts. They synthesized the strike for higher wages and for better living conditions, thus the title “bread and roses”, signifying their desire for a higher standard of living that would afford them the ability to enjoy the knowledge, culture, and freedom every human beings deserves but is largely denied, particularly for most women, who are forced to work for a paid wage and perform unpaid domestic and caring labor.
Sex against sex or class against class?
All women are oppressed by patriarchy, but the majority are also under the tutelage of waged work and dispossession. For example: are Ivanna Trump (billionaire clown Donald Trump’s wife) and Hillary Clinton closer to the majority of working and poor women, or to the bourgeois class they belong to? Although patriarchy precedes capitalism by thousands of years, the former takes a specific form under the latter. Under this system, the reproductive labor, such as cooking, cleaning, washing, having babies, raising children, etc., necessary to maintain our species and reproduce new generations is primarily performed by working-class women. Patriarchal ideology socially constructs women’s domestic labor as a natural function extending from their biology. Even though this labor is crucial in reproducing workers’ needs to eat, sleep, procreate, etc., in order to work day in and day out for the boss, this ideology allows for capitalists to maintain it as unpaid and therefore keep wages down and profits high. Working women’s role as waged and domestic workers has been dubbed the “double-shift,” since the end of the 9-5 simply means the end of the first shift for women, after which they return home to perform their other, albeit unpaid, shift. Because under capitalism women are primarily viewed as baby-making machines, struggles around bodily autonomy and reproduction rights can challenge capital’s narrow framing of sexuality in a heteronormative manner. Part of the reason the typical nuclear family is upheld as the ideal under bourgeois society is because it assures a constant replenishing of the labor force with young workers who can work faster, longer, and will feel less entitled to the benefits older workers demand. Homosexuality is therefore seen as a break in this relationship because it removes procreation as the main goal or desire of romantic/sexual relationships.
The 20th century was the century of the miniskirt, jeans, the right to vote, contraceptives, legal abortion, etc., all achievements through a century of struggle, but what does it mean to talk about progress when so many women around the world die from hunger, preventive disease, abortions, pregnancy, unemployment, etc? Capitalism’s growth has been contradictory; for while it lays the basis for ending thousands of years of patriarchy by reducing the grip of the family and the male patriarch through forcing women into the public workforce, it has also deepened the misery poor and working-class women encounter through the ideological and violent enforcement of women’s gender role in society. According to our comrades in Pan y Rosas, and the defining element of our feminist framework, the central subject of women’s liberation is the class relation, the axis that can unite proletarian, poor, and all oppressed women in the war against capitalist-patriarchy.
Proletarian women at the head of the European bourgeois revolutions
In the 18th and 19th century bourgeois revolutions in Europe, women workers, peasants, artisans, etc., led armed rebellions against merchants and shop owners who charged exorbitant rates for basic staples in times of crisis. Women chastised the male-centric conception of political freedom from the English and French bourgeois revolutions, i.e. “Declarations of the Rights of Man.” Women’s clubs sprang up in response to the fraternal associations – Revolutionary Women’s Citizen’s Club occupied the French National Assembly to demand full employment. French women named themselves “the third estate of the Third Estate,” pointing to their subordinate status within the political ranks of the masses. Poor women warred for bread and jobs, while middle and bourgeois class women organized for political rights through leaflets and clubs. The French Revolution was a cross-class effort between the nascent bourgeoisie, working-class, and peasantry and this is reflected in the way class position determined the demands women fought for. The bourgeois men who led the revolution negated the very freedoms they highly upheld to their very wives, daughters, and mothers. Even though this affected all women, working-class and poor women had more pressing daily demands to fight for. The rising bourgeoisie’s framing of working women as domestic workers pushed these women into the frontlines of battle, fighting for decent living standards in addition to political and social rights. However, Napoleon’s political reaction and coup smashed the political rights gained through the revolution.
Bourgeois and Proletarian Women
The Industrial Revolution, beginning in the later 18th century created a cleavage between “home” and work as farmers were dispossessed of their land and forced to work in factoriesa, challenging traditional notions of women’ social position. It created an antagonistic relationship between the home and the factory and between maternity and productivity. Domestic labor, seen as the natural space of women’s labor, was not seen as productive, as the (mostly) male work in the factory was. This hides the relation between paid and unpaid labor described above. The introduction of heavy machinery into the process of capitalist production made irrelevant the need for a muscular,masculine, labor force, and allowed for the incorporation of women and children, who simply had to pull a lever or do low-skilled work for a lower wage than a male would accept. It was also a method of disciplining the working-class, for women and children are still seen as a weaker and docile labor force that capital can tap into if male workers decide to wage a campaign.
This section explains how capital connects, by force, all the aspects of daily life to its needs of reproduction and accumulation – play, domestic work, school, love, etc. No spheres of human life fully escape the laws of commodification and alienation. In those times, unions vehemently fought against the incorporation of women into their ranks, under the assumption that doing so would lower wages and even displace male workers and because women didn’t “follow the rules.” Here we can plainly see how male workers’ relative privileges worked to obstruct any sense of class unity, choosing instead to hedge their bets on their maleness as opposed to a common struggle with their sisters against the common enemy. However, because of the stratified and hierarchical organization of the working-class, male workers looking from the standpoint of labor-power in the market might actually lose out in an immediate sense if women compete with them. These divisions and their corresponding forms of consciousness come from this material basis. What sort of communist program could make the argument that the only effective struggle against capital unites sectorally divided parts of the working-class in a common offensive, much like the situation between male mine workers and their stay-at-home wives in their conflict with the company in the movie Salt of the Earth? In this situation, explains D’Atri, women organized their own extra-union organizations and rebelled against the conditions of work through general strikes, insurrections, walk-outs, and other militant methods. The self-organization of women workers did not wait or patiently ask for their male counterparts to join them; these women had a struggle to wage and decided to do so even if their male companions stood in their way. Selma James, in Sex, Race, and Class, talks about how lower sections of the class move and force more privileged sectors to either join them or fight against them and thus reinforce the subordinate status of the class as a whole.
In 1871, the infamous Paris Commune sprung up in the French capital in response to the war with Prussia and the French government’s humiliating “peace” accord. The Parisian masses organized the first example of socialist society in action; workers seized and reorganized their workplaces, delegates to the commune were to be elected via universal suffrage (women’s right to vote was immediately implemented), payed no more than the average worker’s wage, subject to immediate recall, and thus directly accountable to their base. Proletarian and middle-class women played a central role as militants in the Paris Commune and organized in their autonomous organizations within the movement to push forward their particular demands. Louise Michel, a fiery and tireless French anarchist and 1st International member, helped create the Women’s Union for the Defense of Paris.
If there ever was a point of unity between the working masses and the bourgeoisie during the bourgeois revolutions against the feudal classes, the bourgeoisie uniting with the defeated aristocracy in crushing the militant resistance by workers and peasants who wanted to advance the revolutionary movement in their own interests clearly proved that the bourgeoisie was not willing or even capable of putting up a fight to thoroughly destroy the old feudal system. The bourgeoisie chose its survival as a class as opposed to its complete domination over society by leaning on the shoulders of reactionary forces to suppress the basic demands of workers, who toiled up to 15 hours a day and lived in squalid slums, and the peasants, who starved as a result of famine. In this context of class warfare, where the divide between labor and capital was coming to the fore in all its contradiction and brutality, what sort of unity could bourgeois women hold with poor women? Were they fighting in the barricades with the peasant, working class, unemployed, or artisan, women, organizing for better work conditions, lower food prices, and democratic rights? In fact, they schemed and plotted with their class, the bourgeoisie, to make a bloodshed of the mass movements and the Paris Commune is its most important culmination.
Different Trends in the Feminist movement
Beginning in the middle of the 19th century, the feminist movement began to take form in its fight for democratic rights. In the first feminist movement, bourgeois women sought formal equality with men, such as the right to vote, own property, obtain education, etc. Women from the popular classes drove forward their political struggles for their class, not only democratic rights but also the right to work, housing, low food prices, and other basic demands of the working-class and in this manner vindicated their rights as women. One of the most important moments in this struggle was the Seneca Falls 1848 conference, in which women’s suffrage, right to own property, and equally participate in religious ceremonies were brought up. Frederick Douglass, escaped former slave, abolitionist, and powerful orator, joined in this conference and pushed for suffrage to be a central point of the gathering. In this time, radical abolitionist movements like those of William Lloyd Garrison organized themselves to include the full participation of women, an act which alienated many liberal anti-slavery whites. In bourgeois feminist circles, however, the opposite sentiment predominated. White feminists defended their struggle for their right to vote on the racist basis that if black men did not have the right to it, then denying it to white women amounted to denigrating them to the status of blackness. Thus, in no way did white middle-class and bourgeois women betray their class or racial interests with the exception of those who tied the democratic struggle for women’s suffrage to the revolutionary abolitionist cause. In Europe and the United States, women’s organizations also upheld the pacifist banner.
We thus see a diversity of tendencies within the feminist movement reflective of the class and racial backgrounds they emerged from. Two broad schools of liberal feminist thought came to the fore: what Andrea D’Atri terms“individualist” and “relational.” The former seeks formal equality and a break from traditional norms through political struggle all the way to complete equality with men. The latter is based on sexual dimorphism, with the goal of recuperating the physical, psychological, and cultural attributes of femininity to win struggles based on what they see as their “natural” biological roles. Even though this perspective can hardly be called “feminist” in a political sense since it didn’t seek social equality, it did help win important gains in education, social services, health, and other areas directly impacting women’s maternal roles. The division between “individualist” (i.e. liberal) and “relational” feminism began a clear contradiction which extended to the feminist wave of the 1960s and 1970s.
On a whole other level, we can identify a socialist feminism with two schools during this time: a reformist one that attempts to reconcile the capital/labor contradiction, and a revolutionary one, that sees women’s liberation and all forms of oppression as fundamental aspects of a socialist revolution without which there can be no type of liberation from anything. Utopian socialists, such as Saint Simon and Fourier, attempted to create communal societies, egalitarian sexual relations in particular, without challenging the capitalist power structure. They were among the first socialists to denounce the hypocritical ways in which women were really treated in contrast to bourgeois society’s hollow frames about gender equality and women’s important social roles. Fourier digs into the sexual relations of Victorian Europe, where male seduction and infidelity are treated as virtues and signs of power, but where the women on the other side of the equation are treated as prostitutes who, upon their “illegitimate” pregnancy are forced to commit infanticide and thus receive further abuse and dehumanization.
Historically, anti-communists have attempted to discredit our agitation for liberating and egalitarian sexual relations by saying that the introduction of this “community of women” will be akin to socialized prostitution. Marx, in the Communist Manifesto, replies:
“The bourgeois clap-trap about the family and education, about the hallowed co-relation of parents and child, becomes all the more disgusting, the more, by the action of Modern Industry, all the family ties among the proletarians are torn asunder, and their children transformed into simple articles of commerce and instruments of labour. But you communists would introduce community of women, screams the bourgeoisie in chorus. The bourgeois sees his wife a mere instrument of production. He hears that the instruments of production are to be exploited in common, and, naturally, can come to no other conclusion that the lot of being common to all will likewise fall to the women. He has not even a suspicion that the real point aimed at is to do away with the status of women as mere instruments of production. “ – (Marx and Engels)
Karl Marx and Frederick Engels were two main founders of the First International, a European collective of various radicals, ranging from utopians, anarchists, reformists, and communists. Within the First International, Elizabeth Dimitrieff was leader of the women’s section as well as the International’s delegate to the Paris Commune. Clara Zetkin, key revolutionary in the German Social-Democratic Party, for decades the world’s largest and most respected communist organization (until the rise of the Bolsheviks in the Russian Revolution), organized its women’s section and published Equality, which turned out to be a popular publication in the women’s socialist movement.
The book then tells us the story of Flora Tristan, daughter of a Peruvian-Spanish diplomat in Paris and product of an “illegitimate” marriage, which denied her the class privileges a “legitimate” marriage would have bestowed upon her. This forced her to labor as a domestic worker in bourgeois homes. After escaping with her kids from an abusive and drunk husband, she becomes a key figure in the socialist feminist movement. Her politics, though somewhat eclectic in their combination of utopian and scientific socialism, were nonetheless powerful in their exposition of the unity between women’s cause and the cause of the entire proletariat for its emancipation. In her most famous work, Union Obrera (Worker’s Unity), she espouses socialist ideals, in particular the need for international proletarian organization to coordinate the global struggle against capital. Written in 1843, her work precedes the creation of Marx’s First International and the publication of the Communist Manifesto. In Union Obrera, Flora Tristan proclaims,
“Workers, during two hundred years or more, the bourgeois have fought valiantly and starkly against the nobility’s privileges and for their own rights. But, upon their victory, even though they recognized the equality of the rights of all, in |
ill came upon him in a rush, overwhelming. Shouldn’t the strongest rule? Why should he sit back so often, listening to men chat instead of war?
There. There was the man who held what he wanted. A throne… a throne and more. The woman Dalinar should have been able to claim. A love he’d been forced to abandon, for what reason?
No, his fighting today was not done. This was not all!
He started toward the group, his mind fuzzy, his insides feeling a deep ache. Passionspren—like tiny crystalline flakes—dropped around him.
Shouldn’t he have passion?
Shouldn’t he be rewarded for all he had accomplished?
Gavilar was weak. He intended to give up his momentum and rest upon what Dalinar had won for him. Well, there was one way to make certain the war continued. One way to keep the Thrill alive.
One way for Dalinar to get everything he deserved.
He was running. Some of the men in Gavilar’s group raised hands in welcome. Weak. No weapons presented against him! He could slaughter them all before they knew what had happened. They deserved it! Dalinar deserved to—
Gavilar turned toward him, pulling free his helm and smiling an open, honest grin.
Dalinar pulled up, stopping with a lurch. He stared at Gavilar, his brother.
Oh, Stormfather, Dalinar thought. What am I doing?
He let the Blade slip from his fingers and vanish. Gavilar strode up, unable to read Dalinar’s horrified expression behind his helm. As a blessing, no shamespren appeared, though he should have earned a legion of them in that moment.
“Brother!” Gavilar said. “Have you seen? The day is won! Highprince Ruthar brought down Gallam, winning Shards for his son. Talanor took a Blade, and I hear you finally drew out Kalanor. Please tell me he didn’t escape you.”
“He…” Dalinar licked his lips, breathing in and out. “He is dead.” Dalinar pointed toward the fallen form, visible only as a bit of silvery metal shining amid the shadows of the rubble.
“Dalinar, you wonderful, terrible man!” Gavilar turned toward his soldiers. “Hail the Blackthorn, men. Hail him!” Gloryspren burst around Gavilar, golden orbs that rotated around his head like a crown.
Dalinar blinked amid their cheering, and suddenly felt a shame so deep he wanted to crumple up. This time, a single spren—like a falling petal from a blossom—drifted down around him.
He had to do something. “Blade and Plate,” Dalinar said to Gavilar urgently. “I won them both, but I give them to you. A gift. For your children.”
“Ha!” Gavilar said. “Jasnah? What would she do with Shards? No, no. You—”
“Keep them,” Dalinar pled, grabbing his brother by the arm. “Please.”
“Very well, if you insist,” Gavilar said. “I suppose you do already have Plate to give your heir.”
“If I have one.”
“You will!” Gavilar said, sending some men to recover Kalanor’s Blade and Plate. “Ha! Toh will have to agree, finally, that we can protect his line. I suspect the wedding will happen within the month!”
As would, likely, the official re-coronation where—for the first time in centuries—all ten highprinces of Alethkar would bow before a single king.
Dalinar sat down on a stone, pulling free his helm and accepting water from a young messenger woman. Never again, he swore to himself. I give way for Gavilar in all things. Let him have the throne, let him have love.
I must never be king.
Chapter 27
Playing Pretend
I will confess my heresy. I do not back down from the things I have said, regardless of what the ardents demand. —From Oathbringer, preface
The sounds of arguing politicians drifted to Shallan’s ears as she sketched. She sat on a stone seat at the back of the large meeting room near the top of the tower. She’d brought a pillow to sit on, and Pattern buzzed happily on the little pedestal.
She sat with her feet up, thighs supporting her drawing pad, stockinged toes curling over the rim of the bench in front of her. Not the most dignified of positions; Radiant would be mortified. At the front of the auditorium, Dalinar stood before the glowing map that Shallan and he—somehow combining their powers—could create. He’d invited Taravangian, the highprinces, their wives, and their head scribes. Elhokar had come with Kalami, who was scribing for him lately.
Renarin stood beside his father in his Bridge Four uniform, looking uncomfortable—so basically, same as usual. Adolin lounged nearby, arms folded, occasionally whispering a joke toward one of the men of Bridge Four.
Radiant should be down there, engaging in this important discussion about the future of the world. Instead, Shallan drew. The light was just so good up here, with these broad glass windows. She was tired of feeling trapped in the dark hallways of the lower levels, always feeling that something was watching her.
She finished her sketch, then tipped it toward Pattern, holding the sketchbook with her sleeved safehand. He rippled up from his post to inspect her drawing: the slot obstructed by a mashed-up figure with bulging, inhuman eyes.
“Mmmm,” Pattern said. “Yes, that is correct.”
“It has to be some kind of spren, right?”
“I feel I should know,” Pattern said. “This… this is a thing from long ago. Long, long ago…”
Shallan shivered. “Why is it here?”
“I cannot say,” Pattern replied. “It is not a thing of us. It is of him.”
“An ancient spren of Odium. Delightful.” Shallan flipped the page over the top of her sketchbook and started on another drawing.
The others spoke further of their coalition, Thaylenah and Azir recurring as the most important countries to convince, now that Iri had made it completely clear they had joined the enemy.
“Brightness Kalami,” Dalinar was saying. “The last report. It listed a large gathering of the enemy in Marat, was it?”
“Yes, Brightlord,” the scribe said from her position at the reading desk. “Southern Marat. You hypothesized it was the low population of the region that induced the Voidbringers to gather there.”
“The Iriali have taken the chance to strike eastward, as they’ve always wanted to,” Dalinar said. “They’ll seize Rira and Babatharnam. Meanwhile, areas like Triax—around the southern half of central Roshar—continue to go dark.”
Brightness Kalami nodded, and Shallan tapped her lips with her drawing pencil. The question raised an implication. How could cities go completely dark? These days major cities—particularly ports—would have hundreds of spanreeds in operation. Every lighteyes or merchant wanting to watch prices or keep in contact with distant estates would have one.
Those in Kholinar had started working as soon as the highstorms returned—and then they’d been cut off one by one. Their last reports claimed that armies were gathering near the city. Then… nothing. The enemy seemed to be able to locate spanreeds somehow.
At least they’d finally gotten word from Kaladin. A single glyph for time, implying they should be patient. He’d been unable to get to a town to find a woman to scribe for him, and just wanted them to know he was safe. Assuming someone else hadn’t gotten the spanreed, and faked the glyph to put them off.
“The enemy is making a play for the Oathgates,” Dalinar decided. “All of their motions, save for the gathering in Marat, indicate this. My instincts say that army is planning to strike back at Azir, or even to cross and try to assault Jah Keved.”
“I trust Dalinar’s assessment,” Highprince Aladar added. “If he believes this course to be likely, we should listen.”
“Bah,” said Highprince Ruthar. The oily man leaned against the wall across from the others, barely paying attention. “Who cares what you say, Aladar? It’s amazing you can even see, considering the place you’ve gone and stuck your head these days.”
Aladar spun and thrust his hand to the side in a summoning posture. Dalinar stopped him, as Ruthar must have known that he would. Shallan shook her head, letting herself instead be drawn farther into her sketching. A few creationspren appeared at the top of her drawing pad, one a tiny shoe, the other a pencil like the one she used.
Her sketch was of Highprince Sadeas, drawn without a specific Memory. She’d never wanted to add him to her collection. She finished the quick sketch, then flipped to a sketch of Brightlord Perel, the other man they’d found dead in the hallways of Urithiru. She’d tried to re-create his face without wounds.
She flipped back and forth between the two. They do look similar, Shallan decided. Same bulbous features. Similar build. Her next two pages were pictures of the two Horneaters. Those two looked roughly similar as well. And the two murdered women? Why would the man who strangled his wife confess to that murder, but then swear he hadn’t killed the second woman? One was already enough to get you executed.
That spren is mimicking the violence, she thought. Killing or wounding in the same way as attacks from previous days. A kind of… impersonation?
Pattern hummed softly, drawing her attention. Shallan looked up to see someone strolling in her direction: a middle-aged woman with short black hair cut almost to the scalp. She wore a long skirt and a buttoning shirt with a vest. Thaylen merchant clothing.
“What is that you’re sketching, Brightness?” the woman asked in Veden.
Hearing her own language so suddenly was strange to Shallan, and her mind took a moment to sort through the words. “People,” Shallan said, closing her drawing pad. “I enjoy figure drawing. You’re the one who came with Taravangian. His Surgebinder.”
“Malata,” she said. “Though I am not his. I came to him for convenience, as Spark suggested we might look to Urithiru, now that it has been rediscovered.” She surveyed the large auditorium. Shallan could see no sign of her spren. “Do you suppose we really filled this entire chamber?”
“Ten orders,” Shallan said, “with hundreds of people in most. Yes, I’d assume we could fill it—in fact, I doubt everyone belonging to the orders could fit in here.”
“And now there are four of us,” she said idly, eyeing Renarin, who stood stiff beside his father, sweating beneath the scrutiny as people occasionally glanced at him.
“Five,” Shallan said. “There’s a flying bridgeman out there somewhere— and those are only the ones of us gathered here. There are bound to be others like you, who are still looking for a way to reach us.”
“If they want to,” Malata said. “Things don’t have to be the way they were. Why should they? It didn’t work out so well last time for the Radiants, did it?”
“Maybe,” Shallan said. “But maybe this isn’t the time to experiment either. The Desolation has started again. We could do worse than rely upon the past to survive this.”
“Curious,” the woman said, “that we have only the word of a few stuffy Alethi about this entire ‘Desolation’ business, eh sister?”
Shallan blinked at the casual way it was said, along with a wink. Malata smiled and sauntered back toward the front of the room.
“Well,” Shallan whispered, “she’s annoying.”
“Mmm…” Pattern said. “It will be worse when she starts destroying things.”
“Destroying?”
“Dustbringer,” Pattern said. “Her spren… mmm… they like to break what is around them. They want to know what is inside.”
“Pleasant,” Shallan said, as she flipped back through her drawings. The thing in the crack. The dead men. This should be enough to present to Dalinar and Adolin, which she planned to do today, now that she had her sketches done.
And after that?
I need to catch it, she thought. I watch the market. Eventually someone will be hurt. And a few days later, this thing will try to copy that attack.
Perhaps she could patrol the unexplored parts of the tower? Look for it, instead of waiting for it to attack?
The dark corridors. Each tunnel like a drawing’s impossible line…
The room had grown quiet. Shallan shook out of her reverie and looked up to see what was happening: Ialai Sadeas had arrived at the meeting, carried in a palanquin. She was accompanied by a familiar figure: Meridas Amaram was a tall man, tan eyed, with a square face and solid figure. He was also a murderer, a thief, and a traitor. He had been caught trying to steal a Shardblade—proof that what Captain Kaladin said about him was true.
Shallan gritted her teeth, but found her anger… cool. Not gone. No, she would not forgive this man for killing Helaran. But the uncomfortable truth was that she didn’t know why, or how, her brother had fallen to Amaram. She could almost hear Jasnah whispering to her: Don’t judge without more details.
Below, Adolin had risen and stepped toward Amaram, right into the center of the illusory map, breaking its surface, causing waves of glowing Stormlight to ripple across it. He stared murder at Amaram, though Dalinar rested his hand on his son’s shoulder, holding him back.
“Brightness Sadeas,” Dalinar said. “I am glad you have agreed to join the meeting. We could use your wisdom in our planning.”
“I’m not here for your plans, Dalinar,” Ialai said. “I’m here because it was a convenient place to find you all together. I’ve been in conference with my advisors back at our estates, and the consensus is that the heir, my nephew, is too young. This is no time for House Sadeas to be without leadership, so I’ve made a decision.”
“Ialai,” Dalinar said, stepping into the illusion beside his son. “Let’s talk about this. Please. I have an idea that, though untraditional, might—”
“Tradition is our ally, Dalinar,” Ialai said. “I don’t think you’ve ever understood that as you should. Highmarshal Amaram is our house’s most decorated and well-regarded general. He is beloved of our soldiers, and known the world over. I name him regent and heir to the house title. He is, for all intents, Highprince Sadeas now. I would ask the king to ratify this.”
Shallan’s breath caught. King Elhokar looked up from his seat, where he—seemingly—had been lost in thought. “Is this legal?”
“Yes,” Navani said, arms folded.
“Dalinar,” Amaram said, stepping down several of the steps toward the rest of them at the bottom of the auditorium. His voice gave Shallan chills. That refined diction, that perfect face, that crisp uniform… this man was what every soldier aspired to be.
I’m not the only one who is good at playing pretend, she thought.
“I hope,” Amaram continued, “our recent… friction will not prevent us from working together for the needs of Alethkar. I have spoken to Brightness Ialai, and I think I have persuaded her that our differences are secondary to the greater good of Roshar.”
“The greater good,” Dalinar said. “You think you are one to speak about what is good?”
“Everything I’ve done is for the greater good, Dalinar,” Amaram said, his voice strained. “Everything. Please. I know you intend to pursue legal action against me. I will stand at trial, but let us postpone that until after Roshar has been saved.”
Dalinar regarded Amaram for an extended, tense moment. Then he finally looked to his nephew and nodded in a curt gesture.
“The throne acknowledges your act of regency, Brightness,” Elhokar said to Ialai. “My mother will wish a formal writ, sealed and witnessed.”
“Already done,” Ialai said.
Dalinar met the eyes of Amaram across the floating map. “Highprince,” Dalinar finally said.
“Highprince,” Amaram said back, tipping his head.
“Bastard,” Adolin said.
Dalinar winced visibly, then pointed toward the exit. “Perhaps, son, you should take a moment to yourself.”
“Yeah. Sure.” Adolin pulled out of his father’s grip, stalking toward the exit.
Shallan thought only a moment, then grabbed her shoes and drawing pad and hurried after him. She caught up to Adolin in the hallway outside, near where the palanquins for the women were parked, and took his arm.
“Hey,” she said softly.
He glanced at her, and his expression softened.
“You want to talk?” Shallan asked. “You seem angrier about him than you were before.”
“No,” Adolin muttered, “I’m just annoyed. We’re finally rid of Sadeas, and now that takes his place?” He shook his head. “When I was young, I used to look up to him. I started getting suspicious when I was older, but I guess part of me still wanted him to be like they said. A man above all the pettiness and the politics. A true soldier.”
Shallan wasn’t certain what she thought of the idea of a “true soldier” being the type who didn’t care about politics. Shouldn’t the why of what a man was doing be important to him?
Soldiers didn’t talk that way. There was some ideal she couldn’t quite grasp, a kind of cult of obedience—of caring only about the battlefield and the challenge it presented.
They walked onto the lift, and Adolin fished out a free gemstone—a little diamond not surrounded by a sphere—and placed it into a slot along the railing. Stormlight began to drain from the stone, and the balcony shook, then slowly began to descend. Removing the gem would tell the lift to stop at the next floor. A simple lever, pushed one way or the other, would determine whether the lift crawled upward or downward.
They descended past the top tier, and Adolin took up position by the railing, looking out over the central shaft with the window all along one side. They were starting to call it the atrium—though it was an atrium that ran up dozens upon dozens of floors.
“Kaladin’s not going to like this,” Adolin said. “Amaram as a highprince? The two of us spent weeks in jail because of the things that man did.”
“I think Amaram killed my brother.”
Adolin wheeled around to stare at her. “What?”
“Amaram has a Shardblade,” Shallan said. “I saw it previously in the hands of my brother, Helaran. He was older than I am, and left Jah Keved years ago. From what I can gather, he and Amaram fought at some point, and Amaram killed him—taking the Blade.”
“Shallan… that Blade. You know where Amaram got that, right?” “On the battlefield?”
“From Kaladin.” Adolin raised his hand to his head. “The bridgeboy insisted that he’d saved Amaram’s life by killing a Shardbearer. Amaram then killed Kaladin’s squad and took the Shards for himself. That’s basically the entire reason the two hate each other.”
Shallan’s throat grew tight. “Oh.”
Tuck it away. Don’t think about it.
“Shallan,” Adolin said, stepping toward her. “Why would your brother try to kill Amaram? Did he maybe know the highlord was corrupt? Storms! Kaladin didn’t know any of that. Poor bridgeboy. Everyone would have been better off if he’d just let Amaram die.”
Don’t confront it. Don’t think about it.
“Yeah,” she said. “Huh.”
“But how did your brother know?” Adolin said, pacing across the balcony. “Did he say anything?”
“We didn’t talk much,” Shallan said, numb. “He left when I was young. I didn’t know him well.”
Anything to get off this topic. For this was something she could still tuck away in the back of her brain. She did not want to think about Kaladin and Helaran.…
It was a long, quiet ride to the bottom floors of the tower. Adolin wanted to go visit his father’s horse again, but she wasn’t interested in standing around smelling horse dung. She got off on the second level to make her way toward her rooms.
Secrets. There are more important things in this world, Helaran had said to her father. More important even than you and your crimes.
Mraize knew something about this. He was withholding the secrets from her like sweets to entice a child to obedience. But all he wanted her to do was investigate the oddities in Urithiru. That was a good thing, wasn’t it? She’d have done it anyway.
Shallan meandered through the hallways, following a path where Sebarial’s workers had affixed some sphere lanterns to hooks on the walls. Locked up and filled with only the cheapest diamond spheres, they shouldn’t be worth the effort to break into, but the light they gave was also rather dim.
She should have stayed above; her absence must have destroyed the illusion of the map. She felt bad about that. Was there a way she could learn to leave her illusions behind her? They’d need Stormlight to keep going.…
In any case, Shallan had needed to leave the meeting. The secrets this city hid were too engaging to ignore. She stopped in the hallway and dug out her sketchbook, flipping through pages, looking at the faces of the dead men.
Absently turning a page, she came across a sketch she didn’t recall making. A series of twisting, maddening lines, scribbled and unconnected.
She felt cold. “When did I draw this?”
Pattern moved up her dress, stopping under her neck. He hummed, an uncomfortable sound. “I do not remember.”
She flipped to the next page. Here she’d drawn a rush of lines sweeping out from a central point, confused and chaotic, transforming to the heads of horses with the flesh ripping off, their eyes wide, equine mouths screaming. It was grotesque, nauseating.
Oh Stormfather…
Her fingers trembled as she turned to the next page. She’d scribbled it entirely black, using a circular motion, spiraling toward the center point. A deep void, an endless corridor, something terrible and unknowable at the end.
She snapped the sketchbook shut. “What is happening to me?”
Pattern hummed in confusion. “Do we… run?”
“Where.”
“Away. Out of this place. Mmmmm.”
“No.”
She trembled, part of her terrified, but she couldn’t abandon those secrets. She had to have them, hold them, make them hers. She turned sharply in the corridor, taking a path away from her room. A short time later, she strode into the barracks where Sebarial housed his soldiers. There were plentiful spaces like this in the tower: vast networks of rooms with built-in stone bunks in the walls. Urithiru had been a military base; that much was evident from its ability to efficiently house tens of thousands of soldiers on the lower levels alone.
In the common room of the barracks, men lounged with coats off, playing with cards or knives. Her passing caused a stir as men gaped, then leaped to their feet, debating between buttoning their coats and saluting. Whispers of “Radiant” chased her as she walked into a corridor lined with rooms, where the individual platoons bunked. She counted off doorways marked by archaic Alethi numbers etched into the stone, then entered a specific one.
She burst in on Vathah and his team, who sat inside playing cards by the light of a few spheres. Poor Gaz sat on the chamber pot in a corner privy, and he yelped, pulling closed the cloth on the doorway.
Guess I should have anticipated that, Shallan thought, covering her blush by sucking in a burst of Stormlight. She folded her arms and regarded the others as they—lazily—climbed to their feet and saluted. They were only twelve men now. Some had made their way to other jobs. A few others had died in the Battle of Narak.
She’d kind of been hoping that they would all drift away—if only so she wouldn’t have to figure out what to do with them. She now realized that Adolin was right. That was a terrible attitude. These men were a resource and, all things considered, had been remarkably loyal.
“I,” Shallan told them, “have been an awful employer.”
“Don’t know about that, Brightness,” Red said—she still didn’t know how the tall, bearded man had gotten his nickname. “The pay has come on time and you haven’t gotten too many of us killed.”
“Oi got killed,” Shob said from his bunk, where he saluted—still lying down.
“Shut up, Shob,” Vathah said. “You’re not dead.”
“Oi’m dyin’ this time, Sarge. Oi’m sure of it.”
“Then at least you’ll be quiet,” Vathah said. “Brightness, I agree with Red. You’ve done right by us.”
“Yes, well, the free ride is over,” Shallan said. “I have work for you.”
Vathah shrugged, but some of the others looked disappointed. Maybe Adolin was right; maybe deep down, men like this did need something to do. They wouldn’t have admitted that fact, though.
“I’m afraid it might be dangerous,” Shallan said, then smiled. “And it will probably involve you getting a little drunk.”
Oathbringer: The Stormlight Archive Book 3 copyright © 2017 Dragonsteel Entertainment, LLCThe Ontario leaders debate cut to the chase Tuesday night, with the NDP and Progressive Conservative leaders piling on Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne over the scandal that dogged her predecessor before all three turned their attention to their competing plans for the economy.
A double-barrelled question about pensions and the $1 billion the provincial government paid out to cancel two controversial gas-powered electricity plants west of Toronto evolved into a three-way scrum about how the Liberals handled the issue, and Wynne's involvement in particular.
"You had a choice when you were going to sign off on those gas plant documents. You had a choice," NDP Leader Andrea Horwath admonished Wynne. "Why did you not choose to stand up for the people of Ontario and ensure that those documents weren't signed?"
PC Leader Tim Hudak waded in too. "You had a choice. You had an opportunity. You could have said no and saved us a billion dollars.... Why didn't you just say no?"
The direct questioning echoed one of the best-known moments in Canadian political debate: the 1984 federal election, when Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Mulroney lashed Liberal Prime Minister John Turner for supporting the patronage appointments of his predecessor, Pierre Trudeau with the line, "You had an option, sir. You could have said, 'I am not going to do it.' "
Wynne, who avoided the direct gaze of her opponents in the early stages of the debate and looked squarely at the camera instead, responded that the government made a mistake for which she has apologized — and for which she apologized again.
"I've said that the decisions weren't right," she said. "I did not direct all of the decisions, and I have said that they were wrong.... I acted to make changes that would ensure that that would not happen again."
Hudak's jobs promises scrutinized
The second chunk of the debate addressed electricity prices, before moving to a question about the merits of the PCs' pledge to create a million jobs in Ontario while simultaneously slashing 100,000 public-sector workers.
Hudak said provincial government's deficit is the single biggest impediment to job growth, which is why he would slash spending. "We need to balance the books," he said. "That's the biggest load we have on our backs that's holding back job creation.
Word count Number of times key terms were mentioned in Tuesday night's debate: "Gas plant": 12
"Tax": 19
"Jobs": 28
Hudak suggested contracting out Go Transit bus drivers and eliminating "positions that we no longer need" at the Ontario Power Authority, which forecasts the province's electricity needs and contracts for new power plants, as well as at DriveClean, which ensures vehicles meet emissions standards.
The government could achieve the 100,000 public sector job cuts by simply not hiring to replace retiring workers, Hudak said. And for the second time in the debate, he committed to tough love for his own government if it didn't perform up to expectations.
Earlier in the evening, he said he would turf any cabinet minister who had administered during a scandal like eHealth or the gas plants; this time, he promised that if the million-job target wasn't reached — it's part of an eight-year plan — then he himself would resign as premier.
Speaking to viewers, Horwath said she understands people's worries about the PC platform.
"I know that you're concerned that a plan that somehow is going to bring a million jobs is also going to kick 100,000 families to the curb. That's not what we need in Ontario," she said.
Wynne said the million-job promise "is based on a flawed premise that no economists have agreed to."
She emphasized staying the economic course the Liberals have plotted since the 2008-09 recession: keeping program-spending the "leanest per capita" of any provincial government in the country, while not shying away from current tax levels because "taxes are the price of looking after each other."
The Liberal platform also calls for $2.5 billion over 10 years for grants to corporations, in a bid to draw businesses to the province. Both Horwath and Hudak said that, as premier, they would swear off handing out large amounts of money to private enterprise.
Wynne countered that the private sector wants to partner with government to upgrade technologies and expand facilities. "He would not have worked with the auto sector and supported the auto sector at the time when it was going through a crisis," she said of Hudak. "He would have walked away from the auto sector."
Transit: NDP vows no new tolls
When the debate turned to a question about transportation, Horwath restated her party's longstanding pledge to make driving more affordable for middle-class families by bringing auto insurance rates down by 15 per cent and eschewing any new road tolls or car taxes.
Previous Next
"I've listened to what drivers have said about how unaffordable it is to drive in this province," she said, before attacking Wynne for approving a new express train from downtown Toronto to the city's airport that's powered by diesel fuel. "The Liberals are putting a dirty diesel train right through downtown neighbourhoods. It makes no sense whatsoever."
Wynne responded that the train had to be built quickly, in time for the 2015 Pan Am Games in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, and that it will eventually be converted to run on electricity.
All three leaders clashed over how best to spend money on transportation infrastructure, with Wynne pushing her party's agenda of light rail in Kitchener-Waterloo and Ottawa, and Hudak calling for more subway stops in Toronto, including an expansion north of the city to Richmond Hill.
Party supporters rally outside debate
As the leaders debated in CBC's Studio 40, moderated by TVO's Steve Paikin, supporters of all three major provincial parties rallied outside the downtown Toronto building.
A youthful crowd of Liberal backers, decked out in red shirts and toting election signs, chanted "four more years." In a line directly across from them, a throng of blue-clad Progressive Conservatives yelled "Dalton, Dalton" — an apparent attempt to link Wynne to her predecessor, Dalton McGuinty, and the scandals that emerged under his premiership.
Blue-clad Progressive Conservative supporters and young Liberals in red chanted slogans at each other outside the TV studio where Tuesday night's debate took place.
Next to them, a group of NDP supporters danced to the rhythms of a Brazilian percussion band.
Tuesday night's debate format had six main questions — drawn from more than a thousand submitted by the public — put to the party leaders. They addressed the questions in a mix of one-on-one interchanges and three-way free-for-alls, on a spartan but lofty set.
Following the debate, party leaders scrummed with reporters outside the TV studio. Asked whether she was nervous in her first leaders debate, Wynne said it's up to "the people of Ontario" to decide how she fared.
"I had never done this before. I actually quite enjoyed it."
Hudak and Horwath previously butted heads during the 2011 election.
While the current campaign has seen the front-runners seesaw for the lead in polls over the last four weeks, there's no guarantee that a strong debate performance will catapult any one party to a clear advantage come election day.
And even if one of the party leaders emerges as a consensus winner, there's no guarantee that will translate into votes. Horwath was seen as having the momentum in a snap post-debate poll in 2011. It wasn't enough to propel her party past third place in the legislature, however.Militants reportedly have three captured jets and witnesses cited as saying they have seen planes flying low over Aleppo
Islamic State (Isis) is takings its first steps towards building an air force by training pilots to fly captured fighter planes, according to a group monitoring the conflict in Syria.
Isis is using lots of tanks, armoured personnel carriers, artillery and Jeeps taken from the Syrian and Iraqi armies but this is the first report that it has planes in the air.
Isis, which took the US by surprise this year with its rapid territorial expansion in Syria and Iraq, has three Russian-built MiG jets, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which appears to have a good network of observers on the ground and has often proved reliable in the past.
Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the British-based group, said Isis has trainers who had gained experience in the Iraqi air force under former president Saddam Hussein.
Abdulrahman cited witnesses who had seen the planes flying low over Aleppo, in rebel-held northern Syria.
If Isis was able to train pilots, they could mount 9/11-style suicide attacks on key installations in Damascus or Baghdad.
Defence analysts said that while this is feasible, they were extremely sceptical. “There is a small chance but not a big chance,” said Afzal Ashraf, a former RAF captain, counter-terrorism specialist and consultant at the London-based Royal United Services Institute(Rusi).
It was feasible to train pilots for small aircraft but it would be a struggle to do the same with an advanced fighter jet. Such jets would require frequent maintenance as well as a good navigation system and air traffic control, Ashraf said.
Such planes could be easily picked off by US, UK, Turkish or even Syrian planes or air defences. The UK is flying reconnaissance and bombing missions only over Iraq while the US is engaged in both Iraq and Syria.
In February last year, the SOHR reported the capture of the al-Jarrah military airport near Aleppo, which had been held by Assad’s forces. The MiG fighters were said to have been taken at the time.
The monitoring group reported witnesses saying the planes flying low over Aleppo recently appeared to be MiG 21s or MiG 23s and had taken off from and returned to the nearby al-Jarrah base. It added that training courses are taking place at the base.
The SOHR said it did not know whether the planes were armed with missiles.
Isis has taken swathes of Sunni-dominated territory in Iraq and is on the outskirts of Baghdad.
Raffaello Pantucci, a counter-terrorist specialist at Rusi, said he had seen footage of captured planes and questioned their viability. “They were covered in bird shit,” he said.
Pantucci said they would pose no problem for the sophisticated air defence capabilities of the US and its Nato ally Turkey, and even to a lesser extent those of Syria’s President Bashar-al-Assad.
Ashraf said of the former Iraqi air force pilots reported to have joined Isis that it would be hard for them to keep up with the latest advances. “Flying is a very perishable skill,” he said.
He predicted they were almost certain to crash. “You have to be able to fly and to take off and to navigate. If you do not know what you are doing, you are likely to stall it,” Ashraf said.Biketown program manager Steve Hoyt-McBeth (right) at an Adaptive Bike Clinic in June 2016.
(Photo: J. Maus/BikePortland)
The City of Portland took another step today toward fulfilling a promise they made last summer: To make the Biketown bike share program more accessible to people who are unable to ride conventional bicycles.
If all goes according to plan, adaptive bikes should be available for use by this summer.
To refresh your memory, this issue caught the Portland Bureau of Transportation off-guard last summer, just weeks before the scheduled launch of the Biketown program, when a local advocate for people with disabilities began to question the equity of a bike share system that wasn’t accessible by all of Portland’s bicycle riders. That advocate was Chloe Eudaly, who notched a victory on this issue when PBOT promised to find a solution and then went on to earn a victory at the ballot box when she became a Portland City Commissioner.
Eudaly’s prodding set PBOT on the path toward researching options and gathering information from adaptive bike users.
Today PBOT launched a survey to garner focused feedback on their plan. According to a press statement, PBOT will make |
. 8. Many women have a quality of purity that few men possess. 9. Women should be cherished and protected by men. 10. Most women fail to appreciate fully all that men do for them. 11. Women seek to gain power by getting control over men. 12. Every man ought to have a woman whom he adores. 13. Men are complete without women. 14. Women exaggerate problems they have at work. 15. Once a woman gets a man to commit to her, she usually tries to put him on a tight leash. 16. When women lose to men in a fair competition, they typically complain about being discriminated against. 17. A good woman should be set on a pedestal by her man. 18. There are actually very few women who get a kick out of teasing men by seeming sexually available and then refusing male advances. 19. Women, compared to men, tend to have a superior moral sensibility. 20. Men should be willing to sacrifice their own well-being in order to provide financially for the women in their lives. 21. Feminists are making entirely reasonable demands of men. 22. Women, as compared to men, tend to have a more refined sense of culture and good taste. Source: UnderstandingPrejudice.org
The team also found that those who read all of part of the books and felt they were 'hot' or 'romantic' also had more sexist attitudes.
The next part of the study looked at if these general sexists beliefs were hostile, benevolent or both,
Researchers fed their findings into a different model and found a correlation between women how dubbed the books 'hot' and 'romantic' and hostile sexism.
Those who exhibit this type of sexism usually believe women are inferior to men, so that also means those who viewed the books as degrading and abusive did not hold this believe.
Women who read the first book in the series scored higher on the ambivalent sexism scale, compared to those who only read part or none of the book. The team also found that those who read all of part of the books and felt they were 'hot' or 'romantic' also had more sexist attitudes
The results were also similar for benevolent sexism, which suggests men should take care of women in a way that is degrading.
For example, in Fifty Shades of Grey, Christian monitors how Anastasia works out, who she is allowed to see and even what she eats.I don’t know how any of your lives are going at the moment, but I’m pretty confident in saying that, whatever’s happening, you’re doing better than this poor pathetic Dutch guy, 41-year-old Alexander Cirk, who almost died while waiting ten days in a Chinese airport to meet a girl he’d been talking to online. Alex, buddy, you really need to rethink some things, pal.
Cirk had been corresponding with his internet-based girlfriend, a 26-year-old Chinese woman known only by her surname, Zhang, for about two months when Cirk had the idea to visit her in person. The pair met over a “social networking app,” and while Zhang reports that the two had agreed to wait a year before meeting, Cirk decided he couldn’t wait.
Cirk applied for and received a Visa to go to China, and sent Zhang a picture of his flight information, though Zhang suggests she didn’t comprehend the relevance of the picture. Also suggestive that she didn’t understand the relevance of the picture is that when he arrived, she was out of town, getting some sort of cosmetic surgery.
Undeterred by the absence of the only person he (sort of) knew in a country of over a billion people, Cirk decided to wait at the airport. And wait. And wait.
Advertisement
He waited ten days, living at Changsha airport, and while he was waiting there he doesn’t seem to have taken much care of himself, since he was eventually hospitalized for “hospitalized for fatigue, malnutrition and inactivity.”
Oh, you poor, pathetic bastard.
I mean, I get that there’s a potent mix of heartbreak, shock, and confusion, but he didn’t wait for any confirmation she’d be there? And, after say, oh, 48 hours, he didn’t start to think maybe there was a reason she wasn’t contacting him at all? Maybe?
Advertisement
After being released from the hospital, Cirk flew back home, having logged one of the shittiest vacations ever undertaken by a Dutchman. The couple says they still plan to stay together, because of course they do.
Alex, buddy, listen. Take some time. Rethink some things, okay? On a happier note, based on that picture of him up there, I bet they can get Steve Buscemi to play him in the eventual rom-com Ten Days Without You.CM Punk recently sat down with IGN. Here are some highlights from the interview.
If it's possible to have a match with Undertaker these days without a strong chance of the streak ending. "I mean, does anybody really think they have to break the streak? It's one of those things. The streak is this monumental thing and I think everybody has these feelings of not wanting to see it broken, so therefore it should never be broken. But once that bell rings I don't have a boss and nobody can tell me what to do. The guy who beats the streak is gonna go down as a legend. If I broke the streak, I'd be a legend. So it's up to me to do everything I can to break it."
The amount of pressure he puts on himself. "I expect the best from myself, no more no less. I don't know what anybody else expects from this match given [Undertaker's] year away from the ring and possibly his physical condition. Or the fact that I don't have a Hell in a Cell or all these different kinds of stipulations, like No Disqualification, to work with. But I like it when they handcuff me."
"I always seem to find a way to make it the best that it can be, given the circumstances. I don't think I can look at it like 'Oh, this has to be better than other matches Undertaker's done.' To me this match is going to be what it has to be. It's part of a story, you know. So I don't look at those other matches. It's really a different beast. I'm making him angry. It's not just 'I'm going to break your streak.' I'm trying to piss the guy off and I want him to try and kill me. So it's a completely different animal than the last couple matches he's had at 'Mania."
If Undertaker is his dream Wrestlemania opponent. "You know, probably not. To be honest. I mean, I probably would have said, hell, at this point, John Cena. You know what I mean? Or, of course, Stone Cold Steve Austin. He's always been my answer to that question over the last two years."
You can check out the rest of the interview here.
Source: IGNnext Image 1 of 2
prev Image 2 of 2
A series of NASA satellite images has revealed the shocking decline of water levels in the Aral Sea, a massive environmental disaster dubbed “the quiet Chernobyl.”
NASA’s Terra satellite began capturing the images in 2000, when the vast central Asian lake known as the Aral Sea was already a fraction of its 1960 size (as shown by the black line in the images).
“It shows the power of long-term satellite observation from space,” a NASA spokesman told FoxNews.com, noting that the Terra satellite will have been in space for 15 years in December.
The victim of a Soviet era water diversion project in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, the Aral Sea was once the fourth largest lake in the world, but now holds less than 10% of its original water volume.
By 2000 the body of water had already separated into Northern and Southern Aral Seas, also known the Small and Large Seas. As the satellite image taken in 2000 shows, the Southern Sea was split into tenuously-connected eastern and western ‘lobes,’ or basins.
Within 12 months, however, the southern part of the connection had been lost, and the shallower eastern basin began to quickly retreat over the subsequent years. Dry conditions in 2014 caused the basin to completely dry up for the first time in modern times, according to NASA.
“As the lake dried up, fisheries and the communities that depended on them collapsed,” said NASA, in a statement accompanying the satellite images, adding that the increasingly salty water became polluted with fertilizer and pesticides.
NASA also noted that the blowing dust from the exposed lakebed, contaminated with agricultural chemicals, became a public health hazard. “The loss of the moderating influence of such a large body of water made winters colder and summers hotter and drier,” it added.
A dam built by Kazakhstan’s in 2005 was a last-ditch attempt to save parts of the lake, but was effectively “a death sentence” for the Southern Aral Sea, according to NASA.
Launched on December 18, 1999, the Terra satellite studies the earth’s atmosphere, lands, oceans and energy.
Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogersWASHINGTON – New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez is holding up a vote in the U.S. Senate on a resolution honoring Margaret Thatcher, the former prime minister of the United Kingdom who died last week after suffering a stroke, multiple sources tell The Daily Caller.
While the House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring Thatcher last week, Menendez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, objects to some of the language proposed by Republicans in the Senate’s version, sources said.
A copy of the proposed resolution, which would be offered by Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, honors “the life, legacy, and example of British Prime Minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher.”
Another source said Democrats want to “black out everything but a few lines acknowledging her service as prime minister.”
Reacting to the news, conservatives slammed Menendez.
“I don’t know if he’s blocking the Thatcher resolution because he likes Socialism or because he holds women in such low regard, but Senator Menendez should drop his objections immediately,” Matt Hoskins, the executive director of the Senate Conservatives Fund, told TheDC.
The proposed three-page resolution obtained by TheDC praises the former prime minister and “recognizes that Baroness Margaret Thatcher, working with President Ronald Reagan, helped bring a peaceful end to the Cold War.”
Tricia Enright, a spokeswoman for Menendez, did not immediately comment on this story, telling TheDC she forwarded an inquiry to staffers on the Foreign Relations Committee. Last week, Menendez called Thatcher a “dynamic force as an ally to the United States in winning the cold War and overcoming the despotism and repression suffered by hundreds of millions at the hands of Soviet communism.”
The news that Democrats were holding up a vote on the resolution was first reported last week on The Forge, the blog of the conservative policy organization Heritage Action.
“To refuse to honor a woman of such great historical and political significance, who was deeply loyal to the United States, is petty and shameful,” Katherine Rosario of Heritage Action wrote on the blog. “One truly has to wonder, what is it about Lady Thatcher that gives them pause? Her unfaltering commitment to freedom? Or perhaps the way she fought for individual liberty and limited government?”
Thatcher, known as the “Iron Lady,” died last week at 87.
Last Tuesday, the House passed H.Res.141, which expresses “the condolences of the House of Representatives on the death of the Baroness Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.”
Follow Alex on TwitterPeople can't help but share their thoughts.
As expected, there's been an awakening when it comes to spoilers, and everyone on social media is sure to feel it over the next few days.
Although there is a review embargo in place for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (until Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. Pacific, if you were curious), the massive hunger for Star Wars content online is such that some people just couldn't quite keep their thoughts to themselves. Here are numerous reviews that don't ruin anything.
#ForceAwakens might be the best blockbuster since the original. — Brett Morgen (@brettmorgen) December 15, 2015
From comedy to costumes, fights to fx to overall feel, J.J. Abrams has created a thoroughly old-fashioned movie #StarWarsForceAwakens — Steven Zeitchik (@ZeitchikLAT) December 15, 2015
Star Wars premiere just letting out now. A LOT of smiling faces. #StarWarsForceAwakens — Matthew Belloni (@THRMattBelloni) December 15, 2015
Just got the first #StarWarsForceAwakens review from Chris @Hardwick while exiting the theater... "It was ****ing incredible!" — Kenny Holmes (@KHOLMESlive) December 15, 2015
1st Star Wars review: it was epic, awesome & perfect. The cast was stellar. JJ killed it! — RainnWilson (@rainnwilson) December 15, 2015
Not going to say much till I see it again but rest assured THE FORCE AWAKENS is the best STAR WARS since 1983...maybe 1980. — Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) December 15, 2015
Well, I've seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens. My prediction: #1 at the box office this week. — Eric Stonestreet (@ericstonestreet) December 15, 2015
There's really no words to describe how amazing The Force Awakens was. Just..... Wow.... #StarWarsRedCarpet pic.twitter.com/Fq8un08Jf0 —!llmind (@illmindPRODUCER) December 15, 2015
Out of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This about sums it up: pic.twitter.com/BPECdYffYy — Eric Vespe (@EricVespe) December 15, 2015
There are many things that should be made illegal in response to Star Wars: The Force Awakens: any variation on the phrase "The Force is strong in this one"; any attempt to say "Christmas came one week early for Star Wars fans"; and anyone even thinking of describing the movie as "BB-great." Let's add people who break embargoes and ruin the movie to that list.
After Thursday evening, however, those wanting to remain unspoiled should just switch off the Internet altogether until they've had a chance to see the movie for themselves. Too many Bothan spies would be sacrificed to keep spoilers hidden, otherwise.Please select your country: United States Argentina Australia Austria Belarus Belgium Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Canada Chile China Colombia Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Czechoslovakia (1945-1992) Denmark East Germany (1949-1990) Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Ireland Israel Italy Japan Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Malaysia Malta Mexico The Netherlands New Zealand North Korea Norway Philippines Poland Portugal Romania Russia Saudi Arabia Serbia Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Thailand Turkey Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Vietnam U.S.S.R. (1922-1991) Yugoslavia (1945-1992) Africa » Cameroon Africa » South Africa Worldwide Other
Not an American user?
Description
Screenshots
Promo Images
Alternate Titles
"L4D" -- Common abbreviation
Part of the Following Groups
User Reviews
Critic Reviews
Mania Windows Dec 19, 2008 A 100 That Gaming Site Windows Nov 23, 2008 9.4 out of 10 94 GameFocus Xbox 360 Dec 05, 2008 9.2 out of 10 92 ActionTrip Windows Dec 22, 2008 9 out of 10 90 AceGamez Windows Nov, 2008 9 out of 10 90 Eurogamer.net (UK) Windows Nov 19, 2008 9 out of 10 90 GamesAreFun.com (GAF) Xbox 360 Dec 03, 2008 9 out of 10 90 GameSpot (Belgium/Netherlands) Windows Nov 21, 2008 89 out of 100 89 GameSpot Windows Nov 20, 2008 8.5 out of 10 85 Giant Bomb Xbox 360 Nov 18, 2008 80
Forums
Topic # Posts Last Post L4D Valentines 1 xroox (3970)
Feb 03, 2009
Trivia
1001 Video Games
Censored cover art
The Japanese cover art for the game is slightly censored.
In the Windows version, the hand's thumb (which is severed in the original cover art) is covered by a small label which says "Best of E3" on it. And in the Xbox 360 version, the thumb isn't missing, it's simply held down, hidden under the palm.
The German cover art for the game is also censored, as it usually is over there. However, the uncensored cover art can be found underneath the outer paper slipcover.
German version
The intro misses the cut off thumb and some blood. There are additional cuts in the Xbox 360 version.
Other Survivors don't bleed when shooting them
All splatter effects (cut off limbs and exploding heads) were removed
Killed enemies disappear instantly
There are no special animations for burning enemies
Xbox 360 only: Blood was recoloured green (infected) respectively grey (survivors and other instances) and bleeding does no longer effect the textures of wall or floor.
Japanese release
References
References to the game
Recycled content
The sound indicating an incoming horde is from the "On a Rail" chapter of Half-Life.
Various weapon sounds are taken from similarly functioning weapons in Team Fortress 2 and Half-Life: Counter-Strike.
The gas can looks and functions like the way it did in Half-Life 2, with the exception that Half-Life 2's gas can didn't ignite the environment around it, only enemies.
's gas can didn't ignite the environment around it, only enemies. Map props from assorted Counter-Strike: Source maps can easily be spot.
The Tank moves just like the way Dog does in Half-Life 2.
Awards
GAME British Academy Video Games Awards
2009 - Multiplayer Game Award
GamePro (Germany)
February 26, 2009 - Best Console Multiplayer Game in 2008 (Reader's Voting)
GameSpy 2008 – #3 Game of the Year 2008 – #3 PC Game of the Year 2008 – #4 Xbox 360 Game of the Year 2008 – Multiplayer Game of the Year 2008 – Multiplayer Game of the Year (Readers' Vote) 2008 – PC Action Game of the Year 2011 – #11 Top PC Game of the 2000s
GameStar (Germany)
February 26, 2009 - Best PC Multiplayer Game in 2008 (Reader's Voting)
Golden Joystick Awards
2009 - Online Game of the Year
Related Web Sites
In, four humans, Francis, Zoey, Bill, and Louis, had the bad luck to land in the middle of a zombie invested zone, are now trying to get to the evacuation point, and survive the apocalyptic pandemic. The game contains several scenarios which are all divided into several chapters with the goal to reach the save room and hundreds of zombies in-between.The doors to the save rooms can't be opened by the infected once closed and they contain weapons (shotguns, sub-machine guns, etc.), medipacks, and ammo for the survivors to restock before the next part of the journey. The door of the save room can also be never opened again by the survivors once it's closed so the team needs to stay together or otherwise they will have to decide whether they leave a friend behind or fight a hopeless battle at the save room door.If a survivor is too badly damaged, the character goes down but is neither dead immediately nor defenseless. The character still can shoot with a pistol at incoming zombies to make it easier for teammates to help the character up. This is especially important when one of the special zombies such as the Hunter, who can jump great distances and immediately downs his target, has a survivor in his grasp. If the zombie isn't killed in time, the teammate will be dead.Other special zombies include the Tank, which is a huge mutated zombie that can take a few hundred bullets before it goes down and does a serious punch as well as the boomer which vomits on a survivor and immediately attracts dozens of new zombies. This also happens if a car burglar alarm goes of or something similar disturbs the night.While the campaigns can be played either with AI controlled teammates or with other human players in co-op, the multiplayer also features an additional game mode called "Versus". The basic premise remains the same with four players needing to get safely to the save room but at the same time four other players are randomly assigned the roles of one of the special zombies with the obvious goal to help the normal, AI-controlled infected to get rid of the survivors. The zombie players have the advantage that they can spawn almost anywhere on the map if it's out of sight the survivors and see them through walls if they make a noise but are otherwise, except for the tank, easy to take down if noticed early.appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.Besides the cover art differences described above, there a number of other changes to the German version:A detailed list of changes can be found on schnittberichte.com (German).Funnily enough, the Japanese PC version of the game is unrated. It does not have a CERO rating (unlike the XBox 360 version, which was rated Z, equivalent to the ESRB's Mature / Adults Only ratings, PEGI's 18+ rating, and the OLFC's 15+ rating).One of the game's achievements, "Zombie Genocidest", asks the player to kill a total of 53,595 infected. This is a reference to the "Zombie Genocider" achievement in Dead Rising, which asks the player to kill 53,594 zombies. The Crash Course download campaign even adds a new achievement, "The Littlest Genocide", which tasks the player with killing 5,359 zombies on that particular campaign.was parodied in an episode of "Die Redaktion" (The Editorial Team), a monthly comedy video produced by the German gaming magazine GameStar. It was published on the DVD of issue 06/2009.recycles a lot of content from previous Valve games. Examples:WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Revelations by former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden will make it harder for the United States to confront China at talks this week over the alleged cyber theft of trade secrets worth hundreds of billions of dollars each year.
Snowden’s disclosures of American electronic surveillance around the world give China an argument to counter U.S. complaints that it steals private intellectual property (IP) from U.S. companies and research centers.
Cyber security is at the center of high-level meetings between the two countries in Washington that will show whether a positive tone struck by President Barack Obama and new Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit last month can translate into cooperation on difficult issues.
Top U.S. officials from Obama down have long tried to convince China to recognize a clear line between the kind of cyber espionage by spy agencies revealed by Snowden and the stealing of technology.
“This Snowden thing has muddied the waters in a terrible way,” said James McGregor, author of a book on China’s authoritarian capitalism and industrial policy.
“China would rather have the waters muddy, because they can say ‘You do it. We do it. What’s the big deal?’ and the cyber theft against companies will go on and on,” he said by telephone from China, where he is senior counselor for APCO Worldwide, a U.S. business consultancy.
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said last week that U.S. officials will press China at the talks on cyber theft, a problem he described as “just different from other kinds of issues in the cyber area.
Many countries spy on each other, but U.S. officials say China is unique in the amount of state-sponsored IP theft it carries out as it tries to catch up with the United States in economic power and technological prowess.
Last week the U.S. Department of Justice charged Chinese wind turbine maker Sinovel Wind Group Co and two of its employees with stealing software source coding from U.S.-based AMSC in an alleged theft worth $800 million.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce hopes “to see a clear indication that China recognizes thefts of trade secrets, whether by cyber or other means, is stealing property and will bring the full force of its laws to curb this,” said Jeremie Waterman, the group’s senior director for Greater China.
Beijing regularly parries complaints about Chinese hacking into the computers of U.S. businesses by saying that China is itself a major victim of cyber espionage. Chinese officials have dismissed as unconvincing recent U.S. official and private-sector reports attributing large-scale hacking of American networks to China.
China’s official Xinhua news agency last month said the Snowden case showed the United States was “the biggest villain in our age” and a hypocrite for complaining about Chinese cyber attacks.
China’s stance appears to be bolstered by Snowden’s revelations of widespread surveillance by the National Security Agency and his assertion that the agency hacked into critical network infrastructure at universities in China and in Hong Kong.
Snowden first fled to Hong Kong before his leaks to newspapers became public last month, and has subsequently gone to Moscow. He is believed to be holed up in the transit area of the city’s Sheremetyevo International Airport and has been trying to find a country that would give him sanctuary.
‘OUT OF BOUNDS’ SPYING
Now in their fifth year, the annual U.S.-Chinese talks, known as the Strategic and Economic Dialogue, will cover topics from U.S. concerns about North Korea’s nuclear weapons and expanding U.S.-China military ties to climate change and access to Chinese financial markets.
China’s exchange-rate policy is on the agenda, although it has receded as a issue with the gradual strengthening of the yuan and a reduction of huge current account imbalances.
This year Secretary of State John Kerry and Lew host Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Vice Premier Wang Yang for the first S&ED session since China’s once-a-decade leadership change in March when Xi took over.
The meetings follow Obama’s summit last month with Xi in California, where the two men developed what aides called a productive relationship. Nevertheless, Obama demanded Chinese action to halt what he called “out of bounds” cyber spying.
Civilian and military officials from the two countries discussed international law and practices in cyberspace at low-level talks on Monday. Cyber security is due to come up at other meetings throughout the week that will also likely address U.S. accusations that Beijing gained access electronically to Pentagon weapons designs.
IP theft costs U.S. businesses $320 billion a year, equal to the annual worth of U.S. exports to Asia, authors of a recent report say.
A bipartisan group of high-ranking former U.S. officials known as the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property said in a May report that China accounts for between 50 percent and 80 percent of IP theft suffered by U.S. firms.
Cyber theft of industrial designs, business strategies and trade secrets is only a portion of IP pilfering.
IP theft more commonly involves “planted employees, bribed employees, employees who were appealed to on the basis of nationalism and all the traditional means of espionage, often accompanied by cyber,” said Richard Ellings, president of the National Bureau of Asian Research think tank, who co-wrote the report.
The U.S. District Court in Manhattan charged three New York University researchers in May with conspiring to take bribes from Chinese medical and research outfits for details about NYU research into magnetic resonance imaging technology.
Arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Homeland Security Department for IP infringements rose 159 percent and indictments increased 264 percent from 2009-13, according to a report released in June by the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator.
The Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property called for tough penalties including banking sanctions, bans on imports and blacklisting in U.S. financial markets.“Lady Catelyn, you are wrong.” Brienne regarded her with eyes as blue as her armor. “Winter will never come for the likes of us. Should we die in battle, they will surely sing of us, and it's always summer in the songs. In the songs all knights are gallant, all maids are beautiful, and the sun is always shining.”
–George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings
Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce Called to Arms, the second Chapter Pack in the War of Five Kings cycle for A Game of Thrones: The Card Game!
The banners have been called in the War of the Five Kings. In the north, Robb Stark gathers his armies around Riverrun, preparing to strike out at Tywin Lannister’s forces. Joffrey Baratheon has ascended the Iron Throne in King’s Landing, Renly Baratheon has been crowned in Highgarden, and on the islands of Dragonstone and Pyke, Stannis Baratheon and Balon Greyjoy plot their own rise to power. Before long, great armies will march onto the field of battle, while subtle intrigues and assassins’ daggers decide the fates of countless others.
Like Across the Seven Kingdoms before it, the Called to Arms Chapter Pack continues to follow the events of A Clash of Kings. A new King version of Balon Greyjoy challenges all enemies of the Iron Isles, even as two new attachments give you ways to crown your other characters and make them Kings. You’ll also find iconic characters like Dolorous Edd and Shae entering the game for the first time, even as other cards lend new importance to loyal cards. Finally, this pack continues to introduce a focus on the seasons of Westeros with two new agendas!
Kings of Summer, Kings of Winter
In Westeros, seasons can last for years. A long summer means bounteous harvests and prosperity, even for the smallfolk. A harsh winter can doom hundreds to death through cold and starvation. As A Clash of Kings begins, white ravens fly out from the Citadel in Oldtown, bringing word of summer’s end. Soon, everyone in Westeros, from the greatest lord to the lowliest servant will need to contend with the howling winds of winter. It’s fitting, therefore, that summer and winter begin to play a larger role in your games of A Game of Thrones: The Card Game.
Called to Arms introduces two new agendas to the game: Kings of Summer (Called to Arms, 37) and Kings of Winter (Called to Arms, 38). Each of these agendas calls you to champion the season of Winter or Summer and gives you benefits in keeping with your chosen season.
For instance, you may choose the Kings of Summer agenda. With this as your agenda, you are prevented from including any Winter plots in your plot deck, and the reserve on each player’s revealed plot card is increased by one. Furthermore, while there are no Winter plot cards revealed, you can increase the gold on your revealed Summer plot by one.
The Kings of Winter agenda, on the other hand, diametrically opposes the Kings of Summer agenda. Kings of Winter prevents from including any Summer plots in your plot deck, and it reduces the reserve on each player’s plot card by one. Furthermore, while you have a Winter plot revealed, you can reduce the gold on each opponent’s non-Summer plot card by one.
Ultimately, these two agendas institute a season—either the balmy heat of summer, which blesses both players with increased reserve, or the freezing chill of winter, which may force you to discard cards you would have rather kept. Of course, the agenda wouldn’t be very useful if it didn’t give you some kind of benefit over your opponent. Deciding if your deck cares more about benefitting itself or hurting your opponent can be a useful way of determining which agenda best suits your deck.
It’s also important to consider the greater impact of increased or reduced reserve. For instance, the Kings of Summer agenda increases each player’s reserve, but that won’t do your opponent much good if you’re playing House Lannister and discarding your enemy’s cards as fast as he draws them. Holding extra cards in your own hand can prove extremely valuable, however, and the extra gold from Kings of Summer is always useful for ambushing characters or fueling Tywin Lannister (Core Set, 90).
Alternatively, you might want to use the Kings of Winter agenda to reduce both players’ reserve and attack your opponent’s gold supplies. House Stark has already shown its preference for Winter with cards like Winterfell (Wolves of the North, 17) and As Hard as Winter (Wolves of the North, 22). A reduced reserve only hurts if you’re close to your reserve in the first place, and factions like House Stark and House Greyjoy are well known for running out of cards relatively quickly. In these circumstances a reduced reserve and less gold can hurt your opponent much more than yourself.
Of course, you’ll need plenty of Summer and Winter plots to gain the full benefit of these agendas, and this Chapter Pack introduces a new plot for each season. On one side, you gain Summer Harvest (Called to Arms, 39). This plot has a gold value of X, and when it’s revealed, you can choose an opponent. The value of X is then two higher than the printed gold value on your opponent’s revealed plot—almost guaranteeing that you come out ahead, at least economically.
On the Winter side, we encounter Winter Festival (Called to Arms, 40). These seasonal celebrations advance you much more directly towards victory, but they can also be easily disrupted by the opposite season. If you have Winter Festival in play, when the challenges phase ends, you immediately gain two power for your faction, provided there are no Summer plots revealed. When you get close to victory, Winter Festival may just give you the tools you need to seal the game in your favor, especially for factions like the Night’s Watch that prefer to sit back and defend challenges.
The Ravens Are Flying
Ravens have been loosed from the Citadel, bringing news of a change in season. Will your faction bask in the sun and take full advantage of summer’s bounty? Or will you harden yourself to the winter snows and destroy your enemy in his time of weakness? With the Called to Arms Chapter Pack, you can call upon the power of these agendas for any faction.
Look for the Called to Arms Chapter Pack in the third quarter of 2016!Maximus Real Estate has poured $363K and counting into a “grassroots” effort to push the so-called “Monster in the Mission” proposal.
SanFrancisco is a city in which a man in a three-piece suit can often induce more of a double-take than a bearded dude wearing a sarong and beating a conga drum — but, by any standard, the ads now gracing the BART station at 16th and Mission are head-turners.
“I AM NOT A MONSTER” reads the text accompanying sensitive portraits of teachers, paramedics, firefighters, bus drivers, union laborers and all the other sorts of people — real and focus-grouped — San Franciscans want in this city (but who are melting away quicker than polar icecaps). This notably diverse assemblage of people is being used not to sell a housing bond or organic food, but San Francisco’s most contentious high-rise housing development, the so-called Monster in the Mission. And the cure for all that ails the folks in these ads — crime, blight, displacement — is to build a large housing development skewing heavily toward the well-to-do.
Well, that’s counter-intuitive. But that’s just the start of it; The notion of even creating such an ad in the first place is counter-intuitive. These billboards, which direct people to the website Mission4All.org and attempt to wheedle them into signing a petition, are being used to garner support for a proposal that, at the moment, does not even have a scheduled hearing date before the planning commission. It exists solely as a happy watercolor resembling, as all proposed city developments seem to these days, a large office/lecture hall on a Cal State campus.
Yes, politics runs in this city’s water like fluoride — but, ostensibly, the fate of this development is in the hands not of random BART riders but city planners, staffers and elected representatives. “I don’t know who they’re trying to sway,” admits Dennis Richards, the president of the Planning Commission. “But, to that point: Who cares?” City planning is not American Idol. “It’s not a popularity contest. Or else they could just do internet voting and dissolve the Planning Commission.”
A well-funded political campaign (and, make no mistake, that’s what this is) for a project at this amorphous stage is something nobody Mission Local spoke with — planners, developers, elected officials, bureaucrats, lobbyists, activists and others — could recall happening before. None of them thought it was a hot idea, either.
“They are trying to force their way through a process you gotta work through,” said a longtime San Francisco development honcho. This project, as they all do in the Mission and most everywhere else in San Francisco, will come down to height, shadows, ground floor retail usage, union labor and, above all else, community benefits and affordable housing percentage. “And,” he continues, “at the end of the day, everyone knows it’s cheaper to put up signs and websites than to provide more affordable housing.”
Not that it’s cheap, though. Those BART ads cost nearly $46,000. Going back to April, “Mission for All, LLC” has spent more than $363,200 canvassing and politicking on behalf of the project they’d rather you just call “1979 Mission Street.” Paid signature-gatherers and door-knockers have been roaming District 9 for quite some time; campaign-style fliers have been hung on doorknobs.
None other than District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen, in fact, found a “slick mailer” dangling on her door in recent weeks. Every house on her block had one. How Ronen’s neighbors reacted is unknown. But Ronen is perhaps the most important resident of District 9, if not all of San Francisco, for the would-be developers to impress. She wasn’t.
“I find it strange,” said Ronen, who took pains to note that she is being “very careful to remain neutral on this; it is very likely this project will come before me and I want to vote on it.” That said, a $363,000 PR campaign struck her as an odd way to spend money. “Why aren’t they |
urn, who lobbied for the report to be created, estimated that all told, the GAO found between $100 and $200 billion in spending on duplicate programs. A billion here, a billion there...eventually it really does start to add up.SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has determined that North Korea is capable of mounting a nuclear warhead on its medium-range Rodong ballistic missile, which could reach all of South Korea and most of Japan, a senior government official said on Tuesday.
The government’s assessment, shared in a background briefing with foreign news media representatives in Seoul, followed a recent claim by North Korea that it had “standardized” nuclear warheads small enough to be carried by ballistic missiles. South Korean officials, like their American counterparts, have said that the North has made progress in miniaturizing nuclear warheads, but have been reluctant to elaborate.
But after four recent nuclear tests by the North, the latest on Jan. 6, some nongovernmental analysts in South Korea have said that they believe the North has learned how to fit its medium-range Rodong missile with nuclear warheads. The senior government official echoed that assessment, but did not provide any evidence of how the government has made its determination.
He did not say if the North had actually built such a warhead or simply had the technology to do so, but said the government did not have any evidence that the North had actually fitted miniaturized warheads onto a missile.It’s okay to be confused, we are too. In recent news, a certain mysterious Sound Drama has been announced under the name ハオルシア or “Haworthia”, presented by doujin circles M. Graveyard (dai) and Pomexgranate (xaki and Motoki Zakuro), and it’s scheduled to be released very soon! Why should you care? Well, it so happens that the scenario of this drama is being written by Ryukishi himself, and it’s being promoted as a tie-in for the new “When They Cry” game. Yep, an image soundtrack / sound drama album for a game that isn’t out yet. That sounds like Ryukishi alright.
The album is scheduled to be released for sale at the M3 doujin music convention on the 29th of october, with a special live performance of the album at the second 07th Live event on the 3rd of November. The image album will be featuring the work of dai, xaki, Motoki Zakuro, Asaki Risa, Hokazono Yuu, Kyoko Namekawa, Suzu Maihara, Kino Nei, Sakura Kanae, Luck Ganriki, M. Zakky and Pre-Holder. That’s pretty much a full cast for a WTC soundtrack right there! The promotional material features character and background illustrations by Remotaro, a rising star in the doujin artist scene who’s most well known for her illustrations of Key characters. We asked her for comment about how Haworthia is connected to the new When They Cry, and she had this to say: こんにちは！ すくなくとも収録曲については次の「なく頃に」に関係があるとお聞きしています😊✨ ストーリーとキャラについては、どう関わりがあるのか、それとも全くないのか……私もよくわかっておりません💦 — れもたろ@次は10/29鍵点！ (@remotaro) October 18, 2017 I’ve been told that the music [of Haworthia] is connected to the new When They Cry (no naku koro ni) game (smile). As for whether the characters and story are related or not, I have no idea (sweats). Speaking of characters, we’ve also been treated to some character bios for the four main cast!
The Gentle Older Sister: Asaki Yumemi.
VA: Asaki Risa
“This star, it’s become quite lovely, hasn’t it?”
The Strong-Willed Younger Sister: Yuu Yumemi.
VA: Yuu Hokazono
“You mustn’t run away, we’ll make it out of this hell together!”
Environmental Control Organisation Head Press Secretary: Motoki Punica Granatum
VA: Motoki Zakuro
“No no, don’t be so stiff~! Feel free to call me Punica, okay?”
Grand Admiral of the 1st Area Immigrant Fleet: A. H. Haworthia
VA: Kino Nei
“However, there is just one thing. Remember to sing of joy. And so, may it never be forgotten.” UPDATE: Pomexgranate’s stream has revealed two more character bios!
Isolated Green of the Forest: Organics Automata S
VA: Suzu Maihara
“Everything is for the sake of this star. Organics Automata will restore this star’s beauty.”
Isolated Blue of the Sea: Organics Automata K
VA: Kyoko Namekawa
“Nice to meet you. I’m Tomomasa’s sister, her mother, myself.”Bittersweet. What else could progressive Scots call a result that hands over Scotland (almost) lock, stock and barrel to the anti-austerity SNP, but sees the Tories returned across England to form a new majority Westminster government?
It was a night of humiliation for the Scottish “big beasts”, as Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy, shadow Scottish secretary Margaret Curran, chief strategist Douglas Alexander and Lib Dems Danny Alexander, Charles Kennedy and Michael Moore all lost their seats. But even if Labour had won every single Scottish seat last night, the Conservatives would still be the largest party today. Some Labour voices – reeling from their end-of-an-era outcome in Scotland – have been quick to suggest a causal link. The numbers tell a different story. It’s the mother of all doomsday scenarios. For decades, Scotland voted Labour and got the Tories.
This time, Scots changed the habits of several lifetimes to vote SNP but got an even worse result. David Cameron now has a mandate for £12bn of welfare cuts, replacing Trident, an in-out Europe referendum and is restrained only by a broken Labour party and the pulverised Lib Dems.
Of course, Scots now have a “pumped up” contingent of 56 SNP MPs heading south with an explicit mandate to win more powers for the Scottish parliament and oppose more public spending cuts and NHS privatisation in England. But how successful can they be in “winner takes all” Westminster? Does David Cameron have to talk to Nicola Sturgeon, or can he ignore her completely? Indeed, having just bankrolled billboard ads portraying Alex Salmond as a burglar pickpocketing English taxpayers, can Cameron even attempt to parlay?
Maybe. Ironically, the more radical the solution to the perceived “Scottish problem,” the easier it may be to sell south of the border. The prospect of Ajockalpyse (Boris Johnson’s colourful description of SNP involvement in UK government) must surely lessen if Scots are packed off with home rule or full fiscal autonomy.
That would let the Scottish parliament control all tax and spending north of the border, reducing cross-border relations to the receipt of a Scottish cheque every five years for the shared services of foreign affairs, defence and macro-economic policy. That might seem like a constitutional concession too far, or a brilliant way to saddle Scots with a multi-billion pound deficit – at least until the oil price recovers and new progressive policies reduce dependency and increase productivity. Furthermore, if Holyrood sets and raises all its own taxes, there will be no need for Evel (English votes for English laws) and the Commons can revert to being a de facto English parliament. But constitutional furniture would have to be slightly rearranged to accommodate Scottish home rule, the Welsh, Northern Irish and English regions clamour for similar clout, renewed demands for proportional representation and perhaps a call to turn the Lords into a fully elected federal-style second chamber – especially if freshly rejected Scottish Labour “big beasts” are bumped up to the upper house. Another clumsy deal could easily leave the federal genie well and truly out of the bottle on both sides of the border.
Victory for the resplendent SNP may also prove to be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, Nicola Sturgeon is now unquestionably Britain’s most trusted social democrat and Scotland’s most popular political leader. But she’ll be reluctant to use that clout to call a second independence referendum until she’s sure she can win it. Once in a generation could conceivably become twice if more “exceptional” circumstances present themselves – like a UK vote to leave the EU while Scotland once again votes very differently – but thrice really would be pushing it. Negotiations risk producing an unworkable compromise and a too-sudden end to the Barnett formula, but will be unavoidable if David Cameron looks ready to deal. Meanwhile, a massive SNP cohort must somehow “hold David Cameron’s feet to the fire”, or risk ridicule in the run-up to 2016’s Holyrood elections as the “feeble 56” – an ironic echo of their own name for the hefty but powerless Scottish Labour contingent during 17 years of opposition at Westminster.
Yet in the cloudy aftermath of the 2015 general election, three things look clear – the inadequate Smith commission package of more Holyrood powers is certifiably dead in the water, the union is in a more delicate condition and Scots, at least, continue to live in interesting times.One of the complaints commonly leveled against PC gaming is that because of it's open-platform nature, it can feel like a gamble if a game you bought will actually work, especially if you're a novice user. Steam has simplified the process of installing and running a game but it's still not a perfect process.
Step in the PC Gaming Wiki 2.0, which aims to make the biggest collection of PC tweaks, tips, and hardware guides on the Internet. Covering topics like save-game location, workarounds, patching, optimization, and hacks, this wiki looks like it could be the one place to always refer to for any PC gaming needs.
I know I for one will be glad to not have to search through numerous forums and articles looking for a particular bug fix. Having all that info in one place seems like a great idea and I'll look forward to seeing the PC Gaming Wiki grow.
You are logged out. Login | Sign upIn the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.
– The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
A Short History of DNA
Douglas Noel Adams was a best-selling British writer, born in 1952. (As you may have noticed, he had the distinct pleasure of having “DNA” as his initials.) He studied literature at Cambridge, UK, after being extended an invite on the basis of his essay writing. It appears he wanted to be part of the great university to join the the Footlights, an exclusive comedy club that was the springboard for many British comedians. There were various incredible opportunities that flew into Adams’ life, such as: being noticed by Python, Graham Chapman; being one of two non-Pythons to get a writing credit in Monty Python; performing with the likes of Pink Floyd (my favourite band) because he was friends with the incredible David Gilmour; and so on. More importantly, for us, was a radio-series he pitched to BBC Radio 4 in 1977, called The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
His Hitchhiker series was not constrained to only one medium, of course. It began as this radio-show, then leaked into other mediums: a television series, a stage show, a three part DC Comics series, a computer game, and a major film. More importantly it became a series of books. Being bored easily by sounds, the written-version (and computer game) is my favourite medium of Adams’ universal message of weirdness, brilliance and the overall irony of existence in an uncaring universe.
The overarching story in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (now shortened to H2G2) is about Arthur Dent who is a dreary British Earthman (a tautology to many). Dent is friends with Ford Prefect – who is not in fact from Guildford, as he claims but “a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse.” In the beginning of the story, Earth is destroyed by horrible aliens called Vogons – who appear to be based on any Home Affairs Department anywhere in the world. They are making way for a “hyperspace bypass”; an event that mirrors Dent’s troubles in the beginning of the books where his own house is about to be destroyed to make way for a bypass. (The idea of mirroring houses and planets will return later in this essay.)
From there, Dent finds himself transported all over the universe experiencing adventures that involve: hunting couches, the true nature of humanity, the bored and postmodernist ruler of the Universe (not god), god’s Final Message to his Creation, the evils of making tea, time-travel, and, famously, a cynical bowl of petunias and the first and final thoughts of a sperm whale.
We discover fascinating details about humans in the series. For example, the Guide tells us something rather interesting about human arrogance: “on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons.”
Yet, what makes these books and the whole series so important is the reflection that is thrust upon us as a species. Adams manages to deflate the petty worries and doubts of everyday human concerns by juxtaposing it to the movements and thoughts of greater, more intelligent alien-life forms: Beings who can create planets, talk to the controller of the universe, go to different dimensions and times, and so on. But throughout, he still manages to compact everyday human concerns but mock them at the same time.
Under the Aspect of Eternity
In Adams’ universe, humans are not special creatures. We are mocked by all the alien species for not even being able to reach Alpha Centauri to read the notification of the hyperspace bypass. The narrator describes Earth and us, in the beginning of H2G2: “[there is] an utterly insignificant little blue green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.”
Insignificant? This is indeed how some people view Earth and human life, on the cosmic scale, because there is no grand cosmic purpose of which we are part of. With the realisation of a meaningless existence, sub specie aeternitatis or “under the aspect of eternity”, comes numerous ways of reacting to it. Many people say if there is no meaning, whether its god or religion or astrology or alien-warfare, then it is better to commit suicide. The great Algerian existentialist, Albert Camus, replied that ‘absurdity’ is our situation. We are a species who yearn for rationality and stability, care and compassion, and thrust these wishes onto the empty, uncaring canvas of the universe or reality. Our death and, indeed, our life are meaningless to the universe. When our species becomes extinct – barring rapid technology that will see us live forever – no one will mourn the silence from this planet if this planet is even still here.
But many consider Camus’ pronouncements unbecoming. Michael Martin, the greatest living philosopher of nonbelief, says that Camus’ view that people really do live with these expectations is false. Maybe Camus thought that, but Martin doesn’t think most people do. Martin, for example, says that not even scientists want a perfectly rational universe or thrust this on to their canvas of exploration. He says even the idea of “theories of everything” are philosophically problematic, as any complexity theorist will say.
Martin also tells us about Thomas Nagel’s refinement of Camus conclusions. Here is Nagel’s argument as outlined by Martin in Martin’s Atheism: A Philosophical Justification:
(1) When we view our life sub specie aeternitatis, our goals, aspirations, and the like seem arbitrary.
(2) If our goals, aspirations, and the like seem arbitrary and we do not disengage from life, then our life is absurd.
(3) We do sometimes view our life sub specie aeternitatis.
(4) We do not disengage from life.
___
(5) Therefore, our life is absurd.
Martin says we have no reason to accept (1) and (3). Martin says: “Perhaps it may seem to us in … reflective moments as if we are viewing our life sub specie aeternitatis. But we clearly are not – only an omniscient being could do this – and the perspective that we take should not be dignified in these terms. We are merely looking at our life from another point of view from which our goals and aspirations have no importance.” Martin refines points (1) and (3) by inserting “what seems like” or “seems”; so it seems to us that we are looking at it from the aspect of eternity, but Martin claims this is just “one” view. It also does not mean we are truly looking at it from the perspective of an omniscient being.
Martin hints that when people say our lives are meaningless, they automatically equate it with viewing life sub specie aeternitatis. Martin says there is no automatic reason to equate the two views, even though they might have the same conclusion (though by definition we could never know since we are not omniscient beings).
Strangely, if we could make a judgment sub specie aeternitatis we would be omniscient beings. And if we were omniscient beings, there is a high chance we might make a completely different argument about our “meaning” and “purpose”.
A Mote of Dust in a Sunbeam, or, How Far Does Poetic Licence Take You?
The fact that we live at the bottom of a deep gravity well, on the surface of a gas covered planet going around a nuclear fireball 90 million miles away and think this to be normal is obviously some indication of how skewed our perspective tends to be.
– The Salmon of Doubt
Nonetheless, we are here on this “insignificant” blue-green planet, this tiny “meaningless” pale blue dot. And we do call it our home. As if to contrast this view, Carl Sagan poetically elaborates on this grand reflection, that looks at Earth like a full-stop written with a ball-point pen on a canvas of stars.
Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there–on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
Whilst this is very pretty, it doesn’t do enough. It’s all very good and well to locate ourselves, to consider that every meaningful thing for us as a species is located here, but I think Camus’ absurdity remains. There remains an incongruent relationship between the way we want the world to be and the way the world is; we can call this absurdity, irony, strangeness, or, indeed, reality. But it remains.
(It seems to me to simply be reality. All articulated when Alfonso X, in the thirteenth century, declared that if he were god he could design a better world. That marks the birth of modernist thought, according to philosophers like Susan Neiman – i.e. the gap between is and ought.)
It seems to me, we are still trying to emerge from the view that there is more to life than the mountains and the river and our tribe, and indeed our species (our eyes naturally don’t travel very far when looking from the ground); we are still expanding our horizons to take into account that somewhere, someone has never felt hot water on her skin or not starved; we are still further trying to understand that our planet spins around a nuclear-charged disaster waiting to happen; and then trying to fit this into a space so far beyond most of our minds we just think of it as a long strip of black cloth decorated with glitter. It’s a universe of destruction, with stars being obliterated whilst we’re still admiring its pretty light millions of light-years away, where entire solar-systems are swallowed whole; where we might be the only entities to consider ourselves existing.
Yes, we might look on Earth as a place where all our desires and hopes and love exist. But for now, it is isolated in silence. A pale blue mote, floating next to a roaring gas ball. Around us is either the silence of fellow communicating creatures or the explosions of planets and star-systems being “eaten” by super-massive black-holes.
Adams manages to bridge both the gaps of my view, which perhaps we can term ironic-pessimism, and the poetic-hopefulness of Sagan. Adams recognises that we care about this little, “insignificant” planet. But here is a useful question that he hints at: beyond the Guide, beyond the fiction, by whose standards is our planet or sun insignificant?
Remember, that we certainly cannot make such a statement, since that would require, as Michael Martin says, an omniscience we are not capable of. Which is why we should have a problem when great communicators like Sagan say: “We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost between two spiral arms in the outskirts of a galaxy, tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people.” (From Cosmos. Emphasis added.)
It’s poetic licence for Adams but not for Sagan. Sagan is a science-writer not a science-fiction writer. By whose standards is he saying “insignificant” and “humdrum”? The only perspective we have is our own, after all we are the filters. Notice too that this contradicts the previous quotation where he waxed poetic on the significance of Earth.
The planet is certainly not insignificant for me. It is my home. Consider your own home: It might be one house out of many, in a road that twists like any other, in a country amongst others on a massive, planet, which isl… etc. You can do this and thus engage in poetic elaborations, but it reaches a point where it becomes silly.
Perhaps according to some city official, your house is meaningless: one among many. But certainly you don’t feel that way. You would feel something if it was slowly being eroded, hacked at, defaced and so on. But that is what, in some way, is happening to our planet (don’t worry I’m not going to start an eco-warrior rant).
So why the sudden leap, from Sagan, to say our home planet is insignificant? Would he say the same thing about his own home, his family and loved ones (who are merely one random group of people, amongst many, etc.)? Of course not. Also, in his contradictory paragraph that I quoted before, we know Sagan genuinely did care about the planet.
Thus, it seems, science- and other non-fiction writers need to be wary of using terms like “insignificant” or “meaningless” to emphasise their points. Because we must ask: from whose perspective are they judging our planet insignificant? We are no omniscient beings.
Adams’ Balance
Adams refines this by carefully balancing our ideas of insignificance. Throughout the series, Arthur Dent is constantly challenged about loving his silly blue planet – silly to alien creatures, that is. But it’s his home. It’s where he comes from. His bizarre and irritating daughter, Random, suffers from universal isolation since she was born mid-flight in a space-ship. Her longing for a home turns her into a raving lunatic. Adams juxtaposes this with Dent who did know a home but watched its destruction.
Who has it worse? Someone who watched his home being destroyed or someone who never had one?
Amidst the rip-roaring adventures, the sheer scale and idiocy of the things Arthur Dent encounters (did I mention the fleeing couch? The bowl of petunias? How about a singular being he has killed more than a thousand times by accident, but who is constantly reincarnated only to be killed again by Dent?), Arthur still longs for Earth.
Because one thing Adams understands is that things are so bizarre already. And when I say bizarre, I hope I have articulated why and not simply asserted. Because to me, life is strange, it is bizarre. It is not rational or perfectly sound. Humans are entities that would, as Bertrand Russell said, rather die than think. We are beings that make up cosmic fairy-tales to believe in to comfort ourselves because of a fear of death, feelings of meaninglessness, and so on. Yet all science points in the direction of finitude of our lives and our existence. There is no reason to believe in souls or gods or cosmic scales or karma or astrology or ghosts.
Yet, people continue to do so.
The rhetoric involved must be carefully monitored. What Adams made me realise was the tendency to extrapolate on meaningless and irony and silliness of human life toward a cosmic view. That’s why so many nonbelievers find the answer from atheists that life is meaningless, by every possible standard outside the boring human one, so disconcerting. We appear disposed to view life this way, as some cosmic adventure narrative, drawn by the horses of meaning and the chariot of faith.
What makes the H2G2 series compelling is viewing it through the only perspective we know: the human one. Sure we might have some refined human views, say the millions of other people and their efforts to finally view germs, not demons, as the source of sickness. Let us call this view “science” because of its ability to make provable statements; that is, views we are all capable of perceiving, despite the best intentions of dissenters. In a way, we might agree with Neil deGrasse Tyson, who says we should just replace the word “science” with “reality”. Or recall Philip K. Dick who said: “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.” No matter how much you think everything is relative, leaping off a skyscraper will still result in the same end: the pavement. Gravity doesn’t care about your views about it and will still treat you the same as Adams’ bowl of petunias.
My point is that whilst we can improve on how we perceive the world, we do it from no other perspectives but our own, whether its the rough estimations that brought into beings gods and monsters, or the refined views of science that cures polio and smallpox despite kn0w-nothing ignorant people like Jenny McCarthy.
This refinement, as I’ve iterated, is merely working on the human view – since we have no others. Science shows that we are, often, wrong about reality. “It is not common sense to believe that the earth is a sphere, or that it orbits the sun, or that planets and billiard balls all obey the same laws of motion, or that things continue moving in straight lines unless acted upon by an external force.” But when we are wrong, we can discover why.
There is no other view, no omniscient perspective to work from. That is why, regardless of one’s interests in religion or science, talking from the perspectives of meaningless of our planet is simply unhelpful. Indeed, when we extrapolate further and say human effort overall is meaningless, we come to similar problems. Because we can ask again – indeed, we can challenge Camus and Nagel – from what view are we assessing meaninglessness?
The Tawdry Omniscient View of Meaning
Life’s value, we discover, is what we give to it: here, now and to each other. It’s boring in that it’s simple. Since there is no evidence to suggest any religions’ claims remotely true, that god exists, that Jesus will come back with a bang and a flash and mighty vengeful attitude, we can conclude that there are no omniscient deities at all. Adams’ fictions tells us it is silly to regard our planet as meaningless, despite the awesome events that occur to Arthur Dent. The planet still means something to him.
Indeed, it will always mean something to us as species, even if we travelled all around the universe (we could make an argument for those whose lives were truly awful, but I will leave that for now). Therefore it is not meaningless. Similarly, our lives are not meaningless in the sense that we give our lives meaning everyday. Perhaps some yearn for some cosmic narrative, some purpose that is higher than everyday concerns. But we have earth-based, as opposed to Heaven-based, initiatives which cater for that: adoption homes, AIDS relief, women’s rights organisations, refugee facilities, etc. These are initiatives bigger than any one individual and actually have a worthwhile impact here and now.
To beings who can leap across the Galaxy instantaneously, our concerns might seem petty. Perhaps one day we will meet some that will scorn our worry over resource shortages, for example. But that is speculation, an unknown future and, for now, merely fiction. The major confusion, to me, is making this fiction real. This is the fault of religious believers, of course, but I’ve been noticing it in nonbelievers too, as I showed with Sagan. Indeed, I was the same, until Adams’ corrected me recently “beyond the grave” (as they say).
It’s a problem because it gives in to the notion we can derive meaning from anywhere other than boring everyday concerns that gets us out of bed everyday. It’s apparently less exciting because there is no grand cosmic purpose we can perceive. It’s difficult because it seems built into our discourse. What I’m asking is a change. Because when we stop talking about meaninglessness from a cosmic perspective, we can start talking about meaning from a human one. It is from here, and only here, that we can derive meaning.
For this reason, I’ve always been sceptical – if not antagonistic – toward any entity, book or person, which says it will give you meaning if you read it, listen to it, embrace its message. Meaning is boring because its not cosmic or magical or filled with fighting gods. There is nothing magical here, only human. And therefore does not need more than the occassional acknowledgement, slight shift in gear or tucking in of its shirt. Perhaps you can accuse me of doing what I hate: giving you another way to look at meaning. But then you would be making nonsense of my claim, since I’m merely deflating your expectations on what meaning is or, rather, should be. I am doing nothing more than that. I do not see the point even in non-theistic self-help fluff and eloquent diatribes on quite boring ideals.
Take it as you will. Just remember: DON’T PANIC. Life is absurd and boring and strange, or perhaps hard and difficult and painful. Whatever it is for you, I can offer you no advice on how to make it better except perhaps to realise whatever the solution no god is helping you and the universe really doesn’t care. But does that make your life meaningless? Hardly. It’s yours after all.
And if you decide you no longer find it meaningful I would also support anyone who wanted to end it.
Are Our Lives Mostly Harmless?
There is a scene in Mostly Harmless (Book 5 of 3), where Arthur meets his estranged daughter for the first time. An extract from a parenting book appears but it is one which fittingly elaborates on the theme of being human, whilst also being aware of the cosmic spaces that we live in.
We… live in strange places: each a universe of our own. The people with whom we populate our universes are the shadows of whole other universes intersecting with our own. Being able to glance out into this bewildering complexity of infinite recursion and say things like, ‘Oh, hi, Ed! Nice tan. How’s Carol?’ involves a great deal of filtering skill for which all conscious entities have eventually to develop a capacity in order to protect themselves from the contemplation of the chaos through which they seethe and tumble.
So yes. Let us find meaning here because we can get it no other way. And anyone who says to you that he can is either lying, deluded or mistaken. Because even if god swooped down on a cloud of sunshine and fire-breathing horses, in a chariot powered by orphan’s tears and relayed the meaning of life to some Prophet, it would still be a human being filtering this divine information. Is it any wonder that the supposedly infallible word of god contradicts itself, doesn’t even know of Australia or germs (not to be confused with each other)? We are dealing with humans and their search for meaning.
Let us acknowledge that. Because as soon as we start saying our lives or our planet from a cosmic perspective is meaningless, we are no longer engaged in science but science-fiction – divisions Douglas Adams knew how to straddle all too well.
~
There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
– The Restaurant at the End of the UniverseDeployments to war zones and combat exposure have no effect on military suicides and fail to explain the increase in self-inflicted deaths that occurred from 2001 to 2008, according to a new medical study which contradicts previous research.
Military medical researchers on Tuesday published a paper that claims mental disorders such as depression and alcohol abuse are to blame for military suicides – not combat. Record numbers of US service members killed themselves last year, with 350 taking their own lives. From 2011 to 2012, the military suicide rate increased by nearly 16 per cent. Anti-suicide organizations fear the number could increase because troops withdrawn from Afghanistan are “not effectively integrated into suicide-prevention efforts,” Kristina Kaufmann, executive director of Code of Support Foundation, told NBC after the figures were released in January.
And it appears that the rate is continuing to rise. In 2012, a service member committed suicide every 25 hours, but that rate has since increased to one suicide every 18 hours. The annual number of suicides last year surpassed the number of troops killed in Afghanistan and the number of military members who died in transportation accidents in 2012.
But the authors of the surprising new medical study, which was financed by the Defense Department and published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, claim that military members kill themselves for the same reasons ordinary civilians do.
The researchers said they tracked 150,000 soldiers between 2001 and 2008, and found that those who killed themselves were usually heavy drinkers, suffering from depression, or had been diagnosed with manic depression. It remains unclear whether their deployments or combat exposure prompted their mental conditions – an important fact that could shed further light on the military’s effect on its members. A 2011 study published by the Journal of Psychiatry Research concluded that deployment increases the likelihood of self-destructive behavior and psychiatric problems. The report also showed an increase in mental illness among those in active duty service since 2005.
But this week’s study found that those who were deployed for longer than a year had a lower risk of suicide. As a result, the researchers suggested that rather than seek an early discharge, depressed soldiers should remain in the military and seek mental health care – a procedure that could put soldiers’ careers on the line, but that Col. Charles Engel of the Army Medical Corps believes would be more effective than an early discharge.
“The answer has to be an effort to approximate civilian standards of confidentiality,” Engel told Bloomberg News. “Unless we’re dealing with an imminent risk to combat or a tactical mission, really we should be using civilians’ standards.”
But the sharpest increase in the suicide rate occurred after 2008 – a period which the military study failed to examine. Critics claim that because the analysis ended at the time the suicide level dramatically spiked, it might underestimate the impact that multiple deployments and traumatic brain injuries may have on military service members.
“Why would the authors repeatedly insist that there is no association between combat and suicide?” Dr. Stephen N. Xenakis, a psychiatrist and retired Army brigadier general, said to The New York Times. “The careful analysis of bad data generates poor evidence.”This post contains affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
These snowman-shaped Vegan Meringue Cookies will be a hit at your next wintertime gathering. They are sweet, crisp, airy and completely adorable!
It’s time to start off the Christmas craziness with these festive Vegan Meringue Cookies. Yep, they are shaped into snowmen with cute little carrot noses. Who can resist?
I first saw these Snowmen on Taste of Home and I just had to veganize them! These little snowy guys are pillowy, soft, crispy and sweet all in one cookie.
There’s just something dreamy about biting into a puffy cloud of sugary goodness, and this time of year is the perfect time to do it. If you leave these cookies out for Santa with this Chocolate Hazelnut Milk, you might get an extra present or two.
If you celebrate Hanukkah, just swap out the red & green ribbon for blue, white or silver. Snowmen cookies can brighten up any holiday with their chocolate smiles and frosty face.
What’s in Vegan Meringue?
Well, there’s a new sheriff in town and it’s chickpea water. Yep, you’ve read that right…it’s bean water! In the vegan world, we know it as aquafaba. It sounds fancy and all, but it’s just that water we’ve dumped down the drain for years! If we only knew!
This magical bean water works exactly like egg whites do when whipped up. It gets fluffy, white, pillowy and glossy. It’s seriously what dreams are made up of! You won’t taste bean flavor either because the sugar will take care of that and make everything beautifully sweet.
Believe it or not, this vegan fluff will cook up the same, too. Your Vegan Meringue Cookies will be crispy on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside. You’ll be biting into a cloud of heaven!
How to make Vegan Meringue Cookies
Along with the aquafaba, you’ll need vanilla extract, sugar & cream of tartar. Now the cream of tartar isn’t |
Zealand contingent of troops proudly marched with three young men donning traditional Maori dress.
The Royal Australian Air Force also did a fly-by during the march, while people clutched poppies and women, dressed in costumes from 1914, waved handkerchiefs and passed out rosemary, signifying remembrance of the lives lost in the bloody war.
Prime Minister honours the fallen
Sorry, this video has expired Video: PM makes speech at Albany Anzac centenary commemorations (ABC News)
Later, a commemorative service, attended by Australian and international dignitaries, was held in the town's Anzac Peace Park.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott paid tribute to the Anzac troops who fought in World War I, telling the audience the scale of loss was beyond anything imaginable.
"One hundred years on, we can say with certainty that as long as there is an Australia and as long as there is a New Zealand, they will be remembered," he said.
"The First World War was the crucible in which the Australian identity was forged. In 1914, we were a country with a flag and a Parliament, but little sense of nationhood.
"The baptism of fire that was the Great War changed all that. The scale of sacrifice and loss was beyond anything imaginable.
"Today, we also remember all those we fought with. The soldiers and sailors of the countries of the British empire, of gallant France and of Japan, first an ally, then a foe, now the very best of friends.
"We remember them all. They're all gone now, gone but never forgotten by the nation they shaped."
New Zealand prime minister John Key also gave an address at the event, while WA Premier Colin Barnett led a reflection.
About 60,000 people were expected to have attended the march and commemorative service.
Relatives come to remember Anzacs
Judy Purdie told the ABC she came from Perth to remember her grandfather, who left Albany for the battlefields of France in 1916. She wore his medals in his honour.
Ms Purdie said it was an emotional experience coming back to the place her grandfather departed for war and watching the commemorations.
"Just to be down here, to know that he left from the shores of Albany, I just feel as though I need to be here," she said.
"It put tears in my eyes. It's just a very emotional time, it's wonderful."
Australia's population was less than five million at the time war broke out. The cost in lives and casualties was high.
Of the 416,809 men who enlisted, 60,000 were killed and 156,000 wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner.
Rockingham RSL member Barry Cole said he came to Albany to honour the troops who went to Gallipoli and all of those who fought in WWI.
"They're the fathers, as far as I'm concerned, for the beginning of Australia's military history," he said.
"My grandad was at Gallipoli, and my father was at Normandy, so quite a connection.
"It means a lot for me to be here. I'm finding it hard to walk, but if they can carry on fighting with a bullet in their thigh, I can march.
"I'll be marching in the seniors section and I'll be thinking of them and all the sacrifices they made for us."
Albany hopes for economic boost
The Albany Chamber of Commerce said it hoped the weekend's events would inject $50 million into the local economy.
Other events throughout the day include the departure of the navy fleet, Two Up being played at the local RSL, the Legion of Honour being presented to three veterans and a community concert later in the evening.
WA police spokesman Anthony Robertson said crowds who had descended on Albany for the weekend's events had been well behaved overnight, with only two minor liquor infringements and move on notices for street drinking marring the commemorations.
Topics: world-war-1, history, community-and-society, veterans, albany-6330, australia
First postedThankful to have American hero @JeffStruecker and our own Ensign Phillip Metcalfe with us this morning for Freedom Sunday at @firstdallas. pic.twitter.com/s3oNNoO2Hz — Dr. Robert Jeffress (@robertjeffress) June 25, 2017
Yesterday was “Freedom Sunday” at the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. The pastor of First Baptist is Robert Jeffress. He is a Trump supporter, Christian nationalist, and prominent court evangelical. As the pictures attached to this tweet indicate, it was a day of patriotic celebration in the church sanctuary.
People waved American flags during the service.
The last time I checked, the waving of the American flag was a sign of support or loyalty to the nation. Jeffress had no problem allowing such an act to take place in a church sanctuary–the place where Christians worship God as a form of expressing their ultimate loyalty. Patriotism is fine. Flag-waving is fine. But I wonder if any of the congregation felt uncomfortable that all of this took place in the church sanctuary on a Sunday morning.
There were fireworks. Yes, fireworks. Somehow the pyrotech crew at First Baptist figured out a way to pull this off without burning the place down. I assume that these fireworks did not represent the pillars of fire that led the Israelites through the wilderness in the Old Testament. (Although it wouldn’t surprise me if someone during the service connected these patriotic fireworks to God’s leading of his new “chosen people”–the United States–through the desert of extreme religious persecution). I also don’t think the fireworks were meant to represent the “tongues of fire” present on the day of Pentecost as recorded in the book of Acts, chapter 2. (Also, from what I am able to tell from the church website, First Baptist did not celebrate Pentecost Sunday on June 4, 2017).
It also looks like the congregation of First Baptist sung the Woody Guthrie classic “This Land is Your Land.” I am guessing they did not sing all of the original verses.
How can this not be a form of idolatry?
NOTE: Thanks for finding your way to The Way of Improvement Leads Home. Learn more about us here.'Got him!' Woman live-tweets break-in as she attacks burglar with BEAR SPRAY and a SAMURAI SWORD
A California woman live-tweeted a break-in by her neighborhood sneak-thief - as she attacked the burglar with bear spray and a samurai sword and drove him off.
Sonya Yu, a San Francisco photographer, learned that the thief had been roaming her neighborhood stealing packages from doorsteps. He had allegedly stolen $1,000 worth of deliveries from Miss Yu herself.
On Tuesday, she put out a 'bait package' and waited on her balcony to see whether the burglar would try to steal it.
Vigilante: Sonya Yu baited her front porch to catch a neighborhood burglar who was stealing packages and then sprayed him with bear mace
Miss Yu baited her porch with a fake package
'Apparently, our neighborhood thief has a violent rape rap sheet. My bear spray, bokken, & I are still not intimidated,' she tweeted about 2.10pm.
A bokken is a wood samurai sword used for training.
At 4.45pm, she tweeted about writing her wedding vows and how she was certainly going to cry as she read them at her wedding.
Then, 30 minutes later, she tweeted: 'I GOT HIM WITH THE BEAR SPRAY BUT HE ESCAPED.'
'8 COPS HAVE HIM & I JUST CONFIRMED ID,' she wrote minutes later.
'HE IS BEIN TAKEN AWAY IN AN AMBULANCE CUZ OF THE BEAR SPRAY I DOUSED HIM WITH,' she added.
Success: Miss Yu updated her followers after the suspect was arrested
'He escaped, but not far. The bear spray debilitated him & painted him orange so other cops picked him up within 5 minutes. GOT HIM!' Miss Yu wrote in a frenzied series of tweets.
Andy Anduha, 51, was taken in on a citizen’s arrest and later booked into the jail for attempted burglary.
As tweets from friends and neighbors poured in, she explained what happened when Anduha tried to take the package from her doorstep.
'He didn't try to attack me but he did have a knife. I was above him on the 1st floor balcony, dousing him with bear spray,' she wrote.
The bear spray is like pepper spray used for self defense, though Miss Yu said she bought it for defense against bears on camping trips.
Suspect: Miss Yu identified this man, Andy Anduha, 51, as the thief who tried to steal her decoy package
Compliments poured in from friends and neighbors after the arrest.
'Thanks for catching the UPS Bandit. You saved Christmas,' one neighbor wrote.
'Awesome! You rock!!' another wrote.
But not everyone was impressed by Miss Yu's efforts.
San Francisco police warned residents against confronting criminals themselves.
One angry online commenter wrote: 'This is assault. Cops can't beat suspected criminals who are fleeing, and citizens can't blast them with bear spray. He had a knife? Please. You mean the one he opens packages with? Sonya was not in physical danger on her balcony... y'all are a bunch of Texans if you think this violence is justified.'
Another added: 'Package theft is not rape and does not merit violent retaliation. I hope he gets convicted for he theft. I also hope he presses charges against this crazy person (Miss Yu).'Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson asks: "Where is the Stop The War coalition at the moment? Where are they?"
Russia is risking becoming an international "pariah" following its bomb attacks in Syria, UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said.
He told MPs he would "like to pursue" those responsible for attacks on hospitals and a humanitarian convoy as war criminals.
Earlier, former cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell likened attacks on the city of Aleppo to the raid on Guernica, Spain, by the Nazis in the 1930s.
Russia says it is targeting terrorists.
The northern Syrian city of Aleppo has become a key battleground in the country's bloody five-year civil, with a UN relief convoy being attacked from the air last month - an action widely blamed on Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's government - which supports the government of Bashir al-Assad - has denied carrying out the action.
The UK government has strongly criticised Russia's bombing of Syria, while French President Francois Hollande has suggested Russia could face war crimes charges over its actions in Aleppo.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Andrew Mitchell accused Russia of committing a war crime by attacking a UN relief convoy last month
Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption French President Francois Hollande said he might refuse to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured) over Russia's bombing of Aleppo
Mr Putin has cancelled a visit to France after Mr Hollande he would only talk to the Russian leader about Syria.
Ending a three-hour debate on the situation in Syria, Mr Johnson, in his first Commons speech since becoming foreign secretary, condemned "deliberate attacks on humanitarian convoys".
He told MPs he would "like to see" demonstrations against Russia's actions take place outside the country's London embassy.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry: "We must first of all, get the jihadis out"
Mr Johnson added: "I'm personally very attracted to the idea of getting these people to come before the International Criminal Court. That's certainly something I would like to pursue."
He said: "If Russia continues on its current path then I believe that that great country is in danger of becoming a pariah nation."
But Mr Johnson played down suggestions that a no-fly zone could be imposed to prevent further Russian bombings, adding this would be impossible to enforce "unless we are prepared to shoot down warplanes".
The Russian Embassy in the UK hit back at Mr Johnson on Twitter, saying: "Very unusual call from the foreign secretary to hold demonstrations in front of the Russian embassy.
"New form of British diplomacy?"
It called on the Foreign Office to produce proof of its claims about Russia's actions in Syria.
Earlier, Mr Mitchell, a former international development secretary, opened the debate by accusing Russia of helping a "barbaric bombardment" of Aleppo.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Aleppo MP Fares Al-Shehabi says a no-fly zone would be a "hostile measure"
He also said it should be treated as a "pariah", saying: "The Kremlin, like any bully, is winning credibility if no-one stands up to them."
Mr Mitchell also said: "What Russia are doing to the United Nations is precisely what Italy and Germany did to the League of Nations in the 1930s. And they are doing to Aleppo precisely what the Nazis did to Guernica in the Spanish Civil War."
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Picasso's painting Guernica has been replicated many times, including here in Guernica itself
In 1937, the Spanish fascist dictator Francisco Franco allowed the ancient Basque capital of Guernica - which had held out against the advances made by his army since the beginning of the civil war the previous year - to be bombed by Germany's air force.
More than 1,600 people died, but Franco denied the raid had taken place. The events provoked international outrage and inspired the anti-war painting Guernica by Pablo Picasso.
Image copyright House of Commons Image caption The "barbarism and tyranny" in Syria must be brought to an end, Mr Mitchell told MPs
For Labour, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said there had to be "strong statesmanship" and "not more brinkmanship" in dealing with the crisis in Syria.
She told MPs: "There are a number of war crimes that have been committed during this terrible war. There are the war crimes of Assad and Russia and there are the war crimes of the Jihadists." Ms Thornberry said she expected those responsible to be tried by the International Criminal Court.
Last month Prime Minister Theresa May said the UK would "never intentionally strike or focus on Syrian forces", after Britain confirmed it had taken part in air strikes that killed dozens of Syrian troops.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Andrew Mitchell on the humanitarian crisis in the Syrian city of Aleppo.
At least 62 Syrians were killed in the strikes, as the US said it might have accidentally hit a government position.
Last week Russia vetoed a Franco-Spanish UN Security Council resolution calling for an end to the bombing.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Monday, the Russian government rejected the UK's criticism of its actions in Aleppo and questioned the UK's own contribution to military and humanitarian efforts.It isn’t just banks that are experimenting with practical uses for blockchain, the distributed ledger system underlying bitcoin and other digital currency technologies.
It turns out that many utilities are also supporting skunkworks projects, as evidenced by the strong group of early supporters that last week lined by behind an initiative intended to accelerate adoption.
Technically speaking, the Energy Web Foundation — a non-profit created to encourage energy applications for the blockchain, ranging from electric vehicle charging schemes to peer-to-peer trading of distributed power — launched earlier this year.
But its bigger splash came last week when cofounders Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and Grid Singularity revealed that 10 energy companies are already on board. Here’s a rundown of the participants (listed alphabetically):
Centrica, the British utility, which is also involved with a major multinational research effort orchestrated by IBM and Accenture (among others)
Elia, the Belgian grid operator
Engia, a French utility that sees blockchain as a way to manage consumption and maintenance for water, natural gas and electricity
manage consumption and maintenance Royal Dutch Shell, the multinational oil and gas company, which could use it for oil trading
Sempra, the California-based parent of San Diego Gas & Electric
SP Group, the Singapore-based electric utility
Statoil, the largest offshore oil exploration company
Stedin, a utility in the Netherlands that believes the blockchain can be used to reduce consumer energy bills and cut costs for wholesale gas and electricity transactions
the blockchain TWL, a German energy services company
Tokyo Electric Power, the huge Japanese electric utility
Jesse Morris, principal at RMI, said the intent of Energy Web Foundation is to establish a standard, open source framework upon which utilities, service providers and developers can create unique services.
Right now, companies can write applications upon several blockchains. The two most advanced ones underlie bitcoin and Ethereum, which some see as a more flexible system for others to build applications.
Neither system, however, really has considered the specific scalability, security or contracting needs associated with the energy sector, Morris said. The foundation seeks to create building blocks that allow companies to create apps more quickly.
"The platform should be common," he said. "The application should come on top of it."
The open source approach will be crucial for inter-operability between the various blockchain experiments under way across the sector, said Thierry Mortier, global power and utilities innovation lead for consulting company Ernst & Young.
"Being open source and open to the outside world is absolutely crucial," he said, referring to the Energy Web Foundation’s mission.
E&Y has identified six broad use cases for blockchain, outlined in the graphic below, and it has surfaced more than 100 experimental applications that are in the works. Startups across the sector have raised more than $1 billion.
Prototypes of these applications are taking place around the world. "We do see broad interest," Mortier said. "We haven’t come across a utility that isn’t working on something."
RMI’s partner in the Energy Web Foundation is Grid Singularity, a blockchain technology developer, that is specifically focused on energy-related applications. It will do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to creating an open-source system that will be maintained by the foundation.
A test network nicknamed "Kovan" is being piloted in hopes of providing proof of concept for the new algorithm, which can perform up to 1,000 transactions per second and is already used by many blockchain startups, said Grid Singularity CEO Ewald Hesse.
"By embedding further state channel technology, we intend for our architecture to facilitate scaling to 1 million transactions per second over the next several years," Hesse said.
Two limiting factors include the ubiquitous security question — although the blockchain is generally secure, that’s not always the case for the devices sending data — as well as the lack of a regulatory framework.With the political circus we’ve all witnessed over the last year, it’s made me think about the Seinfeld gang and what a political episode of the show would be like.
Aside from the season 6 episode “The Couch,” Seinfeld rarely tackled political and social issues head-on, usually preferring to take more of a court jester’s approach to divisive topics by mocking them from the sidelines.
With the show’s immense popularity in both its original run and syndication, the characters have become people we seem to know inside and out. But what exactly would the gang’s political affiliations be and how would they approach the current political climate?
Let’s find out with this fantasy episode I’ll call “The Election.”
Jerry (Apolitical – Undecided/Undetermined)
With Jerry, you might think because he’s a native New Yorker and a stand-up comedian he’d be a true blue liberal, but that’s probably not the case. Considering that he usually distances himself from the pettier squabbles of his gang, he tends to avoid confrontation, and he seemingly has no strong convictions for anything that’s not trivial or silly (Superman, cereal, his no-vomiting streak), it’s more likely he wouldn’t have a set party affiliation.
He’s voted in the past, mostly when he was younger, but usually he doesn’t, characterizing the exercise as like “going drinking on St. Patrick’s Day. Everyone says you have to do it, but it never ends well.”
“The Election” finds Jerry dating a woman who had persuaded him to register for the New York primary and has been since pressuring him to vote for Bernie Sanders. Jerry keeps hoping to find a way out of it, while Elaine, meanwhile, is trying to convince him to support Hillary Clinton, which leads to this exchange:
Though he’s determined to “stay out of it” and try to find a way around his girlfriend’s wishes, Jerry changes his mind only after speaking with Donald Trump at a urinal and Trump fails to include a buffer urinal. “What kind of a monster is he?” Jerry later asks George.
Ultimately, Jerry votes, emerging from the voting booth with both Elaine and the woman he’s dating waiting expectantly, both staring at him. Jerry sees he’s in a no-win situation and awkwardly says, “So where’s my sticker?”
Elaine (Lifelong Democrat – Supports Hillary Clinton)
With Elaine’s feminist beliefs, history of pro-choice support and artistic background, she’s firmly in the Democratic camp. Though she likes aspects of Bernie Sanders’ message, she questions if he’s “vote-worthy” and finds Hillary Clinton to be the more practical choice.
In “The Election,” Elaine struggles to find similar support from her group of friends after Jerry expresses ambivalence and Kramer and George’s choices confuse and irritate her. She finally finds an ally in Mr. Peterman who openly states “I’m with Hillary, Elaine. Are you?”
This proves to be a double-edged sword though, as several conversations with Peterman lead her to question why he’s supporting Clinton, as seen in this excerpt:
The episode finds her torn between confronting Peterman about his support and risking a Hillary vote/creating an awkward work situation.
Eventually, Elaine is tasked with writing a bio for Peterman in a round-up piece a magazine is running called “Politics in Publishing.” Peterman tells her “you know my views” and leaves her to writing it, though all she can produce is a mangled mess of political buzzwords just short of gibberish.
She sheepishly turns the piece in, which Peterman calls “illuminating,” saying that it “cuts to the very core” of him.
Kramer (Disillusioned With the System – Supports Rand Paul)
Considering Kramer’s mercurial nature, him choosing a conventional candidate would be completely out of character. With hints seen of Kramer’s ‘60s radical days and his willingness to fight against society’s expectations, a libertarian candidate would be right up his alley.
With Rand Paul no longer being in the running, securing him the presidency becomes Kramer’s ridiculous crusade in “The Election.” All of the gang question Kramer on his choice, as seen in this exchange:
The majority of the episode finds Kramer handing out flyers and Chinese knockoff Rand Paul buttons he ordered online, all of which read Rund Pal. He also keeps getting into arguments with the owner of the ice cream store that he’s chosen to set up shop in front of for his “campaign headquarters,” even though Kramer says he’s fighting for small businesses like his.
With few converts and constant opposition from the store owner, Kramer becomes even more disillusioned and eventually turns to a familiar face for help.
George (Social Liberal, Fiscal Conservative – Supports John Kasich)
Perhaps a bit of a curveball here, but if there’s one person George Costanza looks out for, it’s himself. And when you consider that his frank nature doesn’t jibe too well with political correctness, and how he’s “extremely careful with his money,” the choice becomes obvious.
Though he loathes Ted Cruz as much as the rest of the gang (the one thing they do all agree on), he particularly dislikes Trump, characterizing him as “the kind of guy who made you eat worms as a kid.”
In “The Election,” George is ecstatic to find out that since his new boss is invested in politics, he’s giving everyone in the office the day off for the primary. George’s precinct is right across the street from him, so as he tells Jerry, all he has to do is “roll out of bed, vote, then spend the rest of the day watching baseball and eating pears out of the can.”
These plans are compromised, however, when his mother finds out he’ll be off work that day. She guilts him into taking her and his father to their precinct because their car is in the shop and she refuses to take a cab.
His parents, meanwhile, both working class New Yorkers, are straight-ticket Democrats. But since they’re the Costanzas, they are, of course, at odds over Clinton vs. Sanders. George is forced to listen to the back-and-forth all the way from their home to the precinct as seen in this exchange while he drives:
Eventually it’s revealed that while Frank truly likes Hillary, he hates Sanders because he hit on Estelle in 1962. Estelle maintains that her support “has nothing to do with that.”
George’s day off becomes a nightmare, though it isn’t quite over yet.
Bania (No Strong Political Affiliation – Supports Bernie Sanders)
Mickey (No Strong Political Affiliation – Supports Hillary Clinton)
Bania’s ready to glom onto anything he sees as a good thing, so he’s become a strong Sanders supporter, saying “I think that guy’s onto something, Jerry.”
Mickey, Kramer’s associate, is usually apolitical but would fear both Trump and Cruz presidencies, making him push hard for Clinton who he sees as the only “reasonable candidate.”
In “The Election,” Jerry comes across both of them at his precinct, and is initially turned off of Sanders once he finds out Bania likes him, then grows unsure about Clinton when Mickey starts screaming at Bania about her qualifications. Jerry eventually exits, saying, “I’m going to check and see if they need help with the stickers.”
Puddy (Blue-collar Worker With a Religious Background – Supports Donald Trump)
Though Puddy could go for either Trump or Cruz, his love of high-fives and plain talk, along with his blind devotion to things that take his interest (consider his New Jersey Devils loyalty), make him Trump all the way.
“The Election” finds him appearing briefly when a desperate Elaine tries to convince him to vote Clinton, prior to talking with Mr. Peterman. When Puddy tells her he’s voting for Trump, the following exchange occurs:
Newman (Pure Evil – Supports Ted Cruz)
As the proverbial outsider, Newman’s not afraid to make an unpopular choice. Like Varys said of Littlefinger in Game of Thrones, “He would see this country burn if he could be king of the ashes.” Without a doubt this applies to Newman as well.
Newman’s role in “The Election” is mostly “helping” Kramer with his Rand Paul election efforts, even though he’s forthcoming about his voting intentions. Kramer’s only able to get him to come along by promising “great snacks” and a line of credit at the ice cream store behind them, which Newman readily exploits.
Otherwise, the gang briefly discusses him when Kramer mentions Newman’s allegiance to Ted Cruz:
Close of the Episode
As the various plotlines play out, we’re left focused on George’s story. He’s returned his parents to their home and, after getting caught in traffic, he’s trying to make it back to his precinct in time to vote.
He gets stopped in front of Trump Tower, however, when a large group of Bernie Sanders supporters holding an anti-Trump rally start spilling onto the street, blocking traffic.
Frustrated from the day’s events, George gets out of his car and charges up to the diverse protestors, screaming at them to “Get out of here!” and “Go home!”
His red-faced ranting attracts the attention of nearby Trump supporters, who slap him on the back and tell him to “Give ‘em hell.” George is horrified as he realizes what’s happening, but the supporters quickly put a “Make America Great Again” hat on him and stick an “All Lives Matter” sign in his hand.
George is nearly a broken man as Tim and Eva, the Nazis from “The Limo” pass, with Tim and George recognizing each other and both saying, “You?”
This leads to our closing moments:
Epilogue
As the credits roll, we find Kramer and Newman sitting in an office facing the camera, with Kramer talking to someone off-screen:For the singer, see Yao Min
Yao Ming (Chinese: 姚明; born September 12, 1980) is a Chinese basketball executive and retired professional basketball player who played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times, and was named to the All-NBA Team five times. At the time of his final season, he was the tallest active player in the NBA, at 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in).[1] He is the only player from outside of the United States to lead the NBA in All-Star votes.[2]
Yao, who was born in Shanghai, started playing for the Shanghai Sharks as a teenager, and played on their senior team for five years in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), winning a championship in his final year. After negotiating with the CBA and the Sharks to secure his release, Yao was selected by the Houston Rockets as the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft. He reached the NBA Playoffs four times, and the Rockets won the first-round series in the 2009 postseason, their first playoff series victory since 1997. In July 2011, Yao announced his retirement from professional basketball because of a series of foot and ankle injuries which forced him to miss 250 games in his last six seasons.[3] In eight seasons with the Rockets, Yao ranks sixth among franchise leaders in total points and total rebounds, and second in total blocks.[4]
Yao is one of China's best-known athletes, with sponsorships with several major companies. His rookie year in the NBA was the subject of a documentary film, The Year of the Yao, and he co-wrote, along with NBA analyst Ric Bucher, an autobiography titled Yao: A Life in Two Worlds.
In April 2016, Yao was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson.[5]
In February 2017, Yao was unanimously elected as chairman of Chinese Basketball Association.[6]
Career in China
Early life and CBA career
Yao is the only child of 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Yao Zhiyuan and 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fang Fengdi,[7] both of whom were former professional basketball players.[8] At 11 pounds (5.0 kg), Yao weighed more than twice as much as the average Chinese newborn.[9] When Yao was nine years old, he began playing basketball and attended a junior sports school.[10] The following year, Yao measured 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m)[11] and was examined by sports doctors, who predicted he would grow to 7 feet 3 inches (2.21 m).[11]
Yao first tried out for the Shanghai Sharks junior team of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) when he was thirteen years old, and practiced ten hours a day for his acceptance.[12] After playing with the junior team for four years, Yao joined the senior team of the Sharks, where he averaged 10 points and 8 rebounds a game in his rookie season. His next season was cut short when he broke his foot for the second time in his career, which Yao said decreased his jumping ability by four to six inches (10 to 15 cm).[13] The Sharks made the finals of the CBA in Yao's third season and again the next year, but lost both times to the Bayi Rockets. When Wang Zhizhi left the Bayi Rockets to become the first NBA player from China the following year, the Sharks finally won their first CBA championship. During the playoffs in his final year with Shanghai, Yao averaged 38.9 points and 20.2 rebounds a game, while shooting 76.6% from the field,[14] and made all 21 of his shots during one game in the finals.[15]
Entering the NBA draft
Yao was pressured to enter the NBA draft in 1999 by Li Yaomin, the deputy general manager of the Shanghai Sharks.[9] Li also influenced Yao to sign a contract for Evergreen Sports Inc. to serve as his agent. The agreement entitled Evergreen to 33% of Yao's earnings,[9] but the contract was later determined to be invalid.[16]
When Yao decided to enter the 2002 NBA draft, a group of advisers was formed that came to be known as "Team Yao". The team consisted of Yao's negotiator, Erik Zhang; his NBA agent, Bill Duffy; his Chinese agent, Lu Hao; University of Chicago economics professor John Huizinga;[17] and the vice president for marketing at BDA Sports Management, Bill Sanders.[18] Yao was widely predicted to be picked number one overall.[19][20][21] However, some teams were concerned about Yao's NBA eligibility because of uncertainty over whether the CBA would let Yao play in the United States.[22]
Shortly after Wang Zhizhi refused to return to China to play for the national team and was subsequently banned from playing for China,[23] the CBA stipulated that Yao would have to return to play for the national team.[24] They also said they would not let him go to the United States unless the Houston Rockets would take him first overall.[25] After assurances from Team Yao that the Rockets would draft Yao with their number one pick, the CBA gave permission on the morning of the draft for Yao to play in the U.S.[26] When the Rockets selected Yao with the first pick of the draft, he became the first international player ever to be selected first overall without having previously played U.S. college basketball.[27]
NBA career
Beginning years (2002–2005)
Yao did not participate in the Rockets' pre-season training camp, instead playing for China in the 2002 FIBA World Championships.[28] Before the season, several commentators, including Bill Simmons and Dick Vitale, predicted that Yao would fail in the NBA,[29][30] and Charles Barkley said he would "kiss [Kenny Smith's] ass" if Yao scored more than 19 points in one of his rookie-season games.[31] Yao played his first NBA game against the Indiana Pacers, scoring no points and grabbing two rebounds,[32][33] and scored his first NBA basket against the Denver Nuggets.[34] In his first seven games, he averaged only 14 minutes and 4 points, but on November 17, he scored 20 points on a perfect 9-of-9 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line against the Lakers.[35] Barkley made good on his bet by kissing the buttock of a donkey purchased by Smith for the occasion (Smith's "ass").[31]
In Yao's first game in Miami on December 16, 2002, the Heat passed out 8,000 fortune cookies, an Asian cultural stereotype.[36][37] Yao was not angry with the promotion because he was not familiar with American stereotypes of Chinese.[38] In an earlier interview in 2000, Yao said he had never seen a fortune cookie in China and guessed it must have been an American invention.[39]
Before Yao's first meeting with Shaquille O'Neal on January 17, 2003, O'Neal said, "Tell Yao Ming, Ching chong-yang-wah-ah-soh", prompting accusations of racism.[38] O'Neal denied that his comments were racist, and said he was only joking.[40] Yao also said he believed O'Neal was joking, but he said a lot of Asians would not see the humor.[40][41] In the game, Yao scored the Rockets' first six points of the game and blocked O'Neal twice in the opening minutes as well as altering two other shots by O'Neal, all 4 of those attempts coming right at the rim, and made a game-sealing dunk with 10 seconds left in overtime.[42] Yao finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 blocks; O'Neal recorded 31 points, 13 rebounds, and 0 blocks.[43] O'Neal later admitted that he regretted how he treated Yao early in his career.[44]
The NBA began offering All-Star ballots in three languages—English, Spanish and Chinese—for fan voting of the starters for the 2003 NBA All-Star Game.[45] Yao was voted to start for the West over O'Neal, who was coming off three consecutive NBA Finals MVP Awards.[46] Yao received nearly a quarter million more votes than O'Neal, and he became the first rookie to start in the All-Star Game since Grant Hill in 1995.[47]
Yao prepares to shoot a free throw with John Stockton in the background
Yao finished his rookie season averaging 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game,[48] and was second in the NBA Rookie of the Year Award voting to Amar'e Stoudemire,[49] and a unanimous pick for the NBA All-Rookie First Team selection.[50] He was also voted the Sporting News Rookie of the Year,[51] and won the Laureus Newcomer of the Year award.[52]
fourth from left) standing with the Sophomores team during the Yao () standing with the Sophomores team during the 2004 Rookie Challenge game.
Before the start of Yao's sophomore season, Rockets' head coach Rudy Tomjanovich resigned because of health issues,[53] and long-time New York Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy was brought in. After Van Gundy began focusing the offense on Yao,[54] Yao averaged career highs in points and rebounds for the season, and had a career-high 41 points and 7 assists in a triple-overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks in February 2004.[55] He was also voted to be the starting center for the Western Conference in the 2004 NBA All-Star Game for the second straight year.[56] Yao finished the season averaging 17.5 points and 9.0 rebounds a game.[48] The Rockets made the playoffs for the first time in Yao's career, claiming the seventh seed in the Western Conference. In the first round, however, the Los Angeles Lakers eliminated Houston in five games.[57] Yao averaged 15.0 points and 7.4 rebounds in his first playoff series.[48]
In the summer of 2004, the Rockets acquired Tracy McGrady from the Orlando Magic in a seven-player trade that also sent Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley to Orlando.[58] Although Yao said that Francis and Mobley had "helped [him] in every way [his] first two seasons", he added, "I'm excited about playing with Tracy McGrady. He can do some amazing things."[59] After the trade, it was predicted that the Rockets would be title contenders.[58][60] Both McGrady and Yao were voted to start in the 2005 NBA All-Star Game, and Yao broke the record previously |
to jailbreak your device, and for those of you unfamiliar with that term, it means hacking is involved. The vast majority of iPhone users have never even considered hacking their device because doing so doesn’t show as much promise for a great time as never having to answer to an Apple Genius does, but those select few can find the feature with a bit of digging. You’ll need iOS 5, Firebreak from Cydia, and all you’ve got to do is tap your screen inside the camera app. Imagine that!
Of course this is aside all the other Panoramic apps already in the market, note that you can grab these at a moments notice instead of hacking, once again. What you’ve got here on the other hand again is an officially created-by-Apple feature though, so check it out! But don’t hack, because hacking is bad. That’s our official stance on the subject.
[via 9to5Mac]Please consider a donation to help us with this live broadcast. Funding for this event comes solely from membership and donation dollars. The World Players of Handball not profiting from this broadcast and every dollar brought in gets us that much closer to ‘covering’ the cost to air the matches on ESPN.
WARNING: The WPH Race4Eight Stop #4 Montana will be aired on Patreon-Only. Only WPH Patreon’s will be able to view the live broadcast. WPH says: “We are doing this one event for you, WPH Patreons! Our Way of saying THANKS!”
Donations made by PayPal @ extremehandball@cs.com
Please always include your email address, name, and shipping details when making a donation.
Checks made payable to:
WPH (World Players of Handball)
3561 E Sunrise Drive
STE #125 (Building A)
Tucson, AZ, 85718
info@wphlive.tv
Or, go online to purchase your WPH Membership or to make a donation: HERE>
…We really do appreciate and NEED your support!BERLIN (Reuters) - Young German musicians are protesting against a rise in neo-Nazi extremism with concerts and songs which they hope will turn voters away from right-wing parties in state polls and a federal election this year.
Far-right parties such as the National Democratic Party (NPD) made gains in last year’s local elections in Germany and officials have warned that neo-Nazis are becoming increasingly violent.
“Xenophobic organizations and their members are very active again. They’re trying to gain more influence for the elections,” said Tina Bauer, spokeswoman for the “Soundwahl” music competition, which starts from Friday.
The project encourages young people from Berlin and the eastern state of Brandenburg to perform songs promoting tolerance and democratic values while speaking out against racism.
The best 16 songs will form a CD to be distributed free in schools in the region. The winning bands will perform live concerts and run workshops tackling racism and discrimination with groups of young people.
“We want to start a counter movement and give democracy a voice in Brandenburg. And the best way to get through to young people is through music,” Bauer said.
In 2009 there will be elections in five states, including Brandenburg, and a federal election is due to take place in September.Answered by Ustadh Tariq Abdul-Rasheed
Question: Is wearing a turban sunnah?
Answer: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent the Merciful
Yes, wearing the turban is an established Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhmmad (ﷺ) even if it was an Arab custom.
This is the position of scholars such as; Imam al-Haytami and Imam al-Bājūri of the Shāfiʿi school and al-Qādi Ibn ʿArabi of the Māliki school. All of whom say it is a emphasized Sunnah (sunnah mu’akidah). [ad-Dʿiāmah, Jʿafar al-Katāni]
Some of What Has Been Related Regarding the Turban
It is related: “On the day of the Conquest of Makkah, the Prophet (ﷺ) entered Makkah, and he was wearing a black turban (ʿimāmah).” [Tirmidhī, Jamiʿ and Shamā’il]
In another narration: The Prophet (ﷺ) called for ʿAli (Allah be pleased with him) on the Day of Ghadīr Khūm and wrapped a turban on his head and hung the tail draped down Ali’s back. The Prophet (ﷺ) then said, “Wear turbans for indeed the turban is a symbol of Islam and it is a barrier between the Muslims and the Polytheist!” [Abu Nuʿaym: Mʿarifat as-Sahābah from ʿAbdur-Rahman ʿAdī al-Bahrāni]
It has also been related: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Adopt wearing the turban for indeed it is the mantle of the Angels and hang the tail of it on your backs!” [Tabarānī, al-Kabīr from Ibn ʿUmar; Bayhaqī, Shuʿab al-Īman]
Also narrated: The Prophet (ﷺ) came with thobes from charity and distributed them amongst his companions and said, “Wear turbans and differentiate yourselves from the nations that proceeded you!” [Bayhaqī, Shuʿab al-Īman from the Tābʿī Khālid bin Mʿadān in a mursal narration]
It has also been related that the Prophet said, “Wear turbans! Increase in discernment! Turbans are the crowns of the Arabs.” [Bayhaqī, Shuʿab al-Īman from Usamah bin ʿUmayr] (Ibn Hajar mentions the narration is weak but has a corroborating narration.)
The like of these narrations have been transmitted from other sources with similar wording and meaning. See [ad-Dʿiāmah, Jʿafar al-Katāni]
Points of Contention between Law and Custom
Perhaps because of prevailing attitudes that exist in our time there may be some misunderstanding related to the ruling of the turban. Namely;
1) From the perspective of Hadith methodology and Fiqh
It should be noted that the aforementioned narrations and statements of the companions have weaknesses in their chains of transmission. However, the scholars of Fiqh (Jurisprudence) note that the weaknesses don’t detract from the legal probity of establishing the turban as a clearly emphasized Sunnah. They add; the multitude of narrations that have been transmitted and the numerous paths by which they have been transmitted necessitate the legal probity of considering the turban from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).
This is a well established principle amongst the scholars of Hadith Tradition and Jurisprudence, as related from Imam al-Bājūri, Imam al-Haytami and Imam al-Manāwi. [ad-Dʿiāmah, Jʿafar al-Katāni]
This fine point of methodology may be lost on some and can be a point of confusion as mere weakness in a chain of transmission doesn’t necessitate the invalidity of establishing a particular legal ruling. As, in this case, a sound meaning is established due to the overwhelming number of transmissions that have been reported.
This is why it is necessary that we turn to scholars of jurisprudence in matters of legal rulings and not leave the matter to a cursory glance at Prophetic narrations.
2) Sunnah vs. Custom
From another perspective there has been confusion regarding how certain practices of the Prophet (ﷺ) should be considered in their legal value. Are his daily customary practices such as; food, clothing, or the way he (ﷺ) sat considered from the Sunnah? Or, are they mere Arab cultural practices that don’t take significant legal value?
Because of this we find some of our brothers and sisters in the West downplaying the wearing of the thobe or turban as mere Arab custom. Unfortunately, there are instances when these practices are discouraged based on the idea that adopting western-styled dress is “better” or “more suitable”.
While it is true scholars did, in fact, differ regarding the legal value of such practices. We don’t see in their works the notion of downplaying or discouraging people from following the Prophet’s (ﷺ) way of performing any act. We should be careful not to adopt the attitude of taking the way of our Prophet (ﷺ) lightly in any matter.
The Prophet is a Paragon for Human Action and His Way is the Basis for Allah’s Love
Allah (Most High) says, “There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often.” [Ahzāb: 21]
In the verse Allah (the Exalted) refers to His beloved Prophet using the word ‘uswah’ (أسوة). Imam as-Sābūni says in his tafseer that it means, “He is the most exalted exemplary who should be strictly followed in all of his words, actions, and states because he does not utter [a word] nor act from his desires. Rather he speaks and acts from revelation and what is sent to him. For this reason it is an obligation to follow his pattern and conduct ourselves in his way.”
Allah (Most High) also says, “Say, [O Muhammad], “If you love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” [Āl ʿImrān: 31].
It should be noted that the words ‘love’ and ‘forgive’, as mentioned in the verse, are in the present-future tense of the verb form and indicate perpetuity and continuity. That is to say, Allah’s love and forgiveness for those who follow the way of the beloved Messenger (ﷺ) is continuous and ever-flowing and does not cease.
Realizing and Implementing the Sunnah of the Turban
We know that “actions are by intentions”, and if one intends by wearing the turban or following the Prophet (ﷺ) in any of his actions, Allah (Most High) will reward the servant according to their intentions.
The scholars mention that one can implement and realize the Sunnah of wearing the turban by intending beautification when wearing it and that one can wear the turban with or without a hat underneath it (both are acceptable). [ad-Dʿiāmah, Jʿafar al-Katāni]
Finally, It is well-known from the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to our time the scholars and righteous of this Ummah have worn a turban out of reverence and love for his (ﷺ) way. All of the Muslim lands have adopted the turban along with their customary dress.
Allah (Most High) knows best
Tariq Abdul-RasheedThe global food system works only for the few – for most of us it is broken. It leaves the billions who consume food lacking sufficient power and knowledge about what they buy and eat, and the majority of small food producers dis-empowered and unable to fulfil their productive potential. The failure of the system flows from failures of government – failures to regulate, to correct, to protect, to resist, to invest – which mean that companies, interest groups, and elites are able to plunder resources and to redirect flows of finance, knowledge, and food.
Growing a Better Future describes a new age of growing crisis: food price spikes and oil price hikes, devastating weather events, financial meltdowns, and global contagion. It shows how the food system is at once a driver of this fragility and highly vulnerable to it, and why in the twenty-first century it leaves 925 million people hungry.
Growing a Better Future supports a new campaign with a simple message: another future is possible and we can build it together. Over the coming years, decisive action around the world could enable hundreds of millions more people to feed their families and prevent catastrophic climate change from destroying their (and our) futures.
In this new enhanced edition, Oxfam adds papers and research which develop and update the main themes of the report: land, and the growing scandal surrounding the new wave of investments (‘land grabs’); how climate change is related to food security and the East African food crisis; and how people living in poverty around the world have coped with food price crises. There are also extended case studies from Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala, India, Malawi, and Nepal, and an extended and updated bibliography and resources list.And onwards we go. Enemies now get an annoyed state once they got hit. For some enemies annoyance is even increasing. And to top it off, a new jumping spider enemy was added.
Adding the new enemy follows the common pattern we've seen in earlier steps.
Add new constants:
SPRITE_SPIDER_STAND = SPRITE_BASE + 44 SPRITE_SPIDER_WALK_1 = SPRITE_BASE + 45 SPRITE_SPIDER_WALK_2 = SPRITE_BASE + 46 TYPE_SPIDER = 8
Add the behaviour code:
;------------------------------------------------------------ ;run left/right, jump off directional ;------------------------------------------------------------!zone BehaviourSpider BehaviourSpider ;animate spider inc SPRITE_ANIM_DELAY,x lda SPRITE_ANIM_DELAY,x cmp #2 bne.NoAnimUpdate lda #0 sta SPRITE_ANIM_DELAY,x inc SPRITE_ANIM_POS,x lda SPRITE_ANIM_POS,x and #$3 sta SPRITE_ANIM_POS,x tay lda SPIDER_ANIMATION_TABLE,y sta SPRITE_POINTER_BASE,x.NoAnimUpdate lda SPRITE_JUMP_POS,x bne.NoFallHandling jsr UpdateSpriteFall sta SPRITE_FALLING,x.NoFallHandling lda #3 sta PARAM6.MoveStep dec PARAM6 beq.MoveDone lda SPRITE_DIRECTION,x beq.MoveRight ;move left lda SPRITE_JUMP_POS,x ora SPRITE_FALLING,x bne.OnlyMoveLeft jsr ObjectWalkOrJumpLeft beq.ToggleDirection jmp.MoveStep.MoveDone lda SPRITE_JUMP_POS,x beq.NotJumping jsr UpdateSpriteJump.NotJumping rts.OnlyMoveLeft jsr ObjectMoveLeftBlocking beq.ToggleDirection jmp.MoveStep.MoveRight lda SPRITE_JUMP_POS,x ora SPRITE_FALLING,x bne.OnlyMoveRight jsr ObjectWalkOrJumpRight beq.ToggleDirection jmp.MoveStep.OnlyMoveRight jsr ObjectMoveRightBlocking beq.ToggleDirection jmp.MoveStep.ToggleDirection lda SPRITE_DIRECTION,x eor #1 sta SPRITE_DIRECTION,x jmp.MoveStep
The behaviour of this spider enemy: Walk. If a gap below is encountered, jump. If the way is blocked, turn. This behaviour is put in a general subroutine, since it might come in handy for other enemies later (and it will):
;------------------------------------------------------------ ;walk object left if could fall off jump if blocked turn ;x = object index ;------------------------------------------------------------!zone ObjectWalkOrJumpLeft ObjectWalkOrJumpLeft lda SPRITE_CHAR_POS_X_DELTA,x beq.CheckCanMoveLeft.CanMoveLeft dec SPRITE_CHAR_POS_X_DELTA,x jsr MoveSpriteLeft lda #1 rts.CheckCanMoveLeft jsr CanWalkOrJumpLeft beq.Blocked cmp #1 beq.WalkLeft ;jump lda SPRITE_JUMP_POS,x bne.WalkLeft lda #1 sta SPRITE_JUMP_POS,x.WalkLeft lda #8 sta SPRITE_CHAR_POS_X_DELTA,x dec SPRITE_CHAR_POS_X,x jmp.CanMoveLeft.Blocked rts ;------------------------------------------------------------ ;checks if an object can walk or jump left (jump if would fall off) ;x = object index ;returns 0 if blocked ;returns 1 if possible ;returns 2 if jump required (not blocked, but in front of hole) ;------------------------------------------------------------!zone CanWalkOrJumpLeft CanWalkOrJumpLeft ldy SPRITE_CHAR_POS_Y,x dey lda SCREEN_LINE_OFFSET_TABLE_LO,y sta ZEROPAGE_POINTER_1 lda SCREEN_BACK_LINE_OFFSET_TABLE_HI,y sta ZEROPAGE_POINTER_1 + 1 ldy SPRITE_CHAR_POS_X,x dey lda (ZEROPAGE_POINTER_1),y jsr IsCharBlocking bne.BlockedLeft tya clc adc #40 tay lda (ZEROPAGE_POINTER_1),y jsr IsCharBlocking bne.BlockedLeft ;is a hole in front ldy SPRITE_CHAR_POS_Y,x lda SCREEN_LINE_OFFSET_TABLE_LO,y sta ZEROPAGE_POINTER_1 lda SCREEN_BACK_LINE_OFFSET_TABLE_HI,y sta ZEROPAGE_POINTER_1 + 1 lda SPRITE_CHAR_POS_X,x clc adc #39 tay lda (ZEROPAGE_POINTER_1),y jsr IsCharBlockingFall bne.NoHole lda #2 rts.NoHole lda #1 rts.BlockedLeft lda #0 rts
To get and show annoyed behaviour a new state array SPRITE_ANNOYED is created. Enemies are supposed to change color to see once they get angry. For this we add a new color table:
TYPE_ANNOYED_COLOR!byte 0 ;dummy!byte 10 ;player!byte 2 ;bat diagonal!byte 2 ;bat up down!byte 4 ;bat 8!byte 2 ;mummy!byte 13 ;zombie!byte 2 ;bat vanish!byte 2 ;spider
Add a little change to the common HitBehaviourHurt routine to increase the annoyance state:
!zone HitBehaviourHurt HitBehaviourHurt inc SPRITE_ANNOYED,x ldy SPRITE_ACTIVE,x lda TYPE_ANNOYED_COLOR,y sta VIC_SPRITE_COLOR,x rts
Voila! In a later step we'll add some enemies that change behaviour once they get angry.
step35.zip
Previous Step Next StepWe could see how Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are big friends last weekend at the Laver Cup tennis event. They encouraged and helped each other, with the goal of bringing the title to Team Europe, which they did. Asked about his relationship with the Mallorcan player, Federer said: 'It changed.
At the beginning he was very shy and respectful with other top 10 players, and especially because I was No. 1. Then as the time went on his personality increased and he started playing his chances. It was interesting to see him growing up until that he became the Champion he is today.
We had hard and painful battles on court, issues as well, but there was always an enormous respect between us. We shared many strong moments on court and off court in a very friendly way. As soon as we grew up, I realized how much Rafa was important in my career.
He will forever be my ultimate opponent. He was the one who helped me to improve the most and to be a better player. And at the same time I say if he didn't exist, I would have not won so much (laughter). Rafa's presence was an extra motivation.' Asked what it meant to him to team up with Rafael Nadal, Federer said: 'We had different feelings than the past.
We were a team, training together. In such situations on the practice court you are almost happy when they beat you because it means they are well-shaped. Usually you do not like to lose but here we trained like a team does. If Rafa or any other player wanted to train at a certain hour, I was okay with it.
These are little things that on the Tour don't happen because you think about yourself, you want to choose your hours and want to win practice session matches. Spending a week like this in group with Rafa and others, almost all of them who are top ten players, was very special.' ALSO READ: Toni Nadal: 'Roger Federer seems eternal, but Rafa will beat his 19 Slams'Real Madrid New deal will run to 2021
Real Madrid have been looking to the future in recent weeks, tying their key players down to fresh deals, with Dani Carvajal, Karim Benzema, Marcelo and Isco having all renewed their Real vows.
Now it will be the turn of captain Sergio Ramos, who is set to put pen to paper on a new deal in the coming days, extending his contract to June 30, 2021.
The centre-back signed a new contract in the summer of 2015, one which runs until 2020, but the capital city club want to keep the emblematic player at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu for a further year.
This means that when Ramos' contract expires, he'll have been at Real Madrid for 17 seasons, an incredible achievement.
He remains determined to give his all for a club he loves, hoping for many more historic moments.ADVERTISEMENT
As Monday dawned, the political world waited with bated breath for the identities of the defendants named in grand jury indictments from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian influence in the 2016 election. Over the weekend, some predicted that Mueller had finally prepared a mortal blow to the Trump administration. Others predicted a disappointing low-level indictment that would not advance the story at all, other than demonstrate a partisan attack on the White House by Mueller. Still more wondered why the indictment had been sealed in the first place.
By Monday afternoon, most of the predictions had turned out poorly. But everyone was claiming they had been right all along.
International lobbyists Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, two figures from the Trump campaign, found themselves under house arrest after being charged with 12 felony counts — all relating to activities that had nothing to do with Russia-Trump collusion. Tony Podesta, one of the most influential Democratic lobbyists in Washington, found himself out of the lucrative business he'd built on K Street. And a low-level Trump campaign aide, the heretofore mostly unknown George Papadopoulos, found himself at the center of the probe into Russian contacts.
Mueller's first indictments gave everyone an opportunity to claim they were right. Liberals howled collusion while conservatives largely shrugged and said, "This is all you've got on President Trump?"
For those convinced that the Mueller probe will uncover Trump campaign collusion with Russians, the Papadopoulos indictment provides some justification for those suspicions. Papadopoulos started off the 2016 election cycle working for Ben Carson's campaign, but moved over to Team Trump by March 2016 as a foreign policy adviser when Carson withdrew and endorsed the eventual nominee. Papadopoulos took it upon himself to find ways to acquire the missing emails from Hillary Clinton's secret server from the most likely source — the Russians.
According to the allocution filed in federal court with his guilty plea, Papadopoulos first came into contact with an "overseas professor" whom he understood to "have substantial connections to Russian government officials." The professor contacted Papadopoulos to offer him access to "thousands of emails" from the Clinton server, presumably the product of Russian intelligence. After in-person contacts with the professor and a Russian woman with other supposed links to the Russian government, Papadopoulos began a months-long effort to get a meeting between Trump and Vladimir Putin, with the promise of the emails the apparent motive.
Aha! Collusion!
Well … not so fast.
The original collusion accusation was that the Trump campaign might have worked with Russian intelligence to hack emails at the DNC and of John Podesta at the Center for American Progress, not the Clinton server. The Clinton server got taken down in early 2013, more than two years before Trump ran for office. Even if Papadopoulos had somehow gotten Clinton's "thousands of emails" from his Russian contacts, it wouldn't necessarily have been illegal. Papadopoulos only ran afoul of the law when he lied about his contacts to investigators; he's charged with several instances of making false statements, not of espionage.
Furthermore, the allocution suggests that the Trump campaign didn't take the bait. They knew that Papadopoulos had gone abroad seeking contacts, but that isn't unusual for a foreign-policy adviser. Neither would it be unusual for such an adviser to attempt to set up meetings between a candidate and world leaders, though Putin was politically radioactive by this point in the presidential campaign. The Trump campaign's disinterest in meeting with Putin gets a mention from prosecutors in a footnote in the allocution. A campaign official, identified later as Manafort by NBC News, wrote that they "need someone to communicate that DT [Trump] is not doing these trips."
On the other side, Trump supporters have seized on the Manafort-Gates indictment to point out how little connection it has to the Trump campaign. With the exception of charges on making false statements to investigators, all of the activities described in the indictment took place before Manafort or Gates went to work for Team Trump, mainly between 2006 and 2014. The name "Trump" doesn't make a single appearance in the indictment.
However, it does involve another president, and both sides of the political aisle in lobbying. According to the indictment, Manafort and Gates conspired with two lobbying firms to cover up efforts to spread the influence of the pro-Russian regime of Victor Yanukovych in Ukraine, attempting to drive a wedge between the U.S. and Ukraine. One aim of the partnerships was to use their influence to gain access to "the president" — Barack Obama — by "Paul" to brief him on the successes of the Yanukovych government in Kiev. The two firms were also tasked with lobbying Congress, in part to convince them of the necessity of Yanukovych's imprisonment of rival Yulia Tymoshenko, for which Manafort and Gates allegedly funneled $4 million from their offshore accounts.
None of these firms registered as foreign agents until this year, despite clearly working on behalf of a foreign government. Mueller's investigators apparently found documentation of efforts to evade detection, in part by conspiring on cover stories and the use of front organizations on both ends. They found an email to Gates that warned of "a lot of email traffic that has you much more involved than this [cover story] suggests." While the message assured Gates that they wouldn't disclose it, it also warned, "Heaven knows what former employees … might say."
The indictment didn't name the firms, but earlier reporting linked Manafort and Gates to Mercury LLC, run by longtime Republican politician and lobbyist Vin Weber, and the Podesta Group, the progressive lobbying shop set up by brothers John and Tony Podesta. John served as Obama's transition chair in 2008, and later as his chief of staff in 2014-15. Tony ran the Podesta Group — until he abruptly resigned hours after the Manafort-Gates indictment was published.
Aha! Mueller couldn't find anything on Manafort relating to the campaign!
Well … perhaps. But we still have yet to see how far this goes.
Mueller makes clear with both indictments that Trump and his campaign did a very poor job of vetting their appointments. The Manafort-Gates indictment puts K Street's lobbying industry squarely in the middle of the swamp, and Manafort and Gates in an even more central position. Plus, we now have three former members of the Trump campaign under indictment, and Papadopoulos has been cooperating with prosecutors for months prior to the unsealing of his plea and allocution.
That balanced outcome extends the credibility of the Mueller probe, and leaves room for more revelations to come. That give all sides reason to cheer … and to fear.An update on my second attempt at hydroponic growing! I posted just over a week ago to introduce the new plan, growing some hydroponic basil, and am pleased to report that at the moment things are moving along well.
Hopefully you can see that the seeds have begun to move quite nicely – some are around 1 inch tall by this point, which I think is good going for 10-day-old basil (is it?). So far, the seeds have been kept in a propagator in dark conditions (it’s had a blanket piled on top of it to serve the dual purpose of keeping out light and inching the temperature up a tiny bit). I’ve had to re-moisten the whole grid twice with a spray bottle of light nutrient solution since the first immersion of the cubes.
Something I’ve been doing this time which I didn’t manage to do with the last attempt is keeping a much more accurate eye on the environment; the temperature specifically. I’ve set up a Raspberry Pi using one of the waterproof flexibly corded DS18B20 temperature sensor chips to take regular logs of the temperature inside the propagator. It’s been hovering a tiny bit too low for a few days due to the ambient conditions in my flat, as you can see from the below graph of the temperature dump (YES I made a graph YES you love a bit of it don’t you):
Recent passive efforts have brought it up a bit closer to the desired 21C, including my girlfriend’s illness and the ensuing incredibly high heating! However, today I’ve picked up this propagator warming mat which I’m going to hook up to be actuated by the Raspberry Pi doing the temperature monitoring – I hope to get this going as a thermostatic controller. The mat’s quite versatile, so I’m considering taking it with the plants when I migrate them to the DWC proper, sitting the small reservoir on top of it and taking the same approach, but that’ll depend on the success over the next few days.
Anyone notice something more I could be doing? When should I look to start exposing the seedlings to light? The moment even the first small leaves unfurl?
51.511214 -0.119824
AdvertisementsDismembered body discovered weeks after disappearance off beach used as location for Jaws: The Revenge
The remains of a sailor who disappeared off Jaws beach in the Bahamas, where the final film in the Jaws franchise was filmed, have been found inside a tiger shark.
Authorities used fingerprints to identify Judson Newton, who was last seen on 29 August swimming for shore after his boat's engine stalled, as the body found inside the 3.6 metre (12ft) fish's belly.
An investment banker on a deep-sea fishing trip caught the shark on 4 September. He said a left leg came out of its mouth as it was hauled on to his boat. When police sliced the belly open they found a right leg, two arms and a torso.
Authorities were awaiting DNA test results before formally identifying Newton, said Hulan Hanna, the assistant police commissioner.
Newton, a 43-year-old sailor and part-time chef, was on a boating trip with friends off Jaws beach on New Providence island when the vessel had engine trouble. Three people remained on board while Newton and a friend swam to shore. Neither was seen again and they were presumed drowned.
One of Newton's friends, Samuel Woodside, 37, told AP he had doubted the drowning theory. "To me, he was always a strong swimmer. I don't know what happened."
Woodside said he and Newton were childhood friends and went fishing almost every weekend when Newton wasn't working on cargo boats or in restaurants. "He was a sailor, you see. Anywhere where he could get a fishing line, he would go there."
Films such as Thunderball and Into the Blue have been shot in the waters around New Providence but it was Jaws: The Revenge which is understood to have given its name to the beach on the western strand.
The third sequel to Steven Spielberg's 1975 classic, Jaws, features a giant great white shark which stalks the Brody family down the US Atlantic seaboard to the Caribbean. The tagline was: "This time it's personal".
Michael Caine played a washed up, amiable pilot named Hoagie who has a romance with Ellen Brody, widow of the character played by Roy Scheider in the original. The British actor claimed he never saw the film, panned by critics as one of the worst ever made, but that he had seen the house it bought and it was beautiful.With a US attack on Syria now seemingly inevitable, it is useful to get familiar (and in some cases follow in real time using their "social networking" sites) the US Naval forces amassing around Syria, ready to deliver either a lethal payload of Tomahawk cruise missiles (carried by the four destroyers listed below), a deployment of marines (located in the USS Kearsarge big-deck amphibious warfare ship), or one or more squadrons of airplanes sitting on the deck of the Truman and Nimitz aircraft carriers.
As a reminder, here is how the core naval forces look like currently in the region (next update due tomorrow).
And here are the various "social media" and other pages of the US naval force:
Aircraft Carriers
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) is the eighth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, named after the 33rd President of the United States, Harry S. Truman. The ship's callsign is Lone Warrior, and she is currently homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.
Harry S. Truman was launched on 14 September 1996 by Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia, and commissioned on 18 July 1998 with Captain Thomas Otterbein in command. President Bill Clinton was the keynote speaker, and other notable attendees and speakers included Missouri Representative Ike Skelton, Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan, Secretary of Defense William Cohen and Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton.
Harry S. Truman was initially the flagship of Carrier Group Two and, beginning 1 October 2004, of Carrier Strike Group Ten.
Beginning in 2001, the Harry S. Truman Carrier Battle Group participated in Operation Joint Endeavor, Operation Deny Flight, Operation Southern Watch, Operation Enduring Freedom – Afghanistan, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Summer Pulse '04, and NATO Operation Medshark/Majestic Eagle '04.
FB page:
USS Nimitz (CVN-68)
USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is a supercarrier of the United States Navy, and is the lead ship of her class. She is one of the largest warships in the world. She was laid down, launched and commissioned as CVAN-68 but she was redesignated CVN 68 (nuclear-powered multimission aircraft carrier) on 30 June 1975 as part of the fleet realignment.
The ship was named for World War II Pacific fleet commander Chester W. Nimitz, who was the navy’s third fleet admiral. Unlike all of the subsequent Nimitz class aircraft carriers, Nimitz only uses her namesake's surname as is common for naval officers. She is also the first carrier of her class and the most recent supercarrier in service not to be named for someone who held elected office in the United States.
Nimitz had her homeport at Naval Station Norfolk until 1987, when she was relocated to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington. Following her Refueling and Complex Overhaul in 2001, her homeport was changed to NAS North Island in San Diego, California. The home port of Nimitz was again moved to Everett, Washington, in 2012. This move is expected to save the Navy $100 million.
FB page
* * *
Big-Deck Amphibious Warfare Ship
USS Kearsarge (LHD-3)
USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) is the third Wasp-class amphibious assault ship of the United States Navy. She is the fifth ship to be named (the fourth actually commissioned) in honor of the USS Kearsarge, a sloop-of-war that gained fame during the American Civil War, which was in turn named for Mount Kearsarge in New Hampshire.
On 2 March 2011, Kearsarge, along with USS Ponce (LPD-15), traveled through the Suez Canal in response to the 2011 Libyan civil war. Robert Gates had said days earlier that he ordered the two warships into the Mediterranean, along with an extra 400 Marines, in case they are needed to evacuate civilians or provide humanitarian relief. As of 20 March, AV-8B Harrier II attack aircraft from the Kearsarge have been reported attacking Libyan targets as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn. On 22 March, V-22 Ospreys from the Kearsarge conducted a successful CSAR operation to recover the crew of a USAF F-15E Strike Eagle after it crashed in Libya due to a mechanical failure during a combat mission. The Daily Telegraph reported a military source as stating that during the rescue strafing runs were carried out and two Harriers dropped two 500 lb bombs on a convoy of Libyan vehicles, with other reports alleging that Libyan civilians were wounded in the operation. The ship returned to home port at Norfolk on 16 May 2011.
Following a three day delay due to weather, Kearsarge deployed from Naval Station Norfolk on March 11, 2013 for a scheduled eight month deployment. One of her first port visits was to cash-strapped Cyprus. The Kearsarge later docked at the Israeli port of Eilat for several days beginning May 14, 2013 before continuing her deployment
FB Page
* * *
Destroyers (each equipped with Tomahawk Cruise Missiles):
USS Barry (DDG-52)
USS Barry (DDG-52) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, commissioned in 1992. Barry is the fourth United States Navy ship named after the "Father of the American Navy", Commodore John Barry (1745–1803). Barry is homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. Several improvements over Arleigh Burke exist on this ship and all following Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. They include the ability to refuel a helicopter and several other small improvements.
Barry has received many awards, including the Battenberg Cup for the years 1994, 1996, and 1998—making Barry one of only three ships (as of 2008) to have won the prestigious award three times, and the only Aegis destroyer to have won the award thus far—earning her the nickname "Battenberg Barry" in the late 1990s. She has also been awarded the Battle E award 4 times, and received the Golden Anchor and Silver Anchor Awards for retention. More recently, in 2004 the Barry received the Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy for being the most improved ship in the Atlantic Fleet.
* * *
USS Ramage (DDG-61)
USS Ramage (DDG-61) is an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy. The ship is named for Vice Admiral Lawson P. Ramage, a notable submarine commander and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II.
Ramage was laid down 4 January 1993 at the Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagou |
A woman alone?” they marveled. Of course, they were right. What had I been thinking? I was lucky. But I stopped depending on luck a long time ago.
“Recently, I stopped hiking alone on the mountain behind our house. Technically, it’s a hill,” I say, taking a sip of wine.
Collin looks over at me, eyebrows lifted. “Huh? But why?”
Should I admit to this kid that I take precautions on a regular, even daily basis? That for many if not most women, thinking about safety, making choices based entirely on safety, becomes second nature. Then there are the measures that aren’t second nature. Walking in a parking garage at night with keys wedged between my fingers. Gripping pepper spray in my fist while jogging. Surely, he knows this stuff. But then I remember an old boyfriend saying he’d hitchhiked across the country, traveled and lived all over the globe and never in his life felt vulnerable, physically, just moving through the world. I recall several seconds of long-distance silence as we each tried to fathom the other’s life.
I look at Collin. His smile waits for an answer. “I used to hike up to the scenic overlook several times a week, but it’s isolated. I’d feel safer in Brooklyn, walking from the subway to my old apartment in Red Hook. Yes, it’s the degree of isolation—that’s the difference,” I say.
“Uh, I can’t imagine, never walking, alone, in the woods again. That’s very sad,” Collin says, blinking.
“Yeah, it is. But a female jogger was raped on the rail trail near us this summer. And another was stabbed and killed last year.” I push my chair back a bit from the table. I recall seeing her small, informal memorial on the side of the road and turning my bike around to stop and pay my respects.
“But what are the statistics? Aren’t you taking a similar risk just driving?” Wide-eyed, attentive, he leans forward slightly.
I take a deep breath, uncross and recross my legs. I am not in the mood to educate this young man about women’s issues after that second serving of turkey, dressing and homemade cranberry sauce. However, he clearly doesn’t get it.
“It starts early,” I begin, stumbling into an explanation of what it’s like to grow up in a female body. What I don’t say: At 10, I was molested by a male family friend. Around the same time, my male softball coach kissed me. A man grabbed my crotch while I was taking out the garbage for my mother. In high school, a friend’s father tried to kiss me.
I tell Collin that throughout childhood and my teenage years, numerous men exposed themselves—at a neighborhood park, or they’d drive up alongside me as I rode my bicycle.
But I considered myself lucky. It could be much worse, I’d always heard and told myself.
I don’t tell Collin that a friend, I’ll call her Mona, as a small-boned 13-year-old, was robbed of her jewelry and money on a city bus at knifepoint then forced off and raped by three men. I remember her matter-of-fact tone as she told me, as if she was reciting a grocery list. Or that at my first job, a coworker described being raped for several hours in her own bed by a stranger who climbed through her window. She, too, spoke of the attack as a list of dull facts. Surely, speaking those words was hard enough, much less feeling her words in that moment.
Nor do I tell Collin that when I was about his age, a professor tried to pursue a relationship with me while recording our more academic conversations for “evidence.” I had felt lost in that confusing power dynamic, suffering intense anxiety by semester’s end. And I don’t mention my friend, Annette, a songwriter/singer in high school, who went missing in 1984 after marrying a much older man. The last time I saw her, we sat in the grass talking. She said she was in love—they were planning a trip from which she would never return.
I don’t mention waiting in line for the bathroom at a music venue in New York City when I felt quick hands grab my breasts and buttocks. As I turned around and began to yell at the man standing behind me who smiled calmly, a circle of his friends surrounded me, pushing me back and forth a few times while the blues band played. I ducked under them and escaped, found my then-husband and wept in his arms outside. When I called the police to report what had happened, the officer asked what I’d been wearing. Of course, his question was irrelevant, but I had worn a simple, loose-fitting work blouse and skirt.
Whatever words I do say sound to me like they’re the problem—because I’m speaking them aloud. I won’t remember all that I do and don’t say to Collin, perhaps because I censor more than I say. Collin listens attentively. Debates gently. But I’m keenly aware that I’m offering painful personal testimony as evidence to a scientist-in-the-making. Finally, thoughtfully, he leans forward even more, and looks sincerely and directly into my eyes. “But, I mean, the chances of an auto accident are still probably greater, no? I hope you’ll look at the stats so you can gain more confidence.”
The irony of our little discussion at this time in my professional life is not lost on me. “Collin, I don’t know what you know about the book I’m writing. But here’s the thing—19-year-old Mollie Olgin felt confident on the night of June 22, 2012. That’s why she pressed her 18-year-old girlfriend, Kristene Chapa, to get over her ‘paranoia’ and take a three-minute walk from a parking lot to a scenic overlook in a suburban neighborhood. Portland, Texas had earned its reputation as a safe destination, although she surely did not know the FBI stats—there’d only been one murder since 1993, the year Mollie was born. On that summer night, statistics did not save her life.”
I have thought a lot about what Collin said that evening. It meant a lot to me that he clearly grasped my loss in feeling unable to explore the woods—and the world—alone. However, I felt stunned by his suggestion that the problem is mine—a lack of confidence—rather than being a problem with the culture in which we live. And from his last comments as we got up from the table, it seemed nothing I said complicated his perspective. Perhaps I was too calm, or too bewildered.
I know a couple of statistics. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAIIN) reports that one in six women “have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime”—if only counting from the age of 12. And the vast majority of rapes are “completed.” In contrast, one in 33 men have been raped or experienced attempted rape in their lifetime. Here are some staggering numbers that I did not know: Child Protective Services reports that 63,000 children are sexually abused each year—one in nine girls and one in 53 boys. Of these, one-third are under the age of twelve.
These statistics don’t give me confidence. And the more I search the Internet for relevant, updated numbers, the more I find conflicting reports. Even organizations like RAIIN—that use the Department of Justice’s supposed “gold standard” National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)—may post outdated info. While RAIIN tends to use the most reliable statistics available, it turns out that some of their numbers—like one in six women will be sexually assaulted—date back to 1998. No, that’s not a typo. I’ve raised a toddler to legal adulthood since then. American culture has changed profoundly in the past eighteen years while the population has grown substantially.
According to RAINN, “Sexual violence is notoriously difficult to measure, and there is no single source of data that provides a complete picture of the crime.” When I spoke to one of the organization’s attorneys over the phone, he admitted that some topics on the website have been updated recently and others are long overdue. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) claims the gold standard NCVS misses 88 percent of victims by failing to frame questions specifically and eliminate confusion over definitions—such as what constitutes rape. Unfortunately, the CDC’s work to eliminate confusion also makes its results controversial. Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Investigation only documents cases brought to the police, leaving a tremendous gap between their numbers and assaults in the US.
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) publishes a document titled “Info & Stats for Journalists.” Some of their statistics are even more startling: one in five women—college-aged or otherwise—“will be raped at some point in their lives.” Nine of every ten student victims do not report sexual assault. I recall what Collin said about his girlfriend—she is rarely ever alone at college so she feels safe. I’m not sure how I would have gotten through college if I’d given up my solitude for safety. How many long walks through Vermont woods did I take during those years? How many nights did I work late in vast, empty buildings?
Of course, staying in for the night does not ensure safety. According to the NSVRC, 55 percent of sexual assaults occur in or near a victim’s residence. I gather statistics and articles that might help Collin start to understand that walking in the world, or even being in your own home, as a female, often means watching your back. I recall being Collin’s age and walking confidently down a New York City street when I was beaten and mugged. As I research, I remember other statistics I know by heart: almost all of the women that I have ever been close to have experienced sexual harassment (too often throughout their lives), and most have been sexually assaulted at least once. A partial list includes my sister, my mother, a stepmother, my grandmothers, all of my closest friends (yes, all), my wife, my daughter and me. As I end that painful list, I remember another name. My ex-wife, an artist whose work has addressed the subject of childhood sexual abuse, struggled to enjoy her connection with my daughter who adored her. My ex described always being afraid—as if she was poisoned by her past trauma—to hug my child. That legacy of abuse contributed significantly to our marriage ending.
Recently, I saw Mary Rose, the mother of Annette, the friend who’s been missing since 1984. We met the night before she flew to Louisiana to testify against Annette’s now seventy-five-year-old husband, Felix Vail. Charged for the murder of his first wife, the court made a rare decision to allow testimony regarding the disappearance of Vail’s ex-girlfriend, followed by the disappearance of Annette. It was Mary’s relentless research and advocacy over the decades, on behalf of Annette and Vail’s other victims, which led to his arrest. At dinner, I gave Mary a copy of a short article Annette wrote in 1980 for our school paper—about cycling as an alternative to driving. She extols the virtues of my new sport since giving up hiking alone, and compares cycling to flying, noting “…the fresh air, the time to be alone, the freedom…” She, too, sought solitude, and the experience—the sensation—of freedom. The oldest suspected serial killer in the nation, Annette’s husband was found guilty of murdering his first wife and will serve a life sentence without parole. While Annette’s mother is grateful that Vail can never hurt another woman, there are no answers to her many questions about Annette’s death, including the location of her remains.
Women make choices daily between the freedom to enjoy solitude—whether alone at home or in the world—and safety. My sporty English professor friend says she doesn’t walk in the woods alone, admitting she’s never questioned this “fact of life.” For her, it’s not a loss—it’s a given. A privilege she never considered having. In contrast, an adventurous young neighbor hikes alone regularly and posts weekly photos on her Facebook page—dramatic shots taken on mountains all over the state and nation. She says she feels safer on the top of some mountain than at home, where she has received, on occasion, intimidating calls from her ex in the middle of the night. She also said our local police don’t seem to take her concerns seriously. Recently, she decided not to call them after a male stranger tried to join her on a walk at our nearby reservoir, during which he asked if she’s single, if she likes men or if she’s a “man-hater.”
Since moving to this small town in Connecticut, I have felt haunted by something my wife told me, something that happened over 20 years ago at the same reservoir, where we also like to walk. Vivian used to hike with her dog in the woods. One day her mother called to confirm that she was alive—because a local woman had been walking her dog near the reservoir when a man assaulted her, then left her to die. The passing of time does not necessarily help us feel any safer—especially when similar attacks have happened so recently. In this way, violence against women in a community can become another kind of legacy with which women live.
Shortly before I stopped hiking alone, my wife and I were on our way up the mountain behind our house when we saw a man who looked more like a meth head than a hiker. We stopped talking as he approached and placed our hands on our pocketknives, as if they made all the difference. After passing, we checked repeatedly to be sure he didn’t turn around. On another hike, headed back down the mountain, we spotted a man wearing tactical gear and wielding a machete next to the path just ahead. He chopped at the air and random plants. It was too late to turn back or leave the trail. He’d glanced at us. Though he seemed to be in a trance, more android than human, he nodded as we passed quickly. We walked as fast as we could without running. I decided to stop hiking alone after that encounter. We’d been lucky. Luck runs out.
When I tell a friend—a social worker focusing on women’s issues—about Collin’s comment, she says: “I came to the conclusion about ten years ago that it was easier to count the number of female friends who hadn’t been molested or assaulted, because the list is shorter than the ones who had been.” Eight of her women friends have been raped but none of them reported it “because of the repercussions it would have on their lives.”
The vast majority of rape victims in the U.S. do not report it. For those who do, 97 of every 100 rapists walk free while tens of thousands of rape kits go untested. It’s relevant to note that the incidents I’ve listed are taken almost entirely from the lives of white women like me from low-income to middle-class American families, but who may have little or no experience of the complex challenges that intersecting and overlapping bias and discrimination present. According to the NSVRC, lesbians are at a greater risk of sexual violence than heterosexual women, while bisexual women face the greatest risk. Furthermore, indigenous women and women of color—especially transgender women of color—experience the highest rates of sexual assault and are even less likely to report an attack.
A woman’s history of abuse is but one thread through her life—yet abuse tends to affect, profoundly, the rest of a life. Victims often suffer Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression and substance abuse. Some contemplate, attempt or commit suicide. Sometimes the effects go deep without detection. One close friend, a highly successful professional, told me that after she was molested by a neighborhood boy at the age of 10, she felt powerless, “gave up” on her just-forming dreams, began to suffer depression and did not begin to recover herself and her life until her late thirties after years of therapy and hard work. “I lost almost 30 years of my life,” she says. “I want those decades back.”
Many young women notice that being safe in one’s own bed or walking in a parking lot—much less exploring the world solo—is something young men their age rarely if ever worry over. When I asked Collin if he worries about threats to his safety from other men, he looked back as if I’d inquired about aliens. Meanwhile, my wife and I carefully schedule our bike rides so that we’re off the rail trail before dark.
I question whether it’s my place to send stats to Collin—though he’s the one who questioned whether my decision to stop hiking alone is rational. On one hand, I feel protective of my nephew, but of what? Protecting his innocence perpetuates his ignorance. So, on the other hand, I want to shock him. Wake him up. Sexual assault and violence against women is a cradle to grave issue. If this fact surprises some young men—then that’s part of the problem. It is essential that we teach our boys and men about our experiences as girls and women. Somehow, Collin graduated from a top Ivy League university in 2014 without understanding that year’s #YesAllWomen hashtag used by women across the country and world to describe on Twitter, often in explicit detail, how sexism, misogyny and sexual violence affects their lives. Recently, when President-elect Donald Trump boasted of grabbing women “by the pussy,” writer Kelly Oxford asked women to tweet their first sexual assault and the Internet conversation picked up where it left off, this time with the hashtag #notokay. Tens of thousands of women described experiences of being assaulted as babies, children, teenagers and adults. Clearly, Trump’s misogynistic statements and depraved boasts of sexually assaulting women, even added to his stated racist, homophobic, ableist and xenophobic statements, was not a deal-breaker for nearly half of those who voted.
On a long distance phone call with another friend, Maya, I mention the conversation from last Thanksgiving. She’s traveling alone in Florida and has parked in the lot of an open business so she can get out and stand under blue sky while we talk. When I tell her about Collin’s suggestion that I research stats so I can feel more confident, she says, “Ironically, as we talk, a man in a car is circling the parking lot a third time, craning his neck to look in my direction each time he drives by. I’m so tired of driving and just wanted to stand in the open air on a sunny day. Damn it, I’m getting back into my car. I just locked the door.”
While I’ve seen Collin several times since last Thanksgiving, I never brought up the topic about which I’d monologued that day. After the election, he posted, “RIP America, to anyone who’s not a cis white male; I’m sorry.” During Thanksgiving dinner, I noticed that he made several comments that were absolutely, unapologetically feminist. He described the sexism that two of his female professors face in academia, and then complained about a “muscular Christian” radio show in which the host addressed male listeners only, ignoring “the other 50.8 percent of people in this country.” After dinner, as he helped me break down a side table, I mentioned that I’ve thought a lot about our discussion last year and wrote an essay I’d like to share with him. He said, “I’ve thought a lot about that too. Please send it.” After reading it, he offered permission to use his real name and asked if he could share it with his fraternity brothers.
We need to keep talking to the men and boys in our lives—whether they voted for or against Trump. It is imperative that we share our perspectives based on lived experience, even when it is painful. Especially when it’s painful. We never know how our words, our stories, may grow in another person.
What do we need most? We need men to step forward in their day-to-day lives as allies—men willing to listen and learn from women’s lives, men willing to take a stand, defend and speak up on behalf of women, girls and LGBT people everywhere.
An earlier version of this post originally appeared at The Rumpus.
Chivas Sandage is the author of Hidden Drive, a finalist for the 2012 ForeWord Book of the Year Awards in poetry. Her essays have appeared in Ms., Hartford Courant and The Rumpus. Naomi Shihab Nye awarded her poetry as runner-up for the Southern Humanities Review 2017 Auburn Witness Poetry Prize. She is at work on a narrative nonfiction book about the 2012 rape and double shooting of a lesbian teenage couple in South Texas. On Twitter, she’s @ChivasSandage.About this mod -Corprus is now a real disease spread by corprus stalkers/shamblers/ash vampires
-Corprus now has many stages of infection, culminating with you turning into a mindless corprus zombie
-Makes the attribute changes from Corprus permanent.
-Adds more corprus dialogue and alters main quest dialogue to reflect this Requirements DLC requirements DLC name Bloodmoon Tribunal Permissions and credits Author's instructions File credits This author has not credited anyone else in this file Donation Points system This mod is not opted-in to receive Donation Points
Part of the Morrowind May Modathon
"Immersive is just a buzzword for when you can't think of a reason your mod is actually good"
Immersive Corprus
by mort
v. 1.0
What's it do?
-Corprus Stalkers and Lame Corprus' can spread corprus through melee attacks. Ash Vampires and 6th House members / dreamers cannot spread corprus.
-Makes the attribute changes from Corprus permanent. In the vanilla game they were just drain effects and a quick trip the to the temple would have you good as new.
-Adds stages to corprus:
Stage 1: NPC's react to your corprus disease. Your stats modify every day.
Stage 2 (10 days): Adds a burden effect and your fine motor skills (sneak, acrobatics) are drained (not permanent). Personality and mercantile suffer as well.
Between 2 and 3: Your skin begins to produce Corprus weepings every day.
Stage 3 (20 days): Additional burden. Your agility is drained, however, you become immune to disease.
Terminal: After 30 days you become a mindless Corprus beast and are transported to the Corprusarium. This is essentially a "Game Over".
-Adds additional generic corprus dialogue.
-Allows the main quest to be completed with alternate sources of corprus. In the vanilla game, that would be a game-ender, there's one instance you can get corprus from that isn't the main quest.
-If you kill an Ash Vampire (one of Dagoth Ur's primary lieutenants), you'll be cursed with corprus. Some no name dagoth can curse you but an Ash Vampire can't? Pah!
Note: you can't play as a corprus zombie. It's extremely difficult to do and I know someone out there would try to actually complete quests which would makes things pretty hilarious but not in the scope of this mod. So it ends with you becoming a mindless beast.
OPTIONAL FILE: Extreme_Immersive_Corprus
Every 6th house ash zombie, ash slave, ascended sleeper, and dagoth now can spread corprus on hit. May god have mercy on your soul.
Installation:
put esp in data files and activate in the launcher. If it's a new game, no problems. If it's a game in progress open the console and type "startscript mort_corprus" without quotes.
Compatibility:
Probably doesn't work with 6th House mods like Great House Dagoth nor should it. Changes ashvampire and corprusonpc scripts. Alters caius coscades and diviath fyr dialogue. Changes corprus stalker and lame corprus creatures.
Known Bugs:
Once in a blue moon if you're getting hit by many corprus beasts at once the popup will say "You have contracted Corprus" but you won't have any effects. That's a base morrowind bug, consider yourself lucky this time, punk!
Permissions:
Ask me and I'll say yes, do something neat with it!
Credits:
the MW modding discordST. LOUIS — Early on in Sunday’s debate, a fly drifted into the frame and came to rest, just for a moment, at the base of Hillary Clinton’s left eyebrow.
She blinked, flicked her head, and kept talking.
This was the Democratic nominee's posture for more than an hour and a half here at Washington University as Donald Trump put on one of the more hostile performances of this year's divisive presidential race. He called his opponent the "devil," said she had "tremendous hate in her heart." He vowed to put her in prison, raised her husband's infidelities, and brought women who alleged Bill Clinton sexually abused them into the debate hall. He paced the stage as she spoke. He lied about his opposition to the war in Iraq and asserted that had he been president, the late Captain Humayun Khan would still be alive.
When the debate was halfway through, one of Clinton's aides back in Brooklyn snapped. "hey, @realDonaldTrump — regarding your claim that Captain Khan would be alive if you were president," tweeted spokesperson Jesse Lehrich.
"go fuck yourself."
The harsh tweet, which Lehrich later apologized for, amounted to what Clinton managed to largely avoid in the second presidential debate, a town hall–style forum that finally brought forth some of the personal attacks Trump has vowed to make for weeks.
The debate followed a tumultuous weekend of shifting political ground. After old footage emerged of Trump saying, for instance, that he could “grab” women “by the pussy,” Republican officials abandoned their party’s nominee in large numbers. And on Sunday, Trump stunned most people in politics, appearing with women who had alleged that Clinton’s husband had sexually abused them.
“If you look at Bill Clinton — far worse. Mine are words, and his was action. His was what he's done to women. There's never been anybody in the history politics in this nation that's been so abusive to women,” Trump said, answering a question about the bombshell 11-year-old raw footage surfaced Friday by the Washington Post.
“Bill Clinton was abusive to women.”
Trump went on to accuse his opponent of “viciously” taking down those women. Three of them — Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, and Juanita Broaddrick, who alleges that Bill Clinton raped her in the late 1970s — were seated inside the debate hall at the Republican nominee's invitation.
As Trump invoked their stories — “I think she should be ashamed of herself, if you want to know the truth” — Clinton held a muted gaze on her opponent.
After the first debate, Trump and his supporters boasted that he had restrained himself in not attacking Clinton over Monica Lewinsky, which turned into days of coverage about whether this time, Trump really would revisit the topic. Ahead of the second match-up, Clinton and a team of senior advisers prepared for an uglier and more personal debate.
The response she offered Sunday did not touch on the substance of Trump's claims. "He gets to run his campaign any way he chooses," she began. "He gets to decide what he wants to talk about — instead of answering people's questions."
Bill Clinton's extramarital activity and personal history has made for tense moments on the trail for some 17 months now, partly as a reflection of the changing politics of sexual harassment and assault allegations. But Trump put the former president at the center of his presidential campaign early in the race, and on occasion, protesters and voters in the crowd have confronted the former first lady in unexpected turns at events with questions (or jeers) about the claims made by Jones, Broaddrick, and Willey.
Often, Clinton is the least uncomfortable person in the room, appearing unfazed as she delivers a straightforward answer, moving on as if the moment never happened. Longtime aides refer often to Clinton’s ability to “compartmentalize” in real time.
After the debate, Clinton’s aides dismissed the women’s presence as a campaign tactic meant to upend their candidate’s performance.
“The stunt didn’t work,” said campaign manager Robby Mook, speaking to reporters aboard Clinton’s “Stronger Together” campaign plane on the way back east.
“Hillary just plowed forward.”Yesterday, I wrote that the controversy over the Galaxy Note 5’s S Pen was overblown. Quickly: if you stick it in backwards, it gets stuck and does at the least significant damage. People cried “recall,” “design flaw,” and invented the (hilarious) hashtag #penghazi. Apple-loving pundits couldn’t contain their glee or smugness. I said that this was silly, that it was akin to trying to shove a floppy disk into a drive upside-down and then blaming the manufacturer when it breaks something.
What I didn’t realize, however, was just how easy it was to do this accidentally. I didn’t understand that until I saw this clip of Leo Laporte, who was just casually discussing the controversy on MacBreak Weekly, fiddled with the S Pen going in butt-first into his Note 5, and lo and behold, not even halfway in, it got stuck.
I had been fiddling the very same way! It didn’t happen to get stuck, so I may have dodged a bullet.
So, I’m obviously reevaluating my hard and fast position of “just don’t do that.” It’s simply too easy for this to happen by accident.
And even if it wasn’t all that easy, before I even came to this new realization I thought about ways that Samsung could address this if it was inclined. Now I feel like these have moved from “could do” to “must do.” (Samsung’s not known for being classy or anything, so who knows what they’ll ever do.)
First, no-questions-asked returns on Note 5 devices. If someone bought this and they’re worried about it, or worse, they’ve gotten it stuck, they can return it for a full refund.
Second, they should cover all repairs related to this issue, free of charge.
Third, presuming they’re not going to redesign the whole phone, they need to make a new S Pen with a wider butt-end, maybe with a rubbery nub, such that it is impossible to stick into the phone backward, and send one to every Note 5 owner, free.
Alternatively, at least issue (free of charge again) a rubbery cap of some sort to put on the end of the S Pen to serve the same function of keeping it from going in the wrong way, some kind of cap that’s more or less impossible to take off again.
And that should be that.
So I largely take back the last post. This is a much bigger problem than I thought.
I’m delighted with my Note 5. It’s a wonderful device, and chances are this S Pen problem would never have even come up for me. Now I confess to being a touch nervous about it, but it’s not enough to make me regret my decision to get this phone. It’s still amazing, and it’s still a keeper.
But I’ll take that redesigned S Pen, now.Welcome back, Derrick Rose. Signed, your friends at ESPN, TNT and NBA TV.
The return of the star guard will have the Bulls in the national spotlight early and often this year. The Bulls-Knicks opener kicks off ESPN's NBA regular-season coverage Wednesday night. All told, the Bulls games will be featured 10 times on ESPN, 10 on TNT, five on ABC, and five on NBA TV.
The national analysts think the bright lights then will shine on the Bulls deep into the spring, if not early summer.
"Barring major injury, I can't see Chicago or Cleveland not finding their way to the Eastern Conference Finals," ESPN/ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy said.
TNT's Greg Anthony goes further, saying "the Bulls are the team to beat in the East."
As always, there's the big if for the Bulls when it comes to Rose. After what happened last year, virtually every assessment of the Bulls is preceded by the qualifier, "If Rose stays healthy …"
Van Gundy thinks expectations need to be tempered for Rose.
"Anybody who is expecting Rose to consistently be what he was against Cleveland (when he scored 30 points Monday), doesn't understand how hard it is in the NBA to regain your edge," Van Gundy said. "When you are basically out two years, it's not easy, even when you're as talented as Rose. And so that consistency of play, of recreating great habits on the floor, that will be difficult and it will be challenging. There will be some great moments and there will be some moments when he's disappointed."
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau on the team's mindset entering the final preseason game. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau on the team's mindset entering the final preseason game. SEE MORE VIDEOS
TNT's Reggie Miller contends Rose will need to make adjustments in his game.
"To me, it's all upstairs for Derrick Rose," Miller said. "His body is ready. It's almost over-ready. After two years off, your mind starts to play tricks on you. He's going to have to change his game. He can't be that Tasmanian Devil-type player who is always attacking and hitting the floor. He's going to have to trust his basketball mechanics and jump shot. If he can do that, he can have an efficient year."
Former Warriors coach Mark Jackson, now back at ESPN as an analyst, is optimistic about Rose returning to form. He also likes what the addition of Pau Gasol does to the Bulls' front court.
"Adding Pau Gasol makes a difference," Jackson said. "You have two big guys in Gasol and (Joakim) Noah who can make plays at the post area, read off of each other. (They have) tremendous size, tremendous skill."
Van Gundy's biggest question mark for the Bulls is how will the Bulls stop LeBron James in the East Finals?
"They're very top heavy in the front court and particularly when you think of them matching up with Cleveland, who is your other defender against James other than (Jimmy) Butler?" Van Gundy said. "I think they're going to have to try to get that question answered."
Jackson contends if the pieces come together, and if Rose can stay on the court, the Bulls will be "extremely dangerous."
The networks will be pulling hard for a complete Rose comeback. Nearly two seasons without the guard has hurt them too. Stars always move the needle, and the Bulls remain one of the league's top TV draws — if Rose is healthy.
Local Bulls TV: The Bulls are slated for 42 games on CSN, starting with the home opener against the Cavs next Friday. WGN-9 will air 22 games, starting with the season opener against the Knicks.
In a change, the Bulls' third local outlet will be WPWR-50, which has six games. Previously, they were on WCIU-26.
Remote patrol: Sam Rosen, John Lynch and Pam Oliver will be on the call for the Bears-Patriots game Sunday on Fox-32. … Set your alarm early on Sunday. Fox will air the Lions-Falcons game at 8:30 a.m. live from London. … There are dire forecasts for all-time low ratings for the Royals-Giants World Series. Game 1 was the lowest ever for an opener with 12.19 million viewers. Fox desperately needs the series to go at least six games. … Get ready for the return of Brian Bosworth. ESPN's next 30 for 30 is "Brian and the Boz," at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Speaking of colorful, Johnny Weir with his interesting outfits, Tara Lipinski and Terry Gannon will make their debut as NBC's new figure skating team Sunday on the network's coverage of Skate America at Hoffman Estates. … Van Gundy doesn't see James winning titles right away with the Cavs. "I still see for the next couple of years whoever advances out of the West winning it," he said.
Special contributor Ed Sherman writes about sports media at shermanreport.com. Follow him @Sherman_Report.WWE's applications for trademarks relating to Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy filed on June 19 were assigned to a trademark attorney on July 27, according to PWInsider. This means they'll bypass the three-month wait period that applies to most applications.
Global Force Wrestling's applications for trademarks relating to the Hardys were filed on April 28 and were also assigned to a trademark attorney on July 27.
WWE's application for Matt Hardy received an initial refusal due to potential confusion with the "Broken Matt Hardy" application, which was filed first by Hardy himself. All other actions will be frozen until Matt's application is finalized. A similar situation happened with GFW's application.
Both of WWE's applications also received an initial refusal due to WWE not providing consent from Matt and Jeff to trademark their respective names. They quickly responded with consent from both of them.
WWE's application for a trademark on the Hardy Boyz name was filed in April and is set to be published for opposition to the public at the end of August.
Source: PWInsiderWith fewer than 500 North Atlantic right whales left in the world's oceans, knowing the health and status of each whale is integral to the efforts of researchers working to protect the species from extinction. In the NOAA Right Whale Recognition challenge, 470 players on 364 teams competed to build a model that could identify any individual, living North Atlantic right whale from its aerial photographs. The deepsense.io team entered the competition spurred by a recent improvements in their image recognition skills and ended up taking 1st place. In this blog, they share their pipeline, their solution's "most valuable player", and what they've taken away from the competition experience.
The Basics
What was your background prior to entering this challenge?
Robert began assembling the deepsense.io team about one and a half years ago with the goal of creating a machine learning powerhouse in Warsaw, taking perhaps an unusual approach of seeking out people who did not specialize in data science, but rather algorithmics. Guided by two reasons: first and foremost, he wanted to take a fresh approach to machine learning; second that his alma mater, the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics at Warsaw University was full of the latter.
As a result, almost everyone on the deepsense.io team has a strong background in computer science, having competed and won various computer science competitions (including an ACM ICPC win, Google Code Jam victory, and multiple IOI gold medals). He sought out both students and employees, even leading to a situation where one of the members was leading a course another attended. It seems we get along pretty well though.
Do you have any prior experience or domain knowledge that helped you succeed in this competition?
This was actually our second image processing contest, the first being Diabetic Retinopathy Detection. Even though |
place around 8.30am in a building housing the restaurant situated in Petlawad town, about 60km from the district headquarters, sub divisional officer of police (SDOP), Petlawad, A R Khan said."The blast took place at the rented shop owned by Rajendra Tatwa. Tatwa is an explosive licensee and stored explosives in the shop rented by him from Mangilal Rathore in Petlawad. The blast took place at 8.30am," sub divisional officer of police, Petlavad, A R Khan said.An adjacent building and number of other houses in the vicinity were extensively damaged in the high-impact explosion compounding the tragedy.(TOI photo)Chief medical officer Dr Arun Sharma said that "So far, 89 people have been killed in the explosion and till now, we have performed the autopsy of 60 people."The injured are undergoing treatment in various nearby hospitals.According to divisional commissioner Sanjay Dube, the toll may go up further as rescue operations are still underway at the explosion site to locate survivors.The exact number of casualties will be known once the rescue operations are over as many people are suspected to be still trapped in the debris.Earlier, police had said that the explosion was caused by a cooking gas cylinder kept in the adjacent three-storeyed building housing a hotel.Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed grief over the incident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured."I am saddened by the incident. I express my condolences. I have directed the minister in-charge to go to the spot. The administration has reached the spot. I have asked the principal secretary to skip the Hindi Sammelan and arrange treatment for those injured in the blast. I am in constant touch. The incident is sad and has left me shaken. The reasons for the blast will be investigated," the chief minister said.Senior officials from Jhabua including superintendent of police G G Pandey besides state tribal welfare minister Antar Singh Arya have rushed to the spot.State home minister Babulal Gaur said a high-level inquiry has been ordered into the incident.A team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been dispatched to Jhabua to help in the salvage operations of the collapsed building."A team equipped with gadgets to operate in collapsed structures has been sent to the accident site in Jhabua from Vadodara in Gujarat. The team will assist local administration in retrieval operations," NDRF director general O P Singh said in Delhi.Yet another reason to miss Calvin
Blocking on the outside is crucial for success in the outside running game as well as the screen game: anything that hits the perimeter, really. There is nothing fancy about effective blocking by receivers. Former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur thinks it is an underappreciated contribution that can create big plays:
"I think our guys … have done a good job with perimeter blocks," offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said, "and that really helps, whether we're just throwing a simple bubble with two blockers out front or if a ball splits out. "Sometimes we talk about turning a bad into good and good into great and great into touchdowns, and a lot of times it's the perimeter blocks that do that. So you may have a good run that's going to go for 6 or 8. If the ball spits out to the perimeter, then that can go for 8 to 20, and then sometimes that goes from 20 to a touchdown, and I think a lot of that has to do with the receivers. "A lot of times, blocking on the perimeter is all about effort and angles. You know, you've just got to fight to the whistle and take the right angle on your guys, and I think our guys have done a good job."
Shurmur is the current Minnesota Vikings TE coach, which says a lot about how seriously he takes the blocking role by pass catchers. The best wide receivers in the game — Julio Jones, Larry Fitzgerald — these guys throw full effort into blocking as part of being a great receiver in all phases:
Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said a receiver’s size doesn’t really matter. Blocking is all about attitude. "It doesn’t have to do with whether you’re big or small," Shanahan said. "It has to do with the ‘want to.’ Usually, if guys are willing and their technique is good, they can be an effective blocker."
Obviously, some receivers are more willing to block than others. Frankly, top players such as Jones and Fitzgerald could get away with giving it the matador treatment. It’s not like they’re going to get dumped because they can’t block. For others, it’s a necessity for staying in the league. "Some guys don’t like to get in there and get messy," Shanahan said. "Usually those guys, if they’re not extremely talented and making up for it in other places, it’s tough for those guys to last."
Guess who else was a great blocking wide receiver? It wasn’t just Calvin Johnson drawing double teams and over the top safety help all the time that made everyone around him better; he also blocked a lot better than just about anyone else in the league at the position for his teammates. Here’s former Lions (and current Dolphins) WR coach Shawn Jefferson on Calvin’s blocking back in 2012:
"Calvin is just a monster, perfect technique," Jefferson said while running through film of Johnson’s block. "What we teach here is you want Calvin, when he’s about to make contact with the defender, we want him to bend his knees and explode through the defender." Jefferson, who played wide receiver for 13 seasons in the NFL, said he stresses in the receivers’ meetings the importance of helping out on blocking. "This is where Calvin defines what a receiver truly is," Jefferson said. "We always have the adage in our room, if you want the ball you better be ready to block for your teammates.... Here you have the best receiver in the league sacrificing his body for his teammate to get in the end zone."
In case you didn’t already miss Calvin enough for his ability to beat triple coverage on third-and-forever in the end zone, you can add perimeter blocking to the list of things that need to be replaced by our current WR corps.
Fuller doesn’t need to be Calvin to be useful
Corey Fuller is equipped with decent hands, but has never been anything but average as a component in the passing game. It is unlikely he will be a better deep threat than Marvin Jones, a better underneath route runner than Jeremy Kerley, or a better mismatch than either Theo Riddick or Eric Ebron. If Fuller wants to establish himself as an important part of the offense, one way to take his sixth-round acceleration and physicality and gain value through sheer effort is to block (notes added for identification):
There are indicators, [Jets running back coach Anthony] Lynn proceeds, present in teams that run well, signs of unselfish play and a determination to out-work and hit opponents. "When you look at the teams that have the most explosive runs, you look at the wide receivers," Lynn adds.
While Jets wide receivers combined to catch merely six passes for 83 yards, that is not to say they weren’t heavily involved in the offense. [WR Stephen] Hill has not caught a pass in two games, but against the Saints he acted as a key blocker on runs by Chris Ivory of 27, 30 and 52 yards -- the running back’s longest gains this season. Each play, Hill bullied a Saints defensive back as Ivory arrived, and on each drive the Jets scored a field goal.
Normally, wide receivers are thought of primarily as pass catchers. But as Complete Wide Receiver by Jay Norvell points out, there are more downs on which a receiver can help the team by blocking well than he can by making a play on a throw:
Good receivers play hard without the ball. Playing unselfishly is a big part of being a team player. A typical college football game has an average of 72 offensive plays. A good receiver will be lucky to get 8 to 10 passes thrown his way during the course of a game. That leaves 62 plays a game on which the wide receiver won’t get the football. This chapter is about how the receiver can still be a team player and help his team win even when the ball doesn’t come his way.
Fuller has 18 career receptions for 288 yards in 579 offensive snaps over the last two seasons. When he is in an offensive formation, he is clearly not the primary or even secondary offensive focus of the Lions’ attack. Of course if he’s targeted you want him to catch the ball, but the biggest contribution Fuller can make is to help the other guys break big plays.
What good WR blocking does for Detroit
Let’s start with an example from 2014 that demonstrates good alignment and execution by the perimeter blockers to spring 15 WR Golden Tate for a big gain. This play does not even feature the Lions' most athletic or talented players: it’s 87 TE Brandon Pettigrew and 12 WR Jeremy Ross paving the way.
2014 at NED, 1Q (15:00). First-and-10 at the Detroit 20.
The Lions come out in a standard 2x2 shotgun set and bring Golden Tate across the formation left to right. This creates a bunch right with three Lions (Tate, Ross, Pettigrew) against three Patriots (24 CB Darrelle Revis, 23 SS Patrick Chung, and 25 CB Kyle Arrington). From the initial set, the assignments are Revis on Tate, Chung head up on Pettigrew, and Arrington on Ross.
What the Lions want to do is give Golden Tate space to work one-on-one with room to break some ankles. The idea here, then, is to create some momentary confusion and delay among the Patriots by forcing them to switch assignments: either Ross or Pettigrew need to force a switch by blocking Revis. Ideally, we want Tate to end up with the ball on the WR screen against Arrington, who is the furthest back from the line:
Pettigrew engages Chung immediately and walls him off to the inside. Ross tracks and attacks Revis, who followed Tate outside: notice how Ross takes the smart angle and uses the inside leverage he got from starting the play aligned inside to keep Revis outside. These two blocks create a lane for Tate to go one-on-one with Arrington and nearly eight yards of green to make a move.
I don’t know about you, but I will take Golden Tate versus anybody in space one-on-one all damn day. Arrington commits hard to take away the tunnel inside, letting Tate plant and break back outside for 24 yards. Yes, Golden Tate is awesome, but the play never happens if Pettigrew and Ross fail to make those blocks.
2014 London ATL, 4Q (10:45). Second-and-5 at the Detroit 36.
During the comeback against the Falcons in London late in the fourth quarter, the Lions ran a WR screen with Tate lined up outside of Fuller. Here Fuller needs to start into a route to pull the man in front of him (26 CB Josh Wilson) away and then break off to lay a block on Tate’s defender (21 CB Desmond Trufant). This causes an assignment switch that should delay Wilson momentarily as he realizes that he needs to switch off to Tate:
Tate takes the ball outside at first to widen against Wilson, then bends back inside Fuller’s block. The resulting nine yard gain is more than enough to move the chains.
Fuller’s blocking is adequate enough to allow Tate to squeeze through, but if you watch him the whole way you will see him pull up and shuffle. Remember what coach Jefferson said above: "What we teach here is you want Calvin, when he’s about to make contact with the defender, we want him to bend his knees and explode through the defender." Instead of going aggressively at Trufant to provide a wider lane to Tate, Fuller gets away with doing just enough.
How bad WR blocking costs Detroit
Also recall Shurmur from earlier: angles and effort can turn short gains into long gains, and long gains into touchdowns. Put the ball in the hands of a dynamic runner like Theo Riddick or Golden Tate with good blocking and you have the potential to break big plays in any situation. But without the blocking in front of them, they never get the opportunity to win a one-on-one and get swarmed by the defense.
2014 BUF 4Q (14:05). Third-and-30 at the Detroit 23.
This play demonstrates how good wide receiver blocking can make the difference between big gains and big disappointment. Still a one score game in the early fourth quarter at 14-6, this was an important drive. But following a terrible three-play sequence of stuffed run for no gain, ten yard penalty, and ten yard sack, the Lions were in the worst kind of third down situation you could imagine.
There are really not many things you can do to try and convert a third-and-forever, but the play sent in by the Lions was actually not bad. From an empty gun set, everyone would block the cover man to his left like a punt return wall with Golden Tate crossing the field behind it. If everything went well, Corey Fuller would read the final two defenders and block one of them, leaving Tate running full speed to beat the last guy one-on-one at the perimeter.
Amazingly, Tate actually cut all the way across and eluded a diving 20 CB Corey Graham near the numbers at the 30 yard line. Remember how Fuller pulled up against Atlanta and danced around in front of the guy he was supposed to block instead of attacking the defender? Watch him here:
Tate goes down well short of the sticks, but actually had a shot at this. If Fuller even gets a partial block on 21 CB Leodis McKelvin at full depth, there’s a realistic chance Tate not only turns the corner with a better angle but converts the thirty yards for a first down. And Tate knows it:
I can’t believe i’m saying this, but it’s too bad we didn’t have Jeremy Ross lined up there (cram9030 is on the damn money with his reply to me there) instead of Fuller. That’s right, I said JEREMY ROSS. Good grief.
2014 at MIN, 4Q (3:23). Third-and-7 at the Detroit 23.
To be fair, 66 RT LaAdrian Waddle also whiffed, so the play would have lost yards even if Fuller hadn’t completely failed on his block here.
2015 GBY, 3Q (11:32). Second-and-7 at the Green Bay 29.
Even when Fuller manages to get his hands on the guy he’s supposed to be blocking, poor technique results in him giving up ground. The dark blue line is the line of scrimmage here, so you can see Fuller is engaged about two and a half yards downfield with his left foot on the edge of the zero painted on the ground. At this point with the ball in the air, it looks like Tate can break outside around the corner if Pettigrew keeps his guy to the inside.
After securing the ball and turning upfield, this is what Tate finds in front of him. Recall where Fuller had first engaged his man and now look where he is. 29 CB Casey Hayward has driven Fuller back to the line of scrimmage and wide enough to force Tate to flatten his approach. By taking away the edge, Hayward has robbed Tate of his acceleration and bought time for previously walled-off 91 LB Jayrone Elliott to get in position. Instead of Tate flying full blast down the corridor outside the numbers, Hayward even manages to get an arm out to slow him down for Elliott:
Corey Fuller, put your damn hand down and think about what you just did.
2015 at STL, 1Q (4:33). Second-and-8 at the Detroit 18.
Early in the road game against the Rams, the Lions put Tate in motion right to left across the formation and got an extremely favorable alignment to run the WR screen. Pettigrew and Fuller are in good position to open a middle lane for Tate to burst up for a decent gain. Both 31 SS Maurice Alexander (the deep safety near the 30 yard line) and 20 CB Lamarcus Joyner (the inside defender near the first down line) are in poor position and very far back from the line of scrimmage to make a quick stop.
Fuller completely misses the block and 47 CB Marcus Roberson takes Tate down for a loss of a yard. The next play on third-and-9, Stafford hit Tate for eight yards: one yard short of a first down. Fuller’s inability to consistently block on the outside killed the drive.
2015 at STL, 3Q (1:54). Second-and-8 at the Detroit 43.
Late in the third quarter of the same game the Lions are down only 14-7, so this is still winnable and the offense is in good field position. On second down, the Lions run the stack WR screen to the right with Fuller stacked in front of Tate. This is a great alignment to run the screen against: the Rams are shifted over to take away a run to the Lions’ left with only 47 CB Marcus Roberson split wide over the WR stack.
When Stafford lets the ball fly, it’s clear that Tate could have had at least ten yards of green space before running into support defenders outside the numbers. 26 SS Mark Barron and 20 CB Lamarcus Joyner were not really fooled by the token play action to 21 HB Ameer Abdullah, but their tight positioning in the box made the WR screen throw the correct choice for 9 QB Matthew Stafford.
Unfortunately, Roberson runs right past Fuller again and drops Tate for a four yard loss. Instead of a first down or at least third-and-short, Detroit frittered away good field position and end up punting after failing on third-and-long.
The fourth man: value added?
As far as pass catchers go, the priorities on Detroit’s offense probably go something like Tate, Marvin, Ebron, Riddick, and then a huge gap, and then everybody else. Even the third WR — whether Kerley, TJ, or someone else entirely — is not going to be a serious production receiver in terms of receptions or yards. Fuller, at best, will be the fourth WR in the depth chart, which is an okay role for his route running and hands.
Assuming he’s not going to be thrown the ball too often, Fuller has to provide value in other ways. Typically, this is the kind of logic used for UDFAs trying to make the 53-man roster by playing special teams or returning kicks. After two years of posting a handful of highlights and little else, Fuller ought to consider himself in a similar situation. If he’s not going to field kicks or otherwise contribute heavily on special teams (224 career special teams snaps — Isa Abdul-Quddus had more in 2015 alone), he needs to do some of the lunch pail things like block consistently for screen passes.
We think about tight ends in terms of downfield threats and so-called "blocking tight ends." Why not a specialized blocking wide receiver who has so-so pass receiving skills but gives maximum effort on perimeter blocking and special teams? If Detroit is not going to get much offensive stat production out of the fourth or fifth wide receivers on the roster anyway, how about ensuring they can run the support roles to help the Lions' top guys succeed? Similar to committing a running back or wide receiver spot on the roster to a dedicated kick return specialist, that would guarantee Detroit gets real value from the spot without taking the ball out of our best playmakers’ hands. Could Fuller be that guy? Sure, if he dedicates himself to improving his blocking technique and effort — but I doubt it.I suppose I should preface this post by admitting to a bit of bias: as an astronomy nerd, I’m inclined to find any discovery there amazing. But don’t let that fool you – the story you’re about to hear is, arguably, one of the most important scientific insights in history. Astronomy or otherwise. Read on, and be the judge.
It all started, as any good scientific discovery should, with Isaac Newton in 1665. Being the curious soul that he was, Newton wanted to figure out once and for all what was going on with light. One day, Newton darkened his lab completely except for a small hole in his window shutter, allowing a thin beam of sunlight to pass through. He placed a prism in the path of this sunlight and saw the now famous color spectrum (or as many of you may know it, ROY G BIV). The rainbow effects of prisms had been understood well before Newton’s time – but it’s effects had always been attributed to the prism itself, and not the light. Newton believed this had to be wrong.
To prove this, Newton placed a second prism upside down in front of the first. He saw what he had expected all along – the light was split into its component colors by the first prism and then recombined by the second, coming out again as pure white light. He had finally proven that light is made up of all the colors we can see.
Newton’s discovery shed light (pun intended?) on an issue plaguing astronomers of the day. When light is focused in a telescope lens, all colors are focused at different points. This is due to differences in wavelength – for example, red has a longer wavelength, and thus a longer focal length. This leaves a weird red-green aura around everything seen through the telescope. This effect is called chromatic aberration and was one of the main obstacles facing astronomy in the 17th century. Newton’s research had finally given an explanation for this phenomenon.
Fast forward to 1814. Joseph Fraunhofer, a German optics expert, is struggling to produce an achromatic (perfect) telescope lens. In his attempts to measure the exact angle of refraction for all the colors in the spectrum, Fraunhofer decides to examine the spectrum in as much detail as possible. He designs an experiment similar to Newton’s in many ways, with two key differences. First, he used diffraction grating to split the spectrum, rather than a prism, to obtain a greater spectral resoltion. He then used a modified telescope to examine the spectrum in unprecedented detail.
When Farunhofer looked through the lens, what he saw surprised him: a series of thin black lines separated the spectrum. He counted 574 in total, as shown below in a famous drawing from his notebook.
Fraunhofer was delighted with his new discovery – using the lines as definitive reference points allowed him to delineate between the different colors with far greater accuracy. But Fraunhofer was not one to ignore such a quandary: intrigued by these mysterious lines, he set up the first prismatic telescope in 1820 and turned his lens to the stars and planets. He found lines in the spectrum of every star and planet he examined; strangely, these lines were never present in any Earthly sources of light, such as flames.
Sadly, Fraunhofer would never get the chance to solve the problem of his lines, and he would die in 1826 never knowing the full implications of what he had discovered. His research, however, would inspire our last and most important discovery in the long and arduous quest to unravel the spectrum.
Fast forward another 40 years to Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen, whose name I am sure anyone who has taken high school chemistry will recognize. Yes, indeed it is that Robert Bunsen, whose invention has been used to burn everything from pencils to hair and arouse the anger of teachers across the world in the process. Before the corruption, however, Bunsen and Kirchhoff combined Fraunhofer’s optical techniques with Bunsen’s improved flame to systematically burn and classify the spectra of eight different chemical elements. They realized that each element gave off a distinct spectrum, unique to that element.
Although the atomic reasons for this effect would not be understood until the early 20th century, Kirchhoff and Bunsen had discovered something incredible: it was possible to determine the chemical makeup of an object simply by analyzing its light.
It wasn’t long before astronomers all over the world were placing prisms on their telescopes to get a look at the spectrum of astronomical objects. Suddenly, humans sitting on Earth had the ability to say, with certainty, what the stars and planets were made of.
This profoundly changed how humans thought about the world. For centuries, it had been assumed that Earth was special – that we were different than all those little pricks of light that dot our night sky. But when we analyze the spectrum of these stars, we find that they are made up of just the same things we find here on Earth – hydrogen, helium, carbon, and other abundant elements.
Interestingly enough, helium had not yet been discovered on Earth at the time of Kirchhoff and Bunsen’s discovery. When scientists examined the spectrum of the sun during a solar eclipse, they found an unaccounted for element they dubbed helium, from the Greek word for the sun, helios. Later, when helium was found on Earth, the name stuck.
The discovery of spectral lines has done more to change our perspective of the world than any one discovery in modern science. It launched a whole new field of study, astrophysics, in which the night sky is studied not for how it moves but how it works. Humans had studied the movement of the skies for years – but they had never dreamed of being able to study its composition and inner workings.
In 1929, Edwin Hubble was able to use spectral lines to determine that the universe is expanding in every direction away from us, with the farthest reaches receding fastest. This helped set the stage for the now well supported Big Bang theory and spawned a whole new branch of astronomy called cosmology, the study of the evolution of the universe.
The realization that we are made of the same stuff as everything else in the universe has taken us one giant leap forward in understanding our place in the cosmos. It has led to our knowledge that the very atoms in our bodies, the atoms that make up you and me and everyone around us, originated in the cores of stars who spread their guts across the universe in great supernovae many billions of years ago. How cool is that? As Neil Degrasse Tyson so elegantly puts it, we are all just stardust.
Without the work of Newton, Fraunhofer, and Kirchhoff and Bunsen, we may still today believe that the stars are holes in the tapestry of the universe, or small campfires in heaven, or even painted features on a sphere that surrounds us. Our modern understanding of the cosmos, and our place in it, owes its origins to the work of these great men and the miracle of spectroscopy. So the next time you look up after a storm and see a rainbow, think of the knowledge spurned by that simple trick of light – and the greatest discovery in the history of science.
AdvertisementsTrudeau campaigned on the promise to bring in more refugees, saying Canada should do more
By David Ljunggren
MANILA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday vowed to stick to a plan to take in 25,000 Syrian refugees by Jan 1, even though a growing number of critics say the target is too large and could threaten security following the attacks in Paris.
The affair is threatening to become the first real political challenge for Trudeau's fledgling Liberal government, which took power earlier this month after winning an Oct 19 election.
Trudeau campaigned on the promise to bring in more refugees, saying Canada should do more to help tackle the Middle East crisis.
But in the wake of last week's deadly attacks in Paris, which were claimed by Islamic State militants, even politicians who initially backed the Trudeau plan say he should push back the deadline to ensure all the refugees are properly scanned.
Trudeau said that even before the Paris massacre, his government had made clear the security of Canadians would be paramount when dealing with the refugees.
"We are aiming to keep our election commitments and we are working on a plan to do just that," he told reporters on his plane as he flew to Manila for an Asia-Pacific summit.
"My commitment was to bring in 25,000 refugees by Jan 1 in complete security and we will make every effort to achieve that," he added.
Trudeau also said he was speaking to a special government committee he set up earlier this month to study how best to meet the target.
He made his remarks after reporters asked about a letter he received from Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall, who wrote that "if even a small number of individuals who wish to do harm to our country are able to enter Canada as a result of a rushed refugee resettlement process, the results could be devastating".
Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi, one of Canada's most prominent progressive politicians, tweeted that Wall "was right to raise legitimate questions about refugee settlement".
The immigration minister in the mostly French-speaking province of Quebec, Kathleen Weil, says she does not believe Trudeau's goal is realistic.
If Islamic State members were able to enter disguised as refugees it would undoubtedly alarm the United States, which shares a long undefended border with Canada.
Trudeau said on Monday that U.S. officials had not raised any security concerns so far relating to the refugee plan. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.By Amarnath Tewary
Patna
Samosa is a popular Indian snack (Photo: Prashant Ravi)
A Dutch couple visiting India's Bihar state, were charged an astronomical 10,000 rupees ($204; £134) for four samosas, the potato-stuffed snack.
They paid the sum to a hawker at the famous cattle fair in Sonepur after a "heated argument".
The price worked out at $51 (£33.50) per samosa. They usually cost about two rupees 50 paise or five US cents (3p).
The tourists then sought help from police who forced the salesman to return 9,990 rupees ($203.87; £134.91).
The Sonepur cattle fair runs for a month every year from the middle of November and is attended by a large number of foreign tourists.
'Special'
The Dutch couple were roaming around the fair when they got hungry and ordered the four samosas from the hawker, police said.
After eating, they went to pay the bill.
The young hawker insisted in broken English that the samosas were specially made of Indian herbs and had aphrodisiac qualities, local official Paritosh Kumar Das told the BBC.
"After a heated argument and threats by the hawker, the tourists paid up 10,000 rupees," he said.
However, not convinced that the high price of the snack was justified, the couple approached the police.
"The police threatened the hawker after which he returned 9,990 rupees to the Dutch couple," Mr Das said.
A police complaint has been filed against the shopkeeper who has since gone into hiding.
The cattle fair, an annual feature in Bihar, began two days ago and will go on for another month.
Organisers say this year, bottled camel urine and milk are much in demand for "their medicinal properties".
A camel owner Rukasat Rathor said a bottle of camel urine was being sold for 100 rupees ($2; £1.34) per litre while camel milk was selling at 200 rupees ($4; £2.68) a litre.
"Camel milk is healthy for those suffering from diabetes and children while the animal's urine helps to cure all water-borne diseases," Mr Rathor said.
Another popular item at the fair is elephant dung which the local people burn to use as a mosquito repellent.D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser addressed the religious freedom law in Indiana and her executive order banning city-funded travel to the state until they repeal the law during her "State of the District" speech. (DCN)
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser issued an executive order Tuesday banning city-funded travel to Indiana until the state repeals its Religious Freedom Restoration Act — a controversial law Republican Gov. Mike Pence signed last week that many argue could be interpreted to allow businesses to discriminate against gay people in the name of religious freedom.
Bowser joins a growing group of Democratic leaders throughout the country, including the governors of New York and Connecticut and the mayors of Seattle and San Francisco, calling for similar travel bans. On Monday, D.C. Council member David Grosso (I-At Large) urged the mayor to enact such a ban, saying “discrimination has no place in the District of Columbia.”
The mayor’s order, which goes into effect immediately, will stay in place until RFRA is amended or repealed.
“To ensure a consistent voice in policy and practice in the District of Columbia in favor of equal treatment for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, no officer or employee of the District of Columbia is authorized to approve any official travel to Indiana until such time that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act is permanently enjoined, repealed or clarified to forbid any construction that would deny public accommodations to persons based on their sexuality or gender identity,” the order reads.
On the same day that Bowser issued the order, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine moderated a 90-minute panel in Indianapolis at a National Association of Attorneys General region meeting about whether federal agencies should be permitted to preempt state law. Racine’s spokesman, Robert Marus, confirmed that the attorney general arrived in the state Monday and would be leaving Wednesday, saying he already committed to moderate this bipartisan panel and did not want to back out.
Bowser spokesman Michael Czin would not comment on Racine’s visit. Czin said that in the last year D.C. has funded at least two trips to Indiana.
For his part, Pence has defended the law and said the content of it has been “smeared” and misreported. Still, he said Tuesday said that the state would pass legislation to clarify that the law “does not give businesses the right to deny services to anyone,” although he didn’t specify how it would be altered.
In July, then-Mayor Vincent Gray urged residents to boycott spending money in the congressional district of Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), who opposed D.C.’s marijuana decriminalization law. But Gray didn’t sign an executive order on the matter.February 10th, 2009. Dr. Thomas Rau, Medical Director of the world renowned Paracelsus Clinic in Lustmühle, Switzerland says he is convinced 'electromagnetic loads' lead to cancer, concentration problems, ADD, tinnitus, migraines, insomnia, arrhythmia, Parkinson's and even back pain. At Paracelsus (www.paracelsus.ch), cancer patients are now routinely educated in electromagnetic field remediation strategies and inspectors from the Geopathological Institute of Switzerland are sent to patients' homes to assess electromagnetic field exposures.
Of note, Dr. Rau says a strategy to consider for those experiencing 'electrical sensitivity' symptoms is to remove the electromagnetic 'hot spot' in the head created by the presence of metal fillings. Concern is thus not only for the 'neurotoxic' aspect of mercury in fillings, an increasingly understood hazard, but because fillings themselves act as antennas in the presence of electromagnetic fields from cell phones and cell towers, wi-fi networks, portable phones, and other sources of radiofrequency radiation.Much attention has been paid to Pope Francis’ observations about economic life in Evangelii Gaudium. Relatively little attention, however, has been paid to the pope’s remarks about Islam in the same document, even though they may turn out to be of much greater consequence. One sentence in particular needs to be called into question. When writing about interreligious dialogue between Christians and Muslims, Pope Francis cautions against “hateful generalizations about Islam,” for “authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence” (253).
This sweeping statement would be difficult to justify even if the pope were speaking about the Bible. It would not be an easy task to make the case that even a proper reading of the Bible is opposed to every form of violence. To make that case for the Koran, which is filled with encouragements to violence, is more problematic still.
Here is just a small sampling from the Koran:
When the sacred months are over, slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush for them everywhere. (9.5) When you meet the unbelievers in the battlefield, strike off their heads. (47.4) I shall cast terror into the hearts of the infidels. Strike off their heads, strike off the very tips of their fingers! (8.12)
There are hundreds of similar verses in the Koran. It has been argued that they should be understood symbolically or else that these verses must be viewed in their proper context, but this is a weak argument. For some context, let’s turn to the earliest sira (or “life”) of Muhammad written by Ibn Ishaq about 130 years after the death of Muhammad. Although the biographies of Muhammad are now called sira, they were originally called kitab al-maghazi—“book of the raids.” If you look at the chapter headings in Ishaq’s 800-page book, you can see why. Here’s a brief excerpt from Part III of the table of contents in the English translation:
Names of the Emigrants who fought at Badr 327
Names of the Helpers who fought at Badr 330
Names of the Quraysh prisoners 338
Verses on the battle 340
Raid on B. Sulaym 360
Raid called al-Sawiq 361
Raid on Dhu Amarr 362
Raid on al-Furu 362
Attack on B. Qaynuqa 363
Raid on al-Qarada 364
Killing of Ka’b b. al-Ashraf 364
Muhayyisa and Huwayyisa 369
Battle of Uhud 370
The Qu’ran on Uhud 391
Names of the Muslims slain at Uhud 401
This is not an exercise in cherry-picking on my part. The chapter headings continue in this vein for the next 89 entries—that is, to the end of the book. In short, fighting and raiding and slave trading were the chief pursuits of Muhammad and his followers during their ten-year stay in Medina. Whatever else they may have been doing seemed relatively unimportant to Muhammad’s first biographer. That is the context in which the Koran should be understood. When Allah commands his followers to “strike off their heads,” he is not speaking symbolically but of real battles and raids—raids and battles which were almost always initiated by Muhammad.
The pope’s generous statement about Islam is in line with similar statements by various world leaders who assure us that whenever violence is committed in the name of Islam, such violence |
be made.The letter stated that the commissioner of police was informed of the alleged acts of violations and was also directed to take immediate action to ensure strict and specific compliance with the procedural laws. Citing an apex court judgment which has laid down rules for the police to follow when a woman is to be arrested, ASJ Lau said in her letter: "As of now the city police appears to be most insensitive to women suspected of committing an offence...there is an institutional hesitation, rather reluctance, to perform (on part of the police). It is this which has prompted me to draw the attention of your lordship, the Chief Justice, Delhi high court to such lapses."The court has also sought directions to be issued to other departments like the home department, trial court judges, Delhi Legal Services Authority and Tihar Jail "to ensure strict compliance of law in letter and spirit so that justice is not a casualty for particularly those who are destitute or belong to the marginalized sections or are unable to defend themselves against torture, ill-treatment and harassment".In some respects it’s illustrative of the kind of dominance Dundalk have enjoyed these last few years, the bitter taste left in the mouth by the last minute FAI cup defeat at the hands of Sean Maguire and Cork City. Some say they saw it coming, most didn’t. What they might have predicted would be the exodus currently beginning at Oriel Park.
Since rising to finish 2nd in 2013, the manner in which Stephen Kenny’s side has exploded into success with back to back league titles and increasing impact on the European stage has been turning heads right across Europe. It was perhaps only a matter of time before their own success turned on them. The departures of Daryl Horgan and Andy Boyle to Preston North End have been glossed over by the club, but will hit hard. Galway United Manager Tommy Dunne called Horgan the best player in Ireland back in August and the Galway-born winger’s exploits earned him a call up to the Ireland squad in November. 10 goals in 49 appearances last season attracted interested from sides like Everton and Sunderland but in the end it was Preston who came through with the concrete offer. The absence of centre back Boyle may hit just as hard. An ever-present in the side since 2012, Boyle has been key to Dundalk’s European success and earned himself a call up to the same International qualifying match as Horgan against Austria in November.
It seems things may get worse for Dundalk before they get better, with Stephen Kenny citing the toll taken by season after season of success as a factor in the exodus.
“This season took its toll on everyone. In terms of the workload, the players and staff were shattered when it came to an end. “Everybody needed a breather and sometimes when you get a season like we had, where you’ve almost achieved everything you can possibly achieve, people reflect and think ‘what else is there to do?’
Ronan Finn’s move to Shamrock Rovers to be named immediate club captain will hardly help matters. The attack minded midfielder netted 12 times last season, from 61 appearances. Kenny remains resolute that Dundalk can fight on. But there are many other players whose contracts are in negotiation and things could get worse before they get better.
“We’re in negotiations with a few players but it’s a very strong possibility that we’ll lose players to other clubs, maybe in the UK and the League of Ireland. It’s something we’ll have to contend with. From my point of view, we have to look and see why we were so successful and one of the reasons for that is that we don’t take shortcuts or we don’t compromise. “When I was in my first year at Dundalk we turned down players because they wouldn’t come and train here. We might lose a few quality players but we won’t compromise or change our way of thinking.”
So far, only Sean Hoare has been drafted in from St. Pats to replace Boyle and the side have missed out on grabbing Dylan Connolly from Bray Wanderers, having refused to enter into a bidding war with The Seagulls over the 21 year old.
“Last year it was pretty seamless in the sense that we only brought Robbie Benson and Patrick McEleney in. This year there might be a lot more changes and it won’t happen overnight. We have until February 20 to finalise our squad but we will be strong regardless.”
Stephen Kenny has mentioned the club is considering players from abroad for as replacements but one of the issues which may hamper this strategy is the allocation of the fund earned from their dramatic European exploits. With an eye to the future, the club have decided to plunge the money into developing a new stadium, one fit for both League of Ireland games and hosting bigger fish from European competition. Dundalk had to play their European home games against the likes of Legia Warsaw in Tallaght, and Kenny is keen that the side be able to host top tier sides up in Dundalk in the near future.
“I think the proceeds of the European success and the legacy are that we really should have a new stadium. We shouldn’t have to move out of Dundalk unless we’re going to the Aviva. We had a situation this year where we’re going to play Legia Warsaw in front of 33,000 and we must want more of that. “For us to have a 7,000 or 8,000 seater stadium, I don’t think that is too much to ask. You saw our group stage matches were played in a similar stadium.”
It’s a gamble. Dundalk won the league by 7 points and lost the FAI Cup final. Many tipped Cork City to pip them to the league title as well as the cup last season and those critics will be out in force again unless the club is ready to bring in talents to a level ideally taking them forward. None of this will be a surprise to Dundalk. Kenny can’t not have prepared for this eventuality and perhaps it’s even the case that the side is ready to sacrifice winning the league for a season or two in order to get the 8000 seater stadium in place which will put them on much stronger footing on a national level going forward. The 3000 seater (4,500 capacity) Oriel park of today is certainly holding back their plans.
There may be hope in the new contract agreed with club captain Stephen O’Donnell for 2 further seasons and Gabriel Sava, Dane Massey and Sean Gannon have joined him, keeping the starting line-up as familiar as possible when the club lines out next season. The bar has been set pretty high at Oriel Park these last couple of seasons and maybe a fallow year might give the club a chance to restructure and move the stadium project further along. Meanwhile, Kenny and Dundalk continue to prove all the doubters wrong and very few would be surprised at yet another all conquering season ahead.
Where should Dundalk invest their European money? New players New stadium
Feature image rte.ieI can start this article saying that if you want to know how to quit a bad habit, you have to know what a habit is.
After this, you can find a way to work on quitting bad habits and addiction that you found bad.
A habit is a choice we made a long time ago, and that has taken root in our minds. A habit is a usual way of behaving: something that a person often does in a regular and repeated way.
With the right tools, we can learn to make better choices.
For the past several years, I decided to carry on a philosophy of personal growth that has little or nothing to do with current courses made of lights and sequins, guru exalted and mundane concepts repeated ad nauseam.
I chose a different way of talking about personal growth.
I am firmly convinced that real change does not happen if you walk through a bed of hot coals, accompanied by some of music motivating. Real changes should be earned, but primarily they should be built, day by day, in the silence of the morning, in the path of our choices, in the depths of our mind and our heart.
I am convinced that the road to Self Improvement is made of good and positive personal habits.
Habits are in fact the starting point, the foundations and the first blocks on which to build our personal revolution.
Try to imagine, for just a moment, how they would be your days if you could stop smoking, start eating healthily, stop wasting time with the extra check of phones and social media, shopping, stop procrastinating and stop with other more distractions.
Not only. Imagine how these same days would be if you could get up early in the morning, work out consistently, work productively.
How different would be your life? How satisfying would you appear to yourself? What goals do you achieve?
Common bad habits list
How To Quit a Bad Habit?
Let’s now focus on the strategy we can apply, taken from the masterpiece Power of Habits, by Charles Duhigg.
Every individual is unique, as well as all the habits that characterize the behavior. Different cravings drive each person’s habits.
It can be generalised a pattern to help us understand how a habit works and what are the levers on which to act to create it, change it or delete it.
Some habits yield readily to analysis and influence. Others are more complex and obstinate and require continued study. Moreover, for others, change is a process that never fully concludes.
The general pattern, framework that I am going to show you may tell that change might not be fast, and it is not always easy. However, with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped.
Framework to follow
THE FRAMEWORK YOU NEED TO FOLLOW IF YOU WANT TO PRACTICE HOW TO QUIT A BAD HABIT
• Identify the routine
• Experiment with rewards
• Isolate the cue
• Have a plan
In the late 90’s, researchers at MIT discovered a neurological mechanism behind our habits, a simple neurological loop at the core of every habit, a loop that consists of three parts: A cue, a routine and a reward.
The cue is a signal, a hint or an indication of how to behave in particular circumstances or environmental condition that pushes our brain to activate the “automatic pilot” making us make a habit without realising it.
Classic examples of the cue can be an emotional condition, a time of the day, a physical location.
The routine is what we do automatically when the cue occurs. A routine can be physical, that we perform certain actions, mental, or have particular thoughts, or emotional, or feel certain emotions. A classic example of routine is a cigarette after a coffee or after lunch, for those who have experienced or are going through a bad habit like smoking. Another bad routine can be to check social network when we woke up instead of doing meditation or physical activities.
The reward is what reinforces the habit in our brain; It is the biochemical reaction that speaks to our minds that a routine should remember why we did try some form of pleasure (or avoided because it made us feel pain). It is what we achieve acting a routine.
A cigarette after a coffee may make you more relaxed and feel “better”. You check social network in the early morning because you want that someone has written to you. You always look for something when you are trying to reach the reward.
I discovered this framework within the pages of the bestseller “The Power of Habits”, of the New York Times reporter Charles Duhigg. If you have problems with your habits, Duhigg’s book is a must-have.
In addition to offering very impressive insights, it provides an efficient path to 4 steps to remove, alter or enhance any habit.
I am now going to show you this 4-step framework:
1. Identify the routine
The first essential step to achieving any change is the awareness. Become aware of bad habits is the gateway to our path of personal growth. Start by asking what does it mean to change habits, then which habits are limiting your potential or ruining your life.
The routine is the most obvious aspect: it is the behaviour you want to change. It is the habit you wish to quit.
Identifying the routine is easy. It is harder to understand what is the cue that triggers our routine, and, even more, difficult to define the reward that we are looking for.
After you have identified the routine, you should ask yourself: What’s the cue for this routine? So what’s the reward?
2. Experiment with rewards
The objective of this second phase is to identify the needs that we are meeting with our routines. Rewards are powerful because they satisfy cravings.
The main question you should ask yourself is: Why am I practicing this routine? What’s the purpose?
Imagine to find yourself going to act and behave in a routine you have identified as bad. Resist this urge and try to make some small changes: instead of doing that thing, read an article from the Archives of mind-globe.com, or meditate for 20 minutes, or even better get out to go running and to do physical activity!
If you want to be more inspired try to check out this list of good habits for productivity. These habits are very useful also if you are a student.
However, it does not matter what action you are going to do instead of the routine: the important thing is to experience different rewards, until you recognize what compensation satisfies the need that you met with the routine, exactly like the first reward.
Experiencing different rewards means to reach the satisfaction we filled with the routine.
By experimenting with different rewards, you can isolate what you are craving, which is essential in redesigning the habit.
You get the idea. What you choose to do instead of the routine is not important, the point is to test different hypotheses to determine which craving is driving your routine.
Understanding exactly what need we are trying to fill is not easy, then you should keep track of your experiments.
Try not to do the routine, and test four or five different rewards. You can use, to test, an old trick to look for patterns: after each new activity, write three words, the first you spring to mind, or just a brief description of what you feel, what you think. There may be three words that describe your mood or random thoughts.
After being written, wait ten minutes and ask yourself a simple question: do you still feel the need to make your routines?
The first time you answer “no”, you will have found your reward replacement and the three words will help you understand the need you are meeting.
You have then to find, after some experiences, what rewards satisfies your need even if you are not doing the routine.
The reason it is important to write down three things, even if they are meaningless words, is twofold: it forces a moment of awareness of what you are thinking or feeling, a moment of attention, and it helps in later recalling what you were thinking at that moment.
Then, at this point, we just have to find the cue that triggers our bad habit!
Get FREE access to our tools! Get access to our collection of ebooks, checklists, cheatsheets and resources about Self Help, Productivity, Personal Development and Time Management! Click here to access
3. Isolate the cue
It is not always so easy to identify the signal; it often happens that the signal is playing to hide itself.
Experiments have shown that almost all habitual cues fit into one of five categories:
Location (A particular place can trigger us to smoke a cigarette or eat junk food) Time (At 3:30 pm you just want to drink hundred cups of coffee) Emotional State (When you start crying or feel bad, then you need to eat a 500ml ice cream pack) Other People (When you meet some people you will begin to drink to feel at ease) Immediately preceding action (A routine as a consequence of another routine)
If you want to identify your signal, in the next few days, each time you put in place a habit you wish to change, try to answer these five simple questions:
Where are you? (sitting at my desk) What time is it? (3:36 pm) What’s your emotional state? (bored) Who else is around? (no one) What action preceded the urge? (making a photocopy)
The next day:
Where are you? (walking back from the copier) What time is it? (3:18 pm) What’s your emotional state? (happy) Who else is around? (Jim from Sports) What action preceded the urge? (Writing an article)
Also, do the same for the third day, and so on.
By answering these questions for one week, or even more or less as far as you find your clue, you will be able to identify the cue that triggers your routine. You have to find if it is the time of the day, or the presence of a particular person, or whatever present in the five list of categories presented before.
4. Set a plan of action
Once you’ve figured out your habit loop, you’ve identified the reward driving your behaviour, the cue triggering it, and the routine itself, you can begin to shift the response. You are then going to replace your bad habit with another routine which is not bad.
Once you too will have identified the three essential elements of your habit, you’ll have all the tools to change it, delete it or improve it. Obviously, changing some habits can be more difficult. Regardless, this framework is a place to start. Sometimes change takes a long time. Sometimes it requires repeated experiments and failures. However, once you understand how a habit operates, once you diagnose the cue, the routine and the reward, you gain power over it.
The images have been taken from the examples of mentioned book.
Get FREE access to our tools! Get access to our collection of ebooks, checklists, cheatsheets and resources about Self Help, Productivity, Personal Development and Time Management! Click here to access
Habit change worksheet
This flowchart, that you can take as a habit change worksheet, from “The Power of Habit” author Charles Duhigg, guides you through the three steps of breaking the habit loop.
It is shown in the infographic below:
Then, in the end, I can strongly suggest to try this method if you do not know how to quit a bad habit and to let me know in the comments how it is going and what are your questions/doubts about it.
If it may help you, print the flowchart and use it to change your habit!
Other resources for you:A clandestine market for software security vulnerabilities is servicing governments around the world and producing enormous paydays for shadowy bug brokers.
The New York Times ran a weekend article examining how governments including Brazil, Britain, India, Israel, Malaysia, Singapore, and even Iran and North Korea are in the market for vulnerabilities that can be exploited by their intelligences services to spy on other countries. These unpatched "zero day" exploits make it possible to covertly access, monitor, or even sabotage an adversary's information systems.
(Now, think back to the faux outrage directed at the United States over PRISM.)
A well-known occurrence of this approach to espionage happened when Israel and the United States allegedly used vulnerabilities named Duqu, Flame and Stuxnet to disrupt and gather intelligence on Iran's nuclear program. Its success is partly why so many nations are willing to pay tens of thousand of dollars to shadowy brokers and hackers as far away as Bangkok or even the small but storied nation of Malta.
Governments are starting to say, ‘In order to best protect my country, I need to find vulnerabilities in other countries,'" Howard Schmidt, a former White House cybersecurity coordinator told the Times. "The problem is that we all fundamentally become less secure."
The Times also explained how the economics of software security are changing. A few years ago, "white hat" hackers sold bug information to the software's vendors, who would then fix the security flaws. Now, governments are outbidding vendors, and companies, such as Microsoft, have upped their ante too. This is what's happening in the "light."
This comes as no surprise to WhiteHat Security's Jeremiah Grossman, who predicted the end of full disclosure to software makers in 2007. "The next step in this area will be governments imposing heavy regulation with respect to cyber-weapons, zero-days, and software exploits -- who wish to control international export. Very similar to traditional arms. This will do things. 1) Create a black market, which technically already exists, but making it far more lucrative. 2) Drive up the prices of 0-days by creating an artificial barrier to where government contractors serve as middlemen / brokers between governments and bug hunters," he said.
Grossman added that there is now an increased risk of espionage in the software supply chain. "All software applications these days borrow heavily from third-party libraries, as do those libraries. It is possible for a rogue agent to surreptitiously introduce extremely hard to find backdoors and flaws in the software supply chain, which can be later exploited," he said. The U.S. Congress has drawn up regulations for buying bugs.
Security vulnerabilities are big business for criminals. Botnets, which exploit zero day flaws, can enable activities such as advertising click fraud that generates millions of dollars. Illicit hackers also will commonly extort businesses. Malware, malicious software that exploits security vulnerabilities, is now made by very organized and sophisticated operations that function like corporations. Their technical skills are remarkable.
Now, there's another way for them to cash in too - depending on how dirty governments want their hands to be.
(image credit, HD Moore/CNET)
Related on SmartPlanet:
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.comA hereditary peer has asked the government if it takes into account flatulence caused by baked beans in its climate-change calculations.
Labour peer Viscount Simon, 73, raised concerns about the "smelly emissions" resulting from the UK's unusually high consumption of baked beans.
He put energy and climate change minister Baroness Verma on the spot during the government's daily question session in the upper chamber.
She said his question was "different".
His comments came as energy minister Baroness Verma answered questions in the House of Lords on how the government was tackling climate change.
Lord Simon said: "In a programme some months ago on the BBC it was stated that this country has the largest production of baked beans and the largest consumption of baked beans in the world."
To laughter from peers, he added: "Could the noble baroness say whether this affects the calculation of global warming by the government as a result of the smelly emission resulting there from?"
Image caption Baroness Verma was momentarily lost for words
Appearing flummoxed, the minister replied: "The noble lord's question is so... different."
But she added: "The noble lord of course does actually raise a very important point, which is we do need to moderate our behaviour."
The viscount has been a member of the House of Lords since 1993, and chairs debates in his role as deputy Lords Speaker.
His grandfather, Sir John Simon, a Liberal, was given a peerage in 1940 after serving as Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor.
A study last December suggested the total value of baked beans sold in the 2012 had fallen by £20.8m to £339.3m in the UK.This blog was written by Iain Hrynaszkiewicz, Head of Data Publishing at Springer Nature, in support of the newly launched, company-wide Springer Nature Research Data Policies.
We want to enable our authors to publish the best research and maximize the benefit of research funding, which includes achieving good practice in the sharing and archiving of research data. We also aim to facilitate authors’ compliance with institution and research funder requirements to share data.
We are developing services to support implementation of the policies and aim to have the most comprehensive and inclusive research data policy of any large publisher.
To help accomplish these goals we are introducing a set of standardized research data policies that can be easily adopted by journals and understood by authors. We are developing services to support implementation of the policies and aim to have the most comprehensive and inclusive research data policy of any large publisher.
These new policies and services aim to:
improve author service and experience by standardizing research data policies and procedures between journals where appropriate
improve reader service by providing more consistent links between publications and data
improve editor and peer reviewer service by providing more consistent guidelines and support for research data policies, and increased visibility of data in the peer-review process
encourage publication of more open and reproducible research
increase growth and innovation in research data sharing
provide a dedicated Research Data Support helpdesk for Springer Nature authors and editors
The journal research data policy landscape is currently too complex and a major effort to harmonize standards across thousands of journals is long overdue. We want to create greater awareness and, where possible and appropriate, action on research data sharing – while recognizing some research communities are more ready than others to introduce strong requirements to share data.
Policies are only effective if they result in action, which means we are working on publication-by-publication implementation. We have devised a modular approach to research data policy, in consultation with researchers across all disciplines, as well as funders, libraries and other stakeholders.
We are only at the beginning of this process and titles from across all our imprints are already participating. We welcome feedback from the rest of the publishing and research community on how we have defined these common elements of research data policy.
All our research data policy types support data citation – the formal referencing of public datasets in reference lists – in recognition of the growing importance of robustly linking data to publications.
So far more than 350 journals have adopted one of the policies, selecting the one that is most relevant, applicable and appropriate to it and the community it serves.
More than 350 journals have adopted one of the policies. For example, Photosynthesis Research has adopted a Type 1 policy and Plant and Soil has adopted a Type 2 policy. All BioMed Central journals, a growing number of Nature journals, and Palgrave Communications support type 3 policies. Journals with the strictest open data policies such as Scientific Data and Genome Biology support the requirements of the Type 4 policy.
See the FAQs for more information or read the policies in full. Our centralised and standardised research data policy resources also include a list of trusted data repositories, how to contact our Research Data Support helpdesk and guidance and examples of preparing Data Availability Statements, which are increasingly required as part of funder policies.
While establishing comprehensive research data policies may not be technologically radical, we believe this effort is both sensible, and necessary. We hope to help build the foundations to support a more open and integrated future for research data publishing at Springer Nature across our thousands of publications and hundreds of thousands of customers.EA has updated Need for Speed Payback's loot crates and progression systems to make them more generous.
Payback lets you upgrade cars using parts cards.
The post-launch tweak comes as Star Wars Battlefront 2, EA's other big launch of the season, suffers its own progression and loot crate controversies.
Need for Speed developer Ghost Games detailed how it had altered the game via a post on reddit over the weekend. In short, crates will now offer increased Rep and Bank.
Cruicially, however, you'll also get more of both from simply playing the game, without interacting with loot boxes at all. Events and beating Roaming Racers will afford you with more Rep and Bank to boost your progression.
While these latest changes were announced after EA's last-minute (but temporary) removal of Battlefront 2 microtransactions, Ghost Games has said its updates were "already happening".
"As you've seen from previous updates recently, we've been working on improving your experience with the progression," Ghost Games spokesperson F8RGE wrote.
"We've been using community feedback, along with our own in-game data and have come up with a number of changes, many of which are in the process of going live. Our aim with these changes is to make the progression, especially around the ownership of cars a much more enjoyable experience.
"If you're currently playing the game while reading this, please restart in order for the changes to come into effect."
Increased the amount of REP awarded by taking part in events.
Increased the amount of Bank awarded by taking part in events.
Bait crates now reward increased REP.
Bait crates now reward increased Bank.
Competing against a Roaming Racer will reward you with increased REP.
Competing against a Roaming Racer will reward you with increased Bank.
Air Suspension will now appear more frequently within Shipments.
Slightly increased REP and Bank for finishing an event outside of first place.
"Today's changes are just phase one and we have further tweaks coming," Ghost Games concluded. Tune-up shops are next on the list of things to fix - specifically "the quality / level of parts they stock".
Like Battlefront 2, Need for Speed Payback has its own premium currency which you can use to acquire in-game loot, termed Shipments. These contain Bank, Vanity Items and Part Tokens to tweak your car. Currency packs range from £1.99 to £39.99.
But change is good - and from Martin's Need for Speed Payback review, it sounds like it was much needed. Eurogamer's resident petrolhead deemed Payback "a grossly unremarkable open world racer that marks another step back for the series".This February, Teach For America begins its third decade of operations and its fourth year in the Twin Cities. Roughly 10 percent of graduating seniors at Macalester and Carleton Colleges have applied, as well as 3 percent of those at the University of Minnesota.
Depending on whom you side with, that's cause for either celebration or despair.
Reformers praise TFA for recruiting the nation's top college students to teach in underserved urban and rural schools. The participants make a minimum commitment of two years and, according to TFA, often stay on longer.
The education establishment, meanwhile, has shouted itself hoarse about the fact that TFA places undertrained teachers in already disadvantaged schools. It's harmful, they argue, to our most vulnerable children.
So who's right?
Both sides frantically wave data in support of their cases. But poring over the research yields no definitive or powerful findings. The average TFA corps member is either slightly more, or slightly less, effective than the average newly licensed teacher. Ho-hum.
And why should that be surprising? Even though licensed teachers receive far more training, they often come from the bottom third of their graduating classes.
TFA recruits, by contrast, come from estimable colleges where they collectively maintain an A- average. But some of them have never set foot in a public school before; they could all use a bit more of an apprenticeship experience, and many never finish their two-year service commitments.
So is TFA, as their opponents would have us believe, hurting poor kids? Hardly.
According to one principal, TFA recruits kept his school from facing the reality of staffing nearly half of his classrooms with substitutes. As another noted, TFA corps members remain preferable to the "dying-on-the-vine" teachers he otherwise might have to tap.
But TFA doesn't harvest its $200 million annual operating budget by pitching itself as a stopgap. Instead, the organization promotes itself as a panacea for the nation's schooling woes. And, more important, reformers believe it.
The Medtronic Foundation and the General Mills Foundation cut huge checks to bring TFA to the Twin Cities, and state leaders trip all over themselves in praising the organization.
How can that be, one might ask, if the results are less than overwhelming?
TFA is a juggernaut not because of results, but because it taps into the reform spirit of the age -- a spirit neatly summed up in the ubiquitous phrase "excellence for all."
Beyond being a piece of rhetoric, the slogan implies a very particular approach to reform, rooted in identifying successful practices and trying to replicate them.
Equity, in such a scenario, need not come at the expense of the privileged through contentious efforts like school busing. Instead, high-flying schools can serve as models for their lower-achieving peers. The aim is to identify what makes good schools special, then reproduce it.
TFA makes reformers swoon because it squares perfectly with this vision. According to founder Wendy Kopp, TFA can "ensure that children in the poorest communities in America have the same average achievement rates as more privileged children."
And how will they do it? By recruiting the same kinds of people often found teaching at the nation's best K-12 schools -- graduates of elite colleges -- and putting them in underserved urban and rural schools. Find "what works" and take it to scale.
Of course, the nation's top K-12 schools are successful for lots of reasons. Sure, their teachers are often the products of prestigious colleges. But such schools also have engaged and healthy students, supportive parents and communities, a strong sense of school culture, state-of-the-art facilities, and boatloads of resources.
And, as it so happens, their teachers tend to stay not for two years, but for decades. They become masters of their craft.
Copying one tiny piece of the puzzle won't fix the problem, especially when it isn't even a faithful copy. Can we really expect lightly trained novices, smart and relentless though they are, to fix America's schools? The answer should be obvious.
Yet a generation of education policymakers sees TFA, and other reforms like it, as a magic cure for the nation's schooling problems.
Not because of results, but rather because these people have fallen under the spell of the "excellence for all" vision -- a vision in which school reform requires nothing resembling redistribution. It requires only common sense and entrepreneurism.
Fixing schools isn't that simple. But if critical observers want to shape policy debate, they need to recognize that this is a new era in American education reform.
They need to begin not by attacking Teach For America, but by unpacking the school reform climate in which TFA looks like a silver bullet. They need to recognize that the last thing a fish is likely to notice is the water in which it swims.
The fish, for their part, would do well do open their eyes.
___I’ve previously written about how the very concept of beauty in the Western world is being attacked. Coordinated efforts are being made to re-define beauty to accommodate the growing heft of strong, independent American women. These efforts are succeeding, because there are many fat women who are actually proud of their fat, with no immediate plan to lose the weight. Except for a handful of deviant websites like 4chan and Misc, no one is pushing back against fat acceptance.
There is no prominent politician or media figure who uses their influence to say, “Hey now, fat people are decreasing life spans and burdening our health care system.” There is no one stating the obvious that a person’s physical appearance is a reliable indicator of their character. There is no Dr. Oz or Dr. Phil stating that it’s impossible for a whale of immense proportions to be a psychologically well-balanced person. There is no male celebrity stating that he rather die than have sex with a woman over 150 pounds.
Why is this? We are allowing fat people to change the definition of beauty? Because they are consumers with money to spend and because they are citizens with votes to cast. Offending them is not prudent from a business or political standpoint. Telling them to put the goddamn bacon cheeseburger down may cause them to spend their money elsewhere or vote for the other guy. This means that fat acceptance will continue to make strides in the corporate and political sectors of life, but thankfully these two institutions don’t completely control the culture. No matter how many ads Dove makes featuring morbidly obese women in bikinis, most men will simply not find fat women attractive. No matter how many feminists tell you to stop being “sexist” for having a natural and biological preference for fit women, most men would rather jerk off with their left hand than try to find the vaginal entry point of a fat woman.
Loading...
That’s where we come in. We at ROK fully understand that the reason women are so against fat shaming is because it works. Mocking someone for lazy and slothful behavior is one of the best ways to motivate them to change and appear more pleasing before our presence. If a fat woman goes to the bar with attitude, thinking she’s a great catch, but several men check her for that arrogance by calling her a grenade launcher, do you think she’ll feel comfortable the next day for her scheduled cupcake and ice cream binge?
Hurting people’s feelings is the quickest way to get them to change, as any man who has been rejected by women can tell you (we can get laid today only because we’ve adapted to being shamed and punished for our appearance and beta male behavior over the course of many years). It’s no coincidence that fat shaming and slut shaming are two big causes du jour of mustached feminists, because these two work synergistically in creating women who are not fat and not unabashedly slutty. The fact that these shaming techniques are being attacked simply confirms their immense power.
Therefore, we are proud to announce this week as Fat Shaming Week. For the next seven days, we will promote a culture of fat shaming. The brightest masculine minds are currently at work to bring you a delicious buffet of fat shaming analysis and literature. During fat shaming week, I implore you not to whine and nag about wanting a wider selection of posting matter. If you don’t like fat shaming—and we don’t see why that would be the case—come back next Monday when we return to our regular program. We have decided as a group that fat shaming is essential in creating a society of thin, beautiful women who are ashamed for being ugly. Let the fat shaming begin!
Read Next: Why Fat Women Should Be Sent To PrisonThe last time someone shot and killed a young black man near McCoy Park, Nicole Crain's neighbors stayed away from the city green space.
Tuesday, a day after someone fired 10 shots, killing a 24-year-old one block away, Crain decided this time she wasn't going to let the violence take her park.
She planned to spend her lunch break at McCoy with her children, eating sandwiches and playing games at Portland Parks & Recreation Summer Free For All.
The mother of seven, including two young African-American boys, considered it an important step in reclaiming the neighborhood from people who are unworthy of it.
"They will not scare me away," Crain wrote on Facebook just before lunch. "I am here, and I will stand and fight for my right to live in a community."
It didn't work out that way.
When Crain arrived, a note from the city said the lunch program was canceled 'due to recent events around McCoy Park." The sign directed residents to the Charles Jordan Community Center five blocks away, where volunteers were handing out lunches and free books.
Crain looked around at the dozen Latino and African families who were still waiting. The signs were all in English.
"This is our community," she said. "We need to be out here. We can't live in fear. We can't hide away. This is ours."
The families continued waiting until a pudgy 7-year-old girl ran toward the picnic benches and hollered, "The park is closed."
"Why?" one mother asked.
"Because they're killing people in here," the 7-year |
by ClickOrlando.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Contrary to all the hype about consumer debt levels, Canadians are paying off their debts, especially their mortgages, at a faster rate than the Bank of Canada estimates, says CIBC economist Benjamin Tal.
Canadians are actually very responsible in the face of tempting low interest rates, Tal said in an interview with CBC`s The Exchange with Amanda Lang.
"When interest rates are low, you can do two things. One is accumulate more debt or start accelerating your payments and reduce your principal — that`s exactly what we are seeing," he said.
Tal says Canadians appear to be taking advantage of low rates to pay off the principal on their mortgages.
For many, that means a shorter amortization period and more wiggle room to handle any financial shocks.
"What it means is you are reducing amortization from 25 years to 20 years — that`s significant," he said.
So there is very little risk of debt default in Canadian households if rates rise, Tal said.
"If interest rates start rising, people could extend amortization and keep payments the same, so you will not see a reduction in consumer spending and the economy will not suffer," he said.
No rate hike expected
Tal does not expect rates to rise any time soon, with so many indications that the world economy has slowed and the recent turmoil on markets. He predicts the U.S. Federal Reserve will go slow on raising rates.
There may even be lower mortgage rates in the near future, because bond yields have fallen so low.
Investors flooded into the U.S. Treasury market today in response to plunging stock markets, causing the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note to fall below two per cent for the first time in more than a year.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell from 2.20 per cent Tuesday to as low as 1.91 per cent Wednesday, a decline of 29 basis points. Since banks base mortgage rates on long-term bond yields, that could mean a cut in mortgage rates in the near future.
Tal said most people signing new mortgages in Canada have substantial capital to put toward their purchase, in part as a result of high housing prices.
"First time homebuyers were basically priced out of the market three or four years ago. When you reduce amortization from 40 years to 25 years, you basically price out a significant segment of the first-time home buyer market," he said.
Rules were changed two years ago to end very long amortization terms in one of former finance minister Jim Flaherty`s attempts to cool the hot housing market.Road to BlizzCon #8 - Stats - Global Finals 2016 Text by TeamLiquid ESPORTS Graphics by shiroiusagi Photo Credit: Shayla
Dazed and Confused by CosmicSpiral
When the universe sucker punches you, there are a few options to consider. Screaming is highly recommended as long as no one else's eardrums are at risk. Breaking things is also up there, as long as glass isn't involved. Staring at walls in dead-eyed silence may be your cup of tea if you enjoy soul-crushing depression. Crying is also a suitable substitute. Then there are the more philosophical strategies: attributing blame to higher deities if you're feeling particularly Greek about it (didn't you know, tragedy without an audience is positively crass), treating it as a lesson to relearn the virtues of humility and patience, viewing it as an opportunity to become a stronger, better individual. If all else fails, meditate on the cold, cruel reality of the universe until the poison seeps into your soul and transforms you into a gremlin with pitch-black eyes who only revels in the misfortune and suffering of other sentient beings, like the main antagonist from Hellraiser except you restrain your fashion sense for Friday nights at the local underground fetish club and typing posts about Sniper's malevolence with feverish reverence...
Excuse me. Stuchiu's biography can wait.
Meanwhile Stats has to deal with the complete dissolution of his world. Whatever coping mechanisms Stats has on hand, it will be a struggle to keep himself mentally composed for BlizzCon. Most players would be nervous simply from reflecting on the situation. BlizzCon is usually the highlight of a career and the way to immortalize your name for posterity. Participation alone guarantees you a payout equivalent to winning a Dreamhack or ESL event; a couple of lucky matchups can make you rich (by progamer standards). Alongside that opportunity comes fear. Playing on the biggest stage means you can disappoint your teammates, be exposed as a fraud, get embarrassed in front of your colleagues and friends. Even the most experienced veterans never quite shake off the immense pressure that comes with the chance at glory. They merely find the best ways to live with it.
Meanwhile Stats has to deal with the complete dissolution of his world. As he prepares for the Global Playoffs, the former KT Rolster captain is no doubt aware he is a leaf blowing aimlessly in the wind. Civility demands we refer to him as a free agent, but the euphemism is a tad insulting. That would imply that after Proleague went kaput and the vast majority of Korean teams disbanded, there are organizations ready to absorb all the newly released talent. Let us call a spade a spade. Stats is teamless, along with a whole glut of progamers ranging from greenhorns to GSL winners, and finds themselves floating in the aether with few options to fall back on.
It would be naive to assume this came as a complete surprise: the decline of the scene was widespread knowledge and the rosters were probably informed well ahead of time. Nevertheless, prospects look bleak. Jin Air and Afreeca Freecs are probably not looking to expand their large rosters. Foreign teams have little interest investing in high-skill players with poor English and low appeal. The WCS region lock presents its own challenges unless they are willing to relocate. At home, the tournament structure is in shambles. A new season of GSL was announced but nothing indicating future installments down the line; the potential of team leagues is a mystery. Retirement looms in the background as a pragmatic decision. More popular games beckon as avenues for their passion.
Perhaps Stats will see BlizzCon as his swan song. When you have no support system, no way to play in any other region, and little information to create a feasible plan, it's hard to consider yourself a working professional. Stats is good enough to earn a living at StarCraft...in a vacuum. All he has to do is he pretend there is a team house to return to, teammates to collaborate with, and a reliable source of income during the months in-between matches. In the new world there Is no certainty left for those without the requisite winnings or prestige. Does Stats know which side of the line he is on? Is he certain he has a career after BlizzCon?
Could fate have chosen a worse time to throw a wrench in the gears?
When the universe sucker punches you, there are a few options to consider. Screaming is highly recommended as long as no one else's eardrums are at risk. Breaking things is also up there, as long as glass isn't involved. Staring at walls in dead-eyed silence may be your cup of tea if you enjoy soul-crushing depression. Crying is also a suitable substitute. Then there are the more philosophical strategies: attributing blame to higher deities if you're feeling particularly Greek about it (didn't you know, tragedy without an audience is positively), treating it as a lesson to relearn the virtues of humility and patience, viewing it as an opportunity to become a stronger, better individual. If all else fails, meditate on the cold, cruel reality of the universe until the poison seeps into your soul and transforms you into a gremlin with pitch-black eyes who only revels in the misfortune and suffering of other sentient beings, like the main antagonist fromexcept you restrain your fashion sense for Friday nights at the local underground fetish club and typing posts about Sniper's malevolence with feverish reverence...Excuse me. Stuchiu's biography can wait.Whatever coping mechanisms Stats has on hand, it will be a struggle to keep himself mentally composed for BlizzCon. Most players would be nervous simply from reflecting on the situation. BlizzCon is usually the highlight of a career and the way to immortalize your name for posterity. Participation alone guarantees you a payout equivalent to winning a Dreamhack or ESL event; a couple of lucky matchups can make you rich (by progamer standards). Alongside that opportunity comes fear. Playing on the biggest stage means you can disappoint your teammates, be exposed as a fraud, get embarrassed in front of your colleagues and friends. Even the most experienced veterans never quite shake off the immense pressure that comes with the chance at glory. They merely find the best ways to live with it.Meanwhile Stats has to deal with the complete dissolution of his world. As he prepares for the Global Playoffs, the former KT Rolster captain is no doubt aware he is a leaf blowing aimlessly in the wind. Civility demands we refer to him as a free agent, but the euphemism is a tad insulting. That would imply that after Proleague went kaput and the vast majority of Korean teams disbanded, there are organizations ready to absorb all the newly released talent. Let us call a spade a spade. Stats is teamless, along with a whole glut of progamers ranging from greenhorns to GSL winners, and finds themselves floating in the aether with few options to fall back on.It would be naive to assume this came as a complete surprise: the decline of the scene was widespread knowledge and the rosters were probably informed well ahead of time. Nevertheless, prospects look bleak. Jin Air and Afreeca Freecs are probably not looking to expand their large rosters. Foreign teams have little interest investing in high-skill players with poor English and low appeal. The WCS region lock presents its own challenges unless they are willing to relocate. At home, the tournament structure is in shambles. A new season of GSL was announced but nothing indicating future installments down the line; the potential of team leagues is a mystery. Retirement looms in the background as a pragmatic decision. More popular games beckon as avenues for their passion.When you have no support system, no way to play in any other region, and little information to create a feasible plan, it's hard to consider yourself a working professional. Stats is good enough to earn a living at StarCraft...in a vacuum. All he has to do is he pretend there is a team house to return to, teammates to collaborate with, and a reliable source of income during the months in-between matches. In the new world there Is no certainty left for those without the requisite winnings or prestige. Does Stats know which side of the line he is on? Is he certain hea career after BlizzCon?Could fate have chosen a worse time to throw a wrench in the gears?
2016 Winrates
58.14% vs. Terran
75.36%% vs. Protoss
64.62% vs. Zerg Rank
Korea Standings
5 WCS Points
6075
Six months ago, the future seemed boundless. Stats was coming off the best stretch of his career, securing second place in SSL through a tough double elimination bracket. A month and a half later, he would get revenge against the champion Dark in the Cross Finals; the following day, he won Kung Fu Cup Season 1 in a 4-3 nail-biter over TY. Five days before his SSL run petered out, he pulled off his second career all-kill against SK Telecom T1 to push KT Rolster into the Proleague Round 2 finals. Losing to sOs in the opening match of that barely dented his momentum. He reeled off six straight wins in Round 3, including a rematch against sOs, before Cure took him out in the Round 3 finals. Stats ended 2016 Proleague with a 27-9 record—with 80%+ winrates against zerg and protoss—and the second-highest winrate among all participants.
The fact that Stats was good was not surprising. KT fans knew he was a stalwart, valued member of the team. Ever since his debut against TT in 2009, Stats had always proven reliable in team leagues. But any spark of greatness was undetectable, at least to untrained eyes. He didn't reinvent strategy like Flash. He didn't dazzle us with technical prowess like Zest. He lacked the goofy unpredictability of Action or the rage-inducing successes of MyuNgSiK. Stats didn't have a particularly unique playstyle, nor was he greatly entertaining. He was spotty at times, dreadful at others, mostly solid and would probably never be a high roller at the table. Nevertheless you couldn't help but appreciate him: something about his milquetoast ways made Chintoss endearing. Stats was just a boy who found his niche on a stable team. Such players were as necessary for the scene's health as the champions, the antiheroes, and the clowns.
Sometime at the end of 2014, that spark began to flare up. The first sign was a small triumph in October. Stats won the South Korean qualifier for the World e-Sports Championship Games (the proclaimed successor to the World Cyber Games) in a close victory over herO. Considering it was during one of the latter's upswings—herO had finished runner-up at KeSPA Cup and would win IEM San Jose in December—it was considered a mild upset. It ended up a blip in the collective consciousness: WECG was indefinitely postponed and subsequently exposed as another pipe dream. But Stats continued to establish himself more as a serious threat in individual tournaments. He followed up that meaningless showing with two semifinals appearance in SSL, establishing his credentials as the strongest of gatekeepers. Both times he finished first place in his group, then lost to the eventual champion. Sadly, outside circumstances stopped him from replicating such feats in GSL. At some point in December, YongHwa sneezed in his soup and passed on the dreaded disease known as Performing Below Expectations; as a consequence Stats never qualified for Code A in 2015. If progress continued in this fashion, 2016 would be his breakout year.
Which it was...in a sense. Legacy of the Void shook up the scene in a major way, throwing the Protoss hierarchy into confusion. All the old names remained good players but no one was capable of seizing the crown for any appreciable length of time. Zest started off white-hot but inexplicably lost his mojo (please check the back of your milk carton for the description). Classic and herO settled into perpetual quarter-finalist mode. Patience went from aLive status to legitimate threat. MyuNgSiK did things that left scientists baffled to the day. Stats refined his gameplay to the point where he tackled individual and team leagues with ease. Despite losing to Dark in the finals of SSL, he succeeded at changing public perception. Before, you needed to beat him in order to reach the top—now he was a threat to win it all. He changed from a reliable Proleague player to a dominant one. Casters praised him with accolades reserved for Rain and Zest: fully rounded gameplay, a great understanding of strategy, immaculate decision-making. Hell, he arguably replaced Zest as the lynchpin of the roster.
Perhaps Stats will see BlizzCon as his swan song. For seven years he has been the dutiful teammate, quietly working for the betterment of KT Rolster. He never showed jealously or resentment over living in Flash's shadow. It didn't make sense to covet skill or fame when he wasn't cut out for either; for the vast majority of his career he was part of the supporting cast. What he's accomplished in 2016 is better than 99% of players dream of. Perhaps he'll be extremely grateful and wave goodbye in tears after getting eliminated in the Round of 8.
I hope not. I pray recent events make him angry and focused. I hope he summons his inner Michael Jordan and realizes this is his moment. He should consider his loss to Neeb in the KeSPA Cup semifinals as a complete and utter fluke. He should look at the competition and think “I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with ME.” He should believe that after seven years of slow and imperceptible growth, he is entitled to stand among the best. He should know that he is this close to being the best. I hope he holds that fear to his chest and rides the exhilaration to ultimate victory. Because that's the attitude of a champion and Stats has spent his entire career waiting on the bench for this moment.
Put aside the Chintoss. Become who you were born to be.We may have a new slogan for the Tom Savage era in Houston: Have some fun and go rip it.
The new starting quarterback said as much Wednesday in preparation for his first NFL start against the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday night.
"It's a great opportunity to go out there and kind of show what I can do," Savage said Wednesday as the Texans returned to practice. "I got to execute what I need to do. I'm going to have some fun doing it and go rip it."
Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien might have a different idea, like don't turn the ball over and occassionally get the ball to DeAndre Hopkins, but as evidenced by his bold move to bench Brock Osweiler a week ago, he's willing to try just about anything right now. Savage, a 26-year-old taken in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft, made stops at Rutgers, Arizona and Pittsburgh before finding a niche during his final year of eligibility. Draftniks lauded his size but questioned his accuracy and pocket awareness.
It's strange to see Houston's season riding on those shoulders. While the Texans are still winners of two straight and may still win 10 games this season, they have the feel of a runaway train. At the same time, replacement level quarterback play would get completely change their perception, especially if Hopkins gets his hands on the ball more often.
With the co-leading Titans playing the Jaguars this weekend, the need for Savage to be successful against the Bengals is obvious. If that means having some fun and letting it rip, the Texans will take that any day.REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst And now some bad news for billionaire Bill Ackman, the founder of the hedge fund Pershing Square.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals, the drug company whose 90% stock-drop disaster has been pulling down Ackman's portfolio since October, announced on Monday that three executives would leave.
The departing executives were of no small importance at Valeant. Pavel Mirovsky was the head of the company's Europe business, Laurie Little was the head of media relations, and finally Robert Chai-Onn was the company's general counsel.
It's also not very common for a company to announce the exit of such integral players the day before a quarterly earnings report.
But a standard earnings report is not all that has been happening in the land of Valeant and Ackman. And the removal of Chai-Onn and Little is a good time to review the allegations leveled in a lawsuit that everyone seems to have forgotten about.
You may recall that investors in the Botox maker Allergan are suing Valeant and Ackman over their 2014 attempt to buy Allergan in a hostile takeover. On Friday a California judge denied Ackman and Valeant's motion to dismiss the investors' claims (again).
In short: This isn't over.
Pershing Square declined to comment on this story. Representatives for Valeant have yet to respond to a request for comment.
Words mean things
Valeant and Ackman's attempt to purchase Allergan was somewhat novel.
Instead of buying the company outright, Valeant teamed up with Ackman, who purchased a large chunk of Allergan shares.
Ackman's stake was disclosed alongside Valeant's hostile takeover offer, and — surprise! — the billionaire said he would vote his newly acquired Allergan shares in support of the sale to Valeant.
Ackman then pulled out the activist investor's playbook to pressure Allergan to accept an offer from Valeant, writing nasty letters describing Allergan's "incredibly inappropriate" behavior as it sought to fend off the takeover by a company that was known for slashing research-and-development spending and jacking up drug prices.
That didn't work. Allergan was eventually rescued by a white knight and Ackman — still an Allergan shareholder — made a bundle (about $2.6 billion by one count). Valeant profited a great deal too, because as part of its deal with Ackman it would get a portion of his profits.
Is this even legal? You wouldn't be alone in asking that, though both Valeant and Ackman have said they are sure that it was.
Shareholders in Allergan including the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio sued Ackman and Valeant on the basis of SEC Rule 14 e-3. It says basically that if company A is planning to take over company B, anyone with knowledge of that takeover can't trade in company B once company A has started to make moves to bid for the company.
Ackman and Valeant say they never really intended to make an offer. What they were doing was... something different. At least, that's what it was after some language was changed around by Chai-Onn, who was general counsel at the time.
From the complaint:
"A February 23, 2014 draft of the Relationship Agreement circulated among Ackman and Valeant general counsel Robert Chai-Onn likewise states that if 'a Company Transaction is being pursued by [Valeant] through a tender offer... each of the Company, [Pershing] and the Co-Bidder Entity will be identified as co-bidders.'"
Then Chai-Onn changed that language, according to the complaint:
"A February 24, 2015 draft of the Relationship Agreement noted that the 'consent of both [Pershing] and the [Valeant] shall be required for either party to launch a tender offer or an exchange offer' and if the 'Transaction is being pursued by [Valeant] through a tender offer … each of [Valeant], [Pershing] and the Co-Bidder Entity will be identified as co-bidders or soliciting persons, respectively.'
"Thus, drafts of the very document establishing the mechanism through which Ackman would acquire Allergan shares, on their face, evidence that Valeant was contemplating a hostile tender offer all along. In fact, it was only very late in the drafting process, on February 24, that Defendants inserted a self-serving and misleading disclaimer into the Relationship Agreement stating that the parties 'acknowledge that no steps have been taken towards a tender or exchange offer for securities of Allergan.'"
Ackman echoed that same language when he was deposed in the case, saying: "This litigation is a complete waste of time, OK? I'm happy to stay here for five hours, OK. I'm going to do it — I know it's your job; um, but if I can deliver a message to the board, OK, it's a complete waste of time. We did not stake one step, not one step for doing a tender offer, nor did Valeant, OK? Not one."
J. Michael Pearson testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington about price spikes in decades-old pharmaceuticals. Thomson Reuters
I award you no points
Basically the litigants are arguing that simply saying that "no steps have been taken" doesn't make it true. Actions, in this event, are supposed to speak louder than words written in legalese. More from the complaint:
"As reflected in a February 16, 2014 email among Valeant General Counsel Robert Chai-Onn and Valeant's counsel, Defendants' attempt to affix the 'co-bidder' label to their relationship appears to have been motivated by their lawyers' concern that regulators might be "offended by a party other than a bidder benefitting from a toehold."
Little is mentioned just once in the complaint, when the defendants point out that press materials about the attempted takeover were prepared in advance of Valeant and Ackman's announcement that they were doing the deal in April of 2014.
From the complaint:
"Specifically, a draft 'Q&A' emailed by Valeant's public relations consultant to Valeant's head of Investor Relations, Laurie Little, on April 17, 2014, asked: Question: Are you willing to launch a tender offer to get this deal done? Answer: We would prefer to negotiate with [Allergan] on a friendly basis. However, we are firmly committed to completing this transaction."
This is part of why California Judge David Carter agreed with the plaintiffs and denied Ackman and Valeant's motion to dismiss this complaint. He called some of the defendants' arguments "unpersuasive."
"Defendants point to the decision in In re JDS Uniphase Corp. Sec. Litig., No. C 02-1486 CW, 2003 WL 26615705 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 3, 2003), which provides no meaningful analysis on this issue," he wrote. "Defendants have pointed to no other convincing authority that addresses this issue."
Brutal.
On the same day the court also addressed Ackman and Valeant's motion to compel the plaintiffs to comply with a subpoena and give further interrogatories. That motion was denied.
Double brutal.Image of part of a stellar remnant whose explosion was recorded in 185 A.D.
Thanks to a unique “ballistic study” that combines data from ESO’s Very Large Telescope and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have now solved a long-standing mystery of the Milky Way’s particle accelerators. They show in a paper published today on Science Express that cosmic rays from our galaxy are very efficiently accelerated in the remnants of exploded stars.
During the Apollo flights astronauts reported seeing odd flashes of light, visible even with their eyes closed. We have since learnt that the cause was cosmic rays – extremely energetic particles from outside the Solar System arriving at the Earth, and constantly bombarding its atmosphere. Once they reach Earth, they still have sufficient energy to cause glitches in electronic components.
Galactic cosmic rays come from sources inside our home galaxy, the Milky Way, and consist mostly of protons moving at close to the speed of light, the “ultimate speed limit” in the Universe. These protons have been accelerated to energies exceeding by far the energies that even CERN’s Large Hadron Collider will be able to achieve.
“It has long been thought that the super-accelerators that produce these cosmic rays in the Milky Way are the expanding envelopes created by exploded stars, but our observations reveal the smoking gun that proves it”, says Eveline Helder from the Astronomical Institute Utrecht of Utrecht University in the Netherlands, the first author of the new study.
“You could even say that we have now confirmed the calibre of the gun used to accelerate cosmic rays to their tremendous energies”, adds collaborator Jacco Vink, also from the Astronomical Institute Utrecht.
For the first time Helder, Vink and colleagues have come up with a measurement that solves the long-standing astronomical quandary of whether or not stellar explosions produce enough accelerated particles to explain the number of cosmic rays that hit the Earth’s atmosphere. The team’s study indicates that they indeed do and directly tells us how much energy is removed from the shocked gas in the stellar explosion and used to accelerate particles.
“When a star explodes in what we call a supernova a large part of the explosion energy is used for accelerating some particles up to extremely high energies”, says Helder. “The energy that is used for particle acceleration is at the expense of heating the gas, which is therefore much colder than theory predicts”.
The researchers looked at the remnant of a star that exploded in AD 185, as recorded by Chinese astronomers. The remnant, called RCW 86, is located about 8200 light-years away towards the constellation of Circinus (the Drawing Compass). It is probably the oldest record of the explosion of a star.
Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, the team measured the temperature of the gas right behind the shock wave created by the stellar explosion. They measured the speed of the shock wave as well, using images taken with NASA’s X-ray Observatory Chandra three years apart. They found it to be moving at between 10 and 30 million km/h, between 1 and 3 percent the speed of light.
The temperature of the gas turned out to be 30 million degrees Celsius. This is quite hot compared to everyday standards, but much lower than expected, given the measured shock wave’s velocity. This should have heated the gas up to at least half a billion degrees.
“The missing energy is what drives the cosmic rays”, concludes Vink.
Via Physorg.comDoes your cat look like Adolf Hitler? Do you wake up in a cold sweat every night wondering if he's going to up and invade Poland? Does he keep putting his right paw in the air while making a noise that sounds suspiciously like "Sieg Miaow"? If so, this is the website for you. OI! You! Yes, YOU! Go and visit Cat Shelter Felix's blog, previously known as Novi Sad Cats. Danica is doing some wonderful work with homeless kittehs in Serbia and needs your support. Bestest Kitlers
Number #1 - 10.00 out of 10!
Groucho (owned by Van)
Mon Jan 21 2008 at 01:17:28
Number #2 - 8.46 out of 10!
Adolf (owned by RVHP)
Sun Jan 24 2010 at 21:00:40
Number #3 - 7.13 out of 10!
Judy Jude Judie (owned by Jill Morrison)
Tue Feb 18 2014 at 03:53:30
Number #4 - 6.79 out of 10!
wandering cat (owned by Ana & Jorge)
Tue Aug 19 2008 at 21:01:40 <<< bester <<< 1-4 of the Bestest Kitlers >>> worster >>> catsthatlooklikehitler.com is
designed and run by Paul NeveAttention is a limited resource
"Actually, humans seem to be hard-wired to detect threats as a number of threat detection mechanisms -such as biological motion perception- appear to be largely present at birth" (Parasuraman and Galster, and 2013 ).
Spotting potential threats
Signs of danger
automatic
unconscious
The human nervous system is 'designed' by evolution to respond to immediate physical danger" (Ehrlich and Ornstein, 1988) " (and
Acceleration of heart and and respiratory rates
Production of glucose (energy for the muscle)
Cortisol turns fatty acids into available energy
Constriction of blood vessels in many parts of the body
Dilatation of blood vessels for muscles
Spotting the odd thing out
Establishing a 'Baseline'
"Every place, every environment, including the people in those places, have a baseline. What is a baseline? It’s what’s 'normal' there". (Ken Jorgustin, Modern Survival Blog)
Cognitive dissonance and Survival signals
"Anger is an activating emotion. By this, I mean that anger motivates someone to act or do something about what is triggering this strong emotion in them. It gives them an almost irresistible urge to take action". (Bohdi Sanders, The Wisdom Warrior).
Intuition is the journey from A to Z without stopping at any other letter along the way. It is knowing without knowing why. (Gavin de Becker The Gift of Fear)
"Predicting the routine behavior of adults in the same culture is so simple, in fact, that we rarely even bother to do it consciously". (Gavin de Becker The Gift of Fear)
Fear
Apprehension
Suspicion
Hesitation
Doubt
Gut feelings
Hunches
Curiosity
Anxiety
Improving our Situational Awareness with natural threat detection mechanisms
Human brain can detect and react to some types of danger more rapidly and accurately than a computer" (Dorn, Shepherd et al., Staying Alive:How to Act Fast and Survive Deadly Encounters) " (.,
"If it's not so new you will be able to handle it better" (Cade Courtley, A Navy SEAL's Secrets to Surviving Any Disaster)
Dorn, Shepherd et al., "if you don't ignore what you see and hear, your brain can detect danger" (et al., 2014
'Situational awareness' (SA) is a major topic of self-defence training programs because as far as self-protection is concerned, being able to detect threats early on gives us opportunities to avoid bad situations.This is why most instructors will emphasize the idea of 'paying attention to our surroundings' usually by scanning our environment and being actively looking for signs of troubles.There is a number of issues with this approach which I addressed in another article ( Hypervigilance: what too much Situational Awareness does to your brain ) but the main one is our inability to pay attention to everything all at once and all the time.The good news, though, is that we are naturally equipped with a number of threat detection mechanisms. Our minds are the product of hundreds of thousands of years of natural selection and living in the wild.In other words, we're already endowed with all the tools we need to detect danger. Using these innate skills to improve self protection and situational awareness is easy.Let's see how.Look at the chart below, which silhouette do you find the most alarming?Like most people, even non-specialists, you probably quickly recognized the characteristic silhouette of the sharks.This is possible thanks to our pattern matching and recognition ability. Pattern recognition is our capacity to do classification based on features such as size, shape, colour, etc... It has been around since our earliest ancestors learned which animals they could approach to hunt and which they should flee from.Our capabilities to detect potentially dangerous animals goes even further.Take a look a the following picture and note what you spot first.Studies in psychology and neuroscience have shown that when presented with images containing threatening elements, such as snakes or spiders, and non-threatening elements, such as flowers and butterflies, people tend to locate more quickly and more accurately the threatening elements than the non-threatening elements (see for example:and 2001 ).To put it differently, in visually noisy environments, the average search time for threatening elements is less than for non-threatening ones.Investigations further suggest that "" (and 2001 ).In other words, we have innate detection mechanisms for a number of threatening stimuli. This would explain, for example, why garden hoses often frighten young children, and why people have a general fear of insects that superficially resemble spiders (for example, roaches).But that's not all.As far as pattern identification goes, the recognition of facial features is an exceptionally strong aptitude of the human brain. That's why we're so much better at remembering faces than names. Take a look at the following picture, which face grabs your attention?Experiments have shown that faces with an angry expression (lower left corner in the image) are usually detected more quickly and maintain attention more effectively than neutral or happy faces ( 2014 ).The ability to detect threats is a (perceptual) process that takes place unconsciously and automatically below the level of conscious awareness, in parallel with other visual and cognitive processes (and 2001 ).So, over the course of time, since the rise of hominids on earth, several millions years ago, we've hard-wired ourselves to recognize signals of danger so deeply that it's becomeandAnd this capacity to detect threats is associated with other natural mechanisms to ensure our survival.For example, people tend to over-react to sudden changes (but they under react to changes that occur slowly and over time) ; similarly, we over-react to immediate threats (but under-react to long-term threats) ( Schneier 2006 ).Psychophysiological responses to fear stimuli (snakes, spiders, and angry faces for example) involve the release of stress hormones (such as cortisol and epinephrine ) which induce the notorious 'fight-or-flight response More specifically, the release of these hormones in the blood stream (the famous 'adrenaline dump') sparks a chain reaction which prepare the body for immediate violent muscular action:In other words, threatening features are not only more quickly spotted but they also trigger the adrenal reaction which prepares the body for and gives it the energy-boost to run away or fight in order to escape dangerous situations.This makes sense from an evolutionary point of view because swift reactions are key to survive situations of danger (see., 2014 ).Threats, though, don't always look like what we expect and predators (particularly human ones) are often experts at deception.So humans have developed further abilities.Take a look at the following pictures, what catches your eye?In picture #1, what immediately grabbed your attention was the white bird against a darker background made of regular elements.Against a background of sharp repeating lines formed by reeds and stalks of grass, the distinct shape of a bird easily catch our eye in picture #2.Picture #3 is a bit more complex, but among the series of dots, what you probably spotted first was the star. Then came the arrow.What these examples show is that we pick 'breaks' in patterns much faster than we can actually identify patterns (compare this to the previous tests).In other words, as much as our pattern recognition abilities are fascinating, our capacity to detect breaks in any given pattern is amazing.Our brains are expert at noticing what's odd to a given context.So, how does this apply to self-defence?In the examples above, the 'context' was the dark background of geometrical shapes, the repeating lines formed by reeds and stalks of grass, or the dots on the white dices, and the reeds.In a broader sense, the 'context' could also be the regular noise of a river or the usual noise of our car's engine, the typical flow of people coming and going or the way we usually organize things on the shelves in our houses.In other words, 'context' can be our daily lives and habits. This 'normality' is called 'baseline'.So, a good way to detect potential threats, is actually to try to identify/establish a baseline and, instead of looking for signs of danger, let your ability to spot breaks in this pattern (which is much stronger than pattern recognition as we've seen) do the work in the background of your mind. Any anomaly will become apparent (that's how road signaling works).Yes, you got me right. I'm telling you that it's better to focus your effort on knowing/understanding what's normal in a given situation/place (that's the 'baseline') and let your intuition spot the anomalies, rather than looking directly for signs of danger.Science tells us it works better that way.Here is how:Have |
. If you’re a team in the West, adding a 6-foot-3 center who is still 25 years old may have more appeal than a goalie with a big ticket and questions. In fact, the Red Wings’ decision not to trade Sheahan at the deadline when there was real interest, only to leave him unprotected in the expansion draft and risk losing him for nothing, is the bigger sin here.
And if Mrazek goes through the expansion process unclaimed? It may end up working out in Detroit’s favor. A clear message would have been sent both to the goalies and the players on the roster that culture still matters in the organization, even in the midst of a rebuild. Mrazek would have a pretty clear understanding of his value in the league and, perhaps, additional motivation going into the final year of his contract. The key to all of this for Mrazek, no matter where he ends up, is how he responds to the slight.
“He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who is going to dog it,” said another source. “He’s not on a six-year contract. It still puts the onus on the player to perform or else.”
(Top photo: Raj Mehta/USA TODAY Sports)The Formula One Group has initiated talks with F1 teams about replacing the current Concorde Agreement with a franchise model, according to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
The commercial relationship between the teams and the commercial rights holder has historically been governed by the sacred Concorde Agreement.
But the sport's current income distribution model, devised by the former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, has been decried by F1's smaller teams because it heavily weights payments to the richest teams and leaves the smaller outfits struggling for influence and survival.
"Liberty Media has a very good approach, namely that the Concorde Agreement, as it was formerly called, will no longer exist," Wolff told Austria's ORF broadcaster.
"In principle, a team in future will have this 'franchise' forever, which helps to add value because you do not have to renegotiate every eight years," he revealed.
A franchise system, a concept which is widespread in many US sports, would indeed appeal to the mid-field teams as it would likely take away much of the fear linked to a lack of financial revenue.
Force India's Bob Fernley also expressed in the past his support for the emergence of a franchise approach to F1.
"It takes years to build an F1 team," Fernley said. "Owners can come and go.
"What you need is the ability to create these teams and for owners to come in, enjoy them for a period of time, add value to them, or if they don’t do a good job, take a loss. And then be able to transfer them on.
"It’s the teams that are critical, because it takes so long to build them.
"People buy teams because they are obviously fully functional, but it has to be formalised into a proper franchise system."
GALLERY: F1 drivers' wives and girlfriends
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and TwitterCommercial rivalries underlay conflict with Murdoch’s media empire
By Dave Hyland
19 July 2011
The explosive divisions that have erupted within ruling circles surrounding the News of the World phone hacking scandal and the events leading to its exposure have from the start been fuelled by economic rivalries.
For days, amid the revelations of criminal activity on an “industrial scale”, the attention of Labour leader Ed Miliband was centred on efforts to block Rupert Murdoch’s efforts to secure overall control of the BSkyB satellite channel. A victory for parliament and the “British people” was declared when Murdoch withdrew his bid, in order to maintain his current 39 percent stake in BSkyB and hopefully protect his far larger concerns in the United States from scrutiny with investigations being called for by numerous Senators and Congressmen.
The FBI are the latest to announce an investigation into the company’s activities, after accusations that it had hacked into victims of the 9/11 bombings.
Until the eruption of the present scandal, both Labour and the Conservatives worked together so closely with Murdoch’s News International, News Corporation’s UK operational arm, that Murdoch was often referred to by MPs, with a mixture of envy and sarcasm, as “the 24th member” of the Cabinet.
Until last week it appeared that the Conservative/Liberal-Democrat coalition were going to simply wave through News International’s £12 billion takeover of the other 61 percent of BSkyB.
Since then former editors of News International, Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks, have been arrested, a 168-year-old newspaper with the highest circulation in the UK has been closed down, and its owner and leading executives have been summoned to answer questions before a parliamentary select committee. The old saying “a week is a long time in politics” has never been more apt. The entire political establishment was in disarray before Labour leader Ed Miliband took the initiative, by calling the three main parties to a secret meeting where a common approach to the growing crisis was agreed to prevent it spiralling out of control.
These events are also the tipping point in the conflict that has been simmering under the surface between the Murdoch family and the British Broadcasting Company. The public has only been afforded small glimpses of this growing mutual rivalry and the loathing it has generated.
BSkyB was formed when Sky merged with BSB in 1990, with the merged entity floating on the stock exchange in 1994 and joining the FTSE 100 just one year later. Best known for the Premier League football deal it signed in 1992 and the launch of Sky+ in 2001, BSkyB employs 16,500 people. Having diversified into broadband and telecoms, Sky now has over 10 million customers across the UK. This equates to over one in three households. The company has a market capitalisation of £12.5 billion, making it the 32nd largest company on the FTSE 100.
This is why Murdoch has been desperate that his bid for BSkyB went ahead. In a highly volatile market, the share value of News Corp is only being held up by a buy-back clause and the promise of increased profits from the promised takeover. The danger for Murdoch is that without this merger, News Corp could spiral down into catastrophe with a further run on share prices.
This was a factor in his change of support from Labour to the Tories in 2009, prior to the 2010 General Election. In Prime Minister David Cameron, Murdoch had the most pliant tool imaginable. Recently released documents reveal that Cameron has had no less than 26 meetings with Murdoch’s executives in just over a year, 15 of these since May. He also invited Rebekah Brooks to Chequers on two occasions and met up with her at a Boxing Day get-together.
The major obstacle to Murdoch’s plans has been the BBC. Satellite broadcasting has opened new markets and massively increased the pace of competition. The BBC has changed fundamentally from an almost exclusive national public broadcasting company to an institution with a global reach—forming alliances with numerous private companies.
In his speech to the 2005 Edinburgh International Festival the then-Director General of the BBC, Mark Thompson, mapped out his institution’s policy perspective:
“Everything we know about the online world suggests that it’s the big brands—the eBays, the Amazons, the Microsofts—that punch through. And the BBC is one of the big brands. In content terms one of the biggest on-line brands in the world and by far the biggest British one. And that’s before we begin to direct the full creative and marketing energy of the organisation in this direction.”
The 2008 world economic crisis and recession intensified the tensions between the Murdoch organisation and the BBC, which broke out onto the surface the following year. In his MacTaggart lecture at the 2009 Edinburgh International Festival, Murdoch’s son James referenced the works of Darwin, Tolstoy and practically anyone else he could in an attempt to provide intellectual weight to his attack on the rest of the UK media, the BBC and government regulation.
He spoke of a “land-grab, pure and simple, going on” that “in the interests of a free society it should be sternly resisted. The land grab is spear-headed by the BBC. The scale and scope of its current activities and future ambitions is chilling.
“Being funded by a universal hypothecated tax, the BBC feels empowered and obliged to try and offer something for everyone, even in areas well served by the market.
“This whole approach is based on a mistaken view of the rationale behind state intervention and it produces bizarre and perverse outcomes. Rather than concentrating on areas where the market is not delivering, the BBC seeks to compete head-on for audiences with commercial providers to try and shore up support—or more accurately dampen opposition—to a compulsory license fee.”
These differences emerged again in December 2010, this time within the coalition, when Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary, was stripped of his role in judging whether to allow the takeover—after boasting to two undercover Daily Telegraph reporters that he had “declared war on Murdoch”.
Cable was due to decide whether Murdoch’s bid should be passed onto the Competition Commission. As a result of the undercover sting, the decision passed to the Conservative Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
The acquisition has long been opposed by many other media outlets in Britain, including the Guardian, which has played the leading role in exposing the phone hacking and bribing of police officers. In the Observer, the Guardian’s Sunday sister paper, Will Hutton wrote, “If cleared, Murdoch would control half of Britain’s TV revenues and half its newspapers’ revenues by the middle of the next decade.”
As the pressure mounted on both Murdoch and Cameron to retreat, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg called on Murdoch to “do the decent thing” and reconsider his BSkyB bid. Jeremy Hunt was forced to write to media regulator Ofcom, asking for a fresh assessment of the proposed buyout and Murdoch was forced to back down.
But not for long. Yesterday, the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal launched an editorial counter-attack, accusing the Guardian and the BBC of pursuing News International and News Corp for “commercial and ideological motives,” declaring that “politicians and our competitors are using the phone-hacking years ago at a British corner of News Corp. to assail the Journal, and perhaps injure press freedom in general.”
The editorial continues, “The British politicians now bemoaning media influence over politics are also the same statesmen who have long coveted media support. The idea that the BBC and the Guardian newspaper aren’t attempting to influence public affairs, and don’t skew their coverage to do so, can’t stand a day’s scrutiny.”
A political crisis for the bourgeoisie has quickly become a full blown catastrophe, encompassing illegal methods by the capitalist press, bribery of police officers and the incestuous relationship between the media hierarchy and politicians in the UK. It was at this point that instead of demanding the government’s resignation, Ed Miliband has stepped-in to save Cameron’s and the coalition’s skin, offering a compromise that allows time for them to try and come to some mutual agreement.
But Murdoch has many enemies and this crisis is far from over.
The working class has the task of intervening with its own socialist solution to the political crisis now engulfing Britain. As part of this perspective, the decision on the ownership of BSkyB and the development of digital technology must not be decided behind closed doors by conglomerates like News Corp or capitalist state institutions like the BBC.
Workers must demand to see the books at BSkyB, News Corp and the BBC as well as the minutes of all government secret meetings. Only by taking the entire telecommunications industry under workers’ control, without compensation to its present owners, can the working class ensure the future development of the industry in line with its own interests.Getty Images
The Rams made the bulk of their roster moves on Monday, cutting 11 players to start the process of getting to 75 by the Tuesday afternoon deadline.
They got the rest of the way home with a pair of moves. Linebacker Jabara Williams was waived and guard Ryan Lee was placed on injured reserve.
It’s not the first time Williams has tasted the axe from the Rams. The 2011 seventh-round pick was waived in October of his rookie year after playing two games and wound up on the Bears. He played five games there, failed to make the roster out of camp last year and wound up back on the Rams’ practice squad.
The play of three undrafted rookies — Ray Ray Armstrong, Daren Bates and Jonathan Stewart — helped make Williams expendable. With Jo-Lonn Dunbar suspended for the first four games of the season, it looks like the Rams will have a very young linebacker corps to start the year barring other moves to add players at the position.
Lee was signed in June after spending time with the Steelers and Saints.Vincent Brouillet migrated to Australia from France about five years ago, working as an IT consultant in Sydney. But restlessness soon got the better of him and determined to escape the “fish tank” of corporate life, the 28-year-old packed up and moved to Victoria to train for a few months before tackling the Bicentennial National Trail (BNT) – or as others have nicknamed it, the Big Nasty Trail. It would be his first real bike adventure.
“It was like a big bang effect. All this energy, compressed, suppressed for some time. When it blew, it was massive and unstoppable,” says Vincent. “I knew I was jumping into the unknown, but I was feeling OK with it.”
The BNT is a 5,330km trail from Healesville, Victoria to Cooktown in North Queensland, which was originally established as a horse trail by a group of passionate stockmen, including the likes of R.M. Williams. These days it's also used by cyclists and hikers, but those on four legs remain at its heart.
Starting in Victoria and travelling north, Vincent has now cycled about 90% of the trail over five months and is homing in on Cooktown. He took some time to fill us in on how the adventure has panned out.
CT: How much experience did you have before tackling the BNT?
VB: I've always used my mountain bike to get around and explore as a kid back in France. I was also a Scout when I was younger. Those experiences at a young age helped me to overcome obstacles and toughen up when it was needed. However, I would soon learn the difference between toughening up and knowing my body's limit.
When the idea came to my mind to do the BNT, it was like a huge mountain or a wall to climb. So much to do and think of. I had actually never done any bikepacking before, only a two-day trip when I was 12 years old. Ever since then I had been wanting to get back to it, but waited until I turned 28 to actually do something about it.
CT: What preparation did you do for the adventure?
VB: I'm sort of a perfectionist, and I reckon that helped. Someone had told me I would have to prepare it like a military expedition. I knew this person was right, but I didn't understand why and how at that time.
For a couple of months I researched the equipment I would need and started to go out riding to test it all. I thought that at the end of the two months I would be ready to go. Turns out I made a mistake. Not knowing the difference between fatigue and pain, I pushed too hard on my first weekend overnighter back in Sydney. I would ride with so much pain in my knee that I cried. I kept pushing to finish my little challenge, to prove something to myself. The result was that I hurt my knee so badly that what followed was weeks off the bike, consulting the best sport doctors available (and paying the price, literally).
Over almost seven months of preparations, I learnt a great deal about my body, my limits, and the equipment. Things that were meant to fail on my bike did fail during the training, and the same applied to me. I failed in my training so many times that eventually I had become stronger and wiser.
CT: Did you ever think of giving up?
VB: It was too late to give up, I was in, committed. I had sold all my belongings and quit my job, knowing that I would not come back for a while. I have only two small suitcases left in Sydney. It's been a liberating and necessary process for me. Not everybody needs to do that, but for me it worked. I didn't have a home to come back to, I didn't have a job. I just made it so I had no choice but to go ahead.
CT: Now that you've ridden most of the route, how does the experience compare with your expectations?
At the beginning, I thought of it as a sort of spiritual journey – learning, growing, being relaxed most of the time, and getting through the physical challenge. It does not work like that. It has felt more like a routine, like I have been clicking in and out of my daily job. I have similar tasks everyday, although the landscape and the people are changing continuously, not giving me time to really settle in the routine and relax.
I'm always busy; busy riding, busy camping, busy planning, busy dealing with the logistics and so forth. And when I stop for a few days, I start by planning the next leg. I'm continuously on high alert. Anyone I meet has the potential to be helpful in one way or another, and I remain open to anything.
CT: Where have been some of the most rewarding sections to ride?
VB: At this stage, I have high expectations for the last 10% I have yet to tackle: North Queensland around the Tablelands and the Daintree. But so far, the most rewarding section has been across the Alpines. It was by far the most difficult section of the trail and one of the most difficult things I have ever done; so hard I thought of pulling the pin.
In the Alpine region I needed all my concentration to not slip down the extremely steep tracks. So steep, I stopped thinking. I'd have micro-sleeps resting my head on the handle-bar. I had no momentum at all, pushing the bike a few centimetres further; there was not much riding. I'd catch my breath, looking again at where I could step next on the loose rocks.
The silence up there above the tree lines was just immensely pleasant for me. Up there, there were no farms, no cattle. Only me, the mountains, the silence and the wildlife. That is what I was looking for.
CT: In your blog you mention having to call farmers for permission to cross their land. Is that something common on the route?
VB: Yes, it is very common, especially in NSW, although not as much in Victoria and rarely in Queensland. I think it is especially important for horse riders who could disturb work in progress with the cattle.
A pushbike is more discreet. Horse riders have to get feed and check the water availability at the water tanks, dams and creeks, so they are constantly in touch with farmers for all that; they can’t actually do it without their support. Calling for getting access to the property is also an opportunity to introduce yourself and have a chat about the conditions.
But predicting in advance where I was going to be and calling the farmers accordingly became a challenge. Some days I would make 20km and it was a big day, some others I would do 100km on a good dirt road. On top of this, mobile phone reception is not that great in places.
With the experience, I can now sense when a phone call is mandatory and when it does not apply to me (because it was something to do with horses). At times I decided to not call and go with the flow. I would meet the farmers on the way or meet someone who knows them.
At other times, I called and got some pleasant surprises, like being invited to stay at the farmer’s home, share a family dinner and get a tour of the property.
Locked gates are the biggest issue. Eventually with some patience, almost any fence can be overcome, but it takes time to unload the bike, and lift it up above the fence to repack on the other side.
It's important is to respect the farmers and their decisions. It’s the best way to keep the BNT in place. If people start to trespass and go where they are not supposed to go, then it might upset some people.
I found it was useful to get in touch with the BNT's section coordinator or a few friendly locals. They will tell you who to call, who is very keen to help and who is less keen. That makes things a lot easier.
CT: How is the BNT as a bikepacking route? Do you need to make many detours?
VB: The horse trail is a 'living' trail – it keeps changing and being updated. In other words, it would be plain stupid to follow it strictly. At some point, one needs to use common sense and deviate. I was really keen to stick to it the whole way, and I did up to a point. But back in May, when I reached the Northern Rivers region (around Ebor in the Guy Fawkes River National Park), I was advised not to follow the BNT due to heavy rain.
There were 50 or so creek crossings to do. One section of the creek had swollen to four meters deep, and other parts were shoulder deep. I heard there had been an accident and pack horses had drowned. At that point, I was feeling a little bit low and wasn't ready mentally for something of that level.
I thought it was a good opportunity to get off the trail for a while and rest my body and mind with something easier. Safety can be a concern and it's not a good idea to put yourself at risk; other people might have to rescue you and risk their lives too.
I’m considering doing the Guy Fawkes on foot or horse one day as it’s gorgeous there. It was a true disappointment to have to detour from the trail for so long.
At other times, the trail would have small detours to dams or other water sources or places with lots of grass for the horses. Those are not needed on a bike. Go with what works for you – the BNT is a guide to a crazy adventure, not a race with a series of checkpoints... + continue reading
Page 1 | 2Westlake Mall Cop Ignores Agitator, Maces African American Bystander at Israel Protest
This is a remarkable scene that freelance photographer Alex Garland captured on Saturday afternoon at Westlake Center in downtown Seattle:
Westlake security pepper spray & arrest innocent bystander after he's harassed by pro Israel supporter during protest pic.twitter.com/SCf6KRpQ5V
— Alex Garland (@AGarlandPhoto) August 9, 2014
Here's what's happening, according to witnesses: A man employed by the private company Valor Security, which guards Westlake Center, is unloading a can of mace in the face of 25-year-old Raymond Wilford, who says he was on his way inside the mall to meet a friend.
You can see Garland's full photo set of the incident here. What did Wilford do to deserve being pepper-sprayed in the face? The mall's security director says the incident is under investigation and the company has no comment. Nor would he tell me the guard's name.
According to a Seattle police report, the mall cop told officers that when Wilford "took an aggressive step towards him he deployed his pepper spray."
But according to Wilford and two witnesses I spoke to (Garland and a community college student demonstrator named Isra Ayesh), that's not what happened. They say the mall cop should have dealt with the shirtless man, who you can see in Garland's other photos, because he had been getting up in the faces of and harassing several dozen pro-Palestine demonstrators. The man called at least one person "towelhead," the witnesses said, and was cursing. Garland said he thought he overheard the man say "sand nigger." Seattle police officer Ronald Hylton says in his report that he'd been flagged down by a protest organizer because a white male "with no shirt on was causing a disturbance and 'picking a fight' with the protesters."
"I was trying to avoid him because I heard him say a bunch of racial stuff," says Wilford, interviewed by phone from his home in South Seattle. It's not clear who bumped into whom or what started the altercation between Wilford and the shirtless guy. In the photos, they encounter each other and then square up in opposing fighting stances.
But there's no indication in the images, witness statements, or police reports that Wilford committed any crime. SPD's police report says "the unknown suspect"—the shirtless man whose name we don't know—"started a fight with him." Garland and Ayesh said Wilford did a kind of pump-fake move at one point, but didn't actually throw a punch. "I never hit him and he never hit me," Wilford says.
"The security guard was like, 'Stop,'" Wilford remembers. "The white guy was still yelling and walking towards the security guard. I was like, 'Why are you pointing your mace at me? He’s the one being aggressive.' And then he pepper-sprayed me."
Here's video from Garland, the photographer, of the mall cop awkwardly attempting to detain Wilford immediately following the pepper spray. The demonstrators can be heard yelling, "You maced the wrong guy!":
"I think he’s real bad at analyzing the situation," Wilford says. "He said he got a call for a white guy for his shirt off. He should have paid attention to that person. I don’t want to say it’s a race thing or anything. But his attention was straight on me. He never looked at him. After he sprayed me, he lied to me and said he sprayed both of us."
The mall cop kept trying to pull his arms back and slam him on the ground, Wilford says. His eyes burned from the pepper spray, he felt like he couldn't breathe, and he was worried "might go into a panic attack."
Eventually, Wilford was led into the mall and offered medical aid, then released.
As for the protest, "We were just a bunch of demonstrators protesting the current violence in Gaza and publicly condemning Israel and US complicity [in Israel's actions]," says Ayesh, the student protester. She says people had been asking the belligerent man to leave and telling him it was a peaceful protest.
The mall cop didn't assess the situation and used excessive force, she believes. "This guy just had his finger on [the mace] the entire time. It blew back and hit a bunch of the demonstrators in the face."
In fact, in a second report filed that day, another police officer said he was approached by an individual who "stated their group was intentionally targeted by Westlake Mall Security with excessive force and that Mall security was racist. [Redacted] stated she did not want Mall security at the next rally." The person had red eyes consistent with being hit by pepper spray, the officer reported.
Wilford said he's considering filing a complaint. But in the meantime, "I don't want to be in that area. This is not the first time. The security always harasses people. You sit down for a brief second and they’re harassing you." He says one time, a security guard followed him into in the bathroom and questioned him for using the handicap stall.
"I’ve been treated like that all my life, so it kinda brushes off," Wilford, who has two kids, says. "I’m from the South, I’m from New Orleans. I’ve seen the worst of it." He lost everything in Hurricane Katrina and came to Seattle a decade ago "to try to redo my life," he says.
"People here seem to be more secretive about their not liking black people, or their racism," he says. "I’m so used to it I don’t know what’s wrong and what’s right half the time."
Seattle police say they're investigating the incident.Important: This page has relocated to its permanent location at http://links.martinmiles.net, please use this link to access the latest All Sitecore References, now with search. Content displayed on this page below is outdated and intends only for those who are not able to use latest version for some reason like javascript disabled.
Once there, please re-bookmark!
This is the most complete Sitecore references collection ever, verified and classified for your convenience. I've spent enormous amount of time to get them all in one place, so, folks, please enjoy finding information by relevancy in seconds! Updaiting daily, weeekly revieving! Convenient search is also coming shortly.
Are you running a blog that is missing here? Know any other great blog / links that you want to include into this reference? Please tweet me: @SitecoreMartin or email (or leave a comment at the bottom) and I will add that straight away! Any other thought? Don't hesitate - write me!If you missed our Kickstarter, you can still place your order at http://darma.co
Let's talk about sitting...
Recent studies have linked sedentary behavior (measured by time spent sitting) to higher rates of obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. Physical inactivity is the second leading cause of death in the U.S. and the fourth in the world.
What the media is saying...
Also featured in...
Meet Darma
Darma is the world's first "inactivity tracker" - a non-invasive smart cushion to monitor your sitting habits and improve your physical and mental health. Darma uses novel sensor technology and algorithms to offer actionable guidance to improve posture, balance sitting time and reduce stress.
How can Darma help you?
Darma gives you more than data. It learns your sitting habits to present you with actionable coaching, from stand-up reminders, to posture advice, to tailored stretching guidance. Darma communicates all of this through our iPhone and Android app or via your desktop computer.
iPhone and Android compatible
Darma detects your posture and lets you know when you've been slouching for too long. Even better, it provides you live feedback and teaches you to sit properly, by extending the spine and engaging your core muscles.
Posture coaching
Darma monitors your sitting time and offers reminders to make sure you take enough breaks throughout the day.
Stand-up reminders
Everyone's sitting habits are unique. Therefore, Darma provides personal guidance by studying your individual habits and posture. It identifies specific areas of neck, back, and hip pain for each user and then suggests personalized stretches to help.
Stretching guidance
Darma's sensors are accurate enough to even detect and monitor your vitals including heart rate, heartbeat waveform, respiratory rate, and breathing waveform.
Since Darma knows your vital signs, it can establish a baseline and detect when your stress level is too high. It then suggests a brief breathing exercise to help you relax and regain your focus.
What does Darma mean?
Darma is named after Bodhidharma, the father of Zen and meditation. Our goal is to bring wisdom to everyday sitting.
Darma is for you if...
You sit for many hours each day
You have poor posture
You suffer from back pain
You care about maintaining your health
What are experts saying?
How is Darma different from other tracking devices?
Technology and Specs
Our newly designed sensor is just 1mm thick. Coupled with patented cutting-edge fiber optic sensor technology developed over five years of research, we measure everything from respiration, to heart rate, to stress levels, to posture more effectively and accurately than products currently on the market. Best of all, we've made it affordable!
Working prototype can detect hearbeat waveform with medical accuracy
Printed Circuit Board (PCB) design evolution
How Darma was born
Our team has experienced back pain firsthand. Being hard-working engineers, we spent long hours sitting in front of our computer or in our lab, developing fiber optic sensor technologies. When back pain started interfering with our productivity, we did some research. Of course we knew that bad posture wasn’t great for us, but never had we realized just how much damage sitting really caused! We decided to develop our technology for a product that would help us and our loved ones sit better, feel better, and lead longer, healthier lives. We created Darma.
How the rest of us met is a different story. Serendipity has amusing ways to sneak into life! But we’ll keep that story for some other time…
Meet the team
Our 'rockstar' advisors
Darma is honored to count Dr. Joan Vernikos, PhD and former Director of Life Sciences at NASA as its scientific advisor. Dr. Vernikos is the author of Sitting Kills, Moving Heals and a renowned figure in the field of sedentary health.
Hundreds of pro athletes and dozens of teams have relied on Dana Santas’ expertise to integrate yoga into their training programs. Darma is fortunate to tap into Dana’s knowledge of functional movement, stretching and breathing.
The game GuitarHero owes its existence to Charles and Kai Huang, founders of Red Octane. Their unique experience building a playful combination of hardware and software to global success is also a key asset of Darma.
Rewards
Timeline
Why Kickstarter?
We have been working very hard on developing the core technology behind Darma. Now, we need your help to bring Darma to life. Our Kickstarter campaign will help us raise the funds necessary to complete product development and begin manufacturing.
We also realize the paramount importance of early adopter feedback and we're therefore turning to the Kickstarter community and our backers to help us shape the product throughout its development. Darma is a very intimate product: our users will be sitting on it for many hours and interacting with our app multiple times a day. Currently, we have a basic app prototype that can detect and display the user's vital signs (heartbeat and respiration) and are looking to engage with our backers (YOU) to help us develop a fully working software that meets your needs. We want to make sure we deliver the best and most effective experience possible and we need all of you to make it happen!ACT Greens minister Shane Rattenbury has called for exclusion zones around Canberra's abortion clinics to thwart protesters who harassed or intimidated women seeking abortions.
It comes after Canberra Goulburn's Catholic Archbishop led prayers during a vigil outside a city abortion clinic on Tuesday as part of a global pro-life movement in the lead-up to Easter.
Catholic Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn Christopher Prowse, centre, attends a prayer vigil outside the ACT Health building in Moore Street, Civic, on Tuesday. Credit:Graham Tidy
Mr Rattenbury said the proposed legislation would create buffer zones similar to those in place in Tasmania, where protests were banned within 150 metres of abortion clinics.
He said anyone who disagreed with abortion should be free to voice their beliefs, but not to upset or intimidate women outside clinics when they could be "vulnerable or in a difficult circumstance".A Guest Post by Jason Weddington
(1/200 sec @ f/8 ISO 100, 5d mkIII, ef 100mm f/2)
It’s possible to produce quality studio portraits without a purpose-built studio or expensive lighting equipment. I captured the above image using two hotshoe flashes, a medium-sized portable softbox, and a white wall as the background.
In this post I will share a simple two-light technique that you can use to create a high-key headshot in your own home, using only a plain white wall as the background. I made this portrait of my wife in a small room in our house.
Gear List
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Lens: Canon EF 100mm f/2
Background Light: Canon 430EX II bare flash
Key Light: Canon 430EX II in 24″ Lastolite EzyBox softbox
Flash Trigger: Canon ST-E2
Lighting the Background
The key to pure white backgrounds is to light the background separately from the subject. For this portrait, I placed a single flash on a light stand, hidden behind the model, and pointed the flash directly at the wall. The flash was zoomed to it’s widest setting, and I also flipped down the built-in diffuser to further spread the light onto the wall.
The flash was powered manually at full power and configured as a slave. In a studio environment where I have total control of the lighting, I always set flash output manually, rather than letting the camera control the flash via TTL.
Lighting the Subject
To light the model, I used a second flash fired through a 24-inch softbox. The softbox was on a light stand positioned between the camera and the model, just outside the frame on the left. To get the softest possible lighting, I put the softbox as close to the model as possible, without it being visible in the frame.
The height of the softbox was such that the flash itself (in the centre of the softbox) was about 10 inches above the model’s eyes and I angled the softbox downward. The flash in the softbox was set manually to full power.
Post Processing
I processed this photo in Lightroom 4 and Photoshop CS6. Total post processing time was about 15 minutes. As this post is focused on lighting, not post pro, I won’t go into too much detail on the retouching. But in brief, here are the steps I followed:
1. Lightroom 4
spot removal to remove skin imperfections
increaser contrast slightly
reduced clarity to -10 to smooth skin tones
curve (s-curve) to increase contrast
subtle split tone to add blue tint to the hair
2. Photoshop CS6
retouched stray hairs
curves adjustments to increase contrast and colour
glamour glow affect using layer blending
subtle skin smoothing using gaussian blur and layer masking
Here’s a comparison between the straight from camera JPEG with only contrast and curves adjustments, and the finished image, retouched from a RAW file.
Understanding and Controlling Flash Exposure
With flash photography, your shutter speed controls the degree to which the ambient light will contribute to the exposure, and your aperture value controls the flash. This took me years to fully understand, but it’s actually quite simple:
Flash duration is really short. Think of it as a short, bright “flash” of light. It doesn’t matter how long the shutter is open, the light from the flash is gone by the time the shutter closes. So shutter speed only controls how much ambient light will enter the camera.
Because the flash duration is so short, the only thing that matters in terms of flash exposure is how large the aperture opens during that short burst of light.
The exposure settings for this shot are 1/200sec @ f/8 on ISO 100. A shutter speed of 1/200 kills the ambient light in the room so that only the flash is contributing to the exposure. For flash photography indoors, 1/200 at ISO 100 is usually fine for overpowering any ambient light in the room.
To get started with this kind of photography, set your flash manually at half power. With your camera |
to cite a just a few. Has any actual bank robbery ever resembled what the movies depict as typical? The 1997 North Hollywood shootout, in which 2,000 rounds were fired but no innocent person killed, is the closest.
"The Town" offers super-complicated bank robberies that last unrealistically long -- actual robbers want to get out as fast as possible -- and involve other unrealism. Let's hand it over to critic Gene Triplett, who says the movie offers "Lengthy, impossibly stunt-happy, fender-shearing car chases and machine-gun shoot-outs on public streets, with the four hijackers standing off what seems to be most of the Boston police force and an army of feds, escaping every time with nary a scratch. And what about that scene where the gang dons nuns' habits and scary Halloween masks, and marches into a robbery in broad daylight with automatic weapons in plain sight? This isn't going to cause passers-by to do a double-take?"
OK, it's just a ridiculous movie. The problem is "The Town" is masquerading as based on fact. Promotional materials claim that there are 300 bank robberies per year in Boston, that most of the robbers come from the little Charlestown district of the city, that automatic weapons fire is a common event in Boston bank robberies. Three hundred per year -- more than one bank robbery per work day in the same city? And how come nobody who lives in downtown Boston ever hears the supposedly daily automatic weapons fire?
Over to Maggie Lloyd of MIT's newspaper, who picks up the story using FBI data. Two hundred to 300 bank robberies occur per year throughout Massachusetts, not in Boston alone; there are no stats about Charlestown; gangs and weapons fire are extremely rare, with nearly all bank robbers being single individuals who pass notes to tellers and never show a weapon; attacks on bank vaults are extremely rare; all deaths linked to bank crime throughout the United States in 2009 were those of the perpetrators themselves.
Buck-Buck-Brawckkkkkkk (College Edition): Reader Mike Hutchins of Rhode Island notes that, when trailing Nebraska 49-21 late in the third quarter, Washington punted on fourth-and-3, at midfield. "I wrote Game Over in my notebook," he says. And yea, verily, it came to pass.
The Football Gods Chortled: "Vince Young is the highest-rated passer in the NFL," the CBS announcers said. Immediately, Young threw an interception to Troy Polamalu, setting in motion a seven-turnover meltdown by Tennessee. And a week after having the best game of his career, David Garrard threw four interceptions and was benched. The football gods chortled anew.
Speaking of passer ratings, I don't wish to alarm you, but so far, gruntled Jay Cutler is the league's top-rated passer. Joe Flacco is bottom-rated, at 41.2. If every pass an NFL quarterback attempts clangs to the ground incomplete, he receives a 39.6 rating. Flacco barely bests all-incompletion.
[+] Enlarge Michael Zagaris/Getty Images Michael Crabtree, Takeo Spikes -- choose your bewitched player.
Crabtree Curse Update: TMQ has noted that the Forty-Niners' fortunes declined pretty much to the moment when Michael Crabtree suited up. Reader Jon Springer of Charlottesville, Va., supposes there is also a Spikes Curse. San Francisco starts linebacker Takeo Spikes, who is in his 14th NFL season and has never played for a winning team. "If the 49ers keep him, they cannot do better than an 8-8 finish," Springer predicts.
"Hey Dad, My Big Brother Was Mean to Me Again": Manning Bowl II was over by halftime. Considering the Colts have disdained the run for several consecutive games, Jersey/A came out in a dime, assuming pass. Peyton Manning, who basically calls his own plays, noticed the dime and called 23 rushes in the first half, for 124 yards. When the defense is in a dime, the offense has big guys blocking skinny guys, a favorable matchup for the rush. No Giants defender even touched Donald Brown on his first-quarter, 7-yard touchdown run, a simple stretch off-tackle.
Once Indianapolis had established the run, Manning began calling play-fakes. On first-and-10 at midfield in the second quarter, Manning play-faked; safety Michael Johnson bit hard on the fake, charging toward the line; Dallas Clark blew past cornerback Aaron Ross and caught a 50-yard touchdown pass with no safety deep. On this snap, a tight end outran a speed cornerback. Don't forget, the Colts are athletic as well as cerebral.
As for Jersey/A, trailing 31-7 near the end of the third quarter, New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin ordered a punt on fourth-and-5 from midfield. Players are lambasted when they quit on a game. Why aren't coaches?
[+] Enlarge AP Photo/David J. Phillip Gov. Rick Perry -- he's all for cutting someone else's budget.
Wasteful Spending on Bodyguards Watch: TMQ rails against the trend for minor government officials, including mayors, state-agency directors and public university presidents, to have taxpayer-funded bodyguards -- not for any real security need but to make themselves seem more important. A reader from Indianapolis reports, "My wife works for a hotel in downtown Indianapolis. The governor of Texas, Rick Perry, attended the Indy 500 and stayed at her hotel. He brought eight Texas State Troopers with him, and had one on guard outside his hotel room at all times, as though he was the prime minister of a Middle Eastern nation. Indiana's governor, Mitch Daniels, rode his own motorcycle in the Indy 500 Festival Parade and had no bodyguards or police escort." Perry, the Texas governor, is renowned for railing against government waste. But, like so many politicians, Perry thinks "waste" is spending on other people, while for himself, he expects unlimited public largesse.
Two rare counterexamples: Alexander Chester of Bronx, N.Y., writes, "On our honeymoon, my wife and I found ourselves behind Mitt Romney in line at the Vatican. He was there with his wife and some grandchildren, no bodyguards. Romney is not in office, so if he wanted bodyguards, he would have to pay for them out of his own (admittedly deep) pockets. In any event Romney is far more recognizable than most of the others you have highlighted who are billing the taxpayer for security. If he doesn't need an army surrounding him, why do the rest of them?" And Brendan Wright reports that LeBron James was not granted a large police escort to attend the Ohio State-Miami (Florida) game. Why did he expect a police escort -- is he a head of state? Has he discovered a cure for cancer?
[+] Enlarge AP Photo/Frederick Breedon Everything except the final score made Tennessee fans happy.
Suddenly It's 2003 Again for Michael Vick: Did the past few years of Michael Vick's life happen? You could not tell from his sharp performance Sunday -- though bear in mind, the lowly Lions lost by only three points, and had the ball at the end. Last week, TMQ called the zone-read option run, used by James Madison in its mega-upset of Virginia Tech, an "increasingly popular" tactic. For the touchdown that proved to be the winning points, a 46-yard run by LeSean McCoy, Eagles coaches radioed in a zone-read option.
Two More Concussion Points: Baseline testing -- football players take a mental reflex test in August -- is spreading, and that's a welcome development. A players' preseason mental baseline, stored on computer, allows trainers to make an initial evaluation of concussion severity, then track healing. Once baseline testing was expensive; now the price is falling. It should become universal.
Reader Corky Aiken writes, "My son plays for the eighth grade Westfield, Ind., middle school football team. This year, at the beginning of summer practice, each team member took a baseline cognitive assessment, which will be used as a guideline. If somebody sustains a head trauma, coaches and trainers will be able to have a clear picture of what he should be seeing, hearing and thinking when all is well. Until the mental functions of an athlete return to those baseline scores, he doesn't suit up, not even for practice. This assessment also is given to the volleyball teams and cheer squads, who have a propensity to get up-close and personal with hardwood floors. The trainer at the middle school is an associate with St. Vincent, part of the larger hospital complex where Peyton Manning helped build a kids' hospital. So the effort isn't just at Westfield, but in a good portion of the Indianapolis-area school districts."
Can concussions lead to suicide? Alan Schwarz of The New York Times, who has done a Pulitzer-quality job of pushing for public awareness on concussions, raised that grisly possibility last week, and ESPN's "Outside the Lines" added more Sunday. The story of a University of Pennsylvania football player who killed himself this past spring, and whose autopsy showed a brain condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is heartbreaking.
But even as someone who thinks concussions are taken too lightly by the sports establishment, this story gave me pause. The Penn player had never been diagnosed with a concussion and had no history of neurological problems. The condition detected in his brain is poorly understood by medical researchers. About 35,000 males participate in college football annually. In the 15-24 age group, the annual suicide rate is about one in 10,000. Find a cohort of 35,000 people of that age, and, sadly, three or four suicides would be expected in any particular year. Maybe football contributed in some way to the Penn player's tragedy; often we'll never know why a person took his own life. Asserting that head trauma created a condition with no apparent symptoms that caused a suicide is pretty speculative.
[+] Enlarge AP Photo/Bill Kostroun The new Jets cheer-babes finally have a little scoring to cheer about.
Rex Ryan Finally Acts Like Rex Ryan: In the New York Jets' opening loss to Baltimore, Jersey/B played crazy on defense, hyperconservative on offense. Hosting New England on Sunday, the Jets once again seemed to be drawing up defenses in the sand, including using what TMQ calls the Times Square Defense -- everyone milling around pre-snap, like tourists walking and gawking in Times Square. Quarterbacks can't predict where defenders will end up at the snap because the defenders themselves don't know: They are instructed to move randomly. Bill Belichick has used the Times Square Defense more often than any other coach, but he didn't seem prepared for it.
On Sunday, the Jets finally took some chances on offense, going for the deuce after pulling ahead 19-14, then going for it on fourth-and-1 at midfield late to ice the contest. Ryan needs to get past his mindset that defense wins games while offense kills time until the defense comes back out. If Jersey/B can mount even an average offense, the Jets will be a team to deal with.
New England second-half possessions: interception, punt, interception, punt, fumble. Ye gods. The Flying Elvii turned the ball over three times, missed a short field goal and generally played like a bunch of guys who met each other for the first time in the parking lot just before kickoff.
Michael Crabtree on the Cover of Sports Illustrated Might Cause a Plague of Locusts: Three days before the Patriots' loss, Tom Brady made yet another appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
[+] Enlarge Monterey Media Scene from "Lovely Still": Darling, let's be together for Christmas this September.
Christmas Creep: Palmer Blair of Providence, R.I., reports that his regional theater company begins its holiday run of "A Christmas Carol" before Thanksgiving. Frank Dicken of Edinburgh, Scotland, reports, "I've noticed several restaurants around town that are already taking reservations for Christmas dinners. One sign indicates that such dinners can be booked for as early as [Nov. 15]. Have your Christmas dinner six weeks before Christmas!" And Ivan Lovegren of Beverly Hills, Calif., notes that the first Christmas film of the year, the indie flick "Lovely Still," opened on Sept. 17 -- six days before the autumnal equinox and the end of summer.
Sweet Plays of the Week (College Bonus): Game scoreless, Southern Mississippi faced third-and-goal on the Kansas 1. The Golden Eagles lined up with double tight ends and two slotbacks right. Tailback V.J. Floyd took a handoff off-tackle right -- stopped, leaped into the air and tossed a pop pass to tight end Jonathan Massey, who had faked a block then ran into the end zone uncovered. The football world has seen the Tim Tebow play on which the quarterback fakes a sneak, then jumps to throw a pop pass to the tight end -- has a tailback ever done this? Southern Miss set the play up by running Floyd from the same formation on the previous snap and drew up the play well by putting both slotbacks in front of Floyd, so he wouldn't be crushed by defenders as he jumped into the air.
[+] Enlarge AP Photo/Al Goldis This memory should cheer the recovery of Michigan State coach Mike Dantonio.
Trailing Notre Dame by three in overtime, Michigan State faced fourth-and-14 on the Irish 29. As the Spartans lined up for a field goal attempt, everyone assumed a kick to force a second overtime. Instead the holder and kicker ran to the right, simulating an option pitch to the kicker; the Notre Dame defense first was shocked, then went for the kicker; holder Aaron Bates threw deep to tight end Charlie Gantt for the touchdown that won the game.
The play design was sweet, but was this really a "bold gamble," as the sports world said? For a college kicker, a 46-yard attempt is a 50/50 proposition. Forcing another overtime is, itself, a 50/50 proposition. That means had Michigan State launched a field goal attempt, it would have carried a 1-in-4 chance of victory. The fake might have failed, but if it succeeded, victory was certain. So the decision by Michigan State coach Mike Dantonio was not a "bold gamble," it was playing the percentages. More coaches should play to win rather than to avoid losing! Dantonio -- today recovering from a mild heart attack -- also knew that it would never occur to the Notre Dame sideline that he would go for the win rather than take the "safe" course.
Obscure College Score of the Week: Malone 69, Anna Maria 0. A rare case in which an NAIA school beats up on an NCAA college. Malone ran up a 69-point margin despite Anna Maria not committing a turnover). Located in Canton, Ohio, Malone University, formerly Cleveland Bible College, is a strict Christian school. While other colleges deal with drunkenness and drug use, Malone sponsors a pumpkin hunt.
Bonus Obscure College Score of the Week: Citadel 26, Presbyterian 14. The Presbyterian Blue Hose -- referring to their socks, not to unhappy courtesans -- may be 0-3 and outscored 137-48. A Division I-AA school, they may have opened with consecutive hired-to-lose defeats at Wake Forest and Clemson. But they've run a trick-play touchdown to make Boise State envious. It's in the video box here. Located in Clinton, S.C., Presbyterian just opened a school of pharmacy and is charging students $40,300 a year to attend, though the school is not accredited -- which in college terms means any degree this school confers may prove worthless.
[+] Enlarge AP Photo/Frank Franklin II He did the right thing. When will the Pro Football Hall of Fame do the right thing?
Two Cheers for Reggie Bush: Reggie Bush was smart to return the Heisman Trophy -- it ends the drip, drip, drip of the conspiracy. He should have apologized, too. But then he did nothing ethically wrong. He let an agent provide a house for family members during his USC years. That's a violation of NCAA rules, a reason he must return the trophy and USC must forfeit games. But Bush only broke a rule; he harmed no one and committed no crime. O.J. Simpson, a criminal -- currently in prison for armed robbery and earlier found liable by a civil jury for the wrongful death of Ronald Goldman -- remains in the Hall of Fame. Bush did the right thing, returning his award. When will the Hall of Fame do the right thing and expel the criminal Simpson?
Reader Comments: Last week, I deemed it "nutty" that officials at the East Carolina-Tulsa game assessed a celebration penalty for ECU's as-time-expired touchdown that gave the school a two-point victory -- how can it be wrong to celebrate after the game ends? I further complained that zebras would not allow East Carolina to waive the try, insisting on marching off 15 yards and making ECU snap the ball and kneel to conclude the contest. I'd always thought the try was an option for the offense, which could be waived if extra points are meaningless to the outcome.
Readers including Richard McDermott of Chicago countered, "In college football the defense can score two points on a returned deuce attempt. So didn't the refs have to make East Carolina line up for the PAT, on the extremely remote chance the Pirates did something other than a kneel-down and Tulsa returned a turnover?"
Kevin Lehde, a math teacher and high school football official in North Carolina, makes the call: "NCAA Rule 8-3-2a states that if the fourth quarter clock expires during a touchdown, 'the try shall not be attempted unless the point(s) would affect the outcome of the game.' Since the NCAA allows the defense to score two points if they return a fumble or interception during a try, the officials acted correctly." In the NFL, an extra point attempt cannot be returned, so officials would be unlikely to compel a scoring team to line up for a try and then kneel. NFL rules say a scoring team is "offered" a try, but may decline. Coaches usually want the extra point, even if time has expired, against the long-shot prospect that a net-points tiebreaker determines a playoff slot. Under the NFHS rules used in most high school games, unless playoff positioning is affected by point differentials, the try is automatically waived if it would have no outcome on the game. The defense can't return PATs under NFHS rules, so in most cases the situation from ECU-Tulsa contest does not arise in high school.
[+] Enlarge If he were alive today, he'd be writing "The Peloponnesian Diet."
I complained that book-like-objects, such as "Game Change" and Tony Blair's "A Journey," cheapen the written word by placing into quotation marks material that is imagined. Alex Hryhorczuk of Urbana, Ill., writes, "Glamorizing non-fiction with made-up quotations is nothing new. Thucydides used speeches in his History of the Peloponnesian War that he could not have had access to, such as the military strategy sessions of enemy officers. To his credit, he warns readers that such speeches are literary representations only. Modern authors don't seem to feel any such need to be so responsible."
Thanks to Kevin Lehde for looking up the rule, and McDermott offers the below haiku on waiting for Tuesday Morning Quarterback to post. (Readers can sign up for a Twitter announcement of when TMQ posts -- that's all you will get, I do not clog your text-mail inbox.)
Anxiously I click.
Yes, it is there. Tee Em Cue.
Sanity now reigns.
-- Richard McDermott, Chicago
Eric Loberg of Bozeman, Mont. writes, "Division I-AA teams can have cupcakes, too. The Division I-AA Montana Grizzlies hired Division II Western State to roll over 73-2 on Sept. 4, moving the Grizzlies to the No. 1 spot in the FCS polls. The football gods, angered at such a display, promptly imposed back-to-back division losses of the Grizzlies, at Cal Poly and at Eastern Washington. Apparently the football gods are not pleased with blowout wins over cupcakes to earn voter support in the polls."
[+] Enlarge Warner Bros. "Mr. Wayne, if I may have the night off, sir, I'd like to effortlessly beat up dozens of young thugs."
Hollywood endlessly gives us action heroes who effortlessly beat up a dozen strong men -- at least a dozen strong stuntmen, who cooperate in being beaten up. I've been recounting the latest trend -- aging stars such as Sly Stallone, Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren who engage in a sort of cinematic self-flattery by playing characters who can effortlessly win kickboxing fights despite their ages. John Gaugler of Seattle adds to the list 77-year-old Michael Caine, who played an anti-gang-vigilante in the 2009 British movie "Harry Brown": "In the flick, Caine takes on a group of young gang members -- but is also hospitalized at one point for emphysema."
Finally, last week readers weighed in on the absurdity of police escorts that stop traffic for football team buses or even for football announcers. John Monahan writes, "Check this from Penn State's athletics website, about arrival for the Alabama game: 'Three buses were waiting for the squad on the tarmac in Birmingham. The team departed for the Marriott Birmingham with a tremendous police escort from the Alabama State Police. Five motorcycles and three cars led the buses off the tarmac. Alabama's finest paved the way to the hotel in the middle of rush-hour traffic. The motorcycles blocked entranceways on the freeway, cleared intersections and stopped traffic throughout the 20-minute drive to the hotel. It felt like we were the only vehicles on the road during the busiest time of day in the city of Birmingham. A tip of the cap goes to the Alabama State Police.' Tip of the cap? This account is disgusting. Busiest time of the day in a heavily populated city and the visiting team gets a free ride at the taxpayers' expense."
[+] Enlarge Ronald C. Modra/Getty Images Pee Wee teams also demand stretch limos, autograph sessions and scantily clad cheerleaders to help them with their math homework.
Lisa Vargas Gardner of Pasadena, Calif., writes, "My husband and I live less than a half mile from the Rose Bowl and walked down for the recent UCLA-Stanford game. As we tried to cross the street in front of our house to start the walk to the bowl for a tailgate, a Pasadena motorcycle cop pulled up, lights flashing, sirens blaring and frantically waved us back onto the sidewalk. We assumed one of the teams' buses would be shortly behind -- that's bad enough. Instead we saw cars with their hazard lights flashing. Some of the cars had PeeWee football logos. Turns out, the game's halftime entertainment was a scrimmage between two PeeWee teams. The PeeWee players were getting a stopped-traffic police escort."
Next Week: Pop Warner teams demand flyovers for ankle-biter games.
In addition to writing Tuesday Morning Quarterback for Page 2, Gregg Easterbrook is the author of the new book "Sonic Boom" and six other books. He is also a contributing editor for The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly and The Washington Monthly. His website can be found here.
Back to Page 2RANDOLPH -- A woman who once ran a brothel out of a Morris Township mansion in the 1990s is on the hook with her husband for $308,000 in fines for allegedly renting out a Randolph home illegally, the Daily Record reported.
Judith Kelly Dempsey, once known as the "Morristown madam" or the "Morris mansion madam," co-owns a property on Prince Henry Drive with her husband Edwin Accinni, the newspaper reported. The couple now lives in Florida, but they're accused of violating a township zoning ordinance that bars the renting of rooms in single-family homes, the newspaper reported.
Accinni, who failed to appear in Randolph court over the summer, has appealed the judge's ruling earlier this year ordering him to pay a $308,000 fine and spend 90 days in jail, the Daily Record reported. The fine is based on a calculation of monthly rents paid for bedrooms between 2011 and Sept. 3, 2014, the newspaper reported.
17 women arrested in prostitution sweep, Passaic sheriff says
As reported by The Star-Ledger in Nov. 1999, Dempsey, a former Playboy bunny, ran a brothel known as "Afternoon Delight" out of her home -- Sunnymede, a $1 million turn-of-the-century mansion filled with Louis XIV furniture and Victorian antiques. Authorities said Dempsey had employed four women at the mansion as $225-per-hour prostitutes.
Dempsey was sentenced to probation in 1999 for running the brothel but she was busted three months later at a Hanover motel where she was working as a $200-an-hour hooker, the newspaper reported at the time. Dempsey was sentenced in Nov. 1999 to 270 days in county jail for violating the terms of her probation.
Accinni, Dempsey's fiance in 1999, was also charged in connection with the prostitution bust. He was sentenced to pretrial intervention, according to the 1999 Star-Ledger article.
Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.Archie Andrews, a staple of American comics since 1941, will die in Wednesday's issue of Life with Archie. And he'll say goodbye to the series with one last act of heroism: Archie will take a bullet meant for best friend Kevin Keller, the first openly gay character in his comic universe. In doing so, he'll foil an assassination attempt against Keller and, according to the story's creators, give rise to greater understanding and tolerance in his fictional town of Riverdale. The final issue arrives as many Americans continue to work tirelessly on behalf of gay rights and to extend marriage equality across the US.
"He dies selflessly," said Jon Goldwater, Archie Comics publisher and co-CEO, speaking to the Associated Press. "He dies in the manner that epitomizes not only the best of Riverdale but the best of all of us." Archie Comics first revealed that Andrews' death would mark the conclusion of Life with Archie back in April. The comic is a flash-forward series that catches up with Archie and his friends long after their high school and college days.
A character celebrated by fans and gay rights activists
Kevin Keller was introduced to Riverdale in Veronica issue 202 almost four years ago. That issue proved so popular that Archie Comics needed to order a reprint — the first in its 70-year history. Created by artist Dan Parent, military brat Keller was featured in a four-issue miniseries and went on to headline his own comic. Kevin Keller earned the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book in 2013, according to Rolling Stone.
But he's also been a regular in Life with Archie; an issue celebrating Keller's marriage was released in 2012. In the storyline, Keller meets his husband at a military hospital while both are active servicemen. "The world of Riverdale has to reflect contemporary culture and to show it is an accepting, diverse place," Parent said at the time. One Million Moms, an anti-gay group, went on to boycott the gay wedding issue. That real-life protest inspired Parent to take things further in the comic and give Kevin Keller his first on-panel kiss last year in a story arc that mocked the right-wing group.
Wednesday's finale finds Keller as a newly elected senator fighting for tighter gun-control laws. The gun epidemic comes to Keller's attention after his husband is shot trying to thwart an in-progress robbery. Archie Comics isn't identifying who the assassin is before readers see it in print, however. The following issue will jump ahead one year and show fans how Archie's friends and Riverdale honor the red-haired comic icon after his heroic death. "Archie is not a superhero like all the rest of the comic book characters," Goldwater told the Associated Press. "If anything, I think his death is more impactful because of that. We hope by showing how something so violent can happen to Archie, that we can — in some way — learn from him."Florida Gators offensive coordinator Kurt Roper met with the media on Tuesday to provide some thoughts on Florida’s second loss (at home against LSU) and the Gators’ upcoming contest against the Missouri Tigers, which is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.
RUNNING THINGS
To say that Florida’s approach to running the football last Saturday was questionable is an understatement. The Gators entered the game with their starter, junior running back Matt Jones, injured (ankle) and questionable. UF planned to run redshirt junior quarterback Jeff Driskel a lot in the contest, too.
Despite Jones’s health and the prospect of overworking a quarterback who had not carried the ball that much in any other game this season as very real concerns, Florida did not appear to have a power rushing backup plan.
Sophomore Kelvin Taylor and redshirt senior Mack Brown, who combined to tote the rock 259 times for 1,051 yards and eight touchdowns in 2013, touched the ball early in the contest but were not used late when it mattered the most – on 1st and Goal at the 2-yard line, 2nd and Goal at the 1-yard line, and 3rd and Goal at the 1-yard line.
Instead, the Gators ran 5-foot-9, 177-pound freshman tailback Brandon Powell on first down, gave Driskel a chance to run it in out of the shotgun on second down, and ran a triple option on third down (that would have succeeded had the pass not been dropped).
Here is how Roper explained the personnel decision:
“We ran inside zone. … Brandon Powell is a little lighter; physical guy, tough guy, felt really good with the ball in his hands and had been playing a lot of football, had been in that series and made some plays. So we just, that was the decision that we made at that point to put it in his hands. And so we felt pretty confident; we knew what we were going to get schematically, and it’s what we felt our best thought was at that point. And then the next down, we obviously put a lead blocker in there and tried to run the quarterback to get our numbers right and put a heavier guy in there on second down. But we felt like we could number up. That’s the best way I can say it on the scheme right there.”
Why were Taylor and/or Brown not in the game?
“I thought Brandon made a lot of plays as the game went on. We had a protection issue early in the game and in those situations, it just affects the thought process through the game. … He is really good with the ball in his hands. He’s a guy that, when you hand it to him, does a good job. But you have to manage the rest of the package.”
OK.
In other words, neither Taylor nor Brown were given the opportunity to be a pure rusher – something both did with success one season ago behind a less-effective offensive line – because they have issues doing things (pass protection, pass catching) that were not necessary traits for a couple of straight runs inside the five.
Powell, it should be noted, was quite effective in the passing game. He proved to be a playmaker and spark plug as he gained 66 yards on six receptions with a long of 21 yards. As a rusher, however, he moved just six yards on three carries. Perhaps he was not the best option for that particular scenario, given the experience and prior success of others in that position group.
RELIEF AHEAD
Florida refusing to run Taylor and Brown may not be an issue much longer for the Gators as Jones is expected to be back in action on Saturday. He returned to practice Monday and said Tuesday that he is “definitely” ready for a full workload in the game.
“I feel good about my health. I practiced [Monday], came in, no swelling in the knee, no swelling in the ankle. I feel great about this week, the game plan and everything,” Jones said.
Jones admitted that he wished he “would have played through” what Muschamp described as a “loose ankle” on Saturday, but noted that he wanted to be healthy for Florida throughout the rest of the season. “I got a lot of football to play here,” he said.
Roper is also excited to have his primary ball carrier back.
“He’s a guy that’s … he’s just so powerful. He’s hard to bring down, and the situation at the end of the game, that’s when you really benefit from a guy that’s 230 pounds and hard for one guy to tackle,” Roper said.
ATONEMENT
There’s nothing senior tight end Tevin Westbrook can do about it now. He dropped a go-ahead touchdown pass that may have won Saturday’s game for the Gators. It hit him in the hands and fell right to the ground. His body soon followed as he hit the grass on all fours in shock that he could let such a big play slip right through his fingers.
“I just didn’t focus hard enough on the ball, had too much emotions in [the game],” he told the Orlando Sentinel’s Edgar Thompson on Tuesday. “It was just a roller coaster the whoel game and so when it happened, I just wasn’t locked in on the ball. [I was] more just focused on scoring the touchdown, not really securing the ball before I had it.”
Westbrook says his mistake was that he did not “look the ball in,” though he knows that is not a mistake he will make twice this season.
“I took it for granted thinking that it was such an easy pass. And then when it hit my hands I was too excited to go celebrate with the team that I forgot that I had to secure the ball,” he explained. “The SEC is a tough conference and that play is going to come up again where I’ve got to make a tough catch and now I know what I’ve got to do to make it happen. So the next time when I make that catch I’m going to come back in here and say the same thing – I looked it in this time.”
NOTES AND QUOTES
» Jones on what he saw from Powell against LSU: “It was good for him to get some more experience. He’s a talented back. He remind some of me sometimes because he plays as big as me and he’s got a lot of heart. I love the way he catches the ball, and I’m happy for him.”
» Roper said junior wide receiver Latroy Pittman was “in the pit” on Monday, meaning he did not participate in contact practice and was instead working on his own.
» Roper, asked why sophomore WR Ahmad Fulwood was not being targeted more often, provided this response: “Here’s the biggest thing: no matter what route you’re running, you have to think you’re the primary. You have to think the ball is coming to you so you don’t see any change of speed or [get surprised when you see the ball]. … A quarterback will throw a ball the receiver had no idea [was coming], thought there was no way he’s getting it. And those are lessons learned. You know that every route is real. And every route they do run is real. They’ve got to be ready for it. I think Ahmad does a good job of running his routes full speed all the time.”
» Roper on how the coaches can help the wideouts catch the ball more consistently: “The biggest thing is truly making whatever drill we’re doing as much like a game as we possibly might make it like a game. It doesn’t matter if we’re going through the ladder and catching a ball at the end of the ladder or just doing top end of route, catching it at the top end of the route but at full speed and bursting and getting up field. The Jugs [Machine] and all that stuff is good, but I learned from coach [David] Cutcliffe a long time ago, ‘Practice doesn’t make perfect; practice makes permanent.’ So what you have to do is practice at the speed of the game, make it a game rep. And the more we do that, hopefully it transitions to being more successful. But really it gets down to those guys having confidence in themselves.”
» Roper on whether the receivers’ struggles are all mental: “Absolutely. I think right now, they’re like anybody else. They don’t want to let anybody down. They don’t want to let down the guys on the team. I don’t see it as a lack of concentration for the most part. I see it as trying not to make a mistake. And it maybe leads to that.”
» Roper on running the triple option with Driskel on 3rd and Goal late in the game: “You try to call several of those all the time, and with a guy like Jeff, you know getting him out on the edge is a huge advantage because he can run and pass. You got to pick your situations and pick your areas to do it, but it’s obviously a huge deal on that play. I mean, Jeff was amazing on that play because what he had to do was burst flat because they had an extra guy back over there; they actually had two extra guys over there. He had to burst flat to stop their feet and then he had to retreat to be able to get the throw done. It was just a heck of a play on his part. But it takes a guy that’s pretty athletic. … You’ve got to have a guy that can buy a little ground, buy a little time, manipulate some space for himself, and Jeff’s capable of doing that.”Senate Democrats’ Monday-night marathon is a perfect highlight of their new climate strategy: Talk tough now, take action much, much later.
More than two dozen Senate Democrats, joined under the banner of the recently formed Climate Action Task Force, will hold the floor all night to talk about global warming.
The talk-a-thon has the blessing of Majority Leader Harry Reid, who plans to speak Monday evening and last week called climate change “the worst problem facing the world today.”
The event is part of stepped up efforts by liberal Democrats to play offense on climate. The strategy is designed to create political space for President Obama’s EPA regulations and eventually lay the groundwork for major legislation.
But after the last senator leaves the floor, and the last tweet has been tweeted, the follow-up — at least in terms of action — will fall short of aggressive.
Democrats’ have no immediate plans to force message votes on a carbon tax, a cap-and-trade system, or any other major legislative mechanism to actually address climate change.
Compare that with |
RazakSat satellite. The RazakSat satellite was originally named MACSAT (Medium-Sized Aperture Camera Satellite). It was a joint development program between Astronautic Technology (M) Sdn.Bhd. of Malaysia and SaTReCi to develop and validate technologies for a Near Equatorial Orbit remote sensing mini-satellite system to acquire medium high-resolution images.
Secondary payloads are two cube sats: InnoSat and CubeSat
The launch window will open at 23:00 GMT (8:00 pm EDT) for 5 hours.Boris Johnson has been criticised for ordering Transport for London to spend a further £1m on “aviation issues” despite neither he nor the agency having a role in the UK’s aviation policy.
The money is in addition to £5m already spent by TfL in lobbying against further expansion at Heathrow and promoting the Mayor’s preferred “Boris Island” scheme which would see a new international hub airport built in the Thames Estuary.
That scheme was rejected by the Government’s airport commission which, earlier this year, backed the building of a new runway at Heathrow subject to conditions designed to meet the concerns of local residents and environmental campaigners.
According to City Hall documents, the new money will be used to ensure “that the Mayor is able to contribute to the Government’s review and analysis of the Commission’s report” and “continues to represent the views of Londoners by taking an active part in the national policy debate”.
Liberal Democrats on the London Assembly have accused the Mayor of “throwing good money after bad”.
City Hall leader Caroline Pidgeon commented: “The Mayor should be explaining why he has already blown over £5 million of TfL’s valuable resources pursuing his misguided ideas for a Thames Estuary airport. Instead he is robbing TfL of even further resources.
“Six million pounds could have been far better spent on transport projects that would actually benefit Londoners.”
“From extending the cycle hire scheme into south east London through to delivering step free access at more Tube stations there are literally dozens of ways in which valuable TfL’s resources could have been better spent.”Enlarge By Bob Self, Florida Times-Union via AP Marine Cpl. Tyler Southern celebrates Aug. 20 after his arrival at his Jacksonville home. Southern was awarded a Purple Heart after he lost both legs and an arm to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. The number of U.S. soldiers who have suffered amputations in Afghanistan has increased sharply over last year as more troops move into Taliban territory, according to Army data. Amputations rose from 47 in 2009 to 77 through Sept. 23 of this year, or an increase of more than 60%, the Army reports. The chief cause of the injuries are improvised explosive devices — or IEDs — that are planted in the ground or along roads, according to the International Security Assistance Force, which oversees military operations in Afghanistan. Coalition forces have been hit by more IEDs in recent weeks as the surge in U.S. troops allows for expanded operations into traditional Taliban strongholds in Kandahar and Helmand provinces in southern Afghanistan. "The patients survive only because (of) the wearing of body armor," along with the use of tourniquets in the field and rapid evacuation to a hospital by helicopter, said Navy Cmdr. Eric Elster, lead surgeon at a NATO hospital outside Kandahar City. The vast majority of amputations involve the loss of either an arm or leg, but a dozen soldiers this year have had multiple amputations, twice the number of such cases in 2009. At the NATO hospital, doctors amputated a major limb — a leg or arm — an average of once every other day in September, according to Navy Capt. Michael Mullins, a hospital spokesman. The operations included not only U.S. troops, but also NATO troops, Afghan soldiers and civilians, Mullins said. A recent Pentagon report said IEDs are now the "the most serious threat" to coalition forces, killing 6,200 allied and Afghan troops in fiscal year 2009, compared with 3,800 in 2008. The surge in reinforcements ordered by President Obama and subsequent military operations in Taliban strongholds have led to the "highest rate of IED attacks" since the war began in 2001, the Pentagon report said. Deaths among U.S. troops in Afghanistan this year reached 531 in September, surpassing the 514 Americans killed in 2009. Even with the increase in combat, the number of amputations among U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan is less than half of those GIs who lost limbs in Iraq at the height of that war. There were 207 soldiers who became amputees because of war wounds suffered in Iraq in 2007, according to Army statistics, the worst year for that type of casualty in the Iraq fighting. However, the percentage of major amputations (loss of a leg or arm) is higher this year among the Army casualties in Afghanistan than any year in Iraq. In Afghanistan, 90% of Army amputees lost a major limb; in Iraq, that figure never exceeded 80%, according to Army statistics. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read moreReviews
“Traces a proud lineage of battles against the over-mighty state with the "Great Charter" to hand. And it does so with a passion, eloquence and lyrical reverence for the hard-won freedoms of Old England that take the breath away.” —The Independent
“The year's most lyrical and necessary book on liberty. The Magna Carta Manifesto is such a pleasure to read that it is easy to forget that it provides essential arguments for renewing civil liberties in the U.S. and internationally.” —John Nichols The Nation
“Shows how restraints against tyranny are being abridged as rights once held inalienable are laid aside.” —Times Higher Education
“Linebaugh should be commended for the impressive scope of his analysis.... The joining together of serious historical analysis with a passionate clarity about contemporary injustice is a welcome contribution to a world where historical scholarship is too often divorced, however impossibly, from politics.” —Insight Turkey
"Ideas can be beautiful too, and the ideas Peter Linebaugh provokes and maps in this history of liberty are dazzling, reminders of what we have been and who we could be. In this remarkable small book, he traces one path of liberty back to the forests and the economic independence they represented for medieval Britons, another path to recent revolutionaries, another to the Bush Administration's assaults on habeas corpus, the Constitution, and liberty and he links the human rights charter that Magna Carta represented to the less-known Forest Charter, drawing a missing link between ecological and social well-being."—Rebecca Solnit, author of Storming the Gates of Paradise
"There is not a more important historian living today. Period."—Robin D.G. Kelley, author of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination
"Ranging across the centuries, and from England to Asia, Africa and the Americas, Peter Linebaugh shows us the contested history of Magna Carta—how the liberties it invoked were secured and (as today) violated, and how generations of ordinary men and women tried to revive the idea of the commons in the hope of building a better world."—Eric Foner, author of The Story of American Freedom
"This is an original, powerful and ground breaking book. It is utterly fascinating and charts a path that gives me, and will give others, hope for a better future. Linebaugh sends an important message to a world that increasingly believes that private ownership of our resources can make us more prosperous. As we struggle to regain lost libertymakes us understand that freedom is about guaranteeing the economic and social rights that allow all of us to partake of political freedom."—Michael Ratner, President of the Center for Constitutional RightsTell people that you’ve written a memoir about how poetry helped you recover from depression and most look baffled. Poetry? Depression? How does that work?
But odd as it sounds, the healing power of consoling poems and prose was at the heart of my recovery from two breakdowns, or "depressive episodes" as psychiatrists prefer to call them.
The love of my family, drugs and therapy were hugely important in the battle to recover from an illness so severe that the first time I was bed-ridden for six months, the second for a year. But it’s no exaggeration to say that poetry proved a lifeline.
Though I couldn’t read during the acute stage of the illness I could listen. My mother would read to me from books of poetry or the Bible and I could manage to remember and repeat the odd line. My favourite when I was first ill was from Corinthians: "My grace is sufficient for thee; my strength is made perfect in weakness." It made sense of the suffering. I wouldn’t just recover: I’d be stronger too.
A second favourite was "But westward, look, the land is bright" from Say not the Struggle Naught Availeth by Arthur Hugh Clough, one of Churchill’s favourite poets, whom he was fond of quoting in the war. Again, I would get better. The land would once again be bright. Of course, as doctors know, believing in your own ability to recover in turn makes it more likely.
When I was awake in the dark hours of the night, and suffering from that sense of complete isolation that is at the heart of feeling depressed, I would repeat these snatched lines to myself, prayer-like. I wasn’t alone after all.
REVIEW: Sane New World: Ruby Wax on beating depression
It was only when the antidepressants began to work that I could concentrate on entire poems – and only short ones. I turned to Gerard Manley Hopkins’s poems which celebrate the healing power of nature, poems such as Pied Beauty. Nature was reaching out and grabbing me by the collar as I recovered, my mood perfectly summed up by Hopkins’s celebration of even the smallest miracles of creation. The language performed for me, rekindling my enthusiasm for words and refreshing my own stale vocabulary.
Glory be to God for dappled things –
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
A poem can also provide a different narrative from the negative story in our heads. This was how I felt when I read George Herbert’s Love (III) during my first breakdown. During the first verse I felt a bolt of electricity pierce through me. All the hairs on my arm stood on end. It was the first time that had happened in a while.
Love bade me welcome,
But my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin,
But sweet-eyed love, observing me grow slack,
Did welcome me in.
Yes: my soul had been drawing back. Yes: I needed love to bid me welcome. The idea that my soul was "guilty of dust and sin" seemed the most perfect description of the depressive illness. The poem pinpointed a sense of guilt that I should be depressed while blessed with a loving home and husband, something I had not previously acknowledged. Herbert’s words were bursting through the clouds of my mind. It seemed we had been to the same place and spoke the same language, albeit that his visit was centuries ago. I had found a companion on my journey.
I’m not the first to derive comfort from poetry. Apollo was the god of poetry as well of medicine. In 1751 Benjamin Franklin founded the first American hospital, the Pennsylvania Hospital, where reading and creative writing were among the treatments prescribed for mental illness. Freud, Adler, Jung and others recognised the healing power of words, and this led to the 1969 founding of the Association of Poetry Therapy.
READ: GPs to prescribe library books to combat anxiety, depression and relationship problems
Nowadays, figures in the literary and philosophical worlds advocate their own brands of healing words. Alain de Botton's The School of Life has recently begun courses in mindfulness and poetry. William Sieghart, the founder of the Forward Poetry Prize, invites audience members at literary festivals to request "Poetry Prescriptions" to suit their specific emotional and psychological needs. As Boris the bard, endorsing the importance of poetry, humorously suggests, "There is no known disaster, That poetry can’t master."
There’s even some scientific evidence that poetry changes the way we think. The arrangement of poetry, even the clearest, has different conventions to continuous prose. This presents enough of a challenge to get our brains working differently. Research by Philip Davis and the neuroscience department of Liverpool University discovered that readers of Shakespeare, when they came across an unusual but totally comprehensible grammatical construction, would show a spike in neural activity. Even though the readers understood what was being said, their brains were shocked into activity. The requirement to concentrate in the moment helped me stop regretting the past and fearing the future in the negative mental spiral characteristic of depression.
In this way, poetry can work in a similar way to mindfulness, forcing us into the present. Robert Frost, demonstrating my point perfectly, put it far better when he said a poem can be a ‘momentary stay against confusion.
Black Rainbow, my memoir about how poetry helped me recover from depression, began life as a series of poetry recommendations to friends. They knew what I had been through and asked for poems I thought could help them in times of need. With the book’s publication, readers have been sending me the poems and prose that have helped them. Soon perhaps I won’t need to explain that poems can be as good as pills in helping you recover.
Rachel Kelly’s memoir about how poetry helped her recover from depression, Black Rainbow: How Words Healed Me – my journey through depression’ is published by Yellow Kite Books, a subsidiary of Hodder & Stoughton, £16.99. All author proceeds are going to the charities SANE and United Response.
READ: How writing helped Edward St Aubyn exorcise his demonsSen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told NBC News on Monday that it was “inappropriate” for presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump to attack a federal judge’s ethnicity.
“It’s inappropriate to be attacking a federal judge’s race or ethnicity,” Cruz told NBC News. “You’re going to have to ask Donald to explain the reason he says the things he does. I’m not going to try to do so.”
Trump had said that U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is presiding over cases against Trump University in California, has a conflict of interest because of his “Mexican heritage.” The businessman has railed against Hispanics since he launched his campaign, when he infamously stated that some undocumented immigrants were “rapists” and “criminals.”
Cruz has dodged answering whether he would support Trump as the Republican nominee after he dropped his own bid for the White House.Israel is on schedule to inaugurate a revolutionary electric car grid with dozens of recharge stations and thousands of cars on the road by next year, the project's developers said Sunday.
The California-based company Better Place hopes Israel's model will lead a shift toward electric transportation worldwide.
Between 70 and 100 recharge stations will open across the country by 2011 to service a fleet of electric vehicles, the company announced at a news conference unveiling a visitor center north of Tel Aviv.
Beginning in September, the company will test hundreds of cars and install a preliminary infrastructure before the project's commercial launch.
When the grid is complete, drivers will be able to recharge their vehicles using plugs installed next to parking spaces. On longer trips, motorists can stop at stations where a machine can replace the car's lithium ion battery. The cars, developed with Renault-Nissan, have a range of about 100 miles (160 kilometers) before the battery must be replaced.
Better Place has said users will pay for a monthly package that will include the price of the car, the battery and use of the grid. But it has yet to announce how much all of this will cost, saying only that the price will be equal to or less than the price of a regular car.
'Solving problem for entire world'
The company, founded by Israel-American businessman Shai Agassi, a former top executive at software giant SAP AG, raised $350 million from an HSBC-led investor consortium last month, one of the largest clean-tech investments in history. The new financing values Better Place at $1.25 billion.
Speaking Sunday, Agassi said his goal was to help end global dependence on oil.
"Israel has taken on the problem (of oil dependency) and has decided independently to solve this for the entire world," he said.
The visitor center opened Sunday offers interactive tours, test drives of the electric car, and an automated station to get on the wait list to buy the new car. Agassi reported heavy interest in the vehicle, but gave no numbers.Labour’s new elections coordinator, Ian Lavery, has said the party has plenty of leadership candidates to choose from if Jeremy Corbyn steps down before the next general election.
Lavery, who was appointed to the new role on Friday, jointly with another Labour MP, Andrew Gwynne, was asked on Pienaar’s Politics on BBC Radio 5 Live about leaked polling that showed the party testing the appeal of leftwing members of the shadow cabinet.
Labour sources have denied that the focus groups, in which voters were shown clips of the rising stars Rebecca Long-Bailey and Angela Rayner, had anything to do with “succession planning”.
Lavery said: “I think they are fantastic candidates. I think we have got lots of quality in the Labour party and it’s not just the two that’s been mentioned.” Asked if that meant there were plenty of potential leaders to choose from, he said: “There’s plenty of leaders to pick from if and when Jeremy decides, of his own volition, that it’s not for him at the election. That isn’t the case at this point in time.”
His wording appeared to hold out the possibility that Corbyn could yet decide to step down before 2020, which Labour has previously denied.
Lavery also talked about two forthcoming byelections, in Stoke-on-Trent and Copeland, Cumbria, both taking place next week, and appeared to play down the significance of Labour losing either.
“We obviously want to win, that goes without saying; but if there’s any hiccups in the next couple of weeks, then we would need to then look forward to the shire council elections, the different local elections, the mayoralty elections come May as well,” he said.
Labour denies leaked poll is linked to search for Corbyn's successor Read more
Labour has been rocked by internal division over the Brexit vote in the Commons, in which 52 MPs rebelled against Corbyn’s three-line whip and refused to back legislation authorising the government to trigger article 50, the formal divorce process from the EU.
Corbyn let the frontbenchers who voted against the whip off with a formal warning, including three who work in the whips’ office and were meant to persuade colleagues to toe the party line.
A Labour source said the polling, which was leaked to the Sunday Times, had nothing to do with trying out potential successors to Corbyn. “In common with all political parties, Labour conducts polling to get a clearer picture of views in different parts of the country. Polling of northern voters was about how best to get Labour’s message across in the north and has nothing at all to do with ‘succession planning’.” The source added that similar exercises would be carried out in other parts of the UK.
Earlier, Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, had dismissed the idea of a fresh leadership challenge. When asked about a recent YouGov poll that suggested Corbyn’s favourability ratings were weak, he said: “This is not the time for a leadership election. He got a second mandate from our members last year, he is now the established leader of the Labour party.
“It is his duty to lead the official opposition through a period of unprecedented economic uncertainty and he will be tested. He has to explain those and he has to improve on them and he’s well aware of that. I do talk about the issues that I think Labour needs to address if we are going to narrow that poll gap.”
Voters appear to have been sceptical about Corbyn’s appeal in the leaked focus group results. The group, organised by Labour’s pollster, BMG Research, found Corbyn to be “boring”, said he appeared “fed up” and that he “looks like a scruffy schoolkid”.
The Labour source refused to comment on suggestions that the polling also pointed to the party being reduced to 198 seats to the Tories’ 361 if a general election were held in the coming months.Welding a bike together can bring about romantic notions of fire and metal meeting, making something from nothing. Every bike must go through a transition from a raw material into an operable bicycle, and this is where the skill of your custom builder comes in. Some builders are pure artists. Some builders are very skilled craftsmen. Some builders are expert welders. Some builders are master designers. For this particular bike, I wanted something that could be ridden hard, and personally, I’m not really attracted to the ornate bikes that are intended to just look nice. I chose Matter Cycles because of Collin’s focus on design and geometry, and his simplistic style. Take a look inside at some pictures of this bike moving from 10 round tubes to a tool that will take me ripping down the trail… The starting point for any steel bike is clean, perfect miters. A TIG weld can start to get messy, blow through a tube, and even become a weak spot if there are any gaps, imperfections, or contaminants in the welds. Before the high-temperature transformation of metal can begin, the entire bike is test fit together in the jig to ensure all tubes will play together nicely. Once insured that the tubes are mitered correctly, any small prep work is done ahead of time, such as adding water bottle braze-ons, since it is a lot easier to add them to an individual tube, than to try and fit the torch inside the finished front triangle. Many people may think that a frame is welded up in a frame jig, but the reality is, they are just tacked there. Once the tubes are ready to join in holy frame matrimony forever, the builder will put a tack or spot weld at junctions, pull the frame out, and complete the welds where they can get full access to all sides of the joint. The process of having the frame in the jig, tacking the joint, pulling it out and finishing the joint, and then checking the frame on a surface plate may be repeated several times as the various parts come together, to insure a perfect frame. The heat affected zone can be a place of rainbows and unicorns to those that appreciate the joinery of chromoly. The stacking of a fine weld bead is something typically waxed poetic in the halls of NAHBS like a bunch of winos discussing the presence of pomegranate notes in their Pinot. I must admit though, I am one of those, and this picture gets me pretty excited about hitting the dirt. And there it is, in all its glory, ready for paint and parts, and destined for greatness. Check in next week as we finalize the parts kit, and talk about the reasons behind all the part choice.
How to Build a NAHBS Bike – Part 3
How to Build a NAHBS Bike – Part 2
How to Build a NAHBS Bike – Part 1In May of 2014, Yusuf Yerkel, a senior Turkish government advisor, injured his leg. He’d been kicking a man protesting the prime minister’s response to the worst the worst mining accident in the country’s history. To Yerkel’s embarrassment, the moment was caught by a Reuters photographer, meaning the entire world got the chance to witness that moment.
But not Turkey.
For more than two years, Turkish government officials have made extensive use of a powerful legal tool to censor online content. But few have taken advantage like Yerkel, an advisor to then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an.
Since publication of the photo, Yerkel has gone on a tenacious crusade to censor it, convincing a court to legally compel Turkey’s Internet service providers to censor 357 URLs for their users. His current tally includes 123 YouTube videos, 190 Turkish news articles, 22 international news articles, 10 popular forums, four cartoon blogs, four Dailymotion videos, and one tweet.
That Yerkel even had such a legal option at his disposal is thanks to Turkey’s decision, in the wake of a corruption scandal surrounding Erdo?an, to amend its Internet Law (Art.9), to allow censoring of online content that constitutes defamation. The legal procedure is so expedited that judges can give ban orders within a day, with no hearing, no entitled right of defense for the accused. ISPs are ordered to block the online content within four hours of a judge’s decision.
The law has become Turkish government officials’ go-to tool for censoring the Internet: More than 4,000 orders were issued by Turkish courts over the last two years, banning about 25.000 URLs. The bulk of these banned addresses are Twitter and Facebook posts, YouTube videos, and news articles. According to the data collected by cyber law professor Yaman Akdeniz, Erdo?an, now the country’s president, and Ahmet Davuto?lu, who succeeded him as prime minister, lead the censorship requests.
Yerkel injured his his leg while visiting the town of Merkel, which was openly mourning the 301 miners who died in an accident at the coal mine in Soma, Turkey. The town was already on edge; it was inflamed when Erdo?an downplayed the disaster by comparing it with mining accidents in 19th-century Britain.
As he left the press conference at the town hall, an angry mob booed Erdo?an and called him to resign. Erdo?an, furious, took it personally: Amateur videos shows him assaulting a protester with his guards; Yerkel’s contribution was to kick a deceased miner’s relative. The photos of the assault, taken by a Reuters photographer Mehmet Emin Al, went viral as the Turkish state official’s response to mourners in Soma.
Yerkel minced no words when describing his sense of the incident. “I am sad I was not able to maintain my composure despite all the provocations, the insults and attacks to which I was exposed,” he said in a statement to the press the next day.
Public outcry persisted, and Erdo?an claimed in a statement that Yerkel had been dismissed from his duty. This was untrue, since the “duty” referred in the statement did not officially exist, and the administrative inquiry for him has never been carried out. Yerkel currently still occupies the same position in Prime Minister Davuto?lu’s office.
But that wasn’t enough. After the incident, Yerkel hired a law firm with experience in online reputation management. In December, long after the photo and story had gone viral, he submitted that list of URLs to a Turkish court, claiming defamation. Hours later, the court ordered the country’s ISP ban each of those 357 URLs. Sites unrelated to Yerkel’s kick, including news articles published a year before the mining disaster, were included.
So were news articles from almost all of Turkey’s national news outlets, as well as international ones like Fox News, Yahoo, Huffington Post, the U.K.’s Daily Mail and The Times, and Germany’s Spiegel. Notably, some of the banned articles are from pro-government outlets, which portrayed Yerkel’s kick as a justified act of self-defense.
There’s one common element among the banned coverage of Yerkel’s kicking: the visuals. Evidently, Yerkel’s online reputation management company made an image search of his name on Google, and listed the URL addresses that host the images and videos of him kicking a mourner, regardless of the defamation claim.
Yerkel is far from the only Turkish official to use this amendment for personal reasons. Former Communication Minister Lütfi Elvan made use by forcing Twitter to withhold tweets calling him an “idiot.” That fact that some of these he singled out were never retweeted, and that most of the accounts had a very small number of followers, didn’t matter. By all appearances, Elvan, or his aides simply searched his name on Twitter and submitted a list of 63 tweets that they wanted censored to the court.
Photos via Reuters and Jerry Nihen/Flickr (CC BY 2.0) | Remix by Jason ReedA week today, we will have the oddity of a Westminster set-piece that was never supposed to be. Budgets, the Queen's speech and the like can usually be plotted out years in advance. But this month's spending review – or, rather, cuts review – was not expected to be necessary. The coalition originally ventured that the retrenchments it set out in 2010 would suffice to fix the public finances within a single parliament. But as the recovery failed to materialise, five years of austerity became six years, then seven and more, and it became unavoidable for George Osborne to detail an extra year of pain for the financial year 2015-16, which straddles the next general election.
We are all used to reading about 15%, 20% or 25% cuts, so the 2.8% saving that the chancellor requires from the average department might sound easy to find. And yet there are rumbling government rows over services such as the police. For the sanguine analysis that says a couple of percentage points is nothing to worry about ignores two crucial things: first, the fact that – after a half-decade of pain – the easy cuts have all been made; second, the continuing promise to exempt big chunks of spending, most notably the huge health service, from outright cuts redoubles the pain elsewhere.
Indeed, factoring in the "ringfences" for hospitals and schools, and on realistic assumptions about the ability of Philip Hammond and Theresa May to shield squaddies and bobbies from the worst, the Institute for Fiscal Studies reckons (pdf) that other departments might be facing cuts of around 10%. That is a savage saving to have to find in any year, and especially in a year that follows such a long lean spell.
Think about what a cut on this scale would mean for an urban town hall, where the cuts have already reduced spending power by substantially more than the English average of 12.2%. Statutory duties towards orphaned young people and frail elderly people consume a huge chunk of resources, and cannot lawfully be disowned. Council back-office services have already been pared to the bone – planning and development has been cut by an average of 46%. Meanwhile, typical cultural spending has been chopped by a fifth. If you care about a library, a sports centre or even a park close to your home, it is time to be afraid.
With the Treasury's plans implying that – after the election – we will hear about detailed plans for yet another two years of similar pain, we are talking about cumulative cuts that go so far beyond what the public has been primed for that they could strain the social contract. No wonder those in the know are scrambling around for alternatives. Treasury officials slipped a telling sentence into the budget: "It would, of course, be possible to do more of this further consolidation through tax instead." No doubt we can expect a conspiracy of silence from the politicians on that point until polling day is safely out of the way; for now, the vaunted Osborne alternative will be cutting welfare – again.
He wants to build on his benefit cap for individual families by somehow capping welfare spending as a whole. The counter-argument about poverty won't interest him, but as the guardian of the economy he should be expected to give weight to the crucial role that social security payments have played in steadying demand in the slump. He might also recall the last time that spending which bounces about because of booms and busts was lumped in with the rest – in the late 80s and early 90s. The government ended up in a mess because it mistook the flattering effects of a brief burst of growth for a permanent improvement.
In the end, the pickle we're in will take taxes to fix – but don't expect anyone to tell you that next week.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- City officials fired police officer Vincent Lucarelli after the 12-year veteran admitted to "sexting" with crime victims and visiting women while on duty. But an arbitrator ordered the city to rehire him.
Mayor Frank Jackson on Friday said the arbitration process involved in punishing officers has been an obstacle in attempts to reform the department.
An arbitrator let Lucarelli keep his job after the officers admitted that he kissed and touched women inside a police car and tried to have relationships with a total of seven women -- six of whom were crime victims -- over five months in 2012.
The city appealed the arbitrator's ruling, according to records, and that case is still pending.
The incidents were brought to light during a criminal investigation into Brenda Bickerstaff, a private investigator who police accused of intimidating a witness. Eight thousand of that witness's text messages were subpoenaed -- including sexts exchanged between her and Lucarelli. From there, an internal affairs investigation linked six other women to Lucarelli.
The exchanges all took place between January and May 2012. Some of the alleged relationships went no further than "harmless flirting," while others turned sexual.
Lucarelli began texting one woman about a burglary she reported. These messages progressed into sexting. Lucarelli told her that he wanted to come to her house and have sex with her.
The officer started a sexual relationship with another woman three years after Cleveland police investigated a crime committed against her. Lucarelli admitted he visited the woman while on the clock and gave her money to support her children.
Investigators said all of the relationships were consensual, though one woman admitted she was intimidated by Lucarelli's advances.
The city cited the seriousness of Lucarelli's violations as justification for firing him. It also emphasized that this wasn't a one-time gaffe, but a clear pattern of behavior.
The city propped up its decision with additional rules Lucarelli broke, including when he took a side security job without the department's approval; that he failed to appear at a disciplinary hearing; and that he used a city vehicle to pick up his neighbor from her job in Beachwood.
The Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association stood behind Lucarelli and argued that termination was too harsh, given that other officers who committed more serious violations were allowed to keep their jobs. The union also contended that none of Lucarelli's actions were illegal, nor did they compromise any criminal investigations.
Lucarelli blamed his misconduct on problems in his marriage, which caused him to spiral out of control. He said his "abandonment or loyalty issues" clouded his professional judgment.
Arbitrator Gary W. Spring in his decision reprimanded Lucarelli for his compulsive texting and negligence in doing his job. But he ultimately ruled that the officer deserved a "second and last chance."
Lucarelli was put on unpaid suspension until further notice. The arbitrator recommended a year of counseling for his marriage woes, his addiction to sexting and his "overzealous pursuit of sexual romance."
After the arbitrator's ruling in January 2013, Bickerstaff -- the private investigator whose criminal charges first linked Lucarelli to these incidents -- sued the city, the police department and Lucarelli. That case is pending in federal court.
Bickerstaff's lawsuit says that not only did Lucarelli sext crime victims, but he also sent nude photos of at least two women to other police officers. She also accuses other officers of helping Lucarelli cover up an incident when he assaulted someone he was arresting.
In one of the text exchanges, Lucarelli said that he stole a pair of his girlfriend's underwear and placed them in the desk drawer of a fellow officer.
"I had her pick lace panties in (your) drawer, but you got sick so I took them back. That was gonna be funny," Lucarelli wrote.
"LOL, real funny..." the officer wrote in response.
A complaint accuses the city of failing to adequately investigate Lucarelli's misconduct, which according to her lawsuit is more egregious than what was outlined in the arbitration case.Advertisement What does a chance of rain really mean? WESH 2 First Alert Meteorologist Amy Sweezey answers the question Share Shares Copy Link Copy
Have you ever wondered what the rain percentages on the 7-day Forecast really mean?Have you ever heard me say, “There’s a 20% chance of rain today,” and wonder what in the world that really means? Does a 20% chance for rain mean you’re LESS likely to get rained on than if there was an 80% chance for rain? Does it mean 20% of the area WILL DEFINITELY see rain? Does it mean that 20% of today (4 out of 24 hours) will get rain? Does a 20% chance mean LIGHT rain, while 80% means downpours or storms? I’ve heard all different versions of this question through the years.>>Follow Amy on Twitter | FacebookThe problem with explaining chance of rain is that it's subjective. Of course, every weather forecast is subjective based on the forecaster's ability, knowledge, and interpretation of data and model information. But chance of rain is also subjective in that it's used differently in different parts of the country, at different TV stations, and sometimes even among the meteorologists at one TV station.The statistical output that comes from the computer models is known as "probability of precipitation." In weather-speak, we abbreviate it as PoP (and say Pops).>>Download the free WESH 2 First Alert Weather app for iOS and AndroidThere is a specific definition of the PoPs which comes from a computer generated weather model. The American Meteorological Society defines it like this:Probability of precipitation is the forecast of >0.0254 cm (0.01 in.) of liquid equivalent precipitation at a specific point over a specific period of time. The term should not be confused with such concepts as the probability of precipitation over some portion of an area or the probability of precipitation over all of an area (larger than a point). If a POP of x percent were issued for an area, such as a county, that would mean the POP was valid at each and every point in the area. When alternate definitions are used, the event being forecast needs to be clearly specified.The National Weather Service explains it a bit more thoroughly (but possibly MORE confusing when the math equations enter the picture):The "Probability of Precipitation" (PoP) describes the chance of precipitation occurring at any point you select in the area |
, every upside has a downside.
A large part of the cryptocurrency communities have gone from constructive feedback on new developments and fact based price speculation to fantasising about trips to the moon, lamborghinis and trash talking currencies you personally aren’t invested in.
Many investors lack prior experience and invested because of overly optimistic members of the community spamming memes instead of relevant information.
Admittedly, I’ve myself become carried away with the insane returns of cryptocurrencies this spring, even with a lot of prior experience of investing and have at times been too heavily invested in a range of cryptocurrencies. Most investors have biased flaws in their investment strategy. Overconfidence or emotional attachment in investments are common, but detrimental to your returns.
The issue with the lamborghinis and trips to the moon is the fact that all of those memes make us more emotionally invested, and leaves less room for rational behaviour. Those things do not contribute anything to the community except a few laughs, but instead hurt it by giving investors with less experience hubris to the point of no return.
I urge more people to contribute to the community by creating quality content, sharing ideas and informing each other about relevant events in the cryptocurrency world. I discourage people to talk about lamborghinis, prior returns and unfounded price predictions. Those things are only self serving, making yourself feel better about your investment.
Successful trading – 5 Ways to become rational [Investing]
I will not give you any magic advice to become a crypto-millionaire. Nor will I teach you technical analysis of price-graphs or pitch you a new altcoin and claim it will rise 1000% before October 2017.
What I will do is help you become the best investor you can, with limited resources and time. There are some simple tips I’m sure most have heard many times before. Many of you have listened and learned, but somewhere down the road flew off to the promised lambo-land. Our goal is to become completely rational. We won’t succeed, but we will improve.
1. Educate yourself
Never invest in something without knowing what you’re investing in. This should go without saying but a lot of people simply invest in cryptocurrencies or a new ICO without properly researching. Read the whitepaper, learn about the core developers and most importantly – find out what purpose it serves. Price is what you pay, value is what you get. If what you are investing in does not solve a problem or serve a purpose, it offers no value. It may rise in price temporarily, but if it does not offer any value it is not sustainable.
Educating yourself is important, regardless of what asset you are investing in. In cryptocurrencies, it’s far more important. For example in the stock-market, edges are smaller and investors rarely make huge mistakes because price adjusts more efficiently. In cryptocurrencies, a lot of value comes from speculation, hype and inexperienced investors. If you are wrong, the risk of ruin is a lot bigger than your common stock-pick.
2. Invest in value
After educating yourself on cryptocurrencies, identify a few projects you believe in. Listen to what other people have to say, but make sure to form your own informed opinion. The wars between maximalists of different cryptocurrencies can easily sway you one way or another, so be careful of who you listen to on twitter or other social media outlets. Make sure the project you invest in offers value, solves a problem, has a serious core development team and an active community.
Many new currencies and ICOs are simply money grabs (read Scott Shapiros 5 issues with ICOs), they create a product, provide a fancy whitepaper and video and voila, they’re worth tens of millions of dollars. Making sure the development team and community are serious, reduces the risk of investing in scams.
3. Hodl. Yes, seriously. Do not attempt to day-trade.
Once you have decided to invest in a currency or ICO, do not attempt to day-trade. Hold the investment for a longer time period and only sell for reasons other than selling high, buying the dip. The swings in cryptocurrencies will entice you to trade on a daily basis, but in such a speculative and irrational market you will likely lose money as a beginner. Members of the community post detailed technical analysis on reddit and twitter every day, but the technique has little support from studies conducted on regular forex-trading, and no studies exist on cryptocurrency.
If you invest in something you understand and believe in, it is a lot easier to mentally withstand the ups and downs.
4. Diversify
As any book on investing will tell you, do not put all of your eggs in one basket. Everyday I see people write and brag about how they’ve put all of their invested money into a single currency. It doesn’t matter if you invest in Bitcoin, Ethereum or go all in on a new alt-coin, you should never put 100% of your investment into one asset. If you do not believe me, there are plenty of studies that support this notion. A diversified portfolio will reduce risk without sacrificing much of your potential returns.
Example from the 2008 financial crisis, by Strategic Advisors Inc.
Even more so in cryptocurrencies. In a speculative market, a large portion of start-ups, or in this case currencies, will fail. To become a successful investor in such a market, you should invest in many assets to raise the chance of hitting the one that makes it big.
5. Never invest to the point of emotional commitment
Our last step to becoming rational cryptocurrency investors is this: never invest an amount of money that you would feel bad about losing. Investing too much money steers us from our rational path and makes us emotionally committed. Cognitive bias caused by emotional commitment has many brought investors and companies down. When our bodies experience stress, it inhibits the rational part of our brain, and a more emotional part takes over. Emotional investing results in terrible decisions, and it is costly.
Variance and risk
We have outlined how we can become more rational (successful) investors. There are still some fundamental factors to investing you need to understand. In every investment, there is variance and risk. Cryptocurrencies are likely one of the most high variance and risky investments there is. There are a million different outcomes as to how your investment will end up. The U.S may decide to ban all trade on Bitcoin and Ethereum, the price would plummet and we all lose a huge chunk of our investment. China may decide to make Litecoin their official currency, and all Litecoin holders become rich.
Some risks and opportunities are more likely than other (risk of U.S regulation > risk of China implementing Litecoin as their currency), but nonetheless no one is able to predict with a 100% certainty, or even 50% for that matter, what will happen. Bold claims of future prices, based on nothing but pure speculation and emotional investment blinds us for other potential outcomes. You may make the best possible investment, but still lose 90% of it because of an unforeseen event no one could predict. It is all part of the investment game, and something you have to deal with.
Conclusion
The cryptocurrency community has to move from hubris and memes to support and share technical developments and real analysis of the market. If a majority expects to sit back and get rich, it will not happen. Become a rational investor and contribute to the development of this amazing technology. Be aware of the risks and invest amount you are comfortable parting with in case things go south.
Make sure to follow us on Facebook to stay up do date on the latest news about Bitcoin and Ethereum!
If you are looking to invest, see our top rated exchanges!Wanderer tells the tale of a man called Rook, a greying convict who wakes from cold sleep aboard a massive orbital prison facility to find that it's crash landed on the ruins of an abandoned Earth. With the help of a hacker named Jin and the aid of a ragtag group of survivors he recruits along the way, Rook must explore the planet and locate the cell blocks which have detached from the prison's central tower and scattered across Earth's ghostly wasteland.
During his mission, Rook will run into allies and adversaries in the form of dangerous gangs of fellow prisoners, the survivors of the Earth's mysterious apocalypse, and bizarre parasitic extradimensional beasts that haunt the dead planet. Core gameplay fuses platforming, pseudo-turn based combat, puzzle solving, and interactive dialogue/decision making into a story driven, atmospheric experience. Tying it all together is a unique visual aesthetic that merges lo-res pixel art characters with a lovingly hand-painted world.
Update 3: Design Philosophy and Inspirations Pt. 1
Update 4: Design Philosophy and Inspirations Pt. 2
Update 6: Earth, 2171 AD
Update 7: Battle System Breakdown
Update 8: Add-Ons + New Character Reveals
Update 9: Inventory System
Update 10: New Add-Ons + Early Music + Skill Sneak-peek
We're very excited to be able to share a draft of a title theme for Wanderer done by our awesome composer Jonathan Geer:
PLATFORMING
Wanderer is a cinematic platformer at it’s core, a modernized take on classics like Another World, Flashback, and Heart of Darkness. Rook can walk, run, jump, crouch, and climb through the world. Additional movement abilities will be unlocked by the player as they advance, opening up the ways they can move around the environment. Light action elements include environmental hazards that Rook has to safely navigate and a ranged/melee attack used to stun/attack enemies that roam the world. Up to two computer-controlled companions at a time can be assigned to follow behind Rook as the player explores the world.
The game world consists of a simplified overworld map filled with locations to travel to and explore. It's centered around a hub where players can return to upgrade abilities and equipment and find companions stationed when not in the party.
COMBAT
When Rook makes contact with an enemy on the 'field', the game switches to JRPG style pseudo turn-based combat (allowing the player to control all three current party members). Striking the enemy before they can strike you will give you a free first attack, and the same applies in reverse for the enemy, so you'll need to take note of how each enemy behaves and moves on the field to be successful.
The combat system is intended to be challenging and fluid, and is largely based on player skill and strategy rather than stats or random chance. Timing, reflex, and pattern recognition are emphasized, and the player will need to manually time and input offensive/defensive maneuvers to maximize their advantage in battle. Wanderer's battle system design is influenced by RPGs including Paper Mario, Valkyrie Profile, and Rogue Galaxy.
PUZZLE SOLVING
As Rook explores and moves through the world he'll find points of interest represented by nodes that can be interacted with in familiar "point and click" adventure game fashion (look at, talk about/to, use item with, pick-up etc.). These interactions take place via a context sensitive radial menu that show the player which actions are available. Puzzles will require the player to examine and interact with characters, the environment, and obtainable inventory items to overcome obstacles and advance the story.
BRANCHING DIALOGUE/CHOICES
Along Rook's mission, the player will have the opportunity to interact with a colorful and varied cast of characters via branching dialogue choices. The way the player chooses to respond to other characters will affect how they view him, and key points in the story will present the player with multiple ways to handle a scenario, each potentially leading to lasting consequences. Inspired by modern interactive narratives like Heavy Rain and Telltale's Walking Dead series, decisions and conversations will play out in real time, actively engaging the player in the scenario and sometimes requiring them to make choices on the fly.
In the fairly distant future, humans have escaped beyond the confines of their native planet after a mysterious, cataclysmic event has left it crawling with bizarre otherworldly creatures and turned it a place where time and space have come ever so slightly unraveled. With colonies on Venus, Mars, the moons of Jupiter, and dozens of massive space stations throughout the solar system, for much of humanity the Earth has become nothing more than a massive graveyard and a nostalgic memory.
The main character of the game's story, known simply as Rook, is an aged convict held in a state of stasis aboard an Alcatrez-esque orbital prison station designated the VC Harlegand. The Harlegand is stationed in the now isolated corner of the galaxy around Earth, making escape a nearly impossible prospect.
After the prison crash lands on the Earth's surface for unknown reasons, Rook is awoken from his prisoner stasis pod by a hacker and fellow prisoner named Jin who's jacked into his neural implants remotely. Unfortunately, as a death row prisoner who was never intended to be fully resuscitated, upon waking Rook finds himself suffering from fragmented memory, recurring hallucinations, and painful migraines. The prison's medbay can ease his symptoms, but Jin need's Rook's help to reactivate it.
Proposing a plan to escape the planet, she suggests the two work together towards a common goal of survival. The duo embark on a journey to gather what she needs for them to escape, which entails traveling to each of the cell blocks that detached and scattered across the Earth's surface when the prison crash landed. Along the way they'll befriend fellow survivors, clash with gangs of dangerous criminals and monstrous creatures, and unravel the mysteries of the Earth's nebulous fate.
Supplementary story elements unfold through optional text logs and entries to the player's codex gained by exploring and interacting with the world and speaking with characters. These offer additional detail and flavor to the game's setting for player's who are interested in it's backstory and lore.
On a secondary narrative level, a strong emphasis is placed on a diverse and engaging cast of misfits and survivors that Rook will encounter and work together with on his mission. Each ally has a unique backstory and viewpoint that the player will learn as they spend time together. As companions follow the player through the world, they'll often comment on the current scenario or begin a conversation amongst themselves that you can engage in while exploring (and even during combat!).
Having certain party members with you will also contextually open up new options and unique ways to deal with scenarios you encounter on your journey. These contextual bonus interactions not only serve to make party members feel autonomous and organic, but offer the player a meaningfully unique experience based on the companions they choose to bring with them..
Just a few of the story's main characters include:
The player will also encounter a wide range of NPC factions that may help or hinder Rook depending on the choices that are made, each with a distinctive visual style, richly detailed background, and unique set of motives and objectives:
The player will also encounter bizarre alien parasitic entities nicknamed 'Phantoms', taking the form of a wide range of hostile creatures and beasts to fight, each with it's own capabilities, behaviors, strengths and weaknesses:
Wanderer is being designed as an episodic series. Episodes will be developed and released in sequential fashion, with each being released as soon as it's finished. Each new episode will add new content in the form of newly discovered areas on the world map (as well as hidden ones that must be discovered by other means), adding new objectives to push the main story forward as well as lots of side content to be completed at your own pace.
Each area on the world map serves as a 'level', full of encounters, puzzles, obstacles, fights, and items. Some levels are much larger than others, and some contain purely optional content seperate from the primary story. You are free to come and go between areas as you please, and you'll sometimes need an item from one area to solve a puzzle on another. Past areas can be revisited in subsequent episodes, and sometimes new content will be added to old areas, so you'll have to keep an eye out and explore to get the most out of the world!
For the Kickstarter, we'll be funding the entire series as a whole, and a $15 or more pledge gains you access to all episodes. We're planning to develop 5 total episodes, but if we hit certain stretch goals, we plan to expand the scope of the game with additional episodes. The reason we're taking the episodic approach to development is to allow us to make an RPG with a greater sense of scope than we would otherwise be able.
Like our favorite RPGs, Wanderer is a long, winding story full of twists and turns, evolving and growing character relationships, and lots of player character progression. To do it justice in a single development period and in a reasonable amount of time isn't a realistic goal for a two-man development team. That's why we're breaking it up into pieces, to make the project manageable and get the game into your hands much sooner. Another benefit is being able to engage with your feedback between episodes, and make sure each one is full of the best possible content!
Our objective is to be able to release the first episode by September 2016, and then release subsequent episodes every 3~4 months.
Our core team is composed of 2 individuals, an artist/designer and a developer/coder. The project found it's humble beginnings on the TIGSource forums, where Cris posted his initial pitch for Wanderer while searching for a developer to collaborate with. As fate would have it, Serge was looking for a new project to work on, and quite literally within five minutes after the creation of it's devlog, the two teamed up and Wanderer's development was underway.
After months of searching for for a musician and composer that fits our vision of the game, we've recently teamed up with veteran Jonathan Geer, and we're very excited to have him on-board to bring Wanderer's soundtrack to life.
Jonathan's impressive versatility is a perfect match for Wanderer's concept, and will allow for the soundtrack to have an array of styles that complement the narratives blend of moods and tones. Though we hope to share a first look at the game's music with at some point during the campaign, in the meantime you can have a listen to an assortment of Jonathan's previous work:
Wanderer is a passion project that took over a year to completely conceptualize. It's a storytelling experience that strives to merge retro and modern design elements into something that feels new and fresh, but at the same time recalls nostalgia from our happiest gaming memories. It's a vision we're desperately invested in seeing come to life, but the only way it can become a reality is via the support of a crowdfunding campaign.
Development started 6 months ago, and our two-man team has made excellent progress towards a playable vertical slice of the game, with a prototype that already supports:
The game's platforming including full AI companion and enemy pathfinding.
Puzzle solving/adventure game mechanics.
An initial implementation for combat mechanics.
Branching and contextual dialogues.
A custom and complete in-game scene editor with an advanced script system.
All the basic components like the save system, medias integration and management pipelines and an advanced and flexible rendering pipeline with light and post-processing effects.
Currently, our programmer is working a full-time job and our artist is living on savings in order to dedicate his time to the project. This is not a situation we can maintain long term. To continue working on Wanderer we need some additional support to allow us to dedicate our full time and attention to the project.
For physical rewards, we're very excited to have the opportunity to team up with wonderful IndieBox to bring you high quality items!
Wanderer is a passion project, the game we always wanted to play but no one ever tried to make. With your help, we can make it a reality! Thank you for time and support! Together, we know we can make a one of a kind gaming experience, and we want nothing more than to share it with you. :)Inline Assembler for Über Nerds Inline assembler (IA) is the practice of embedding assembly language instructions in a high-level programming language's source code, and is an early example of an EDSL (Embedded Domain Specific Language).
Inline assembler (IA) is the practice of embedding assembly language instructions in a high-level programming language's source code, and is an early example of an EDSL (Embedded Domain Specific Language).
IA isn't needed that often if the host programming language is powerful, but it is used to:
Generate special instructions, like locking code for multithreaded synchronization Access special CPU features, such as debug registers Super optimize a very critical section of code Ease into learning assembler Be an intermediate step when translating large assembly language projects into a high-level language Build thunks or access code that has special calling conventions Interface to hardware requiring specific instruction sequences to access
Add a special point 8 for me, as I get an endorphin rush from writing a particularly crafty bit of assembler. Yes, I am a nerd.
Look over the source to an operating system or a device driver, and you're likely to find a sprinkling of inline assembler here and there.
Here's a simple example of inline assembler in the D programming language to use the Intel RDTSC instruction to read the clock count into the EDX and EAX registers:
long clock() { asm { RDTSC; } }
Long's are returned in EDX and EAX, so this works out famously. Here's a somewhat longer example to compute the tangent of x using the FPU instructions:
real tan(real x) { asm { fld x[EBP] ; // load x fxam ; // test for oddball values fstsw AX ; sahf ; jc trigerr ; // x is NAN, infinity, or empty // 387's can handle denormals SC18: fptan ; fstp ST(0) ; // dump X, which is always 1 fstsw AX ; sahf ; jnp Lret ; // C2 = 1 (x is out of range) // Do argument reduction to bring x into range fldpi ; fxch ; SC17: fprem1 ; fstsw AX ; sahf ; jp SC17 ; fstp ST(1) ; // remove pi from stack jmp SC18 ; } trigerr: return real.nan; Lret: ; }
Despite thousands of different programming languages, only a relative handful support inline assembler. Surprisingly, even C and C++ don't officially have inline assemblers — they are done as extensions by compiler vendors. A C and C++ compiler can be 100% standard compliant with no inline assembler, and these do exist, such as Microsoft VC++ for Win64. I'm a bit old school: A language that calls itself a systems programming language ought to support an inline assembler.
The D programming language specifies that an inline assembler must be supported.
Some suggest that inline assemblers are obsolete; if one really needs an assembler, just use a separate assembler. There are lots of great assemblers out there. Why not?
I abandoned using separate assemblers years ago for the following reasons:
Poor (i.e. zero) integration with the compiler. You have to rewrite your data structure and manifest constant declarations in the assembler, and of course these always get out of sync with the ones in your D source. Having the compiler set up the call/return sequences and parameter addressing is so darned convenient. The compiler will keep track of register usage for you — which registers are read or written — smoothly integrating with the code generator's usage of registers. There are lots of third-party assemblers, all different. Even the same assembler will have multiple versions. The chances of the asm source assembling on all of them, and avoiding all the various bugs, are zero. It is a major tech support issue. It really hurts my brain to have gas (Gnu ASsembler) swap the order of the operands. gas doesn't follow the Intel syntax, so you have to do a mental translation from the Intel datasheets to the gas source. gas doesn't even use the same instruction names. External assemblers don't do name mangling. You've got to do it all manually. This is a horror. Symbolic debug formats differ. Having to manage a separate source file for just two instructions is highly annoying. Writing an inline assembler isn't hard. There's nothing terribly clever about it.
Getting the assembler integrated into the compiler made me much more productive and my life much easier. It was a giant win for this nerd, no doubt about it. You can pry my inline assembler from my cold, dead fingers.
Thanks to Andrei Alexandrescu, Bartosz Milewski, and David Held for their helpful comments on a draft of this post.Ontario’s public sector workers tend to be far better off than private employees, a new study says, even as the province grapples to slay its growing deficit and curtail spending — a full half of which is dedicated to salaries, wages and benefits.
The Fraser Institute study, to be released Wednesday, found that federal, provincial and local government employees working in Ontario earned 13.9% more wages, on average, than their private sector counterparts in April, 2011. Government workers are also three times more likely to be covered by a pension plan, far less likely to lose their jobs and, on average, set to retire more than a year earlier than private workers.
Co-author Jason Clemens said if the Ontario government is serious about tackling the deficit — projected by the widely cited 2012 Drummond Report to hit $30.2-billion by 2017 — it will likewise need to tackle compensation.
“Pick a joke about governments going bankrupt and California is the punch-line, but Ontario, on every measure we’ve looked at, is worse than California,” Mr. Clemens said ahead of the study’s release. “If the government is going to tackle this deficit, they don’t have a choice — they’re going to have to deal with wages and benefits.”
Although the study itself does not offer recommendations, Mr. Clemens said the think-tank is slated to release a paper next month suggesting systematic ways Ontario could curb government spending on compensation. The chief problem, he said, is that governments enter into expensive compensation deals when they can afford them and then face tough union battles when the economy slows and spending needs to be axed.
“The key is that this isn’t just an Ontario problem — it’s not even a Canada problem,” Mr. Clemens said, adding that governments of all political stripes have had to shrink government compensation, pointing to the notorious Rae Days under former Ontario NDP premier Bob Rae in the 1990s. “The U.S. arguably has an even worse problem and certainly Europe is struggling with this right now, too…. This is a much larger problem about the very nature of government.”
The report was released just one day after the Ontario government promised to eliminate the province’s $12-billion deficit by 2017-2018, and one year after renowned economist Don Drummond released his report warning that Ontario needs to “swiftly and boldly” implement a whopping 362 recommendations to curb spending.
Mr. Clemens said the Fraser Institute is slated to issue its own recommendations next month, including one that will suggest formally tying public sector compensation to the private sector — for example anchoring a government employee’s overall take-home package, including wages and non-wage benefits such as pension coverage and health benefits, to that earned by a private worker in a similar position.
Stanley Winer, the Canada Research Chair Professor in Public Policy at Ottawa’s Carleton University, said “it’s not a silly idea” in principle but cautioned there are myriad difficulties with taking such “radical action” in reality. Mr. Winer, who did not read the report because it was not yet publicly released, said oftentimes there is no equivalent job in the private sector — police officers, for example. Beyond that, he said top private sector workers in certain industries earn far more than their public sector equivalents, which could mean the government ends up ramping up pay in some instances.
This latest Fraser Institute study is the third to examine public versus private sector compensation in a particular province. In their report released last month, Mr. Clemens and co-author Amerla Karabegovic found Alberta’s public sector workers earned 10.3% more in wages, on average, than their private sector counterparts in 2011, while those in B.C. earned 13.6% more and retired 2.8 years earlier, on average.
The Ontario study looked at 15,257 paid workers older than 15, with federal, provincial and local government employees accounting for 14.8%, 39.3% and 46% of public sector workers respectively.Christians United for Israel (CUFI), which describes itself as “the largest pro-Israel organization in the United States and one of the leading Christian grassroots movements in the world,” will bring over two hundred Christian leaders from around the country to Washington, D.C. early next week to lobby the Senate against the confirmation of former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) as Secretary of Defense.
CUFI, which is organizing the effort through its 501(c)4 offshoot, is arranging meetings with every one of the one hundred Senate offices.
“We’re concerned not only that Hagel is a poor choice when it comes to Israel–frankly, we believe he’s a poor choice when it comes to America and American security,” CUFI executive director David Brog told Breitbart News.
“The number one security threat to America today is an ascendant and potentially nuclear Iran. And Hagel has demonstrated a consistent pattern of opposing economic sanctions on Iran, opposing diplomatic pressure on Iran, opposing the further isolation of Hizbollah, opposing recognizing Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as the terrorists they are. As much as he’s trying to walk away from his record in recent days, we believe his consistent record of action is far more important than his recent words,” Brog said.
“And as far as we are concerned, if you don’t recognize the number one security threat to America, how can you defend agains it?”
CUFI’s aggressive approach stands in stark contrast to that of other pro-Israel groups, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which has remained silent and inactive on the Hagel nomination. Jewish groups in particular, aside from the Republican Jewish Coalition, have been reluctant to oppose Hagel actively, though some have voiced criticisms and concerns. Hagel met with AIPAC and several Jewish groups last week.
Hagel is considered likely to be confirmed, despite opposition from Republicans in the Senate minority. His candidacy received a critical–and perhaps decisive–boost from Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) last week.
But CUFI refuses to be deterred or discouraged. “This, to us, is an uphill battle but an extremely important battle,” Brog said.
“Most of the time, the Senate gives deference to the president on Cabinet appointments. People seen as pivotal, like Sen. Schumer, have announced their support. But we’re not afraid. On the contrary, I think it is important that we show that we are not afraid to take on a difficult fight, and that the pro-Israel community is deep, broad and diverse–not only religiously, but also in our views on how best to defend America and our front line ally, Israel.”
The diversity of the pro-Israel community is relevant to the controversy over Hagel’s 2006 remark that the “Jewish lobby” was responsible for “intimidating people.” CUFI is, by far, the largest pro-Israel organization in the country, with more than 1.2 million members across fifty states, according to officials. AIPAC, by contrast, has 100,000 members, according to its website. Hagel has since expressed regret for his choice of words.
Brog says the problems with Hagel’s nomination go further than his remarks about Jews, and concern his stance on Iran.
“This isn’t a minor disagreement on the fringes,” he told Breitbart News. “This is a fundamental disagreement on the nature of the threat America faces today.
“To just let this happen silently, I think, would be a big error.”"The introduction of austerity measures in June 2011 marked the start of a significant, sharp, and sustained increase in suicides, to reach a peak in 2012," a statement accompanying the study said.
After Greece crashed into a six-year recession in 2008, it struggled to handle its sovereign debt burden. The country's first round of austerity measures failed to help, and the government was forced to ask for an international bailout of some 240 billion euros ($275 billion), which came with strict conditions for further severe cutbacks and reforms. These had a crippling effect on Greece's already stricken economy, sending unemployment levels up to 1 in 4 people.
The increasing level of hardship sparked an increasing number of protests, riots and even a public suicide by a pensioner in the main square of Athens.
Read MoreCrunch time: Greece takes pleas to a hostile Europe
Greeks, exhausted and angry with the cuts and reforms, have just elected a new left-wing anti-austerity coalition government, led by Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras, who is touring Europe lobbying for a better deal on its debt repayments.
The University of Pennsylvania-led study also found that the suicide rate in men started rising in 2008, increasing by an extra 3.2 suicides a month. The rate then rose by an additional 5.2 suicides every month from June 2011 onward. Figures for the years after 2012 were not available, the statement added.
The researchers concluded by urging governments to consider the broader implications of harsh cuts: "The consideration of future austerity measures should give greater weight to the unintended mental health consequences that may follow and the public messaging of these policies and related events."4 Sep 1988: Defensive lineman Steve McMichael of the Chicago Bears (left) goes after Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino during a game at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears won the game, 34-7.
Throughout the Miami Dolphins history there have been major headlines that have shaped the organization. Some came rather close to not happening.
What if history had changed? What if a ball fell a different way, bounced left when it had gone right. An incomplete pass instead of a completion? Those are the thrills of the games and it’s hard to imagine that sometimes a simple bounce could change what we know now.
With the off-season finally coming to an end, here is a look at five headlines that the Miami Dolphins never got to experience. Some for the good and some for the bad.
5: Miami Dolphins head to 4th straight Super Bowl
The Miami Dolphins beat the Oakland Raiders in Oakland after a last minute pass attempt by Kenny Stabler fell incomplete being tipped away. The ball traveled through a “Sea of Hands” before being knocked down short of the intended receiver. A week later the Dolphins hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers. The heat was too much for the northern black and gold and the Dolphins are now advancing to their 4th straight Super Bowl.
Reality: The Dolphins not only lost to the Raiders on that last minute touchdown throw but they would miss the post-season the following season.
4: Dolphins win Super Bowl VII finish season 16-1
In what will go down in history as one of the best seasons in the NFL the Miami Dolphins capped off a near perfect run beating the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII. Miami came one game close to a perfect season losing only in week six to the Buffalo Bills.
Reality: The Bills lost to the Dolphins by one point in week 6. The Vikings came up two points short in week 3.
3: Dolphins beat Redskins for a 2nd time to win Super Bowl
The Miami Dolphins beat the Washington Redskins to win Super Bowl XVII. Defense was stellar for the Dolphins in the 2nd half as the Dolphins offense was unable to gain more than two first downs and nine yards. Kim Bokamper intercepted Joe Theismann in the end-zone for a touchdown and Don McNeal made the game sealing open field tackle on John Riggins on third down. The win is Don Shula’s 3rd Super Bowl victory.
Reality: The Dolphins offense was slammed in the 2nd half of the game and Riggins broke the McNeal tackle for a 43 yard touchdown run. Bokamper’s attempted interception in the end zone was knocked away by Theismann at the last second.
2: Dan Marino heads back to Super Bowl
Dan Marino will make his 2nd Super Bowl appearance in a rematch against the San Francisco 49’ers to cap the 1994 NFL season. Miami beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Conference Championship to advance but it was the leg of kicker Pete Stoyanovich who made the Steeler game possible. Trailing by one point with only seconds remaining to play, Stoyanovich’s 48 yard field goal was enough to beat the hosting Chargers by two points.
Reality: Stoyanovich’s 48 yard field missed. The Chargers had just scored to take the lead. Their kick-off was only 39 yards but Dan Marino failed to complete three consecutive passes. The ball was advanced to the Charger 32 on a pass interference call on 2nd down. Miami did not gain a single yard on their own. The field was still thick with smoke from a celebratory canon type firing after the Chargers final touchdown making it a little more difficult for Stoyanovich who missed.
1: Miami Dolphins draft Drew Brees OR Miami Dolphins sign free agent QB Drew Brees
With the 26th pick of the 2001 NFL Draft the Miami Dolphins selected Purdue quarterback Drew Brees. Brees will compete with incumbent quarterback Jay Fiedler in Dave Wannstedt’s offense but is viewed as a quarterback who could become a franchise type player.
Reality A: Brees was passed over in favor of CB Jamar Fletcher. Had Brees been drafted would it have been possible that Dave Wannstedts career would have lasted longer than 2004? The Dolphins had a solid running game and a good defense but lacked solid quarterback play.
Reality B: The Dolphins had two choices to make under Nick Saban. Trade for Daunte Culpepper or sign unrestricted free agent Drew Brees. Brees has become the face of New Orleans while Culpepper played in four games in his only Dolphins season.
In 2016 the Miami Dolphins advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and many pointed to lucky bounces. An interception returned for a touchdown against the Chargers by Kiko Alonso or the tackle of Colin Kaepernick on the one yard line by Alonso and Ndamukong Suh. Detractors point to moments like those as the only reason Miami made the post-season but history shows that a bounce one way can completely change what we know about football.It was a hard statistic to get my head around: San Francisco Bay, one of the nation’s most scenic bodies of water, has lost almost 90 percent of its wetlands over the last century. I learned this while reporting for the NewsHour on the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project — the largest wetlands restoration project currently underway on the West Coast.
As someone who has lived and covered the Bay Area for years, I’ve seen all the businesses and homes along the edge of the bay, and I’ve flown into San Francisco and Oakland airports where you feel like you will be actually be landing in the bay, until a strip of land suddenly appears right before the wheels touch down. So I felt like I had a good grasp of the Bay Area landscape, but I was surprised |
is true even though the survivors may have been the fittest individuals. Also, inbreeding is more likely, with offspring having an increased chance of recessive or deleterious traits.
When geneticists sequenced the DNA of chimps and humans, they made the staggering discovery that a single band of thirty to eighty chimps can have more genetic diversity than all seven billion humans alive today. We have very little genetic diversity, even though it could have developed since we diverged from chimps six million years ago. Research on mankind’s restricted gene variation indicates that humans migrated out of Africa about 60,000 years ago, and at some stage before that our numbers may have dwindled to as low as two thousand. Some geneticists hypothesize that this bottleneck was caused by the explosion of the Toba supervolcano in Indonesia and resulting major environmental change. Regardless of the cause, our genetic makeup hints at the fact that we were once in a perilous state, at the edge of extinction.
More recent human history gives better examples of how to define the viable size of a space colony. When a new population is established by a small number of individuals from a larger population, it’s subject to the founder effect, first described by evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr. The founder effect leads to both loss of genetic variation and genetic divergence from the original population.
In 1790, Fletcher Christian and eight other mutineers from HMS Bounty were joined by twelve Polynesian women to settle on Pitcairn Island, a windswept volcanic outcrop in the South Pacific. The fifty current residents of the island are all descended from these few “founders.” In 1814, fifteen British voyagers settled the remote island of Tristan da Cunha, located in the Atlantic midway between South Africa and South America. The population had grown to 300 by 1961, when a volcano erupted and everyone was evacuated to England. These small populations left the inhabitants subject to genetic abnormalities. On Pitcairn Island, Fletcher Christian spread a gene that contributes to Parkinson’s disease, while the current inhabitants of Tristan da Cunha have ten times the normal incidence of a degenerative eye condition that leads to blindness.
Advertisement:
But you don’t have to be stuck on an island or Mars to suffer genetic isolation. The 18,000 Old Order Amish of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, are descended from a few dozen individuals who emigrated from Germany in the early 1700s. It’s tragic that babies born into this community have a high incidence of an extremely rare and fatal genetic disorder called microcephaly.
The sweet spot for a space colony may be the size of a small village. John Moore, an anthropologist from the University of Florida, developed simulation software for analyzing the viability of small groups. He suggests that the optimum number for a viable long-term colony is 160. This number could be reduced with judicious genetic selection to minimize the probability of inbreeding.
If space colonists don’t get “new blood” from the home planet, their gene pool will experience genetic drift—the change in frequency of gene variants or alleles due to random sampling. The effect is larger in smaller populations, and it acts to reduce genetic variation, which in turn reduces a population’s ability to respond to new selective pressures. This may sound bad, but genetic drift and the founder effect on Earth are major drivers of evolution. They lead to the formation of new species.
Over generations, the colonists will evolve. We can imagine some of the changes that will take place. The lower gravity on Mars will alter the cardiovascular system and reduce the cross-sectional area of load--bearing bones and tendons. There will be accelerated trends in human evolution on Earth—toward being taller and having less body hair, weaker muscles, and smaller teeth. The lack of a varied natural environment will probably lead to weaker immune systems. An additional challenge will be to maintain sensory stimulation as well as intellectual stimulation, to keep the brain sharp.
Advertisement:
A new species will have evolved if off-Earth humans can no longer mate and produce viable offspring with those who never left Earth. We know this will take a long time, because a small group of people went on a one-way trip to the Americas about 14,000 years ago, and when Europeans encountered them 500 years ago, they were still the same species. Some groups in Australia and Papua New Guinea have been mostly isolated for 30,000 years and speciation didn’t occur. But for colonists on the Moon or Mars, the process will be accelerated by the different physical environment and the higher incidence of mutations due to cosmic rays.
Finally, after hundreds of thousands of years and thousands of generations, when the first off-Earth baby’s cry is no more than an ancestral memory, the colonists will have come of age. They will no longer be us. Imagine that the colonists live in total isolation and one day we encounter the ancestors of the people who left our planet. They’ll speak their own language, have their own culture, and resemble us only partly. For each side, it will be like looking in an eerily distorted mirror.
Our Cyborg Future
It’s one of the classic scenes in movie science fiction. In the cult film Blade Runner, the replicant Roy Batty saves “blade runner” Rick Deckard from slipping off the edge of a tall building. With superhuman strength, Batty tosses Deckard onto the roof. He then sits cross-legged and waits for his preprogrammed four-year lifespan to expire. He says to Deckard: “I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe.... Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain. Time... to die.”
Advertisement:
Roy Batty is a cyborg, as originally imagined by Philip K. Dick in his novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? The term cyborg—short for cybernetic organism—was coined by Manfred Clynes and Nathan Kline in 1960. Clynes was a gifted pianist and inventor who worked as a chief research scientist at Rockland State Hospital in Orangeburg, New York; his boss was Kline, a medical researcher with more than 500 publications. They envisaged that an intimate relationship between humans and machines might help explore the new frontier of space: “Altering man’s bodily functions to meet the requirements of extraterrestrial environments would be more logical than providing an Earthly environment for him in space.... Artifact-organism systems which would extend man’s unconscious, self-regulatory controls are one possibility.”
Although cyborgs are the stuff of dystopian science fiction, we creep ever closer to the merger of flesh and machine.
Replacing body parts such as hearts and arms and legs has been routine for years, but cyborgs imply enhanced capabilities not present in the original human. Conventional medicine is already exploring this -terrain—robotic limbs can be more powerful and flexible than the original limb, and cochlear implants can perceive sounds inaudible to a normal person. (We’ve already met a modern-day cyborg in the form of Tony Stark, aka Elon Musk.) Brain-computer interfaces give direct communication from the brain to an external device. They are being used to restore sight to blind people and mobility to people who are paralyzed. NASA has developed the X1 Robotic Exoskeleton to enhance the capabilities of astronauts—Iron Man is becoming a reality (Figure 47).
Neil Harbisson is a British artist born without the ability to sense color. In 2004, he started wearing a head-mounted “eyeborg,” a device that converts colors into vibrations that Harbisson hears through the bones in his head. The eyeborg is referred to in his passport, making him the first government-sanctioned cyborg. The camera extends his senses by letting him hear infrasound and ultrasound, and see infrared and ultraviolet colors beyond the range of normal human vision. He wants to have the device surgically and permanently attached to his skull, and he’s described how the software and his brain united to give him an extra sense.
Advertisement:
Cyborgs resonate in modern culture, embodying the tension between free will and mechanical determinism. They’re reminiscent of Mary Shelley’s dark vision of Frankenstein, animated by electricity and overpowering its creator.
The acceptable face of cyborg research is represented by Kevin Warwick, a professor of cybernetics at the University of Reading in England. He was one of the first to experiment with implants, having an RFID chip put into his arm in 1998. Four years later, he had an array of a hundred electrodes grafted onto the nerves of his arm. This allows him to extend his nervous system over the Internet and control a robotic hand at a remote location. Warwick’s wife also had a cybernetic implant, and when someone grasped her hand, he was able to feel the same sensation in his hand on the other side of the Atlantic—a bizarre form of cybernetic telepathy. “Jamming stuff into your body, merging machines with nerves and your brain, it’s brand new,” according to Warwick. “It’s like this last, unexplored continent staring us in the face.”
Cyborg technology can be found in research labs but it’s also gone underground. When Warwick gets an implant, he employs a team of trained surgeons; Lepht Anonym settles for a potato peeler and a bottle of vodka. She’s one of a growing number of biohackers, also called grinders, who do their own implants. As she puts it, “I’m sort of inured to pain at this point. Anesthetic is illegal for people like me, so we learn to live without it.” Her YouTube videos establish her as the young face of the biohacking movement. To the underground cyberhackers, computers are hardware, apps are software, and humans are wetware. One popular starting point is to have a powerful rare-earth magnet inserted into the fingertip. This lets someone sense a variety of electromagnetic fields, in addition to subways passing underground and power lines hanging overhead. Once they learn how to miniaturize them, biohackers will implant themselves with medical sensors that can talk to a smartphone and a device that will let fingers “see” by echolocation. This goes beyond sensory extension to the creation of entirely new senses.
The philosophical movement that forms an umbrella for cybernetics and cyborgs is called transhumanism. Transhumanism is a worldwide cultural and intellectual movement that seeks to use technology to improve the human condition. Radical life extension is one aspect, as is the enhancement of physical and mental capabilities. Two prominent transhumanists are Nick Bostrom, a University of Oxford philosopher who has assessed various risks to the long-term survival of humanity, and Ray Kurzweil, the engineer and inventor who popularized the idea of the singularity, a time in the not-too-distant future when technology will enable us to transcend our physical limitations. This isn’t a prospect that leaves people apathetic. Author Francis Fukuyama called transhumanism “among the world’s most dangerous ideas,” while author Ronald Bailey said it’s a “movement that epitomizes the most daring, courageous, imaginative, and idealistic aspirations of humanity.” Kevin Warwick is committed to the cause of transhumanism: “There is no way I want to stay a mere human.”
Advertisement:
Transhumanism could revolutionize space exploration. If we follow the route of nanotechnology, space probes will be miniaturized and the lower costs of manufacture and propulsion will allow us to explore a broad new range of venues in the Solar System. Alternatively, we can use robots as proxies while we’re comfy in a control room on Earth. More radically, we might embrace the future seen in Blade Runner, where cyborgs are sent out to explore and toil. They’re imbued with artificial intelligence and superhuman powers, and they have a “kill switch” in case something goes wrong. Cyborgs could be our metaphorical children—the descendants of our species—spreading out into the cosmos long after we cease to exist.
Excerpted from "Beyond: Our Future In Space" by Chris Impey. Published by W.W. Norton and Co. Copyright 2015 by Chris Impey. Reprinted with permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.Colonial Pipeline's Line 1 is flowing again -- which should eventually ease the regional gasoline shortages and price increases caused by the 12-day shutdown -- but significant work remains to cleanup the estimated 336,000 gallons of gasoline that leaked from the pipeline in central Alabama and to dig out the damaged section and determine what caused the leak.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says most of the gasoline flowed overland from the leak site to a mining retention pond about 500 feet away.
Since the leak was discovered, Colonial employees and outside contractors have been pumping water out of the pond when conditions allow. Those efforts have been limited by high concentrations of benzene and gasoline vapors. At one point, the Pelham Fire Department was forced to close the site for 83 hours due to unsafe concentrations of gas fumes.
There are three retention ponds on the property near the spill site. Pond 2 is thought to have collected most of the gasoline from the spill. Pond 1 is uphill from the presumed leak site and has shown no traces of gasoline. Pond 3 is connected to Pond 2 by an underwater culvert which has now been blocked, and has shown trace amounts of broken down gasoline components.
Crews are also using skimmers to collect gasoline on the surface of Pond 2, and have used more than 6,000 feet of boom to corral gasoline and constructed multiple underflow dams prevent it from reaching Peel Creek, a tributary of the Cahaba River.
According to EPA representatives and environmental group Cahaba Riverkeeper, which has been involved in the response effort, water samples in Peel Creek and the Cahaba have shown no evidence of gasoline or gasoline components in either waterway.
Colonial said about 60 percent of the surface of the pond had been cleaned as of Wednesday morning. According to EPA situation reports, 85,732 gallons of gasoline have been recovered from Pond 2, along with more than 292,000 gallons of gasoline-contacted water.
EPA on-scene coordinator Kevin Eichinger said remediation of Pond 2 will be a significant undertaking.
"Ultimately we're fairly certain that Pond 2 is going to have to be pumped completely dry, all that water removed," Eichinger said. "Excavation of the sediment is going to have to occur, excavation of the impacted vegetative debris all around it."
Pond 3, which has shown only dissolved traces of gasoline components, will likely need less remediation.
"Pond 3 still has fish living in it, it's still an active ecosystem," Eichinger said. "Most likely, with that pond, we'll either do aeration to drive those organic chemicals out or do some sort of other treatment, but currently we don't plan to pump Pond 3 down or do any extensive remediation there because these are very low levels of the [gasoline] constituents."
So far, EPA said seven dead mammals have been recovered at the site: a rabbit, two raccoons, one fox, one coyote, one muskrat and one armadillo. Four turtles and two birds have also been found.
The leaking section of the pipeline is in Shelby County, Alabama, approximately 20 miles south of Birmingham, and about four miles from suburbs like Alabaster and Helena.
According to the Alabama Surface Mining Commission, the mining permit for the site where the leak was discovered is held by Twin Pines II, LLC mining company.
ASMC director Johnathan Hall said the mining operations at the site have been completed and the site is going through the reclamation process.
What caused the leak?
The section of pipeline containing the leak is still underground as of Thursday, and company officials said it would be premature to speculate on the cause of the leak before it can be excavated and inspected.
Efforts to dig out the leaking section of pipeline were put on hold early in the response period due to the potentially unsafe vapor levels.
Once Colonial Pipeline made the decision Saturday to build a bypass line around the leak site, priority was given to building the bypass rather than digging out the old line. Now that Line 1 is flowing again, crews can begin digging out leaking line when safe conditions allow.
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is "investigating the cause of the failure, any factors that contributed to the severity of the incident, and the operator's adherence to Federal pipeline safety standards," according to its website.
Randy Aldridge, an inspector from the Alabama Surface Mining Commission first reported the potential leak on Sept. 9, during a routine inspection of the mine site. EPA documents state the landowner last visited the site about two weeks prior to that inspection. Aldridge declined a request for an interview with AL.com.
Colonial Pipeline said it had no indication of a leak prior to the inspector's report, either from pressure readings in the pipeline or from routine aerial inspections it performs on the line.If you missed the Wild Wasteland of Fallout New Vegas like myself, well this may be the mod for you I've added items and references throughout The Commonwealth for you to find! From collectible trinkets to legacy weapons or even just a unique critter or npc to stumble upon, this mod has got em.
If you missed the Wild Wasteland of Fallout New Vegas like myself, well this may be the mod for you!
I've added items and references throughout The Commonwealth for you to find! From collectible trinkets to legacy weapons or even just a unique critter or npc to stumble upon, this mod has got em.
SHOWCASE BY JR Mods:
Now With Custom Sounds!:
NOTICES:
New Locations:
Show
The Rabbit Hole - This place is located near Wicked Shipping Fleet Lockup to the southwest. The only way of progressing through the halls is to find the "Easter Eggs Grenades" along with the keys that accompany them. Once you do reach the end you'll have access to the Sprtel-Wood 9700 and all it's green laser shooting glory! If you wanted to you could also use this place as a house as none of the things and containers respawn.
Adoring Fan's Cellar - Behind a house near the Concord Museum of Freedom. This guy was Vera Keyes' #1 fan! You can find the Vera Keye's Fashion Line Tuxedo here along with a workshop poster and a portrait + locket of Vera Keyes.
Downtown Apartments - Very close to Hubris Comics. Home to a lone Talon Company Merc, he carries The Terrible Shotgun and Occam's Razor.
Additionally two workshop graffitis can be found here.
Dam Maintenance & Repair - Very close to Sunshine Tidings Co-op. A group of raiders are trying to throw a surprise party for their friend, upon crashing the party you can find the Blackhawk revolver here along with the Confetti Popper and a workshop graffiti.
Drug Lab - Located in the back of a shipping truck at Wicked Shipping Fleet Lockup. A couple of raiders named Walter and Jesse have set up shop here and are making a new form of Jet called Quantum Jet, after taking care of them you can find the recipe to craft your own.
Gambler's Bunker - Behind a house at Fairline Hill Estates. A gambler set up this bunker for his pals and family. Here you cand find Pa's Fishing Aid and the Tops,Gomorrah, Bison Steve and the Silver Rush collectible poker chips along with some R.O.U.S. (Rodents of unusual size)
Fens View Apartments - Near Hardware Town. Now this is a vanilla cell but I added a new door to another apartment. In there you'll find Hank Hell and his trusty dog Lady Bird.
The Queen's Gambit - Based on the show Arrow. Shipwreck near Spectacle Island.
V3 Bunker - Near Fort Hagen. When you get near it you'll get a new radio station called "Creepy Signal". Find the bunker to find Jeepers Creeper's Victims. Based on Jeepers Creepers.
V3 Apartment Building - Near South Boston Police Department. Inside is a reference to the show "Dexter" and the show "Friends" as well as the Miami Postcard
V3 Super-Lux Travel Agency - Also near the South Boston Police Department. Inside is a reference to the show "Steven Universe", A new weapon called the Shooting Star, and a new settlement object call the Crystal Star Sticker.
V3 Greenie's Cellar - Near Old Gullet Sinkhole. Inside is a reference to the Fallout 3 DLC Mothership Zeta.
V3 Tinkerer's Apartment - Found inside the Water Street Apartment Building. Solve the puzzles to claim the settlement object "Hey Assbutt!" which is based on the show "Supernatural". V4 Added a Master Switch at the end (Its a book with wires coming out of it) that will allow you to control the doors right before the end to prevent getting stuck.
V4 Mobster's Apartment - Added into the Downtown Apartments on the first floor behind plywood that can be activated and removed. Lots of McNally's Irish Cream inside.
V4 Super-Duper Mart Delivery Truck - Found in The Glowing Sea near the ruined Super-Duper Mart (South East of Capsized Factory). The only place to get Fishy Sticks!
V4 Trailer - South of Wilson's Atomatoys Factory. You can find Old Murk-Eye here.
V4 Dead Man's Cavern - Cave Northwest of Sentinel Site in The Glowing Sea. You can find Juvenile Deathclaws and Tiamat here.
V4 Motel Room - Found at Roadside Pines Motel. Motherfucker Jones lives here, a reference to the movie "Horrible Bosses".
V4 Architect's Basement - Glowing Sea south of Skylanes 1665 wreck. Inside is a reference to the television show "How I Met Your Mother" and a smaller reference to the DC Comic Series/Television Show "Teen Titans"
V4 West Coast Delivery Truck - Found east of the Lonely Chapel, this truck was on it's way to Nuka World before the bombs fell. Inside you can find the Sierra Madre Poker Chip and Invitation both are collectibles.
Spoiler:
New Encounters:
Show
Blanche's Bandits - A group of elderly raiders are in The Commonwealth searching for rare loot. Their search has lead them to the General Atomics Galleria Bowling Alley. Rumor has it they're looking for a rare Mr. Handy Night Light.
V3 Surprise Motherfucker! - South of the General Atomics Factory are some shipping crates look for the doors on one of them to gain the settlement object "Surprise Motherfucker".
V3 Groundskeeper Willie - Suffolk Charter School. Take his shovel and see what happens. Based on the show "The Simpsons"
V4 Old Murkeye - Trailer (See Locations) Based on the game "World of Warcraft / Hearthstone"
V4 Tiamat - Dead Man's Cavern (See Locations)
Spoiler:
New Weapons:
Show
The Terrible Shotgun - Found in the Downtown Apartments (See Locations)
Occam's Razor - Found in the Downtown Apartments (See Locations)
Blackhawk - Found in the Dam Maintenance & Repair (See Locations)
Sprtel-Wood 9700 - Found in The Rabbit Hole (See Locations)
Pa's Fishing Aid - Found in the Gambler's Bunker (See Locations)
Confetti Popper - Found in the Dam Maintenance & Repair (See Locations)
Candy Cane Prop - Found at Christmas time in diamond city. Patience is a virtue.
Needle - Based on Arya Stark's sword from Game of Thrones. Found at Walden Pond on the little island between some rocks.
Citizen's Cane - A nod to the movie "Citizen Kane". Found in the Boston Bugle Building on the table to the right when you enter.
The Greatest Boxing Glove - A nod to the legend Muhammad Ali. Found in the Boxing Gym near the Old North Church.
V3 Shooting Star - A Power fist based on the one Garnet uses in the show "Steven Universe". Found in Super-Lux Travel Agency (See Locations)
V3 Polar Express - Unique Railway Rifle based on The Polar Express. Nothing too special (No new meshes or Textures on this one just Cryo Legendary) found in the Tinkerer's Apartment.
Spoiler:
New Clothing/Armor:
Show
Agent's Tuxedo - Based on James Bond's suit in 007. Found in The Switchboard
Style Suit - Based on PSY's Tuxedo in the music video for Gangnam Style. Found in Fallon's Department Store.
Vera Keyes' Fashion Line Tuxedo - Based on the male version of Vera's Outfit in the New Vegas DLC Dead Money. Found in the Adoring Fan's Cellar (See Locations)
Family Man's T shirt and Jeans - Based on the clothing that Family Guy's Peter Griffin always is wearing. Found in Charlestown Laundry.
Bloody T shirt and Jeans - Bloody version of Hank Hill's Outfit. Found on Hank Hell (See Locations)
Tshirt and Jeans - Based on the clothing that King of the Hill's Hank Hill is always wearing. A few can be found one in Charlestown Laundry, Downtown Apartments, and Fens Parkview Apartments.
Talon Company Combat Armor Chest Piece - Found on the Talon Company Merc in the Downtown Apartments (See Locations)
La Vie En Rose - Found on Bloody Blanche at the General Atomics Galleria outside of the Bowling Ally.
Spoiler:
New Workshop Items:
Show
Love Sets Sail! - Found in the Adoring Fan's Cellar
I'm Going To Live Til I Die!- (Frank Sinatra Quote) Found in The Rabbit Hole (See Locations)
Fuck You! - Found in the Downtown Apartments (See Locations)
Talon Company Symbol - Found in the Downtown Apartments (See Locations)
Happy Birthday Sticker - Found in the Dam Maintenance & Repair (See Locations)
Tunnel Snakes Rule! - Unlocked by default for the time being.
V3 Crystal Star Sticker - Found in Super-Lux Travel Agency (See Locations)
V3 Hey Assbutt! - Tinkerer's Apartment (See Locations)
V3 Surprise Motherfucker! - South of the General Atomics Factory. (See Encounters)
V4 Poker Table - Unlocked by default.
V4 Giddyup Buttercup Variants - Perk Magazine found in Greenie's Bunker (See Locations).
V4 Giddyup Raidercup Variants - Perk Magazine found in the Motel Room at Roadside Pines Motel.
V4 Old Murk-Eye Wax Replica - Trailer (See Locations) Blueprints found on corpse.
V4 Tiamat Wax Replica - Dead Man's Cavern (See Locations) Blueprints found on corpse.
V4 Fishy Stick Plates + Capn's Chest - Super-Duper Mart Delivery Truck (See Locations)
V4 Architect's Blueprints - Architect's Basement (See Locations).
Spoiler:
Easter Eggs (Grenades Filled With Goodies) :
Show
01 - Super-Duper Mart Exterior in a shopping cart near the tables in the eating area. (the area near the Port-A-Diner)
02 - Kendall Hospital in the back of a pickup truck in the parking lot area.
03 - Arcjet Exterior in the portable on the desk.
04 - South of General Atomics Factory back of a pickup truck on the docks.
05 - Neponset Park on a table.
06 - Hallucigen Exterior on a table near the door.
07 - Andrew Station Joe Spuckies.
08 - Vault-Tec Regional HQ Exterior in the back of a van.
09 - Old North Church on the pews.
10 - Hubris Comics Exterior Top of the stairs next door.
Beaster Egg - The Rabbit Hole. This one isn't filled with goodies just death.
Spoiler:
Easter Eggs (References)
Show
V3 Harrison Jones - Based on Indiana Jones. Found in the Glowing Sea south of Skylanes 1665.
V3 Say Cheese And Die - Based on the Goosebumps books. Found at Rocky Narrows Park.
Spoiler:
Postcards:
Show
Boston - Various Locations
Worcester - Various Locations (Big John's Salvage Shelter. For certain)
Bar Harbor - Various Locations (Sandy Coves, Fishing Boat Cabin. For certain)
Albuquerque - Drug Lab (See Locations)
Texas - Fens Parkview Apartments (See Locations)
Las Vegas - Gambler's Bunker (See Locations)
Washington D.C. - Prydwen Main Deck
Alaska - Fraternal Post 115
Seattle - Sandy Coves
Florida - College Square Station
Biloxi - Charleston Abandoned House near Bunker Hill.
Charleston SC - Hoarder's Apartment near Cabot House.
Charlotte NC - Hoarder's Apartment near Cabot House.
Atlantic City - Fens Cafe Building.
New Orleans - Andrew Station Exterior Bus.
Los Angeles - Mystic Pines.
Nevada - Relay Tower 0BB-915
Salt Lake City - Beacon Hill Apartments
Sacramento - Blasted House Basement near National Guard Training Yard.
Pueblo - Skylanes 1665.
Minnesota - Skylanes 1665.
New York - Skylanes 1981.
New Hampshire - Dam Maintenance & Repair.
San Francisco - Kellogg's House (Diamond City).
V3 San Bernardino - Super-Lux Travel Agency (See Locations)
V3 Miami - Apartment Building (See Locations)
V3 Grand Canyon - East Boston Prep School in a locker on top of an Overdue Book.
V3 Yosemite - Revere Beach Station
V3 Zion National Park - Pearwood Residences in Kim's room.
V3 Pikes Peak - Bunker (See Locations)
Spoiler:
Additional Collectibles:
Show
Misc Collectibles :
Velvet Elvis - Based on the one from Fallout 2. Found in WRVR Broadcasting Station.
Vera Keyes' Portrait + Locket - Adoring Fan's Cellar. (See Locations)
Paradise Lost - Old Corner Bookstore.
Abraham Lincoln Photograph - Concord Museum of Freedom.
Christmas Gift - Diamond City.
V4 Mother - Roadside Pines Motel Room.
V4 Future Architecture Magazine - Architect's Basement (See Locations)
V4 Architect's Framed Picture - Architect's Basement (See Locations)
TOYS:
Toy Racing Car - Based on the Mach 5 from Speed Racer. Hoarder's Apartment near Cabot House.
Sunset Sarsaparilla Toy Truck - Mystic Pines.
Nuka-Cola Protectron Model - Cambridge Diner.
Winterized Gutsy Model - Fraternal Post 115.
Winterized Sentry Bot Model - Listening Post Bravo.
V3 Toy Racing Car - Based on James Dean's Little Bastard. Found in Kendall Parking Garage in Cambridge.
V4 Giddyup Raidercups - Roadside Pines Motel Room
POKER CHIPS:
Atomic Wrangler - Relay Tower 0BB-915.
Vault 21 - Relay Tower 0BB-915.
Ultra-Luxe - Vault 114.
Tops - Gambler's Bunker (See Locations)
Gomorrah - Gambler's Bunker (See Locations)
Bison Steve - Gambler's Bunker (See Locations)
Silver Rush - Gambler's Bunker (See Locations)
V4 Sierra Madre - West Coast Delivery Truck (See Locations)
PERK MAGAZINES:
Astoundingly Awesome Tales Krombopulos Michael Space Assassin! - Based on the show Rick & Morty. Makes you 2% harder to detect. Found in Hubris Comics top floor room with skeleton on a couch.
V4 Official Giddyup Buttercup Collector's Guide - Greenie's Bunker (See Locations) Allows you to craft various Giddyup Buttercups.
V4 Official Giddyup Raidercup Collector's Guide - Roadside Pines Motel Rooms. Allows you to craft various Giddyup Raidercups.
V4 Capn's Guide to the Fishy Stick - Super-Duper Mart Delivery Truck. Allows you to craft various Fishy Stick related objects.
Food & Drinks:
V4 Fishy Sticks - Super-Duper Mart Delivery Truck (See Locations) After you get the Capn's Guide to the Fishy Stick you can craft your own!
V4 McNally's Irish Cream - Found in various locations. Based on Bailey's Irish Cream.
V4 Nightcrawlers - Can of worms yum! Comes in Regular, Glowing and Quantum. Found in various locations.
Spoiler:
Unique NPCS:
Show
Talon Company Merc - Downtown Apartments (See Locations)
The Raider Birthday Party Gang - Dam Maintenance & Repair. Don't forget to get Claire's key from her for some extra backstory! (See Locations)
Hank Hell and Lady Bird - Based on the Television Show King of the Hill. Human and Glowing Dog. Fens View Apartments (See Locations)
Walter and Jesse - Based on the Television Show Breaking Bad. Humans. Drug Lab at Wicked Shipping Fleet Lockup. (See Locations)
Krusty - Based on Spongebob. Mirelurk. Westing Estate
Sebastian - Based on Little Mermaid. Mirelurk Hunter. Under bridge near Costal Cottage.
Lee Everett - Based on The Walking Dead. Feral Ghoul. Wicked Shipping Fleet Lockup (He's Tough Be Careful At Low Levels!)
Olivia Moore - Based on IZombie. Feral Ghoul. Atlantic Offices.
Kyle Crane - Based on Dying Light. Feral Ghoul. O'neill Family Manufacturing.
Grump + Not So Grump - Based on the Game Grumps. Supermutant Behemoth and Super Mutant. Decrepit Factory.
Bear + The Maiden Fair - Based on Game of Thrones. Supermutant and Human. Gibson Point Pier Diner.
Snoop - Based on the rapper. Raider Dog. Andrew Station.
Gentle Ben - Based on the book Gentle Ben. Yao Guai (Friendly). Radio Tower 3SM-U81.
Mr. Cuddles - Slight Nod to Alchestbreach's Mr. Cuddlesworth. Deathclaw (Friendly) Relay Tower 0SC-527.
V3 Bash's Gang - Super-Lux Travel Agency (See Locations)
V3 Thrash - Apartment Building (See Locations)
V4 Motherfucker Jones - Motel Room. (See Locations)
Spoiler:
Additional Items:
General Tips:
Show
Spoiler:
Show
Spoiler:
Show
Spoiler:
Show
Spoiler:
Patches:
Alternate Versions:
CREDITS:
Music From - https://archive.org/details/JeepersCreepersByPaulWhiteman1932
Sound Effects From - https://www.freesound.org/people/realtheremin/sounds/119012/
chucksteel for letting me use his Beantown Interior Project box meshes.
Carnatics for helping me with the script for the testing cell note.
Now onto what's in the package.Quantum Jet - Found in the Drug Lab (See Locations) ( Desc Is Bugged until I figure out how to fix it but trust me it's better than regular jet)Generic Poker Chips - Gamblers Cellar (See Locations) and Mystic PinesBurnt PostcardsSticky Magazines and Napkins - Gives Adhesive... V4 = new meshes for sticky napkins!RopeCompact Sensor ModuleEmpty Cram + PorknBeans and other foods.Nice new cardboard boxes thanks toRecorder (non institute version)Listening DeviceUS PassportsToilet Tank CoverMcNally's Irish Cream BottleCigarette ButtsJuvenile Deathclaws / HandsAnd so much more junk...Some AC Units on the wall are containers. Example -Some Wall Paintings can be shot off to reveal hidden objects such as safes. Example -Some Wooden Crates can be shot to reveal items inside of them. Example -Some Wooden Barrels can be shot to reveal items inside of them. Example -Check the backs of toilets in my new cells! takatoriyama's - Radrose Usability Enhancements. Valdacil Item Sorting patches for many popular mods! Czasior's - Fallout 4 Enhanced and Wild Wasteland - Compatibility PatchThis isn’t your “Ways to Know You’re Dating a Gold Digger” list. To me, those things are too obvious, and if that’s what you’re into, well, that’s your choice, get mined away.
What we are looking at here are more subtle signs that you and your nest egg are going to Davey Jones Locker if you continue being involved with such a person.
Now, someone might have one of these of these marks of the devil, and it’s just a warning sign. Two of them, watch out. Three, abandon ship immediately.
(This list applies to both males and females)
They bring too much baggage on a trip— Aside of the fees to check all those suitcases when traveling by air, an excess in baggage is symptomatic of the crater of an ego that will need to filled by greater and greater amounts of money. I need a white dress for this occasion a black dress for that one, and shoes to match. Better take them all for a five day trip, ya know, just in case, because I’m not enough as myself to deal with the judgements of not being prepared. It’s ego. They order food/drink which they don’t finish– If it happens a few times, you’re dealing with someone who is wasteful of resources, not only financially. If you’re full, take the food home, or have it packed and give it to a homeless person. I had a girlfriend who ordered a $15 glasses of wine, take a sip and leave the rest. Yes, I quickly downed it before leaving the restaurant. They always want to buy something new— nothing is never enough. Their closet is overflowing, but they can’t find anything to wear, so they go out and buy new shoes, a new dress. Every time they feel down, it’s shopping therapy. They pay interest on their credit cards every month– Although this can happen through no fault of their own and they get mired into paying off a large, unexpected charge (like a medical one) in general you’re dealing with someone who is not only living beyond their means, but compounds it with future obligations to keep Wells Fargo’s shareholders rich. Their friends seem super status oriented— Birds of a feather flock together. Eventually your partner will feel the pressure to have the $100,000 car, the designer clothes, or the Tiffany bracelet to fit in. They scoff at Chipotle— “No honey,” (a slight scoff) “You don’t take me to Chipotle,” was the retort to my suggestion of meeting there for an early dinner. If you’re trying to save money, don’t get a car that needs super premium gasoline to get around town. Hard boiled eggs in a salad is about as good as it gets nutritionally, and way cheaper. Too Many Selfies, far fewer photos with you — If you’ve been dating and their Instagram is filled with selfies of themselves, and you and others are barely (if at all) featured, you’re dealing with someone is likely image conscious, which will almost certainly manifest in their material needs/ wants/ desires.
|
banished from this dimension by the Babylonian god Tiamat following a protracted conflict between their followers. Entering into any given dimension, Gozer uses the thoughts of those who witness its arrival to assume a fixed form within that plane of existence. Gozer's arrival is set in motion in the 1920s by the actions of Ivo Shandor and comes to fruition in 1984, when its minions Zuul and Vinz Clortho open the portal for their master to enter on top of the building Shandor designed. Though originally in the form of an androgynous humanoid, Gozer uses Ray's accidental thought to assume the form of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man before being conquered. Gozer was played by Yugoslav model Slavitza Jovan and the demonic voice of Gozer was provided by Paddi Edwards.
Gozer is indirectly alluded at the end of 2016 film, Ghostbusters, when Patty Tolan hears strange words in recording machine and asks the team "Who is Zuul?".
Gozer reappears in the 2009 game, taking on the form of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man again before being defeated once more. The skull of Gozer's humanoid form appears at the end in the possession of Ivo Shandor, who has taken over the mayor's body, contemptuously discarding it. Gozer is best known for its phrases and quotes such as "Are you a god? [Ray: "No."] Then... DIE!!! [blasts the Ghostbusters with lightning]" or the incorporean voice saying "THE TRAVELER HAS COME!" and "Choose and perish!".
The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, mascot for the fictional company Stay Puft Marshmallows, becomes the chosen form of Gozer after Stantz thinks about something he says is harmless. Stay Puft also makes appearances in the animated series The Real Ghostbusters as a friendly ghost, and returns to attack New York in Ghostbusters: The Video Game. He also appears briefly in 2016 film when is controlled by ghosts released from the ghost dimension by Rowan, when the Marshmallow Man attempts to squash them, but is destroyed by Erin using the Swiss knife. Stay Puft was inspired by Peter O'Boyle, a security guard at Columbia Pictures whom director Reitman met filming his previous movie, Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone. According to Sam Delaney of The Guardian, "Stay Puft's familiar mascot combined elements of real life brand ambassadors Bibendum (aka the Michelin tire man) and the Pillsbury Dough Boy."[4] The costume was created by Bill Bryan using miniatures, optical compositing and Bryan himself in a latex suit.[5]
Ghostbusters II (1989) [ edit ]
Vigo the Carpathian [ edit ]
Vigo the Carpathian (full name: "Prince Vigo von Homburg Deutschendorf") (Wilhelm von Homburg) appears in the second film. Vigo was a sadistic tyrant of Carpathia, self-described as the "Scourge of Carpathia" and "the Sorrow of Moldavia". Born in 1505, Vigo was an expert in sorcery and black magic. He enjoyed an unnaturally long life (fueled by black magic to give him immortality) which comes to an equally unnatural end when in the year 1610 he is "poisoned, stabbed, shot, hanged, stretched, disemboweled, drawn and quartered" by his own people before being beheaded. Even this does not kill him instantly - as Stanz notes that "just before his head died" he vowed to return saying "death is but a door, time is but a window, I'll be back".
Vigo's spirit is eventually transferred into a life size portrait which makes its way to the restoration department of the Manhattan Museum of Art in 1989, the setting for the Ghostbusters II movie. Using the psychomagnetheric mood slime to become active, Vigo manipulates the art gallery's curator, Dr. Janosz Poha (Peter MacNicol), into finding him a child (Dana's son Oscar) whose body he can inhabit. His plan is ultimately foiled by the Ghostbusters' use of the positive mood slime.
In Ghostbusters: The Video Game, the portrait of Vigo is stored in the Ghostbusters' firehouse. Though no longer a threat, Vigo enjoys insulting and taunting anybody who approaches him. He also makes cryptic predictions based on real-world history, as the game's release post-dates the time period of the game by nearly two decades.
Extreme Ghostbusters [ edit ]
Kylie Griffin [ edit ]
Kylie Griffin (voiced by Tara Strong, credited at the time as Tara Charendoff) was first introduced as one of the next generation of Ghostbusters in Extreme Ghostbusters. She is the unofficial leader of her group and carries the ghost trap on her back. She becomes involved with the Ghostbusters after enrolling in Egon Spengler's course at City College of New York. Kylie shares certain traits with Egon, such as knowledge of the supernatural. Both are eccentric and socially awkward and they both had encounters with supernatural beings from their childhood (Egon met the Boogeyman and Kylie's friend was taken by the Grundel). As part of Extreme Ghostbusters, Kylie is featured in the video games Extreme Ghostbusters for the Game Boy Color, Extreme Ghostbusters: Code Ecto-1 for Game Boy Advance and Extreme Ghostbusters: The Ultimate Invasion for the PlayStation. She was also the basis of several action figures from Trendmasters. Kylie is widely regarded as the fan favorite of Extreme Ghostbusters.[6][7]
Kylie reappears as a supporting character in IDW Publishing's Ghostbusters comic. She first appears in issue 5 in 2012 as the manager of Ray Stantz's occult book shop. In November 2012, it was announced that Kylie would be made an official Ghostbuster in issues beginning in February 2013.[8][9]
Ghostbusters (2016) [ edit ]
Gertrude Aldridge [ edit ]
Gertrude Aldridge was the first ghost seen by Erin, Abby and Holtzmann in the 2016 film. She was portrayed by Bess Rous. Gertrude Aldridge was the horribly disturbed daughter of a wealthy New York aristocrat who was responsible for the murder of the family's servants. As a result, she spent the rest of her life locked away in her family manor's basement instead of being turned over to the police, being occasionally fed food through a small slot in the door. In the present day, she haunts the Aldridge Mansion Museum when Tour Guide Garrett (Zach Woods) was about to head home. As soon as Garrett heard her banging on the basement door, he attempted to run out, but the doorknob was red hot. He later attempts to throw a chair to the window, but the chair floats and hit him instead. After going through the basement door and down the stairs, he discovers some green slime on the basement floor, then noticed he got some on his hands. He runs up the stairs to the door, but they collapsed, leaving him clinging on for dear life. Gertrude later reveals herself from the slime on the floor, with Garrett screaming in terror. While Abby and the group were inspecting the mansion, her ghost appears from the basement door, moving towards the group. When Erin tries to communicate with her, Gertrude suddenly transmorgifies and projectiles ectoplasmic vomit on Erin, then escapes out of a wall and into the streets.
During Rowan's invasion of New York City, the team, calling themselves "Ghostbusters" encounter her again, alongside the Electrocuted Ghost found in the subway and Mayhem. She participates in the battle by picking Erin up off the ground and throwing her to a nearby pilgrim ghost. She later attempts to attack Erin again with "Sparky", but they end up getting knocked back by a proton shotgun blast.
Electrocuted Ghost [ edit ]
The Electrocuted Ghost (not to be confused with the Scoleri brothers of the 1989 film), also known as "Sparky", is the second ghost Erin, Abby and Holtzmann spotted. It is implied that he is the ghost of a criminal executed by the electric chair. He is portrayed by Dave Allen. Shortly after Rowan North (Neil Casey) gave his train ticket to Patty Tolan, he disappeared onto the tracks, causing Patty to go tell him to get out. Instead of finding him, she finds a device on the tracks. The device then opens, revealing the Electrocuted Ghost, causing Patty to flee. Later, the team arrive with Patty and after inspecting the tracks for a bit, Sparky appears. The team decides to test their new proton lasers on him, but the first attempt did not have enough power to even reach the ghost. After being caught in the second attempt, a train later hits Sparky, nearly killing the group as well. Patty then states he will be the third scariest thing on the train.
The Ghostbusters encounter "Sparky" again, alongside Gertrude Aldridge and Mayhem during the Battle for New York. He joins Gertrude Aldridge in trying to attack Erin, but they get knocked back by a proton shotgun blast, which caused him to disintegrate.
Erin Gilbert [ edit ]
Dr. Erin Gilbert in the 2016 film, played by Kristen Wiig, is Abby Yates' second-in-command. She is introduced as an assistant physics professor at Columbia University, but her bid for tenure fails after her previous research into the paranormal with Abby comes to light. She has long since dismissed her belief in ghosts, but regains it after being slimed by Gertrude Aldridge during a face-to-face encounter.
In the novelization, she is depicted as having grown up near Battle Creek, Michigan; she met Abby in her senior year of high school, and spent much of her time at the University of Michigan researching ghosts with Abby. She did postgraduate work at Princeton University, and got her doctorate at MIT. She shares traits to Peter Venkman due to both kept getting slimed, they are also team leaders with a sense of humor and attraction to opposite gender.
Jillian Holtzmann [ edit ]
Dr. Jillian "Holtz" Holtzmann is portrayed by Kate McKinnon in the 2016 film. A nuclear engineer by training, she is introduced as Abby's research partner and becomes the team's equipment designer, constructing their proton packs as well as a range of auxiliary weapons. She is hinted to have a romantic interest in Erin, as seen in an alternate ending scene where she claims that they are dating, as well as several other instances of flirting throughout the film. Her mentor is Dr. Rebecca Gorin (Sigourney Weaver).
In the novelization, it is revealed that she narrowly missed being admitted to CERN. Several of her peers in school started calling her by her last name because "Jillian" sounded too feminine, and by the time of the film she almost never answers to her first name. She shares traits with Egon Spengler for both are intelligent and tend to do strange things.
Director Paul Feig confirmed in an interview with The Daily Beast that Holtzmann was supposed to be a lesbian, or somewhere on the LGBT+ spectrum, but the studio refused to allow that detail into the movie and instead left the audience with the freedom of more personal interpretation of her character.[10] She was also observed by some viewers to depict autistic traits, or more specifically, someone with Asperger syndrome.[11]
Patty Tolan [ edit ]
Patricia "Patty" Tolan is portrayed by Leslie Jones in the 2016 film. She works for the New York MTA as a subway booth attendant, and is the only member of Abby's team who does not have an advanced degree. She is however, a big fan of non-fiction and is a municipal historian with intense knowledge of New York's history. After contacting them to report a ghost sighting in one of the tunnels, she joins the team and borrows a hearse from her uncle's funeral home that is eventually converted into Ecto-1, a vehicle for personnel and equipment transport.
She shares traits to Winston Zeddemore for both believe in the supernatural and also both are African American.
Abby Yates [ edit ]
Dr. Abigail L. "Abby" Yates is portrayed by Melissa McCarthy in the 2016 film, and is the Ghostbusters' de facto leader.
In the novelization, she transferred to Erin's high school after moving from Indiana in her senior year. The two became fast friends, and spent their college years at the University of Michigan researching ghosts. They collaborated on a book about their findings, but Erin backed out of a planned interview after her graduate advisor at Princeton panned the project. Undaunted, she moved to New York City to continue her research.
In the film, she rereleases her book without Erin's consent, threatening her bid for tenure. When Erin demands to have the book taken down, Abby complies, in exchange for her participation at a ghost investigation with Holtzmann at the Aldridge Mansion Museum. She shares traits to Ray Stantz for both are sometimes get possessed, and they both have the same enthusiasm and talent for invention.
Kevin Beckman [ edit ]
Kevin Beckman is a receptionist in the office building of the Ghostbusters team in 2016 film, played by Chris Hemsworth. He serves as the counterpart to Janine Felnitz from the first two films. In the film, he applies for job in office building where the Erin and her mates are establishing ghost and supernatural business headquarters. They are sceptical to hire him for being silly and bit dumb, but he gets the job as he is seen as a nice, calm guy. Kevin sometimes provides jokes and statements to the team throughout the film. Later he becomes possessed by the spirit of Rowan North whom he uses him as a host and goes to Mercado Hotel to activate the device to unleash the ghost army in New York City. The Ghostbusters arrive in the building to save him and Rowan discards him but the girls catch him when Kevin falls down to the floor. After repelling Rowan's invasion, Kevin is back in his job as the girls see him as a valuable worker in their business.
Rowan North [ edit ]
Rowan is an occultist and a former employee of Macado Hotel in the 2016 film, portrayed by Neil Casey. In the film, he left former job and became oocultist because he felt his life became miserable when he was mistreated in own life. Opsessed with supernatural, Rowan attempts to unleash the ghost army in New York City by putting devices across the city connected to main machine in Mercado Hotel in Time Square, as a former site of paranormal history, along with ley lines within the New York area in order to activate the portal and create the vortex between two worlds. Rowan also used the book called "Ghost From Our Past", written by Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates as inspiration for his plans. When Ghostbusters discover his plans, he plans turned it on, but as a police arrive, he commits suicide. But his suicide is used so that he will become a ghost. Rowan possessed Abby briefly, then Kevin Beckman as host to get to Mercado hotel and activate the portal machine, resulting into unleashing the ghosts in New York. When Ghostbusters arrive, Rowan discards the host and transforms into Ghostbusters logo, the cartoon ghost into demonic gigantic version of it. When the girls destroy the vortex, he is pulled into the ghost dimension, but catches Abby to kill her. Erin enters the dimension and saves her, while Rowan is disintegrated in that dimension, ending his invasion.On the day before Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker launched a push this spring to spend $250 million in public funds on a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks, the super PAC promoting Walker’s presidential campaign received a large check.
The May 27 donation to Unintimidated PAC, for $150,000, came from a limited liability corporation connected to Jon Hammes, a Milwaukee-area businessman and investor in the NBA franchise, as first reported by the Capital Times. Hammes has since signed on as a national finance co-chairman of Walker’s presidential campaign.
A Walker campaign aide noted the stadium deal, designed to keep the Bucks from bolting Milwaukee, had been brewing for months before the two-term governor announced his support for the latest proposal on May 28. The aide told TIME it was “a dangerous leap” to imply the decision to back the agreement was made for the benefit of an influential donor. Hammes has long been a supporter of Walker, donating more than $15,000 to Walker since 2005.
It’s not clear that the deal brought any political benefits for Walker’s presidential campaign. Free-market think tanks and powerful conservative organizations that have long been supporters of the governor denounced the use of public money to help finance a stadium for the team’s billionaire owners. Among them was the Wisconsin branch of Americans for Prosperity, the Koch-backed group that played a significant role in Walker’s election victories.
The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now
If the Bucks owners gained from the agreement, Hammes was not the only—or even the primary—beneficiary. One of the club’s majority owners, financier Marc Lasry, is a top fundraiser for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Others have also donated to Democratic candidates.
Walker has cast the arena deal as a way to protect taxpayers from the loss of current and future tax revenue that would ensue if the Bucks skipped town.
“This plan protects taxpayers from the loss of current and future tax revenue generated by the Bucks and visiting teams and supports a new arena without tax increases or state bonding,” Laurel Patrick, a spokeswoman for the governor, told TIME in June.
Unintimidated PAC, which like other super PACs is permitted to raise and spend unlimited sums in support of its favored candidate, is prohibited from coordinating with Walker’s campaign. While Walker was not yet a candidate at the time of the donation, his pre-campaign and super PAC had already established a so-called firewall preventing coordination in accordance with Federal Election Commission rules.
The Wisconsin legislature approved the arena deal last month in a pair of bipartisan votes.
Write to Alex Altman at alex_altman@timemagazine.com.Bitcoins, which have long faced questions around their legality, are gradually gaining acceptance across the world. The Philippines and Japan legalised it earlier this year, and Australia recently confirmed it will treat the cryptocurrency "just like money." In India, however, lack of regulatory clarity has been a dampener, keeping investors and market participants away. But Sandeep Goenka, co-founder and COO of Ahmedabad-based bitcoin exchange Zebpay, believes things are set to witness an overhaul. In an interview with VCCircle, he says the narrative will soon change from legality of bitcoins and virtual currencies to how we can use them to protect the country's financial infrastructure. He also talks about Zebpay's growth plans, and busts many a myth around the virtual currency. Excerpts:
How does a bitcoin exchange work? Can you explain the pricing dynamics?
There are four-five stakeholders in the ecosystem, viz. miners, exchanges, wallet providers and blockchain applications. The exchange is the first infrastructure that needs to be built, just like you need the stock market to invest in equity. A virtual currency exchange provides value to the currency, and these digital tokens are'revenue' for other players in the ecosystem.
As for pricing, bitcoins have historically seen massive appreciation. Since global supply will be limited to 21 million units till 2040, demand is high and prices keep on rising.
There is a perception that bitcoin prices should be the same universally. But prices on any exchange are simply a function of demand and supply. International prices are reference rates, and our price is Rs 20,000 higher. But, then, our sale price is also higher than the international price. My users are aware of this and they are willing to buy.
Prices in South Korea are highest in the world. When bitcoin touched its all-time high of $2,700, in South Korea it was trading at $4,000. On an average, prices vary by $300-400 across countries.
What's the revenue model of bitcoin exchanges?
There is a spread between the buy and sell rates. We buy at low costs and sell at high prices. Exchanges are the first in the ecosystem to go profitable. Zebpay, for example, started making money in six months.
What kind of traction are you seeing in India?
We started about two years ago, and we are the largest bitcoin exchange in India. We have around 70% market share. We have grown from three partners to 50 people now, and have 25-30 people for customer support. In fact, the Zebpay app recently crossed 7.5 lakh downloads. We are adding 1.5 lakh users every month compared to the 1,000-2,000 we were adding initially.
In FY2016-17, we clocked gross merchandise volume (GMV) of Rs 1,200 crore. As the market touches new highs, we expect to do Rs 5,000 crore in GMV in the next fiscal. Our revenue is 1-2% of the total GMV.
Where do Indian bitcoin startups stand in comparison to their US counterparts?
We are at least 2-3 years behind. Currently, the entire industry across the three exchanges (Zebpay, Unocoin, and Coinsecure) is doing Rs 50 crore a day, which is peanuts compared to numbers in the US. In fact, the US-based Coinbase is about to become the first bitcoin company in the world to be valued at $1 billion. Worldwide, exchanges are clocking over Rs 20,000 crore a day. China is posting transactions worth Rs 5,000 crore a day. Our volumes are comparable to small economies like the Philippines.
The reason we lag behind is regulatory confusion over bitcoins and perception issues. As soon as there is clarity, we will see a huge explosion in interest and usage.
How will regulation help bitcoin companies?
Bitcoins and virtual currencies are legal under existing laws. But there is a myth that they are illegal. The thing is, they are not regulated. And all parts of the ecosystem care about legality. Although the government has no regulations in this area, all exchanges ensure that people who buy bitcoins share their PAN cards and trade in bitcoin through banking channels. We don't sell bitcoins in cash.
If bitcoin gets regulated, many other legitimate companies will enter the space. The entire ecosystem will develop much faster. Raising funds will be easier.
Regulation will also result in better user protection.
What's the government's stance on the issue?
The government has legitimate concerns. However, three years down the line, I think the narrative will change from the legality of bitcoin and virtual currencies to how we can use them to protect the country's financial infrastructure. It's just a matter of time.
In the recent ransomware attacks, where money was paid to the hackers in the form of bitcoins, there were questions around its use. Truth is, these attacks have been happening for the past 20 years. Nobody ever knew how much money IT biggies paid. In bitcoins, the ledger is public, so all transactions are open.
However, now startups that can track payments to bitcoin addresses are emerging. That will helps track down the culprits.
How capital-intensive is the business?
Starting a bitcoin exchange is more tech-intensive than capital-intensive.
A lot of investment goes into tech because it's an absolutely new subject that uses consensus algorithm and cryptography. To get experienced engineers in this domain is tough. Finding talent is the biggest challenge.
What are your growth plans?
Zebpay is looking to expand internationally. By the end of this fiscal, we will enter Singapore, and then expand to other countries in Southeast Asia over the next two years. Today, we are among the top 30 exchanges in the world, and our goal is to break into the top 10 in the next two years.
Currently, we are headquartered in Ahmedabad. However, we are shifting the gravity of our business to Mumbai. By the end of the year, we will have a substantial presence in Mumbai.
We are adding another alternative currency, Ethereum, on our platform by August. Over past few months, it has shown tremendous growth.
What should users keep in mind while investing in bitcoins? Can you share some tips?
First, there are two types of people who invest in bitcoins. One, those who understand the technology and, two, those with herd mentality. People with herd mentality make the worst buy and sell decisions, buying at highs and selling at lows. People who understand the technology realise that highs and lows are part of the process, and that bad news is always temporary.
Second, use exchanges only to load money and buy bitcoins. And then take out bitcoins and keep it in your hardware locker. There are several independent wallet providers as well. So, even if an exchange shuts down, your bitcoins will be safe.
Third, bitcoins, like other investments, attract short-term and long-term capital gains tax. If you buy today and sell tomorrow, you will need to pay short-term capital gains tax at 30%. If you sell after a year, you'll need to pay long-term capital gains tax of 20%. If you are a regular trader and invest in bitcoins for regular income, then you will have to pay income tax on it. Ideally, one should invest in bitcoins like one would in a systematic investment plan and hold it for a long time period. Sell it only when you need money.
Last, beware of scams. Any miner who guarantees a fixed return is trying to scam you. A lot of users fall into such traps. Mining can be a Ponzi scheme—they sometimes say buy 10 bitcoins and we will give you one extra. That's a scam. People launching new coins (ICO) is also illegitimate. It's simple to decide, actually. If the ICO software is open source and public, it's a legitimate coin. But if a company launches a coin and does not hold 25%, which the industry standard is, then they have doubtful credentials.
Like this interview? Sign up for our daily newsletter to get our top reports.The United Nations' top climate official Christiana Figueres has warned that most of the world's coal must be left in the ground to avoid catastrophic global warming. At a special climate summit in New York on Tuesday, countries including China were talking up their plans to vigorously develop their renewable energy industries and dramatically reduce coal consumption. "If we've learned anything in the mining industry through all its cycles, it's that you can never be sure whether a resource has had it or not. Just because it is not feasible or economic to develop a mine at present doesn't mean it will always be that way," Mr Robb will tell the conference. "Australia's reputation as a reliable supplier of low-cost resources and energy is something we must continue to nurture, or our customers will diversify away from us." Mr Robb, who recently oversaw a deal to sell Australian uranium to India, said there was rising demand for a more diversified energy mix from China and India, but demand for coal remained high in those two booming economies.
In addition, it was not possible to "rule out the discovery of innovative technologies that will make for the cleaner or clean burning of coal". While Australia pursued opportunities in shale gasfields such as the Cooper Basin, he said, new uses for brown coal were also being explored in the Latrobe Valley. "Some of these applications may not work out, but coal's long association with innovation suggests that others will. It is important to be patient and take a long-term view because the utility of our large resource deposits changes over time," Mr Robb will say. "Instead of thinking brown coal's day has passed, we need to bear in mind its potential to support new industries and jobs in the future." By repealing the carbon and mining taxes, Mr Robb said, the Abbott government had demonstrated its understanding of the need for an economic climate that encouraged investment.
But his speech is at odds with the growing urgency in the international community to move economies away from coal and fossil fuel-intensive industries. Economist Frank Jotzo, from the Australian National University's Crawford school of public policy, said after the New York summit that Australia was stuck in what was now considered "old thinking", in which economic growth was seen as a trade-off for action on global warming. He said this outlook was rooted in the idea that "coal is king", but countries such as China and the US were moving away from that view and recognising opportunities for economic growth in developing low-carbon industries. Environment Victoria chief executive Mark Wakeham said the federal and Victorian governments refused to accept that "this huge body of coal is not some bounty we can exploit". "We're not treating the other resources we have seriously, such as renewable energy," he said.
Loading "And anyone who tries to highlight the conflict between the Australian position and what the science says and what the international community says is just shot down." Follow us on TwitterRefraining from eating pork? Giving alms to the poor? These could become criminal activities in Tennessee, where a proposed law would make adherence to Sharia — or Islamic law — illegal and punishable with jail time.
While a number of other states have filed legislation seeking to keep Sharia out of the courts, Tennessee is going one giant step further by attempting to outlaw it entirely.
Senate Bill 1028, introduced by State Sen. Bill Ketron, gives the state Attorney General authority to designate “Sharia organizations,” defined as “two (2) or more persons conspiring to support, or acting in concert in support of, sharia or in furtherance of the imposition of sharia within any state or territory of the United States.” Anyone who provides material support or resources to a designated Sharia organization could be charged with a felony and face up to 15 years in jail.The bill states its intent is not to outlaw free religion, or the practice of Islam. It claims that Sharia presents a real threat to Tennessee. Ketron did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tennessee is just the latest in a string of states to consider anti-Sharia legislation. But unlike in some other states, where the language in the legislation avoids explicitly mentioning Sharia by name, Tennessee’s bill goes so far as to call Sharia “treasonous” and incompatible with the U.S. Constitution.
From the bill:
Sharia as a political doctrine requires all its adherents to actively support the establishment of a political society based upon sharia as foundational or supreme law and the replacement of any political entity not governed by sharia with a sharia political order. Sharia requires all its adherents to actively and passively support the replacement of America’s constitutional republic, including the representative government of this state with a political system based upon sharia. The knowing adherence to sharia and to foreign sharia authorities is prima facie evidence of an act in support of the overthrow of the United States government and the government of this state through the abrogation, destruction, or violation of the United States and Tennessee Constitutions by the likely use of imminent criminal violence and terrorism with the aim of imposing sharia on the people of this state.
Faced with criticism, on Wednesday, Ketron and State Rep. Judd Matheny, who introduced the House version of the bill, put out a statement framing the legislation as an antiterrorism bill.
This bill does not interfere with the constitutionally protected rights of those who practice Sharia religious law,” added Senator Ketron. “This is not about religious rights or about those who practice Islamic beliefs. It’s about protecting our citizens from acts of terrorism that come from Sharia jihad which is a growing threat in all our states.”
Tennessee is still in the midst of a heated debate over the building of a new mosque in Murfreesboro.
Fears about Sharia law taking hold in the United States are not new, but they seem to be growing. South Carolina, Wyoming, Texas and Georgia have introduced anti-Sharia legislation this year.
For an in-depth look at the origins of Sharia anxiety in the U.S., check out TPM’s investigation on the subject.
Here’s the text of the bill:Murder suspect Marissa Shephard was arrested in Moncton on Tuesday afternoon, Codiac RCMP have confirmed.
Shephard, 20, of Moncton, has been wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for first-degree murder and arson in connection with the death of Baylee Wylie, 18, on Dec. 17.
Shephard was arrested at approximately 12:30 p.m. in the area of Shediac Road and Lewisville Road in the city, RCMP Staff Sgt. Mark Janes said at a media briefing.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Mark Janes says a tip from the public led to Shephard's arrest. (CBC) "We got a tip from the public that she was in that region, we went to that area and we arrested her," Janes said. "We arrested her on the street."
Arrested with Shephard were two others, a man and a woman, and charges are pending against those two. All are scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.
Arrests made 'without incident'
Janes told reporters the three were arrested outside and without a struggle. "At this time far as I know, it [the arrests] went down without incident," he said.
Wylie's body was discovered in the burned unit of a Moncton triplex after a December fire. RCMP described his death as an extremely violent murder.
Tyler Noel has also been charged with first-degree murder and arson in connection with Wylie's death. Noel, 18, was apprehended near Petitcodiac, N.B., on Jan. 9.
A third suspect, Devin Morningstar, 18, of Moncton, has also been charged with first-degree murder and arson in Wylie's death.
Marissa Shephard had been sought on a Canada-wide warrant for first-degree murder and arson in connection with the death of Baylee Wylie on Dec. 17. (Facebook) Shephard's disappearance after the murder has led to much speculation and plenty of unconfirmed sightings throughout the Maritimes. Janes was unable to say whether she had been in Moncton the whole time.
"I haven't seen her, but I'm told she looks very similar to the photos … that were released on Facebook," he said.
Betty Steeves, who works across the street from arrest area at a training and consulting business, said she and her co-workers first noticed police cars around 12:30 p.m.
"It's a bit scary, we've had some really strange events happening here, because it's a busy street," Steeves told CBC News. "You feel a little vulnerable having somebody like that right across the street from you, especially when people come and go as they please, so we're going to be locking our doors from now on."
Betty Steeves, who works across the street from the arrest site at Lewisville and Shediac Roads, says she and her co-workers first noticed police cars around 12:30 p.m. (CBC) Jeff Rogers, who was staying at a nearbyComfort Inn, said he heard a commotion around the same time.
"I heard some dogs barking and stuff like that, and I looked out my window and I seen three police going around the corner of the building with a guard dog," he said.
Rogers said RCMP officers had blocked off one room of the motel, and had also spoken with the front desk.
In the end, it was the RCMP's pleas to the public that led to Shephard's capture.
"Thank you to the public for helping us and assisting us with the information," said Janes. "We wouldn't have had, wouldn't have been able to do this without the help of the public. So we got her. We arrested her. She is wanted for murder and she's now in our custody."
Wylie's aunt, representing the family released a statement later Tuesday afternoon.
"The family is relieved that Marissa is finally in custody and now our concentration is on justice for Baylee," Angela Wylie wrote.A family in Woodstock, Georgia, learned a difficult lesson about the dangers of posting an online advertisement. The Vercher family, who recently lost their home of 20 years to foreclosure, posted an ad on Craigslist on Tuesday night, informing people that a yard-sale-style giveaway would take place at their home the following day.
Well, on Wednesday morning, people turned out in droves. However, instead of just taking the free furniture that the family had placed outside, crowds ransacked the house, taking nearly everything inside. The Verchers tried to stop people from walking off with their belongings, but their pleas were ignored.
Michael Vercher thinks the wording of the Craigslist ad may have confused people. It read, in part, as follows: "Fairly large, free yard sale. Moving and we want everything to go for free. So come over and take whatever you want and how much you want." Some of the missing items were simply irreplaceable, including two guitars that belonged to Vercher's fiancee; they were given to her by her father.
Vercher hopes the incident was an honest misunderstanding, saying, "You'd like to think there's good people. I hope they would have a good enough heart to bring our stuff back." Although police say it is impossible to track down all the missing items, the Verchers plan to search online to see whether anyone is selling the family's possessions.
[Related: Total Defense Partners With Facebook to Safeguard Users from Online Dangers]
Like us on Facebook.com/TrendingNow and follow Trending Now on Twitter: @Knowlesitall and @YahooTrending.Ashley owns 8.29% of Rangers
Rangers and Mike Ashley have been accused of breaching several Scottish FA rules relating to the Newcastle United owner's stake in the Ibrox club.
Ashley owns 8.29% of Rangers and has an agreement with the SFA that he will not increase that to above 10%.
However, in October, Ashley's £2m loan to the Scottish Championship club allowed him to appoint two directors.
The SFA wrote to Rangers and Ashley seeking clarification and will now hold a disciplinary hearing on 27 January.
Both the club and Ashley have been issued with notices of complaint alleging they have violated Scottish FA rules on dual ownership of clubs and failed to "act in the best interests" of football.
Rangers have further been accused of not acting "with the utmost good faith" towards the Scottish FA and its member clubs.
Newcastle have declined to comment, but the Premier League in England has no rules outlawing dual ownership.
However, the Football League does have specific rules banning interests in more than one football club - so if Newcastle were relegated, Ashley's stake in Rangers would then become an issue in England.
In September, Newcastle released a statement on behalf of Ashley, which said he "remains committed" to the club until at least the end of the 2015-16 season.
Former Newcastle managing director Derek Llambias was named a non-executive director at Ibrox after Ashley's initial loan.
Then, later |
.S.—are either military veterans, have retired from the Guard or Reserve service, or are on active duty. That’s a military participation rate much higher than the general population’s. Yet no service member has been openly transgender during tenure in the armed forces, owing to a long-standing ban on people whom the Pentagon considers to have “psychosexual disorders.” That ban is expected to be overturned, however, in 2016. Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter signaled the reversal last summer when he said in a statement that the military’s ban on transgender service members was “outdated” and distracts commanders from their core missions.
Acceptance in the White House
On April 8, Obama signed an executive order banning discrimination of federal employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. That same day, the White House opened its first gender-neutral bathroom. But for many advocates, one of the most visible achievements at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue came four months later, when the White House hired its first openly transgender staff member. Raffi Freedman-Gurspan was appointed as an outreach and recruitment director in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel. She had previously served as a policy adviser for the racial and economic justice initiatives at the National Center for Transgender Equality. The move was praised by LGBT leaders including NCTE executive director Mara Keisling. “A transgender person was inevitably going to work in the White House,” she said in a statement. “That the first transgender appointee is a transgender woman of color is itself significant.”
Protection From Congress
While transgender visibility skyrocketed in mainstream media in 2015, the year also marked the deadliest on record since advocates began tallying reported transgender homicides in 2006. At least 21 transgender Americans, a majority of whom were women of color, were murdered this year, according to a report published by Human Rights Campaign. To address what it called an “epidemic of violence against the transgender community,” Congress took action, forming its first-ever Transgender Task Force in November. “It is our responsibility as leaders and public officials to ensure that all people are free from the fear of persecution, prejudice, or violence just for being who they are,” Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., who formed the task force along with members of the House LGBT Equality Caucus, said in a statement. “We work to highlight the issues that transgender individuals face.” Honda also introduced a bill to designate November as Transgender Acceptance Month.Charles Joseph Minard’s name is synonymous with an outstanding 1869 graphic depicting the horrific loss of life that Napoleon’s army suffered in 1812 and 1813, during its invasion of Russia and subsequent retreat. The graphic (below), which is often referred to simply as “Napoleon’s March” or “the Minard graphic,” rose to its prominent position in the pantheon of data visualizations largely thanks to praise from one of the field’s modern giants, Edward Tufte. In his 1983 classic text, “The Visual Display of Quantitative Information,” Tufte declared that Napoleon’s March “may well be the best statistical graphic ever produced.”
Today Minard is revered in the data-visualization world, commonly mentioned alongside other greats such as John Snow, Florence Nightingale, and William Playfair. But Minard’s legacy has been almost completely dominated by his best-known work. In fact, it may be more accurate to say that Napoleon’s March is his only widely known work. Many fans of the March have likely never even seen the graphic that Minard originally paired it with: a visualization of Hannibal’s famous military campaign in 218 BC, as seen in the image below.
On its face, it may not seem remarkable that Minard is remembered for this one piece of work; after all, many people owe their fame to a single great achievement, and the Napoleon graphic is certainly worthy of its reputation. But Minard was most definitely not a one-hit wonder.
View Images Charles Minard’s renowned graphic of Napoleon’s 1812 march on Moscow (lower image) is paired here with a visualization of Hannibal’s famous military campaign of 218 BC (upper image). The tremendous numbers of casualties suffered by both armies are shown by the thinning of the lines (1 millimeter of thickness is equal to 10,000 men), which chartrepresent their routes through space and time. Map from “Cartographies of Time” courtesy of Princeton Architectural Press
Minard made scores of other graphics and charts, as well as nearly 50 maps. He pioneered several important thematic mapping techniques and perfected others, such as using flow lines on a map. A great example of this is the trio of maps in the graphic at the top of the post, which depict cotton imports to Europe.
It wasn’t until I met R.J. Andrews, the visual storyteller behind the website Infowetrust.com, that I learned about Minard’s prolific career. Andrews has been studying the history of data visualization and writing a series of posts about some of the field’s “sacred cows.” When he started looking into Minard, he found a trove of his work in the digital archives of the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (National School of Bridges and Roads), where Minard was an instructor.
Minard made some of his charts and maps during his engineering career, which culminated in his appointment as inspector general of the school. But it was after he retired, at age 70, that he really poured himself into crafting his “graphic tables and figurative maps,” as he called them. The Napoleon and Hannibal graphics were among the very last he made, at age 88.
Minard wasn’t the first to put flow lines on a map, but he really raised the bar for doing so. The maps are all designed to tell a story—to “speak to they eyes,” in Minard’s words.* He mapped the flow of everything from coal and wine to people and languages. He always prioritized the data, often distorting the underlying geography to accommodate it.
In some cases, such as the cotton import maps, he charted the same data over time. In the video above, Andrews explains how the cotton maps tell the story of an emerging global economy and the impacts of civil war.
The invention of the pie chart is credited to Playfair, but again Minard took an existing idea and vastly improved it. He was the first to use pie charts on a map, and he added his own innovation: turning the pie charts into proportional symbols.
One of his first pie-chart maps shows the origin of butcher’s meats supplied to Paris markets in 1858 from each of the country’s departments. The size of the pies indicates how much total meat came from each location. The colors indicate which type of meat: black for beef, red for veal, green for mutton. All the departments in yellow contributed some meat, and the meatless areas are tan colored. A century and a half later, cartographers are still using the technique.
View Images A flow map of global emigration in 1858. Colors indicate the country of origin of migrants, and the thickness of the lines represents the number of migrants moving (1 millimeter is equal to 1,500 people). Map courtesy Library of Congress
Andrews also discovered that, unlike now, Minard’s work was widely known and appreciated in his day, at least among government officials. Buried in a 15-year-old scholarly paper, Andrews found an intriguing passage of Minard’s obituary translated from the original French. It said that from around 1850 to 1860, all the ministers of public works in France made a point of having their portraits painted with one of Minard’s charts in the background. This sent Andrews down a rabbit hole in search of those portraits. You can read Andrews’ account of the hunt and what he found out.Senior Pilot, Captain Han Hee-seong, 58, has been flying for 33 years, and despite near-death experiences, constant jet lag and rogue combat planes, he still loves what he does.
After a shining career at Korean Air (where he was nominated as a top pilot), Han now resides in Shanghai and flies Boeing 777s to Europe and the United States for China Eastern Airlines.
"When I was young my dream was to be a judge," he says.
"But in high school all this changed. I realized that I wanted to travel and fly around the world."
Based on our interview with him, we think he made the right decision.
He shares seven things we didn't know about life in the cockpit.
1. Jet lag doesn't get easier with practice
Meetings are just so much more awesome when everyone is wearing an aviation uniform.
The most difficult part of being a pilot, according to Han, is actually something most of us might understand.
"The hardest part is adjusting to different time zones and trying to get enough sleep before flying," says Han. "This problem plagues all of us pilots throughout our career."
He breezes over the technical difficulties.
"Sometimes we come across typhoons, sudden gusts of wind, hailstorms, fog or heavy rain, or there is a problem with one of the engines and we have to turn it off and make a quick landing," he says.
"However, these things are easy to deal with once you have the experience."
2. It's not about the airline, it's about the aircraft
And here we were comparing inflight bibimbap and bento boxes.
"Whether you take a major carrier or a low-budget carrier, the aircraft itself is the same aircraft: a Boeing 737," says Han.
"Maybe a Boeing 777 or an Airbus 330 -- those seem to be popular these days. And the pilots are veteran pilots who have done their time, until about 55 to 60, at large airlines. Flights today are very safe."
Interestingly, he says that the one aircraft that all pilots he has met dislike unanimously is the Airbus 380. "We think it hasn't been tested enough, and that it's simply not as safe."
3. But you have to like the food
... But to some, the job makes the jet lag worth it.
When asked if pilots dislike the airplane fare, Han replies, "If they're picky."
Han is not. "I like foods from all over the world -- everything tastes fine to me."
The pilot and the copilot, according to Han, eat different meals. Usually the pilot gets the first class meal and the copilot the business class meal.
"This is just in case one of the meals might cause food poisoning," says Han.
More on CNN: 9 easy ways to make a flight attendant go insane
4. A good airport is like a good wife (or husband)
"A good airport -- such as Incheon International Airport, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Singapore's Changi Airport, or Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok -- is above all comfortable, with good facilities and good service," says Han. "Like a good spouse."
So which airports are likely to end up dying alone?
"New York's JFK International Airport and Chicago's O'Hare Airport have so much traffic that there's always a 25- to 45-minute line before we can take off, or after we land, park the plane," says Han.
5. 'The seatbelt sign is a lie'
"Keeping the seatbelt sign turned on whenever the aircraft is below 10,000 or 20,000 feet (depending on the airline) is a rule designed to keep the passengers safe," says Han.
Although he can usually cooperate with air traffic control to avoid pockets of turbulence without much fuss, he says he turns on the seatbelt sign anyway just because of the possibility of turbulence.
"Technically, I suppose, then, that seatbelt sign is a lie. Ordering passengers to put on their seatbelt when they might not necessarily need them," says Han.
But we're with him in thinking that it's better to be lied to than laid out on a stretcher.
"We have several cases each year of passengers who did not have their seatbelt on during thunderstorms, hailstorms or particularly violent gusts of wind -- when even the aircraft was actually damaged, and the passengers, obviously, even more injured," says Han.
6. There is (or was) a real reason for regulating mobile phones on flights
"I remember mobile phones disrupting the communication systems -- but then again, it was 15 years ago," says Han.
"Although the more recent aircraft have shielding devices to protect the navigation and communication systems, the aircraft from 10 or 20 years ago don't have such shielding, so mobile phones do disrupt the navigation and communication."
7. It's not just hotel suites and golf, the cons include near-death experiences and health problems
"I've had two dangerously close encounters with combat planes," says Han.
"The first encounter was because the combat plane ignored regulations and infringed on civilian (commercial) air routes, and the second near-collision involved four planes who failed to signal that they were flying above the airport I was trying to lift off from."
The environment isn't the healthiest.
"The air inside an aircraft has 20 percent less oxygen than the air on the ground. We cruise at an altitude about the height of Mount Halla on Jeju Island (1,950 meters), and often suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome because of our irregular sleep schedule."
Many pilots drop out during the training because their health deteriorates, don't pass the final test for their certificate, or don't make it to their retirement because of accidents and incidents.
At least the thrill never dies
Where the magic happens.
"Flying is, simply, fun. That's why I've done it for so long, and, as long as my health allows, why I can keep doing it, until I retire at 65."
And despite what you might have imagined from cockpit photos or watching unrealistic action films, it's a lot more hands-on than you might expect.
According to Han, that's what's so fun about it.
"Kicking off on the runway at 350 kph, lifting off in an aircraft that weighs 350 to 400 tons, flying for over 10 hours -- carrying over 300 passengers, or over 100 tons of cargo -- and then gently landing at your destination -- there's a distinct thrill in the knowledge that I made all of this happen."
Besides the thrill of piloting the flight, there is also the delight of the flight itself, and the magnificent natural sights below.
"I have never, ever felt that my job was boring," says Han.
"Of all the pilots I've met -- they number about 2,000 -- there were less than five pilots who quit simply because they disliked the job."
More on CNN: Gallery: Sexy flight attendant uniforms of the pastGameStop director Leonard Riggio has sold 2.3 million shares in the company, in a move that analysts say might be a sign of pessimism on the retailer's near-term prospects.Riggio -- also board chairman and founder of the Barnes & Noble bookstore chain, which used to own GameStop -- earned $60.2 million through the sale, and lowers his stake in the company to 5.5 percent from 6.9 percent."Unless he desperately needs $60 million," it appears that he doesn't think the stock is going to be performing very well, insider trading firm Form4Oracle co-founder Alex Romayev told financial magazine Barron's. "He's got a lot bigger stake in Barnes & Noble. Clearly he thinks selling GameStop is better than selling Barnes & Noble."Most analysts have been generally positive on the retailer's prospects ahead of the key holiday season, thanks to hardware price cuts, improved year-over-year comparisons likely ahead, and the view of retailers like Best Buy that consumer foot traffic is about to make a return But Romayev told Barron's that the last time Riggio made a GameStop shares sale not related to options, he divested just in time to avoid a 62 percent loss.The Adventures of Cashboy: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Cashboy
I’m doing the rest of this in text rather than screenshots because it’s easier to read and quicker to do.
Anyway, here’s where we left things last time.
———-
From: Cashboy87 Yahya
Date: 10 October 2014 at 15:27
To: Thomas Hind
Bro i’m telling you to write a song and you repeating what i was saying … okey no problem bro i think you don’t need money no problem i’m going to find a real song righter
———-
From: Thomas Hind
Date: 10 October 2014 at 15:34
To: Cashboy87 Yahya
I’m always serious. They don’t call me Mr Serious for nothing. They don’t do it at all to be honest, but they certainly wouldn’t for nothing. Most people demand a fee.
But I understand what bars mean. I was in one the other day but then I got kicked out because I wouldn’t stop singing Don’t Stop Me Now. Which is ironic because…well you know why.
I thought you wanted me to use your lyrics that you wrote because you were like “So it’s got to be like that” and “like I told” and “just work on the thing I told you” and then you wrote the lyrics. But I get it now. I’ve written a new song in the meantime which I think do what you say and/or say what you mean. It’s definitely more Kanye/Diddy style.
The songs called “You Can’t Tell Me Nothing Big Homie”.
Thanks,
Thomas
P.S You didn’t mean like chocolate bars did you? Cos that would be confusing. I also don’t have 41 chocolate bars, I only have 37 and they’re mine and you can’t have them.
———-
Some of the more eagle-eyed of you will have spotted that I actually sent him this same song earlier on. He did not appreciate it.
———-
From: Cashboy87 Yahya
Date: 10 October 2014 at 15:40
To: Thomas Hind
Bro i’m dead serious and you joking but no problem im here trying to make millions so that meanspeople that work with me they gonna have ROI
———-
From: Thomas Hind
Date: 10 October 2014 at 16:33
To: Cashboy87 Yahya
Whoa there cowboy. I’m not joking. I’m looking forward to getting this ROI thing as much as the next guy. These millions sound pretty dandy as well, whether it’s money or the sweets. Just let me know what you want in as clear a way as possible so there’s no possible misunderstanding or Miss Understandings and we’ll get it sorted.
Thanks,
Thomas
———-
ROI is obviously Return on Investment but he doesn’t have to know I know that and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know either.
———-
From: Cashboy87 Yahya
Date: 10 October 2014 at 16:39
To: Thomas Hind
Okey wirte a song that talk about someone who have a hard life and he have no father and he have a lot of haters a round him and he trying to be positif and use please like fucking or fuck or motherfuckers or bitch or something like that you know the hip hop bro
———-
From: Thomas Hind
Date: 10 October 2014 at 16:55
To: Cashboy87 Yahya
Ok but first let’s talk ROI. Firstly, what does it mean? Currently I’m working on three theories of possible meanings:
1. Run Or Investigate - means you are some sort of detective or athlete
2. Rum On Instagram - I don’t even like or use Instagram so I hope it’s not that
3. Ringo Of India - A rather bizarre reference to the drummer of an Indian Beatles cover band which I don’t understand or appreciate.
I have other ideas too but these are the main ones I’m working off. If you could let me know what you mean by it, that’d be great and would definitely go a long way to clearing up some of this confusion.
Thanks,
Thomas
———-
From: Cashboy87 Yahya
Date: 10 October 2014 at 16:58
To: Thomas Hind
that mean’s if the song is good youre and if the fans like it youre gonna get your profit (money)
———-
Well that cleared up precisely nothing
———-
From: Thomas Hind
Date: 10 October 2014 at 17:00
To: Cashboy87 Yahya
I dunno about that. None of those words began with “R” or “O” and I get the feeling it was an acronym
———-
From: Cashboy87 Yahya
Date: 10 October 2014 at 17:22
To: Thomas Hind
I just told you what it is bro please i got to record the song so please let’s work on it
———-
I think I touched a nerve
———-
From: Thomas Hind
Date: 10 October 2014 at 17:25
To: Cashboy87 Yahya
Ok, I’ll get to work on it, but in the meantime you clearly need to google ROI. You wanted a song about bars right?
———-
From: Cashboy87 Yahya
Date: 10 October 2014 at 17:27
To: Thomas Hind
I just told you what i want i want you to write a song that talk about somebody that have problems and don’t have a father and thre is a lot haters around him and he trying to be positif
———-
With this clear and vivid artistic direction I got to work
———-
From: Cashboy87 Yahya
Date: 13 October 2014 at 19:30
To: Thomas Hind
wassup bro, so you finish the thing?
———-
From: Thomas Hind
Date: 17 October 2014 at 18:00
To: Cashboy87 Yahya
Hey man,
I’ve been hard at work for the past week writing and recording a song that will BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF! LIKE CLEAN OFF YOUR SHOULDERS! LIKE AN RPG JUST HIT YOU IN THE HEAD!
But anyway, here it is. I did like you asked and made the lyrics about “fuck bitches and hoes etc” and I think you’ll love it.
Thanks,
Thomas
Lyrics:
Fuck bitches and hoes
I can’t use them to mow
The unruly mess that is my front lawn
Female dogs and tools for weed control
Won’t help me reach my ultimate goal
And as such can’t be relied upon
I just don’t have the knowledge
Cos I didn’t go to garden college
And now I need some advice
On what to do with my scythes
Can anyone give me some hope
Because I just don’t know
What to do with my bitches and hoes
Oooohhoooowoooooooo
Kanye West, P Diddy in da house
And in the garden shed also
———-
He did not appreciate my effort or my talents and they were met with solid silence. Maybe you will if you listen here
———-
From: Thomas Hind
Date: 22 October 2014 at 13:30
To: Cashboy87 Yahya
Bro, did you listen to the song, bro? Did you like it, bro?
———-
From: Thomas Hind
Date: 24 October 2014 at 14:10
To: Cashboy87 Yahya
You there bro?
———-
He wasn’t :’(
———-
From: Thomas Hind
Date: 18 November 2014 at 22:11
To: Cashboy87 Yahya
Hey man,
I’ve got an idea! Why don’t you send me some lyrics and then I’ll write a song to it and then we’ll make millions and we’ll both get our ROI! Sounds like a plan right?
Your manbro,
Thomas
———-
Would this be enough to tempt him out of his cyberspace hibernation?
Yes. Yes it would.
———-
From: Cashboy87 Yahya
Date: 19 November 2014 at 14:36
To: Thomas Hind
Forget all that music talk i have a plan if you want to make some money so let me know if you want
———-
From: Thomas Hind
Date: 19 November 2014 at 14:41
To: Cashboy87 Yahya
So long as it doesn’t involve giving or receiving bodily fluids, I’m in.
———-
From: Thomas Hind
Date: 19 November 2014 at 14:42
To: Cashboy87 Yahya
Who am I kidding? Even if it does include that I’m still in.
———-
From: Cashboy87 Yahya
Date: 19 November 2014 at 14:45
To: Thomas Hind
So you want it or no?
———-
From: Thomas Hind
Date: 19 November 2014 at 14:45
To: Cashboy87 Yahya
More than anything in the world.
———-
It’s sad that that was true.
———-
From: Cashboy87 Yahya
Date: 19 November 2014 at 15:02
To: Thomas Hind
Okey first of all tell me your full name your age etc
———-
From: Thomas Hind
Date: 19 November 2014 at 15:03
To: Cashboy87 Yahya
My name is Kanye P West Diddy and I’m 71 etc. I live in a shoe and have problems with telling the truth.
Why do you want my name and age etc?
———-
I was very suspicious and I’m pretty sure if I gave him my name (even though he already had it in the email) he would use it for nefarious reasons.
———-
From: Cashboy87 Yahya
Date: 19 November 2014 at 15:24
To: Thomas Hind
Okey when youre gonna be serious and talk business let me know bye.
———-
From: Thomas Hind
Date: 19 November 2014 at 15:29
To: Cashboy87 Yahya
Ok
———-
Less than 1 hour later…
———-
From: Thomas Hind
Date: 19 November 2014 at 16:14
To: Cashboy87 Yahya
I’m ready to be serious and talk business now. What’s the plan?
———-
From: Cashboy87 Yahya
Date: 20 November 2014 at 10:29
To: Thomas Hind
Okey tell me your name and your age etc…
———-
From: Thomas Hind
Date: 20 November 2014 at 14:40
To: Cashboy87 Yahya
You gotta tell me the plan first
———-
From: Cashboy87 Yahya
Date: 20 November 2014 at 14:47
To: Thomas Hind
The plan is about investing in real estate and gold and legal Marihuana
———-
That, I discovered, was the line and I noped out of there. It was too funny and I literally couldn’t type a response through laughter.
And that’s the end of the Adventures of Cashboy! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and maybe one day we’ll learn what the mysterious substance known only as “Marihuana” really is.IT’S HARD TO think of a single technology that will shape our world more in the next 50 years than artificial intelligence. As machine learning enables our computers to teach themselves, a wealth of breakthroughs emerge, ranging from medical diagnostics to cars that drive themselves. A whole lot of worry emerges as well. Who controls this technology? Will it take over our jobs? Is it dangerous? President Obama was eager to address these concerns. The person he wanted to talk to most about them? Entrepreneur and MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito. So I sat down with them in the White House to sort through the hope, the hype, and the fear around AI. That and maybe just one quick question about Star Trek. —Scott Dadich
Scott Dadich: Thank you both for being here. How’s your day been so far, Mr. President?
Barack Obama: Busy. Productive. You know, a couple of international crises here and there.
Dadich: I want to center our conversation on artificial intelligence, which has gone from science fiction to a reality that’s changing our lives. When was the moment you knew that the age of real AI was upon us?
Obama: My general observation is that it has been seeping into our lives in all sorts of ways, and we just don’t notice; and part of the reason is because the way we think about AI is colored by popular culture. There’s a distinction, which is probably familiar to a lot of your readers, between generalized AI and specialized AI. In science fiction, what you hear about is generalized AI, right? Computers start getting smarter than we are and eventually conclude that we’re not all that useful, and then either they’re drugging us to keep us fat and happy or we’re in the Matrix. My impression, based on talking to my top science advisers, is that we’re still a reasonably long way away from that. It’s worth thinking about because it stretches our imaginations and gets us thinking about the issues of choice and free will that actually do have some significant applications for specialized AI, which is about using algorithms and computers to figure out increasingly complex tasks. We’ve been seeing specialized AI in every aspect of our lives, from medicine and transportation to how electricity is distributed, and it promises to create a vastly more productive and efficient economy. If properly harnessed, it can generate enormous prosperity and opportunity. But it also has some downsides that we’re gonna have to figure out in terms of not eliminating jobs. It could increase inequality. It could suppress wages.
Joi Ito: This may upset some of my students at MIT, but one of my concerns is that it’s been a predominately male gang of kids, mostly white, who are building the core computer science around AI, and they’re more comfortable talking to computers than to human beings. A lot of them feel that if they could just make that science-fiction, generalized AI, we wouldn’t have to worry about all the messy stuff like politics and society. They think machines will just figure it all out for us.
Obama: Right.
Ito: But they underestimate the difficulties, and I feel like this is the year that artificial intelligence becomes more than just a computer science problem. Everybody needs to understand that how AI behaves is important. In the Media Lab we use the term extended intelligence1. Because the question is, how do we build societal values into AI?
1 Extended intelligence is using machine learning to extend the abilities of human intelligence.
Obama: When we had lunch a while back, Joi used the example of self-driving cars. The technology is essentially here. We have machines that can make a bunch of quick decisions that could drastically reduce traffic fatalities, drastically improve the efficiency of our transportation grid, and help solve things like carbon emissions that are causing the warming of the planet. But Joi made a very elegant point, which is, what are the values that we’re going to embed in the cars? There are gonna be a bunch of choices that you have to make, the classic problem being: If the car is driving, you can swerve to avoid hitting a pedestrian, but then you might hit a wall and kill yourself. It’s a moral decision, and who’s setting up those rules?
2 The car trolley problem is a 2016 MIT Media Lab study in which respondents weighed certain lose-lose situations facing a driverless car. E.g., is it better for five passengers to die so that five pedestrians can live, or is it better for the passengers to live while the pedestrians die?
Ito: When we did the car trolley problem2, we found that most people liked the idea that the driver and the passengers could be sacrificed to save many people. They also said they would never buy a self-driving car. [Laughs.]
Dadich: As we start to get into these ethical questions, what is the role of government?
Obama: The way I’ve been thinking about the regulatory structure as AI emerges is that, early in a technology, a thousand flowers should bloom. And the government should add a relatively light touch, investing heavily in research and making sure there’s a conversation between basic research and applied research. As technologies emerge and mature, then figuring out how they get incorporated into existing regulatory structures becomes a tougher problem, and the government needs to be involved a little bit more. Not always to force the new technology into the square peg that exists but to make sure the regulations reflect a broad base set of values. Otherwise, we may find that it’s disadvantaging certain people or certain groups.
3 Temple Grandin is a professor at Colorado State University who is autistic and often speaks on the subject.
Ito: I don’t know if you’ve heard of the neurodiversity movement, but Temple Grandin3 talks about this a lot. She says that Mozart and Einstein and Tesla would all be considered autistic if they were alive today.
Obama: They might be on the spectrum.
Ito: Right, on the spectrum. And if we were able to eliminate autism and make everyone neuro-normal, I bet a whole slew of MIT kids would not be the way they are. One of the problems, whether we’re talking about autism or just diversity broadly, is when we allow the market to decide. Even though you probably wouldn’t want Einstein as your kid, saying “OK, I just want a normal kid” is not gonna lead to maximum societal benefit.
Obama: That goes to the larger issue that we wrestle with all the time around AI. Part of what makes us human are the kinks. They’re the mutations, the outliers, the flaws that create art or the new invention, right? We have to assume that if a system is perfect, then it’s static. And part of what makes us who we are, and part of what makes us alive, is that we’re dynamic and we’re surprised. One of the challenges that we’ll have to think about is, where and when is it appropriate for us to have things work exactly the way they’re supposed to, without surprises?How paid app promotions failed me
And the one thing that consistently works
Antonis Tsagaris Blocked Unblock Follow Following Mar 5, 2017
Last summer I released my Android app, Looxie and decided to experiment a bit by having various (relatively) low-cost services submit my pitch to a number of publications and tech blogs.
I have to say in advance that this article is not a hit piece on any of those services. They did what they promised they’d do. My article merely concerns the results of those paid promotions.
You might imagine that, with me writing this disclaimer right at the start of the article, things didn’t exactly take off. And you’d be right to imagine that.
What I used
After some extensive research (ten minutes of really intense Google ninja-searches and one minute of trolling The Verge forums, that is) I decided to go with Promotehour, Pitchmantra, BetaPage and TechGreet.
Promotehour.com
Here are the Promotehour PR plans, seen through a purple-tinted filter, added by me at no charge to you:
Even though that “Submissions” plan height difference triggered my OCD and caused a flare-up of my IBS, I went for the low-cost Submissions plan, since I didn’t really intend on spending a lot of money on this sort of thing. Plus, I wanted to try a couple of other services too.
Now, Promotehour promises to submit your application to 50 startup communities for 69 dollars. And they do that. They submit the app to 50 startup communities that you yourself could submit to for free, which is fine, because it would have taken you a lot of time to do it by yourself. Fair enough.
Pitchmantra.com
Next, I went to the Pitchmantra website and this is the plan they offer:
“Why not?” I thought and pressed the Get Started button.
Turns out, “getting started” actually means “spend an hour or so sumo-fighting our app search function before stumbling onto the solution through a combination of luck, favorable lunar phase and black magic” in whatever the Pitchmantra guys’ language is. It’s a really concise language, I’ll give them that.
After managing to submit Looxie, I paid the 49 bucks and waited for the results.
BetaPage.co
Next stop? BetaPage. BetaPage allows you to submit your startup for free and wait a couple of months for it to be featured or pay a fee of 25 dollars (I don’t know if it has since changed its price) and be featured within 48 hours. I chose to pay the 25 dollars, since I wanted to have some control over the timing of the experiment.
What does “featured” means? Well, it means this:
In all fairness, it used to have a picture of our landing page below the title too but it has since been removed (after a redesign of the site).
BetaPage will let other users vote for your app, if they like the idea. Looxie got 44 likes, which put it at second place on the day it was featured. (June 26th, 2016).
BetaPage also shares their featured apps on their social media accounts on the day they are featured.
TechGreet.com
Similarly to BetaPage, TechGreet lets you either submit yout startup for free and wait for it to be promoted or pay 23 Australian dollars and jump the queue, which means that your startup will be promote within 48 hours.
Here’s the deal:
Not bad for 23 australian dollars. The fact that the dollars are australian also made me think “That’s not a promotion plan. That’s a promotion plan” to myself, which amused me greatly and was worth the price of admission itself.
Was it worth it?
The title of the post should give you a hint.
Now, let’s be honest here: spending approximately 160 USD for promotion does not exactly entitle someone to the promotion they’d get from a dedicated PR agency.
All these services are offering at the lowest tiers is essentially
Submission of your app / startup to quite a few communities, thus sparing you the pain of having to submit it yourself
Social sharing on their accounts
Maybe a feature on their site
Should I go ahead and do it?
Let me be clear ab0ut something: if you plan on doing this to increase your app installs or user registrations, do not do it. At least going by my experiece, it will not give you a boost in installs and/or registrations.
I took a look at my app downloads and user registrations for some time after the promotions started.
Promotehour and Pitchmantra send you a report with proof that your app was submitted to the communities they claim they’d post it to.
BetaPage and |
work is described today in Nature Medicine. Ott and his colleagues developed this method in 2008, and he has since used it to grow hearts and lungs.
“This study reports important milestones toward engineering replacement kidney grafts [and] shows the potential for this strategy,” says urologist Anthony Atala, who directs the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
“If the work can be replicated, the scientists involved have clearly accomplished a tour de force and deserve accolades,” adds William Fissell, a nephrologist at the University of California, San Francisco.
Currently, patients who develop the most severe forms of kidney disease can be kept alive with dialysis, but only a transplant will cure them. And in the United States alone, around 100,000 people are waiting for a donor kidney.
Other research groups have used tissue-engineering techniques to develop external kidney-assisting devices using human cells, and some have already passed early clinical trials. But Ott argues that his bioengineered kidneys, although much farther behind in development, have the benefit of being implantable just like a donor organ.
Organs on demand
If he and his team can scale up their technique to produce human kidneys, they could provide ready-made, genetically tailored organs that would be much less likely to be rejected by a patient’s immune system. The scaffolds could come from existing donors — with no need for a genetic match — or perhaps even from animals, such as pigs. In some cases, bioengineers might be able to strip the patient's own diseased kidney and rebuild it.
“In an ideal world, if someone walks into the hospital and has a kidney grown on demand, there’s no donor organ shortage and there are no immune problems,” Ott says.
Ott’s method preserves the kidney’s three-dimensional architecture, blood-vessel structure and molecules that help to guide and organize growing cells. For example, the team saw that cells called podocytes largely ended up in the right place in their engineered organs — around blood-filtering structures called glomeruli.
However, the resulting organs are far from ready for the clinic. When transplanted into rats, they produced only around one-third as much urine as normal kidneys, and cleared creatinine — a waste product of muscles that is used to assess kidney health — 36 times more slowly than normal.
Ott blames this poor performance on the immaturity of the engineered organs, and the fact that they probably had not created the full gamut of cell types found in adult kidneys. But he notes that many patients with kidney disease start dialysis only when their kidney function falls below 15%. “If we can make a graft that works at 20%, that would already make patients independent of hemodialysis,” he says.
The team is now testing the same technique using pig and human kidneys. They are also developing more sophisticated ways of steering the development of the seeded cells, and Ott is hoping that his latest publication will attract interest from other biologists. “We’ll need collaborators, and a lot more brain power chiming in,” he says.
A regenerated kidney that could be implanted in humans “remains very, very far in the future”, says Fissell. “In almost every area in medicine, the leap from rodent to man has been extraordinarily difficult, and that has seemed to be the case with organ scaffolds as well.” However, he says that the team’s work still provides a platform for understanding how kidneys develop and repair themselves. “This may end up being the area in which the paper has the most impact,” Fissell says.
This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on April 14, 2013.The past may be a foreign country, but the world portrayed in the art of the Dutch Masters is not so very far from our own, says Adam Eaker of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. For a society that struggles with materialism and consumption, there are a lot of lessons to be learnt from the 17th century Golden Age.
Adam Eaker is Assistant Curator in the Department of European Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. He is a specialist in Northern European painting of the 16th through the 18th century and was previously a visiting scholar at the Rubenianum Research Institute for Flemish Art in Antwerp. Before joining the staff of The Met, he served as an Anne L. Poulet Curatorial Fellow and subsequently guest curator at the Frick Collection, where he co-curated the exhibition Van Dyck: The Anatomy of Portraiture (2016).
Let me start by asking, why did you fall in love with Dutch painting? And when we talk about the Dutch Masters or the Dutch Golden Age, what do we mean?
The Dutch Golden Age is typically defined from the period of the Dutch Revolt, which started in 1566, and then scholars would mark the decline of the Dutch Republic at different points but, basically, we’re talking about a generous span of the 17th century. That’s the moment when the Dutch Republic establishes itself as an independent state—the likes of which has never been seen before in the world—and had this incredible economic blossoming and expansion through trade and global exploration.
As for me, I can’t quite pinpoint a single moment when I fell in love with Dutch art. I remember being a small child and poring over an image of Jan van Eyck’s ‘Arnolfini Marriage’, which is a painting from an earlier golden age of Flemish art, and I was really fascinated by the realism—for the lack of a better word. I loved the depiction of the fur of the dog, and the fruit in the windowsill, and the clothing. And then I remember reading something about how each of those things has a symbolic content in a sort of secret language, and that was very fascinating to me as a child. And over the years I continued to be drawn to the art of Flanders and of the Netherlands and had wonderful teachers for that subject. I ended up living in Belgium and learning Dutch. So, it’s been a long relationship now with that part of the world and its art.
Read 1 Still Life with Oysters and Lemon: On Objects and Intimacy by Mark Doty Read
The painting by van Eyck makes a nice segue to discussing the first book on your list, Mark Doty’s Still Life with Oysters and Lemon: On Objects and Intimacy. There’s so much life in this little book about still lifes. There’s a lot, too, about the role of art in life—it’s a meditation on the image versus the word, painting versus poetry, but one of the things that he clearly devotes a lot of time to is a very detailed, almost scientific enquiry, into objects and their representation.
Yes. One of the things that I found so moving in that book is the way that he talks about our emotional investment in things, and how something like the type of peppermint that his grandmother ate can have a huge resonance for him for his whole life. And I think he’s very right, that in one sense, that is what still life painting is about: the investment that humans make in things. When I put this list of five books together, it was very important to me not just to have five works of academic art history. I love having this book by a poet who is, in a sense, a layperson when it comes to Dutch art, even though he has clearly read a lot. This book is really talking about his individual emotional experience as a passionate museum-goer. And, for me as a curator, who happens to be responsible for the particular painting that inspired him, that was very moving to read.
It’s also a discussion of the way that a painting becomes a record. Holland in the 1600s saw a moment of economic blossoming, but any bloom will fade. A lot of what he describes is these paintings becoming prized objects—almost like heirloom objects—in their own right. And that reflection becomes a meditation on the transience of things.
As he and many others point out, transience is built into Dutch still life. You often have paintings of flowers that are starting to wilt, or a glass that has a chip or a crack into it. There are all these intimations of decline and decay, even as the objects are so beautifully rendered. That ties in with Simon Schama’s argument about the fundamental ambivalence of the Dutch who, even as they experienced this incredible economic prosperity and abundance, had a lot of guilt about it tied in with Calvinist religious beliefs, with the sense that they were constantly beset and imperilled on all sides by enemy forces.
“There’s this sense that they had been delivered by Providence but they could lose it all at any moment”
There’s this sense that they had been delivered by Providence but they could lose it all at any moment if they weren’t careful. And I think that notion of the fragility of happiness or beauty is really built into the still lifes that Doty writes about too.
A very Calvinist sensibility, I guess.
Calvinist, but also built into a lot of different traditions within Christianity I would say. You have what they call the ‘vanitas’ still life that exists throughout Europe. There’s always a sense that any enjoyment you have is fleeting and a little bit guilty.
Read 2 The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age by Simon Schama Read
Doty writes at one point of Dutch still lifes as ‘texts of abundance’. That’s very much the way that Schama seems to be reading a lot of these works. Schama’s book shows just what a cornucopia these paintings—these texts of abundance—were in what they represent, and his title The Embarrassment of Riches refers to this economic blossoming that you described. If Doty’s book is looking at these paintings almost as visual poems, Schama is really reading them as historical documents, wouldn’t you say?
There’s a big debate within the study of Dutch art about whether these works are pure transcriptions of reality, documents of a historical moment, or whether they are really symbolic texts that we should be interpreting on a figurative level. I think the debate comes down to this: is the best explanation of these images a thorough knowledge of Dutch history and culture at the time, such as Schama presents? Or is there something irreducible in the greatest Dutch art that you can’t boil down to historical context?
Read 3 Vermeer by Lawrence Gowing Read
I think that is Gowing’s point in his book about Vermeer—and that was one of the reasons why I wanted to include it here. What he brings out is that you can know all there is to know about 17th-century Delft, and Vermeer’s contemporaries, but none of that explains why Vermeer is so much greater than any of the other genre painters working at the time. He adopts what you might describe as a formalist aesthetic approach to characterising the power of these paintings and characterising that irreducible quality. I think there’s a lot to be said for both perspectives. Obviously, you can’t understand Vermeer without understanding Dutch history and culture but, at the same, the visual can’t be reduced to an illustration of the textual either.
I think it’s fair to say that Vermeer’s technique was also unique, which probably sets him apart from most of the painting being produced at the time.
True. That goes back to another debate, which I personally think has been a bit overplayed, about his use or reliance on optical instruments. I think Gowing makes a good point, that Vermeer may have learned a few lessons from optical instruments, but that doesn’t really explain why he was interested in these very curious visual effects that often, in fact, interfere with a realistic depiction.
Read 4 Rembrandt's Enterprise: The Studio and the Market by Svetlana Alpers Read
Technically speaking, his tonal system, not to mention his brushwork, contrasts with that of a lot of his peers. In Svetlana Alpers’ Rembrandt’s Enterprise, she sets Vermeer in juxtaposition with Rembrandt—with Rembrandt following a more narrative approach to his subject matter, while Vermeer you could describe as a more descriptive artist.
I debated a bit which book by Alpers I would include on my list. She really is the dominant figure in American art history working on Dutch art in recent years. She wrote this book The Art of Describing which is a more general account of 17th-century Dutch painting, and she basically concludes that book by admitting that she’s really neglected both Rembrandt and Vermeer and that she doesn’t feel that her account can fully be extended to them. And so, she follows that up with this monograph on Rembrandt, which I actually prefer.
“It’s a very powerful, interesting account of how the studio operated in the 17th century”
For me, it’s a very powerful, interesting account of how the studio operated in the 17th century, how artists thought of themselves as impresarios and also entrepreneurs. Again, it’s a very interesting approach to the monograph because on the one hand, you have Gowing, who’s writing, as I said, very much as a working artist—someone who is talking about the formal composition of pictures and, in a sense, brackets the surroundings of the artist, the history, the society that he lived in—and on the other hand, Alpers, who has a much more integrated account, at the same time as she attends to things like the brushwork.
So, Rembrandt and Vermeer, these are two towering figures. Just taking a step back, why choose books specifically about these two? Why not other Dutch masters such as Frans Hals, or Peter Bruegel the Elder or, indeed Mark Doty’s favourite, Jan de Heem?
That, again, was another difficulty I found when I compiled the list. I could have easily suggested five books about Rembrandt or five books about Vermeer. In the 20th and into the 21st century, those have been the two really dominant figures. And so, one of the rules I set myself was that I could only have one on each, but I did think it was important to have them both represented, just because the quality of work on them is so high, and they are often the figures through which people develop a love of Dutch art. But they also are really night and day in terms of their artistic personalities and what we know about them.
Get the weekly Five Books newsletter
Rembrandt is such a flamboyant figure and we know all about his personal life, his financial woes, and his love affairs. Vermeer, to use the great cliché about him, is much more of a sphinx. We do know a lot more than we used to, thanks to archival discoveries, but none of those discoveries really illuminates his art to any great degree. His personality remains this real mystery. Whereas, with Rembrandt, as towering of a genius as he is, you do feel that you can get to know him and you see reflections of the biography in the art.
I suppose though, with what documentary work there is, Gowing and some of his colleagues have done some extraordinary detective work. Some of it may be a little bit speculative, but one of the things that I particularly liked in reading Gowing’s account was how he really tries to discern from the pictures what Vermeer’s state of mind might have been at the time that he was making them, and how his personal story may be reflected or refracted through his paintings.
He has a beautiful line in there about Vermeer being ‘well protected.’ I thought that was a wonderful characterisation of the way that Vermeer is so controlled and self-contained in his scrutiny of the world. There are different moments in that book where Gowing characterises him as a sort of voyeur, but he also points out, very astutely, how little eye contact there is between figures within Vermeer’s paintings. So, isolation and self-containment are really one of Vermeer’s greatest subjects and I think that’s a terrific insight on Gowing’s part.
Gowing talks about the ‘studied reticence of the painter’ which, again, stands in stark contrast to some of the perhaps self-promotional activity that Rembrandt was involved with. Rembrandt’s workshop was almost like an enterprise: he manipulated his own image through his use of theatricality, and gave direction to his studio, as a way of creating value for his work on the market—something that, these days, we can well relate to, looking at the way that the art world works.
Alpers characterises Rembrandt as an extremely modern figure—someone who we would recognise from the contemporary artistic self-promoter. And if I had a criticism of her book, which as I say I find to be a very persuasive account, it’s that I think she overstates Rembrandt’s singularity in that period. So, she sets up figures like van Dyck as a kind of foil to him when, in fact, I think he was often learning from and emulating other artists’ practices of self-promotion and theatricality.
In looking at these paintings after reading these books, in particular Schama’s, you almost feel yourself invited into these prosperous Amsterdam families’ homes. You’re getting to know their inhabitants through this almost anthropological reconstruction of what life was like back then, a very vivid approach to describing the way that a nation represents itself.
Schama is an incredibly evocative writer. He really is painting word pictures of Dutch daily life in that book, and he makes such good use of things like inventories to show us how exactly a wealthy Amsterdam canal house was furnished. It’s a really rich descriptive feast. In a sense, I think, it relates to Ruth Yeazell’s book and this art of realist depiction in writing.
Read 5 Art of the Everyday: Dutch Painting and the Realist Novel by Ruth Bernard Yeazell Read
Ruth Bernard Yeazell’s Art of the Everyday: Dutch Painting and the Realist Novel makes a somewhat unexpected and yet somehow completely natural juxtaposition between Dutch painting in the 17th century and realist fiction in the 19th.
I included that book partly for personal reasons because I’m someone who loves Victorian novels almost as much as I love Dutch painting! And so, it was helpful for me to understand the origins of my own personal artistic tastes and to see that that really has been a shared taste for a long time. I think one thing that she makes clear is that, in a sense, we still look at 17th-century Dutch art with 19th-century eyes. That cliché about it being a realistic transcription of everyday life is one of the clichés of 19th-century art criticism. And those clichés often have much less to do with what 17th-century Dutch people wrote about their own art, where they seem to value things that are very different from what we value.
“Is there something irreducible in the greatest Dutch art that you can’t boil down to historical context?”
I think it’s very helpful to have the sort of reception history that Yeazell charts there. Also, just as I love how Doty wrote about what he had learned as a poet from being an admirer of Dutch painting, I loved reading Yeazell’s account, for example, of George Eliot being liberated by looking at Dutch art in Munich and finding an aesthetic model for the kind of writing that she wanted to do. That sort of cross-media artistic inspiration across centuries is fascinating to me.
That’s probably something else that we can relate to, again, in our own day and age. What can this juxtaposition tell us about the relevance or the resonance of the Dutch Masters in our own time?
Well, one thing that I find very gratifying every day in my work as a curator of Dutch art is how many people—ordinary museum-goers—come up to me and tell me that it’s their favourite thing at the museum. I think there is something very enriching and inspiring to people in seeing historical art in which they recognise themselves. It’s difficult in a scene of Greek mythology and heroic nudity to recognise yourself as a 21st-century person but when you’re looking at a scene of domestic life, you can see very familiar things.
“Schama himself is explicit in making some parallels between, particularly, contemporary American culture and the Dutch Golden Age”
And I think that is a powerful way for people to see across the centuries, to recognise themselves mirrored in a sense. As an academic historian of art, I have to remind people about all the ways in which the past was different—it was a foreign country—but I don’t think we should discount the power of that recognition and particularly when we live in a society that struggles with materialism, with consumption, with ambivalence about our own abundance—there are a lot of lessons to be learnt from the 17th-century Dutch. And Schama himself is explicit in making some parallels between, particularly, contemporary American culture and the Dutch Golden Age.
So, required reading for us here and now. There’s a great line in Gowing where he talks about some of his archival discoveries disclosing “the inconceivable strangeness of the past for which one is never quite prepared”.
I think Schama also does a wonderful job of pointing out the strangeness of some of the rituals of daily life even as, ultimately, I think he gives a very sympathetic and appealing account of the Dutch.
A final question: There’s been something of a rediscovery of significant women artists from, for example, the Renaissance and other notable periods. Are there any that we should be aware of from the Dutch Golden Age?
That’s a wonderful question. Absolutely, there are a number of major figures in 17th-century Dutch art who were women. There was a genre painter named Judith Leyster, who has a wonderful self-portrait that you can see at the National Gallery in Washington. She eventually married another painter and largely gave up her career. But there are other major figures, particularly in still life painting, because that was a genre that was more open to women because it didn’t require training in figure-drawing after the nude model. For example, there’s an artist called Rachel Ruysch who had a hugely successful career and became a court painter to a German prince and is one of the greatest figures in Dutch still life painting.
I hope people will discover their own personal relationships with Dutch art and be inspired by these books to go to their local museum. There is a lot of Dutch art in museums all over the world. Dutch painters were enormously productive and there has been a sustained taste for their work. Particularly here in New York, it was the most coveted art for 19th-century Gilded Age collectors, which is why we have such a rich collection at the Met. There’s been a very interesting identification with the Dutch at different moments—like 19th-century New York and 18th-century France—when people felt a particular emotional connection to the Dutch Golden Age that they expressed through collecting. And, thanks to the access that museums provide, that experience is more available than ever.
Email this interview Recipient's email Your nameOn the one hand, she's kind of the most logical candidate to make a tragic loss.
After all, from what we can tell it looks like she's about 30 seconds away from getting engaged to Oliver Queen in the Arrow season premiere, and she has dated Barry Allen in the past. She helps both Team Flash and Team Arrow with her computer skills, and has become the centerpiece of much of the non-superhero drama on Arrow.
Frankly, though, I don't believe for a second that she's particularly vulnerable. After building the "Olicity" relationship up so much over the last few years, it would be bizarre to kill her off early in the season (they haven't even reached the midseason finale yet, since they're shooting the Arrow and The Flash crossover episodes right now).Treasurer Joe Hockey has always been wary of going on Q&A. He was right.
Hockey made policy on the run on the program when he agreed that GST shouldn’t be applied to women’s sanitary products and promised to take the issue up with the states.
Hockey had been confronted with a question from university student Subeta Vimalarajah about her petition to remove the tax that had more than 86,000 signatures. Should the GST be removed? “It probably should, yes. The answer is yes,” he said.
Praising the questioner – “good on you for getting the petition together” – Hockey said he needed the agreement of the states to make a change, and “I will raise it with the states at the next meeting of the treasurers in July”.
But Tony Abbott was less than keen on the exemption, telling his Tuesday news conference that the government had no plan for this. It was a matter for the states to decide whether they wanted any changes to the GST and if they did, to come to the Commonwealth, he said.
Hockey is pressing on, saying late on Tuesday he’d asked Treasury for a costing and then would write to the states for them to consider the issue ahead of the July meeting.
Labor, which in the 2001 election proposed rolling back the GST on these products, said it would support an exemption. Bill Shorten suggested it could be a trade off for the government’s planned extension of the GST to Netflix.
Hockey’s agreement that the exemption should be made was odd, to say the least. This was a fiercely debated issue at the start. It’s true that there were inconsistencies in the exemptions, which include for instance condoms. But does the government really want to revisit individual items, when exempting one could open the way for argument over others?
Removing sanitary products would cost some A$30 million annually, according to Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics.
And, as Richardson says, it is taking the debate off in the opposite direction to the one in which it should be going.
“Australia has too little reliance on indirect tax and too much reliance on direct tax,” Richardson says.
A year ago Hockey was, not too subtly, trying to get the states to push for the GST to be increased or broadened.
Now the pressure is on them to exclude something, or wear the political odium for not doing so.
The three Labor states – Victoria, Queensland and South Australia – have quickly said they would support the exemption. The Labor government in the ACT is also on board.
Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas said: “We’ve supported the removal of GST on sanitary products for a long time, so we welcome the federal treasurer’s statements … We look forward to Mr Hockey now putting his proposal to the states and territories, and allowing them the opportunity to back it in.”
South Australian Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis said sanitary products “should be exempt”.
The NSW Liberal government is much more cautious. NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian said the states would have “an opportunity to discuss the GST and tax reform more broadly in July”.
Tasmanian Treasurer Peter Gutwein said he was “happy to have that discussion with my state and federal counter-parts”.
West Australian Treasurer Mike Nahan said that “any change to, or removal of, exemptions from the GST process should be part of broader GST reform.
"Western Australia considers broader reform of the GST distribution process, a process that currently results in Western Australia receiving an unacceptably low share of the national GST pool, to be our main priority.”
The way things are shaping up, with Labor taking a unified position at federal and state level, Hockey has managed to have the Liberal states cornered on the issue – one that resonates with many women – and the federal government as well.The water you consume daily could be contributing to your health issues. Even when it appears to be crystal clear is often contaminated in our modern world. Plagued by everything from natural contamination to human-made pollution entering the supply, what you are drinking is just not as clean as what our ancestors consumed. Even in first-world countries, the water may not be as pure as you have been led to believe. Humans (like all living things) need pure hydration to thrive. Our body needs proper hydration—a huge part of what keeps us healthy. Rest assured, anyway that you can improve the quality of water you consume will directly contribute to your overall health.
On the Importance of Water
Water is needed by our bodies to maintain proper homeostasis (the baseline of health). We hydrate ourselves to maintain blood volume, regulate body temperature, flush out waste products with our kidneys, colon, and liver, dissolve minerals and nutrients for assimilation, carry nutrients and oxygen to our cells, improve digestion and prevent constipation, lubricate our joints, moisten tissue, and so much more! It is vital for our health.
The human body’s need for water is like a car’s need for engine oil. Oil helps lubricate different parts of the engine, and without proper oil levels and pressure a car engine seizes from friction. Without oil, your car’s motor would be destroyed and it would become completely inoperable.
So when someone becomes dehydrated, it is like a car suffering from low engine oil. Whether it is a human “machine” or an automobile, it will have issues running, respectively, when low on water or low on oil. Dehydration occurs when someone does not consume enough water to replace what is being used or expelled from the body. We lose water even at rest, from what the body uses for essential processes like skin temperature regulation, urination, defecation, and exhalation. Dehydration results from extreme heat exposure, high-altitude sickness, over-exercise, vomiting, diarrhea, burns, frequent urination, and improper radiation exposure (including to EMF).
Hydration is essential for proper mitochondrial function and health. Without it, increased oxidative stress occurs, affecting cardiovascular and mental function, which may explain many of the symptoms of dehydration. Symptoms of mild dehydration include thirst, constipation, elevated heart rate, sunken skin and veins, headaches, brain fog, loss of appetite, fatigue, very dark urine, and dizziness. Severe dehydration can lead to fainting, lack of urination, low blood pressure, confusion, seizures, coma, and in severe cases even death.
If you Google, “How much liquid should I consume daily to prevent dehydration and improve health,” you will find a wide variety of differing answers. I believe quality is just as important as quantity of water when it comes to proper hydration. An excellent book to read on how to measure and improve quality is The Fourth Phase of Water: Beyond Solid, Liquid, and Vapor by Gerald Pollack. Gerald Pollack’s life work is on then structure of water and how its structure is important to our health.
There is no set volume of liquid that should be consumed daily for proper health. Recommending a set amount to drink is too complex because there are too many factors at play, including weight, health issues, kidney function, diet, medications taken, and homeostasis loss during the day. General guidelines for proper hydration, however, are to consume quality water, make sure you get enough electrolytes in your diet (sodium, potassium, and magnesium), drink water when thirsty, and increase hydration when you are hot, feverish, constipated, vomiting, have diarrhea, or exercising.
Dirty, Sickening Water
So how dirty is our tap supply? Many of us consume “filtered” water from our local municipality, which is under a degree of regulation. It must be filtered and pure, right?
Most of the water we consume is very polluted and contaminated. The supply filtered by your city and even the liquid in your well is not good for your health to consume unfiltered. Erin Brockovich (yes, she is a real environmental lawyer and activist portrayed by Julia Roberts in the film that shares her name) writes and lectures quite frequently about how dirty our modern supply truly is.
Here is a short list of what is found in the “clean” supply we consume—even water that is supposed to be filtered and treated by our municipalities:
Birth control hormones
H. pylori
Medications (including SSRIs)
Chemicals from manufacturing
Chemicals from fracking
Heavy metals and minerals
Parasites
Differing amounts of bacteria and biofilm
Fluoride (most municipalities add artificial fluoride to drinking supplies “for our health”)
Pesticides
Chloramine
Our water has become increasingly sickening over the years. One reason is the increased use of chloramines instead of free chlorine to reduce colony-forming units of microbes in our supply. Chloramine (chlorinated ammonia) is difficult to remove from water, whereas chlorine can be easily removed by using activated charcoal filters. It is also not as effective as free chlorine (though it is cheaper), so biofilm formation occurs in water pipes frequently. Municipalities perform free chlorine flushing of their pipes at least twice a year to disinfect the pipes and reduce biofilm formation. You will notice when it happens, as the pungent smell of chlorine will reek from your tap while they clean out the pipes. H. pylori infections are increasing in the United States every year. Is it possible that inadequately treated tap water is a cause?
Legionnaire’s disease cases are also on the rise—so much so that the number of cases has quadrupled in 15 years. Legionnaire’s disease is a serious rare bacterial pneumonia caused by the bacteria Legionella pneumophila. The disease gets its name from the first recorded outbreak of it at a 1976 American Legion meeting in Philadelphia. Legionella colonizes fresh water and is known to colonize improperly treated water in storage tanks, hot tubs, and cooling towers of large air conditioners. It is contracted by breathing in an aerosolized mist of the bacteria. Legionella is able to produce biofilm, which is why infection rates are on the rise. It can survive somewhat in chloramine-treated water, similar to H. pylori, because of its production of biofilm. I do not like the use of chlorine as a disinfectant in our supply, but it is easily filtered compared to chloramine, and it is efficient at disinfecting.
Beyond problems with bacteria contamination, parasitical infections from inadequately maintained swimming pools are on the rise in the United States. Cryptosporidium infections from pools have doubled since 2014, and the parasite is difficult to eliminate from pools, immune to chlorine, and incredibly infectious. The parasite Giardia is also found in swimming pools and can easily survive moderate amounts of free chlorine. If you swim in a pool and end up with diarrhea, you are probably infected with either one of these parasites. On the rare occasion I swim in public pools, I do not dip my head, to avoid contracting a parasite orally.
There has also been a rise in the number of Naegleria fowleri infections, which is a brain-eating amoeba found in warm water. The amoeba can easily be killed with chlorine, but it is found in warm streams and lakes. Infections from improperly treated supplies and water from natural sources have occurred. It can enter the brain and cause fatal inflammation in the cribriform plate at the top of the sinus cavity. You can prevent contracting this deadly brain-consuming amoeba by using nasal plugs when you go swimming or using only cooled previously boiled filtered water for nasal irrigation.
Industrial Chemicals and Medications in the Water
Fracking chemicals’ leaking into the supplies is a big issue for many rural towns and counties. Gasland is an excellent documentary on fracking and its adverse effect on tables. Many people have seen the exciting clip from Gasland where the homeowner lights their water on fire directly from the tap because of the excess natural gas and fracking chemicals that have infiltrated the local table causing the household supply to become unusable. Fracking not only can make your water flammable, but can make you ill from consuming the chemical-laden cocktail. The amount of water contaminated by fracking is unknowable at this time, as most labs lack the equipment to analyze the chemical cocktails used for fracking. Also, many companies use differing proprietary formulations, which makes it even harder to know what chemicals to test for in the supply.
Contamination from manufacturing chemicals is also a major problem. Many are not tracked by the EPA, and it is unknown how clean our tap supply truly is. For example in my hometown, Fayetteville, North Carolina, the global chemical company Chemours was recently implicated in dumping GenX, a “safer” fluoromonomer (Teflon) downstream from my city into the Cape Fear River. It is unknown how long the dumping of GenX has been occurring, but it was found 70 miles downriver, being distributed in the supplies in towns further along the river and the Atlantic Ocean.
Treatment facilities are unable to properly filter GenX out of supply from the Cape Fear River, and it is unknown the actual effects the chemical might have had on the population who consumed it. Some studies have concluded that it may cause cancer and reproductive issues similar to the original chemical in the production of Teflon it was supposed to replace—PFOA. GenX, however, is safer than standard PFOA, but the amount released into the river was unregulated. It is truly unknown how many different chemicals we consume daily from (what we believe is) “purified” drinking water.
Medications and birth control metabolites are regularly found in inadequately treated supplies. Antidepressants, antipsychotics, pain medications, antibiotics, blood thinners, benzodiazepines, and blood pressure medications have all been found in varying quantities within supposedly filtered and safe municipal supply. A U.S. Geological Survey of our nation’s streams and rivers showed that at least 80% of them were contaminated with low levels of medications. I am sure it has sadly increased since the early 2000s when the survey was taken.
According to the FDA, there are 40 million Americans affected by pharmaceutical-laden supplies. Health officials claim that the minute amounts of pharmaceuticals in our drinking supply pose little risk to humans, but affects aquatic life adversely. There are no federal or state regulations requiring pharmaceutical compounds to be monitored in supplies. We have little data on current concentrations and whether bioaccumulation of minute doses of medications in humans could cause drug interactions or health issues. Even if it’s not a problem for us now, it definitely could be in the future. At current levels, any medications found in municipal supplies are extremely diluted. However, it is a biomarker that should be continued to be monitored by your local supply testing agencies for drinking water safety.
Birth control metabolites in improperly filtered supplies may be a larger issue than medications—at least that is what I thought. There are not many studies that indicate it as a widespread problem impacting human health. We have more studies of the metabolites’ causing breeding issues in the aquatic wildlife that swim in untreated water. Human studies bring up some valid points regarding where hormonal issues might be coming from if not from the water. For instance, we ingest hormones in the food we eat—from phytoestrogens in plants, to growth hormones in animal dairy, and plasticizers like BPA which disrupt our hormone cascades. So according to these studies, hormones in our diet may have a greater effect on our health. However, when I went to check for conflicts of interest in these papers, there was some serious cause for concern:
“We thank B. Komm, S. Lundeen, and J. Obourn for their advice, assistance, and review at various stages of |
, an estimated 300 sites, including smaller ones such as StudyBreakers for high schoolers and Photobucket, a site for posting images, make up the social network universe.
Wharton marketing professor David Bell says the long-term success of these sites will depend on their ability to retain the interest of their members. “There is a fad or a fashion component to all these networks. Some will come and go,” says Bell. The classic example, he suggests, is Friendster, which burst onto the Internet in 2003 and soon had 20 million visitors. Late last year, it slipped below a million after MySpace and other sites with better music and video capability lured Friendster users away. “A lot of the [success] is serendipitous. These things can have exponential growth. Then, if another community shows up that has better functionality in some way, there can be a mass migration.”
Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader agrees that social network sites are powerful, but mercurial, particularly since most are aimed at teenagers and young adults. “It’s a complete crap shoot. Look how many of these have come along and how many were touted as the next big thing. How many have disappeared completely or find themselves in some strange little unexplainable niche?”
He points to Orkut, an invitation-only service introduced by Google in 2004 that is little known in the United States, but wildly popular in Brazil, where more than 70% of its users are based. Indeed, Orkut has made Portugese a second language in its interface. “In Brazil it’s gold, but in the U.S., where the service is domiciled, nobody’s even heard of Orkut. And there’s no good reason why.”
While MySpace and Facebook currently rule the popular crowd on the Internet social scene, Fader says the forces that make a hot site are difficult to quantify; any site could become the next outcast. “There is no reason to believe that these, or future ones that are emerging on the radar screen, will be any different. I don’t think anyone can come up with a genuine reason why they have become so popular, outside of 20-20 hindsight.” Echoing that point, an article in the April 30 New York Times reports that AOL plans to launch a social networking site to be called AIM Pages as a competitor to MySpace, Yahoo360 and other such services.
One way for investors to benefit from the rise of social networks would be develop a highly diverse portfolio, Fader adds. “I have no problem with betting on a crapshoot, but you want to hedge your bets carefully and accept the downside in exchange for what could be an incredible upside. You can’t control your destiny with these nearly as much as any other web site or portal.”
Next Target: Cell Phones
For the moment, MySpace and Facebook are hot. News Corp. paid $580 million last year for MySpace as part of a $1.3 billion Internet acquisition spree. Facebook just received an additional $25 million in venture capital.
Both companies are planning to extend their reach beyond the computer screen to cell phones. Cingular Wireless, Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless are starting a service that will allow users to post messages on Facebook’s home pages or search for other users’ phone numbers and email addresses from a cell phone. MySpace has a pact with Helio, a wireless joint venture between SK Telecom and Earthlink, that will allow users to send photos and update their blogs or profiles by cell phone.
According to ComScore Media Metrix, MySpace, with its 70 million users, ranks second behind Yahoo in pages viewed and time spent on the site. Facebook, founded by a 21-year-old student on leave from Harvard and backed by Silicon Valley venture capitalists, has 7.3 million registered users.
Chris Hughes, a spokesperson for Facebook, says the company thinks of itself more as a directory grounded in real life rather than a social network creating connections between strangers. “We model people’s real lives at their individual schools in a virtual space that enables them to exchange information about themselves. We are not focused on meeting new people, dating or anything like that. Instead, we want to manage information efficiently so that we can provide our users the information that matters most to them.”
Social networking sites in general rely mainly on a simple advertising model — selling banner and text ads (although they ban uncool pop up ads). Facebook also permits sponsored groups in which a marketer can build communities within the site. BusinessWeek recently reported that Facebook had rejected a $750 million buyout offer and was holding out for $2 billion. “That number is nothing but rumor,” Hughes says.
When it comes to placing a valuation on the social network sites, Wharton marketing professor Leonard Lodish says traditional tools, such as the discounted present value of the profit stream, apply to these new Internet networks as much as they do to any other business. He recalls an argument he had with marketing students during the Internet boom of 2000 about Internet music seller CDNow. Lodish said the firm would never be able to justify costs of $70 to attain each customer. The following year the firm declared bankruptcy.
In the case of MySpace and Facebook, Lodish points out, the cost of gaining new customers is practically nothing because users join voluntarily and provide their own content through their profiles. In addition, the cost of running the sites’ web servers is relatively low. If a classic advertising or subscription revenue model is used, he says, low-cost social network sites could be highly profitable.
Yahoo must buy or develop content for its site to attract advertisers and Google has to invest in its search capabilities, Lodish notes. “Yahoo makes a lot of money selling ads on its sites. Why can’t Facebook and MySpace do the same thing?”
Nitin Gupta, an analyst with The Yankee Group in Boston, says MySpace is rooted in linking emerging bands to new fans, which makes it a logical partner for a media company, such as News Corp. The company can use the site to test or build buzz around its products. “These have become almost living systems, as the social network has begun to expand beyond a place for people with certain musical tastes and become popular for dating and all sorts of things.”
While the MySpace population has grown, the site’s roots remain in media, Gupta adds. “Today, it continues to be used to identify individuals interested in, not just music, but television and radio as well.” Before News Corp. bought MySpace, NBC used it to show clips of “The Office” before the show was aired on the network. While media companies may be a more logical fit with a social networking site, other businesses might mesh too, according to Gupta. “It’s a little more difficult to build a community around a Norelco razor, but it’s possible.”
Meanwhile, Gupta says, social networks have power beyond ad revenue to act as a customer relationship management (CRM) tool for companies selling products or services. “There’s a lot of focus on advertising and banner ads and the amount of traffic. But it’s important to look beyond traditional forms of web adverting to see the real potential — which is leveraging the connectivity of the sites and using them to form communities around products, media or services to really be in contact with your users.”
Still, he acknowledges, it will not be easy to convert those relationships to new revenue sources. “The future is in finding ways to monetize the online community beyond just traditional web advertising, although it’s going to be difficult for online communities, even those behemoths like MySpace.”
According to Wharton professor of operations and information management Eric K. Clemons, connectivity is nice, but the Internet bust of 2000 showed that revenue is what matters. “As we learned from the first dot-com silliness, value is not in click-through or eyeballs. Value comes from revenues …. Can you sell subscriptions to your data or your service? Can you charge for referrals or for purchases that result from referrals? Can you sell stuff? If not, your revenue is zero and your market value is zero.”
Safety and Privacy Concerns
As MySpace and other social networking sites have grown, so, too, have concerns about Internet safety and privacy. The Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported more than 2,600 incidents of adults using the web to target children online in order to engage in sexual activity. In March, federal prosecutors in Connecticut charged two men with using MySpace to contact youths with whom they later had sexual contact. Following Congressional hearings about online sexual predators, MySpace hired a safety czar to improve the site’s protections for young users.
The popularity of social networking sites may also have unexpected consequences for users. A gay student attending a Christian college was expelled after administration officials viewed photos of the student in drag on Facebook. Twenty middle school students in California were suspended after participating in a MySpace group where one student allegedly threatened to kill another and made anti-Semitic remarks. In Kansas, authorities arrested five teenagers after one of the suspects used MySpace to outline plans for a Columbine-like attack on the boys’ school.
Gary Arlen, president of Arlen Communications, a Bethesda, Md., research and consulting firm, says MySpace users may also begin to shy away as they grasp the long-term consequences of putting up photos of wild parties or tales of sexual bravado. “This stuff may come back to haunt you 20 years from now. MySpace runs the risk of a social reaction, but that is part of being the pioneer.”
Despite those obstacles, he is enthusiastic about social networks’ promise, although he says the sites’ ultimate value is less clear-cut than other Internet successes, such as eBay and Amazon. “It may be that this is a very slow play because the existing sites, Friendster and now MySpace and Facebook, are building a habit among young users. It will become a part of how they operate in their 20s and 30s. This service will be part of the landscape.”
According to Bell, there are strategies that social network sites can use to avoid becoming tomorrow’s abandoned property. One way to retain a site’s aura is to limit membership. For example, Bell notes that when Diesel jeans faced the problem of losing marketing cachet by becoming too popular, the brand cut back on the number of outlets it would sell to. Facebook tries to limit itself to college students. Social networks seem to operate best when they strike a balance between heterogeneity, which provides large numbers of members, and selectivity, which keeps the hordes focused and engaged in the site, he says, adding that social networking sites also must keep pace with technology and provide new features — for example, fast downloads. “To create stickiness you must have functional value and also community value. If either of those becomes diluted, you give people a reason to start looking elsewhere.”
As a web-based business, social networks do have some advantages over traditional companies in tracking user behavior in order to detect problems early. “If you are sophisticated, you can measure and monitor the rate at which users join and you can detect early warning signs, such as a drop off in the number of people interacting,” says Bell. “There would be metrics to monitor if you are headed in the wrong direction.”
Bell also cautions that sites will need to remain subtle in their approach to marketing if they are to build on their current success. While they provide banner and text ads, even more valuable word-of-mouth promotion lurks in the buzz within user profile pages. “Part of the popularity of these things is that they are more credible and not explicitly commercial,” he says. “If somebody on the Mac fanatic site tells me about iPod, it’s more credible than Mac advertising. If people feel the networks are too corporate, that’s a turnoff.”
Still, no matter how their future takes shape, Bell says these types of networks are ingrained in Internet society. “They’re here to stay. Like eBay, they are embedded now. The idea of joining online communities and being able to participate in them is not going to disappear.”Samsung Galaxy Gear/The Verge
Wearable technology is moving in the wrong direction
or why the smartwatch is going to fail, and why we should be working on different types of wearable tech.
akram Blocked Unblock Follow Following Sep 27, 2013
The next revolution of how we interact with technology is almost here… or so they keep telling me.
Technology is supposed to help us with our lives, enrich it, not take it over. One could argue that the smartphone has already taken over humanity, just look at the bus stops, or the coffee shops, or university lectures. They are everywhere, and no one is putting them down. They are disrupting workflows, they are causing car accidents, and effectively modifying laws because of it.
But people forget something… we choose to take out these phones from pockets and drawers. We choose the distraction over everything else, and that’s fine. Some of us need it.
But we had a choice, and current wearable technology concepts are about to take that away.
The general concepts behind current wearable technology are wrong
All of the current general concepts seem to work around the idea of notifying you of what is going on while your phone is in your pocket. If you get a call, your wrist vibrates (smartwatch). If you get a text message, a dialogue comes up in front of your retina to read you that text message (Google Glass). I know I’m generalizing, but that is what the large consumer market sees and buys, the generalizations of this tech. This reinforces the companies that make these products to continue making these ‘flawed from concept’ products.
We are essentially adding another distraction, but this time we don’t have as much of a choice. You are wearing it, you won’t be as likely to ignore it. You will have a much bigger impulse to look at your wrist to see that notification, or in the case of Google Glass, it will be directly in your sight… that is something you will have a very hard time ignoring.
Do you see the pattern? We are creating distractions for the distraction… how is that productive?
Some people are getting it right
Bionym, a company that has launched from the University of Toronto, has just released a wrist band called the Nymi. It is a concept that takes your heartbeat and uses it as a security measure instead of passwords. A very cool concept that I feel NFC products should have went with.
But it also has health based potentials. Imagine having a bunch of health based sensors that one could track on a constant, a metric system for your health. This is where things get interesting.
How about applying this health concept to infants? Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is a very real problem, and there is no way to track it. Imagine applying the concept of the Nymi to SIDS. The ability to track an infants heart rate using wearable technology would be amazing both for scientists studying SIDS and for parents that want to make sure their infant is healthy. Just an idea.
I would love to see wearable tech improve our lives, instead of adding another distraction.I really hope wearable tech makes way into everyone’s lives, and if Google or Samsung (or anyone else for that matter) ever release something that would improve my productivity or life, I would be the first in line to buy it.Singer Meat Loaf collapsed onstage towards the end of his set in Edmonton on Thursday night.
Edmonton fire department confirmed that they responded to a medical call at the Northern Jubilee Auditorium. Because the call was medical in nature Alberta Health Service has since taken over.
AHS confirmed that they did transport a patient from the Jubilee to an Edmonton hospital but that no further details are available at this time.
Meat Loaf's agent and music manager did not immediately return messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.
This comes after the singer cancelled shows in Moose Jaw, Sask., and Calgary earlier in the week citing illness. He had played a half-dozen dates in eastern and central Canada beginning in May and leading up to this week.
Earlier on Thursday a photo was posted to Meat Loaf's Facebook page saying "Hey Edmonton!!! We're here.......!!!" '
The 68-year-old, whose birth name is Marvin Lee Aday, later changed his first name to Michael.
He has enjoyed a four-decade-long singing and acting career. Meat Loaf is best known for his 1977 smash album Bat Out of Hell and its companion piece nearly two decades later, 1993's Bat Out of Hell: Back into Hell.
In December 2003, he collapsed at a show in England. He attributed the incident to Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome in later interviews and told Rock's Backpages "it won't ever happen again" due to successful heart surgery. Eight years later, he collapsed at a Pittsburgh show, chalking it up to an asthmatic condition.
'He just fell'
Jamie Carriere has been a longtime fan of Meat Loaf and was at the concert Thursday night.
Carriere said that Meat Loaf was performing I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) when he suddenly collapsed.
"He fell … he just fell," said Carriere. "You could hear the microphone just hit the ground."
"I thought it was a joke, I didn't know what was going on because he was joking around throughout his set."
Meat Loaf, seen in a 2013 European show, is best known for his series of Bat Out of Hell albums. (Ferdy Damman/AFP/Getty Images/) Angus Munroe, another lifelong fan, was at the show with his son.
"It was slow, he just kind of rolled over, it almost looked like it would have been part of the show," said Munroe. "There was sort of a pause in the crowd and the music stopped."
Munroe has seen Meat Loaf perform before and said that it seemed like this show "took a lot out of him."
"The last time I saw him for Three Bats Live tour, he was very energetic and jumping around," said Munroe. "This time it was very slow onstage."
After the singer collapsed and was attended to, a black curtain was drawn between the crowd and the audience.
It was slow, he just kind of rolled over, it almost looked like it would have been part of the show. - Angus Munroe
Munroe said that a crowd was at the back of the building waited to see if Meat Loaf would walk out.
"We were sort of watching to see if he was going to walk out the back door or be carried out or whatever, but they covered it up and backed the ambulance right up to the back," said Munroe. "They were protecting his privacy very well."
Carriere and Munroe said that the entire building was forced to leave while fire trucks and ambulances arrived at the building.
Ambulance here for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Meatloaf?src=hash">#Meatloaf</a> <a href="https://t.co/DOq1oPQQbF">pic.twitter.com/DOq1oPQQbF</a> —@theb0neman
Carriere also said that people shouted words of encouragement at the singer after he collapsed.
"People were trying to cheer him on yelling 'Come on Meat Loaf' but the atmosphere became 'no you shouldn't be doing that right now, this is something serious.'"
The incident has occurred in the hometown of his second wife, Deborah Gillespie.
Meat Loaf has seven more Canadian dates scheduled through July 2 in Moose Jaw. The next show is scheduled for Cold Lake, Alta., on Saturday.(Disclaimer: I’m pretty sure she combined L.A. Noire and Heavy Rain for what was meant to be an L.A. Noir summary)
What kind of game is it?:
Old timey detective
Summary:
Okay, so you’re a homicide detective and, uh, I think your name is Lewis. You have a partner who’s kind of a shit head and he’s not too smart.
You go investigating all around the city. And you collect clues in your little notebook. But eventually a serial killer is after you and he lights a factory on fire?
Was it a factory?
Anyway, then you’re an arson detective. And at the end there’s a standoff with the serial killer, but all the clues you’ve collected allow you to…uh…defeat him.
Does he make you cut off a finger? I remember feeling really nauseous and that there was a guy who had to cut off his finger.
Does the serial killer have your son? Anyway at the end you, well, I think he kills himself. Okay. The end.From our game-day traditions to our less-sporty accolades, there are many reason to love Arizona State University.
We hate UA: Certified by the NCAA as the oldest rivalry trophy in college football, the hatred between ASU and UA was sparked by the emergence of ASU as the state's second university, challenging UA's then-status as the only university in the state. Today, the rivalry has challenged friendships and divided houses. Students on all four ASU campuses can be seen wearing their "No Pity for the Kitty" shirts every year leading up to the game. (Photo: Rob Schumacher/The Republic)
From our game-day traditions to our less-sporty accolades, there are many reason to love Arizona State University.
Sun Devil fans are strong in the lead-up to ASU's and UA's basketball games and their yearly battle for the Territorial Cup, and there's no shortage of reasons for them to be proud.
To get in the spirit, here are just a few of the reasons to love being a Sun Devil.
We hate U of A
Certified by the NCAA as the oldest rivalry trophy in college football, the hatred between ASU and UA was sparked by the emergence of ASU as the state's second university in 1958, challenging UA's then-status as the only university in the state.
Today, the rivalry has challenged friendships and divided houses. Students on all four ASU campuses can be seen wearing their "No Pity for the Kitty" shirts every year leading up to the game.
We know how to throw up a pitchfork
ASU fans know how to throw up a pitchfork. (Photo: The Republic)
ASU's signature hand signal is meant to simulate mascot Sparky's fearsome pitchfork, but it also requires proper form from fans: Connect the ring finger and thumb while always keeping your index and middle finger separated.
Traditionally, after a first down at football games, the crowd will make their pitchforks and point in unison to the end zone.
We’re the ‘most innovative’
Arizona State University has been named multiple times as the most innovative school among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in a popular survey that ranks universities in a number of categories.
ASU President Michael Crow has pushed innovation and entrepreneurship as core tenets of his vision for the university. One of its most popular innovations is a partnership with Starbucks that covers four years of an online bachelor's degree for Starbucks employees.
We go to great lengths to protect our ‘A’
ASU's signature Tempe Butte has featured a giant letter "A" on its face since 1938, earning it the nickname "A Mountain."
In the past, freshmen would hike the Butte as part of orientation, but today, each freshman class can volunteer to climb up the mountain to whitewash the A during welcome week.
During the week of the Territorial Cup, a coordinated squad of UA students will typically drive to Tempe and attempt to paint the giant gold "A" red. A defensive team of ASU students will camp out to keep watch and protect the "A" from any roaming Wildcats.
Pat Tillman made us proud
Pat Tillman (Photo: The Weinstein Co.)
Tillman, a star with ASU and the Cardinals, left football in 2002 to enlist in the U.S. Army following the Sept. 11 attacks.
Tillman was killed by friendly fire while fighting in Afghanistan in April 2004 and has since become an icon at ASU.
Earlier this year, Adidas and ASU unveiled "PT-42" alternate football uniforms in his honor, and more than 29,000 people participated in the 11th annual Pat's Run, the largest one yet.
Tillman Tunnel is awesome
Arizona State players prepare to take the field in the revamped Tillman Tunnel at Sun Devil Stadium. (Photo: Rob Schumacher/The Republic)
ASU's stadium renovations have redefined one of ASU's favorite game-day traditions: the Tillman Tunnel.
While fans typically jockey to get a glimpse of ASU football players lining up to enter the field from the stands, the new setup allows fans to hang directly over and inside of the tunnel.
The pre-game ritual includes fog machines, an intro video and Pat Tillman's iconic image.
With the new features, students get to experience the final moments and conversations before the team charges out onto the field.
Sparky's Journey gets us amped
Sparky's walk from the Grand Canyon to Sun Devil Stadium is one of the most electrifying intros in college football.
While it has been tweaked over the years, the journey has mostly remained the same. As the giant mascot makes his way into the stadium, he smashes the other team's bus with his foot, signaling the crowd's eruption before he steps into the stadium.
Once Sparky plants his pitchfork into the center of the field, cue the fireworks, screaming fans, ASU's fight song and the start of the game.
Mill Avenue is the best on game day
The bars and the drinks are constantly evolving, but one thing has remained the same: Gold-clad students flood Mill Avenue before and after any ASU sporting event.
Mill Avenue is the best on game day. (Photo: Patrick Breen/The Republic)
ASU hosts Devils on Mill, a free event with food, free ASU gear, music, carnival games and activities between Forest and Mill on Sixth Street. After the game, Sun Devils know that any postgame snacks and libation needs will be met just steps away from the stadium on the reliable Mill Avenue mile.
We turned our reputation around
We’ve come a long way: ASU was Playboy's No. 1 party school in the nation in 2002, according to the State Press.Despite our plethora of bars, ASU has done a 180 in terms of reputation. For the fourth year in a row, ASU did not make the Princeton Review's list of the top 20 "party schools" in the country. We also were left off Playboy's annual list of Top 10 Party Schools.
Bigger is better
Arizona State University in 2017 enrolled more than 100,000 students.
About 30,000 of those students are enrolled in online-only classes and don't set foot on campus.
The remaining 72,000 ASU students are mainly spread over five campuses in the metro Phoenix area.
The enrollment increase puts ASU on track to have 125,000 students by 2025, a goal set by the Arizona Board of Regents to increase the percentage of Arizona residents with a college degree.
That size means ASU has a diverse range of experiences: It offers more than 300 undergraduate academic programs and majors.
We're all golden rays of sunshine
While the university's official colors include maroon, there's only one color expected on fans in the stands at ASU's football games: gold.
NEWSLETTERS Get the AZ Memo newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Get the pulse of Arizona -- Local news, in-depth state coverage and what it all means for you Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-332-6733. Delivery: Mon-Fri Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for AZ Memo Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters
The university's Alumni Association says the color was initially chosen for the state's golden sunshine and promise of opportunity. But today's ASU faculty and students are encouraged to wear gold on Fridays to express their boundless school spirit.
We have amazing faculty
One ASU professor has a potential HIV vaccine.. Another, Laura Tohe, was named the Navajo Nation’s second-ever poet laureate.
Among our faculty members and experts are “two Nobel laureates, 13 National Academy of Sciences members, 10 American Academy of Arts and Sciences members, 127 Fulbright American Scholar award winners, 25 Guggenheim Fellows and three members of the Royal Society, according to ASU.
We have beautiful traditions
The #ASUHomecoming Lantern Walk is tonight! #FutureSunDevil students are welcome to join in the tradition. pic.twitter.com/vHWp8HnD9M — ASU Admissions (@FutureSunDevils) November 13, 2015
One of ASU's oldest traditions, Lantern Walk, takes place the Friday night before homecoming, as hundreds of students and alumni climb to the top of "A" Mountain with lanterns to light their way.
Fans gather to listen to faculty and speakers, culminating in fireworks over Tempe.
We're sassy in the stands
ASU fans are sassy in the stands. (Photo: The Republic)
Periodically throughout football games, fans will stand up and begin wildly shaking their car keys, a tradition that has endured since the 1980s.
Legend says that the pitch of the jingling keys has been proven to strike fear into the hearts of visiting teams, but to most fans, the jingling merely represents the start of the next drive.
Our mascot is buff from those pushups
Sparky does his push-ups. (Photo: Rob Schumacher/The Republic)
After each Sun Devil touchdown, the fight song erupts from the Sun Devil Marching Band, and Sparky is hoisted onto a board in front of the crowd.
For every point on the scoreboard, the mascot will do one push-up.
In recent years, fans and even small children could be seen throughout the stadium trying to match the mascot push-up for push-up.
We know we missed some; let us know what you love in the comments section.
Read or Share this story: http://azc.cc/1j7V0GSI-Team: Henderson Man's True Identity Remains Mystery Copyright 2019 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Copyright 2019 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. I-Team- Henderson Man-s True Identity Remains Mystery_20150623185219 prev next
(George Knapp's story on Paul Fronczak has received nationwide attention since it first aired on 8 News NOW in April.)
LAS VEGAS -- A tragic mystery that began in Chicago 49 years ago has latched onto a local family and won't let go.
Imagine waking up one day to find out that the identity you've had your entire life isn't true, that the family who raised you isn't really your family at all, and that you don't even know your real name. It's a case that began with a sensational kidnapping in the Midwest but has now traveled to southern Nevada.
April 26 is supposed Paul Joseph Fronczak's birthday, but he's just learned that he has no idea when he was actually born, that his parents aren't really his parents, and that he hasn't a clue where he's from or who he is.
It started with the kidnapping of a 1-day-old boy that exploded into an international sensation. It is an amazing and puzzling tale.
"I don't know how old I am, or who I am, or what nationality, all those things you just take for granted," Paul Fronczak said.
He has had two identities in his 49 years, but neither is his own. His first namesake was born April 26, 1964 at Chicago's Michael Reese Hospital, the son of Chester and Dora Fronczak. One day later, a woman dressed as a nurse walked into the mother's hospital room and said the baby needed to be examined by a doctor. Dora handed him over.
"Hours later, a doctor comes in to check on her baby and she says, 'You had my baby,' and they are like, 'No we don't,'" Dora Fronczak said.
Help Solve The Case, Share a Tip and Learn More on our Facebook Page
A frantic, desperate manhunt was launched by police. Witnesses said the middle-aged woman had walked out the back of the hospital, hopped into a cab and drove away with the baby.
Police went door-to-door in the neighborhood, circulated artists' sketches, interrogated and released six different suspects. The story exploded onto the national stage. Around 175,000 letter carriers joined the search, as did the FBI. Agents examined 10,000 babies, interviewed three times as many witnesses. The kidnapping became an international sensation. The heartbroken Fronczaks were hounded by the media.
"It was huge," Paul Fronczak said. "My parents had letters from the Pope, letters from people all over the country. It was a huge case. My parents got really frustrated because they had reporters hanging outside their windows, climbing telephone poles, taking pictures of them at church, following them all over the place."
Phony kidnappers tried to extort money from the Fronczaks and were arrested, but the baby was never found.
Two-and-a-half years later, a boy in a stroller was abandoned outside a store in Newark, N.J. Child welfare authorities named him Scott McKinley. FBI agents examined him at the orphanage, looked at his skin, bones, blood and his ears.
"The FBI decided that because my ears matched the Fronczak baby that I was probably the Fronczak baby," Paul Fronczak said.
Dora Fronczak took one look at the child and said, "That's my baby."
"It's Paul," newspapers declared, though police admitted they still had doubts. The Fronczaks adopted Scott McKinley, renamed him, and returned him to their family home in Chicago.
The boy in the home movies appeared happy and healthy. Paul Fronczak said he had no idea about the kidnapping until he found a box of newspaper clippings years later. Even then his parents didn't tell him much. As he grew older, though, he began to suspect he didn't quite belong. He was different, didn't look like his Polish and Croatian parents, but was never able to get any solid answers until just last year.
For most of his life, he's been Paul Joseph Fronczak, but now, living in Henderson, Nev., with wife Michelle and daughter Emma, the need to know has grown more imperative.
"We know my side of the family, but we don't know everything about his parents, and health issues, or anything like that," Michelle Fronczak said.
I-Team: "Did he tell you this story when you were first dating?"
Michelle Fronczak: "Yeah, we had been on five or 10 dates."
Paul Fronczak: "It's a great line, George. It always works."
Michelle Fronczak: "I thought he was crazy. I really thought he was crazy. I told my co-workers, this is a Lifetime story. This can't be true."
Paul Fronczak showed her the old news clippings. Last year, while his parents were visiting from Chicago, he decided to do something. He bought a DNA kit at a drugstore.
"And I said, 'Hey, have you guys ever wondered if I was yours?' You know, making a joke out of it. I said, 'Hold on,' I went and got the DNA kit, broke it out, and five minutes later, we were swabbing away."
A week later, a DNA technician told him the stunning news.
"'There is no remote way that you are the Fronczak's baby.' I thought, wow."
Paul Fronczak told the I-Team his story, but wasn't able to bring himself to tell his parents.
"He is so lucky that he was adopted by the Fronczaks because who knows what life he could have had," Michelle Fronczak said.
"I haven't told them," Paul Fronczak said. "I want to do it right. There are no do-over's on this one."
"As a mother, I think it is going to be very difficult," his wife said. "My heart goes out to them, but it's important to our family."
"It's not just about them anymore," Paul Fronczak said. "Not just about me. It's about, is their son still alive? Is he out there? Hopefully this story can help us find out."
It isn't one mystery, it's several. What became of the real Paul Fronczak, not to mention his kidnapper? Why was that baby abandoned outside a store in Newark? What's the real name, age and nationality of the man who lives in his Henderson home? And where is his other family?
When the I-Team started working on the story weeks ago, Paul Fronczak had not yet informed his parents about the results of the DNA test. His parents have since been told the hard truth.
Read Part 2: Paul Tells Parents He's Not Their SonToday Warner Brothers announced that Morgan Freeman will be narrating an upcoming documentary about a penguin named Grape-kun from the Tobu Zoo in Japan. Grape-kun recently gained fame for falling in love with a cardboard cutout of the Kemono Friends character Hululu. The film has the working title “Waifu of the Penguin,” and is considered a follow-up to the 2005 documentary “March of the Penguins.”
A spokesperson for the Warner Bros Picture Group told reporters, “Ever since Al Gore announced he was making a sequel to An Inconvenient Truth, we decided it was time to capitalize on people’s nostalgia for March of the Penguins, as it’s one of the 3 or so documentaries that people have actually seen. So we scoured the news for anything penguin related, and as soon as we heard about Grape-kun we sent a film crew immediately and started work.”
“We’ve made sure to go all out on this project, tracking Grape-kun’s history from his devastating break-up to his discovery of a new, more cardboard love. We’ve hired scientists to exposit on the superiority of 2D, and we even brought on staff from Warner Animation Group to re-animate scenes from Kemono Friends to the point where they’re actually passable for American audiences.”
Morgan Freeman expressed excitement for the project to reporters. “I feel like this new subject material provides a nice contrast to the original, which was a story about the long and arduous struggle penguins are willing to undergo to ensure that their offspring survives. This is a story about a penguin who never leaves his home and has basically zero chance of ever reproducing, which I think speaks to the current generation a lot more.”
Waifu of the Penguin has received a tentative R rating from the MPAA for extended scenes of furious penguin masturbation.Basic Background about Collaborative Filtering
Collaborative filtering is the process of filtering for information using techniques |
. We’ll light up more small cells with a very cost-efficient model using dedicated spectrum and innovative backhaul solutions. And we’ll expand our toolbox with other solutions such as four-channel carrier aggregation, higher order and Massive MIMO, 256 QAM, and High Performance User Equipment. We’ll also demonstrate Gbps-class performance showcasing the incredible potential of our 2.5 GHz spectrum.
As we approach gigabit LTE and 5G, the type of spectrum, amount of spectrum, and associated technologies each carrier uses will become even more important. They will be defining factors in the race to provide customers not only with Unlimited data, but high-bandwidth experiences. I guarantee, in a dense urban world of 4K/8K video, high-definition VR apps and more, spectrum will be king.
- JohnI’ve recently been been writing lots of modern C++ code with variadic templates. For instance, I’ve been trying to make libsigc++ use variadic templates instead of being a mess of generated code.
I often find myself needing utility functions and type traits to manipulate tuples, but the C++ standard library still only offers std::tuple_cat(). Writing these is awkward and that often stops me from experimenting quickly.
So I’m gradually gathering this code together in a little murrayc-tuple-utils library. I’d gladly change the name if this gets any use. Really, I’m surprised that nothing like this seems to exist already, apart from as part of larger projects such as boost::hana and boost::fusion. But boost is a really awkward dependency and those are larger projects with much grander goals.
So far murrayc-tuple-utils has:
tuple_cdr(): Removes the first element.
tuple_start<N>(): Takes the first N elements.
tuple_end<N>(): Takes the last N elements.
tuple_subset<pos, len>: Takes len elements, starting at pos.
tuple_interlace<T1, T2>: Takes elements from each tuple, interlacing (or zipping) them together.
For each of them, there are also type traits, such as tuple_type_cdr<>::type, though these are not so necessary now that C++14 has decltype(auto) for return types.
These are just enough code to make things work enough for me when I’m in a rush. I’m sure they can be improved, and maybe this is how to get those patches and pull requests.
The project has a complete autotools build structure, with “make check” tests, Doxygen documentation building, a pkg-config.pc file, etc, so you can try it out, improve it, and add to it, without having to mess around with that stuff.Phenomena Reflections floating in the atmosphere
Fata Morgana A mirage beyond imagination. mitti attar aged 15 years. organic Indian Sandalwood in jojoba. premium limited edition
Fogbow Earth's breath at first light. hawthorn, osmanthus, cedarwood, magnolia, black tea, sandalwood
Halo Beauty suspended. organic Hawaiian coffee blossom extract, tuberose absolute in jojoba. premium limited edition
Iridescence Under a liquid sky. bamboo, oakmoss, water lily, bergamot, ozone, black pepper
Parhelion Luminous euphoria. lemonade, loganberry, heliotrope, rose, almond
Red Skies Fire drifts at sunset. cantaloupe, red apple, moss, mulberry, peach blossom, pear
Tiaré Magnificent enfleurage of organic Tahitian gardenia in jojoba. premium limited edition
Iridescence, Parhelion and Red Skies are available in Lustre Hair Serum, Glow Body Oil and a limited supply of Cream Soap. Fata Morgana and Tiaré are bottled in 3.7mL'minis'. Halo is available in both mini and full size. LE perfumes are not guaranteed thru Summer as they are extremely limited in quantity.
Looking forward to sharing the Phenomena collection with you on May 1st!
LeilaniThe topics of vaccines and vaccine safety spark emotional outbursts at scientific meetings and family dinner tables alike. But many of these debates are remarkably fact-free. Surprisingly few people — not just concerned parents but also doctors, policymakers and even immunization experts — can answer this seemingly simple question: How many immunizations does the federal government recommend for every child during the first two years of life?
The answer is important because most states, including Maryland, faithfully follow the recommendations of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, codifying CDC guidelines into requirements for children to enroll in school, kindergarten, preschool and child care.
A new Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health study reports that the higher the proportion of infants and toddlers receiving recommended vaccines, the higher the state's rate of children diagnosed with autism or speech-language problems just a few years later. This analysis is sure to rekindle the debate about vaccine safety.
For that conversation to produce useful results, we must start by defining terms. A "dose of vaccine" refers to each vaccine or antigen given to increase immunity against one specific disease. For chicken pox, a child receives one dose of vaccine through one shot.
By contrast, an "immunization event" refers to each separate administration of a vaccine or bundle of vaccines — through a shot, orally, or nasally. The MMR shot for mumps, measles and rubella involves three doses of vaccine but is one immunization event.
The critical number is how many doses of vaccine a child receives. Why? If a vaccine is strong enough to confer immunity against a disease, it is important enough to count separately.
Clear definitions, analysis of CDC's "General Recommendations on Immunization," and confirmation by Dr. Andrew Kroger, lead author of the definitive report on these recommendations, produce the answer to the not-so-simple-after-all question posed above.
In all, the federal government recommends 36 doses of vaccine, addressing 14 different diseases, for every U.S. child under age 2. An on-schedule child will receive a dose of vaccine for hepatitis B at birth, eight doses of various vaccines at 2 months, seven additional doses at 4 months, and four to seven more doses at 6 months.
Infants and toddlers receive these vaccine doses through 26 separate immunization events — mostly shots. If a child misses vaccinations because of illness or scheduling problems, following CDC's catch-up schedule usually results in extra doses at a later date."Supernatural" Season 11 News: The Darkness and Castiel As Season "Villains"
Email Print Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin
"Supernatural" is returning for its 11th season on October 7, 2015. The previous season ended May of 2015, so it has been quite a wait for the show's dedicated fans. The horror-fantasy television series is one of the longer-running series of its kind and has thus become a cult favorite. As the premiere date for the upcoming season approaches, several reports have been circulating about what fans can expect to happen to the Winchester brothers in this season.
According to a report in TV Line, there are new forms of evil in play in the coming season. In the Season 10 finale, the angel Castiel was placed under a spell by Rowena, the witch and mother of Crowley. Because of this, Castiel has to deal with the effects of the spell until halfway throughout the season, that is, until Sam and Dean are able find a way to break the spell.
The other villain that was introduced in the season finale and is likely going to be Season 11's main antagonist is The Darkness. Not much is known about the Darkness except that it was released by Rowena when she successfully took away the Mark of Cain from Dean. According to another report in Latin Post, the Darkness is an ancient, primordial evil that existed even before the time of the King of Hell.
Crowley or the King of Hell will still figure prominently during the season, but he will be more concerned with dealing with the Darkness which is an unknown even to him. The report even mentioned that Crowley may end up teaming up with the brothers so that the Darkness can be defeated.
Aside from the new villains, Season 11 is also bringing the brothers back together again as partners in the fight against the supernatural. With Dean losing the Mark of Cain, he is once again human.
The report also mentioned that there will be a special episode in the season that will feature one whole episode as it happens in the iconic Chevrolet Impala that the brothers use in their missions.The Hamas terror group is allowing Islamic State fighters from Sinai to be treated in Gaza Strip hospitals in exchange for weapons and money, an Israeli general told a Saudi-owned news outlet on Monday.
The IS operatives enter the Gaza Strip through tunnels from Egypt and receive medical treatment at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, the head of Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories unit.
In exchange, the Islamic State supplies Gaza’s terrorist rulers with money and weapons, both of which the terrorist group has been lacking since Egypt began cracking down on the tunnels Hamas had been using for its lucrative commercial trade, the Elaph news site said.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up
Though Israeli officials have noted the growing relationship between terror groups in the Gaza Strip and terror groups in the Sinai Peninsula, most have been reticent about the exact nature of the relationship.
Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry denied the allegation, in a statement posted on Facebook, calling Mordechai’s claim “completely baseless.”
“Palestinian government hospitals only receive the sick and wounded residents of the Gaza Strip,” Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesman for the ministry, said.
The relatively small Islamic State contingent in Sinai — approximately 500 fighters in all — has nevertheless put up a considerable fight against Egyptian forces, with regular shooting and car bombing attacks on military bases and police stations.
Israel has not taken a role in the fight, but the IDF has provided intelligence to Egyptian forces, according to military sources.
Egpyt, meanwhile, has reportedly helped Israel in the fight against Hamas by flooding the tunnels used by the terror group for both commercial and military purposes. According to Energy Minster Yuval Steinitz, speaking on Saturday, this was done at Israel’s request.
However, Egypt has denied this. A senior official in the Egyptian foreign ministry called the Israeli ambassador in Cairo, Haim Koren, to voice his objection to Steinitz’s remarks, the London-based news site al-Araby al-Jadeed reported.
On Monday, a Palestinian man died when a tunnel collapsed on him in the latest in a series of fatal Gaza tunnel collapses. The 24-year-old man had been repairing the tunnel, which had been damaged by the Egyptian military, according to local reports.
Since September last year, the Egyptian military has periodically pumped sea water into the underground cross-border tunnels dug between its Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip in a campaign to stamp out smuggling.
Lee Gancman contributed to this report.Image copyright Other Image caption The CCDs are arranged in rows across a support structure made of silicon carbide
I doubt those going to the Homebase DIY store in Chelmsford to buy a pot of paint give much thought to what goes on in the hi-tech factory building next door.
This is the HQ of e2v, a company that made its name producing valves for the post-war television industry but which now produces camera sensors for some of the biggest space missions flying today.
The latest pictures of Mars and Mercury, close-up movies of the Sun, and the extraordinary cosmic vistas from Hubble - all are acquired thanks to the charge-coupled devices (CCDs) manufactured at e2v in the East of England.
Simply put, CCDs turn the light falling on their surface into an electronic signal. For a camera system in, say, Hubble, which orbits some 560km above the Earth, that electronic signal is processed and transmitted to the ground where it can then be easily translated back into an image on a computer screen.
But whereas Hubble's premier instrument, the Wide Field Camera 3, incorporates just two e2v CCDs side by side, the sensor system the company has just completed includes 106 CCDs.
This huge (nearly one billion pixels) array will be fitted to the European Space Agency's Gaia satellite, due for launch in June 2013.
Gaia will be sent to an observing location 1.5 million km from Earth, from where it will slowly spin and scan the sky.
GAIA - THE DISCOVERY MACHINE Image copyright Other The Gaia mission will make a very precise 3D map of our Milky Way Galaxy
It is Europe's successor to the Hipparcos satellite which mapped some 100,000 stars
The one billion to be catalogued by Gaia is still only 1% of the Milky Way's total
But the quality of the new survey promises a raft of discoveries beyond just the stars themselves
Gaia will find new asteroids, failed stars, and allow tests of physical constants and theories
It will launch on a Soyuz rocket in 2013 and be stationed 1.5 million km from Earth
A supercomputer will be needed to prepare the final catalogue expected in about 2020-21
Over a five-year period, the satellite's e2v array, allied to two telescopes and some sophisticated instrumentation that includes an atomic clock, will make an unprecedented 3D map of our Milky Way Galaxy.
Gaia will detail the precise position, distance, movement, and composition of the brightest stars in the sky (out as far as the next galaxies such as Andromeda).
This information is expected to unlock new information about the structure, origin and evolution of our Galaxy. And because Gaia will track anything that passes across its e2v CCDs, it is likely also to see countless objects that have hitherto gone unrecorded - such as asteroids, planets beyond our Solar System, and tepid stars that never quite fired into life.
Its fine-scale measurements will even permit scientists to conduct some strenuous tests of General Relativity - Einstein's theory of gravity.
I know the label "discovery machine" is over-used by the media but for Gaia, it promises to be a case of "it does exactly what it says on the tin" (to borrow the advertising slogan they would recognise in the DIY store).
e2v got involved in the first feasibility work on Gaia in the late 1990s. Back then, the thought was for a huge satellite carrying two camera arrays incorporating some 500 CCDs.
"I think the key point that made it feasible was being able to compress the instrument down to just a single focal plane such that it would fit into a Soyuz [rocket] and wouldn't require an Ariane 5, and therefore could be done within the cost budget that Esa had in mind. Having done that, it looked like it might work - but it still looked pretty mad," recalls e2v's chief applications engineer, Dave Morris.
The company has worked solidly for more than five years to produce all Gaia's CCDs.
The light-sensitive area on each CCD detector measures 45.0mm by 59.0mm, encompassing 1,966 pixels by 4,500 pixels. The slim devices are arranged in rows across a support structure made of silicon carbide, a very light and very stiff material that will not bend or warp when it experiences the temperature extremes of space. Overall, the array covers just under half a square metre.
The idea is that Gaia's two telescopes will focus the stars on to the end of the array, and as these celestial objects then scan across the CCDs their positions and individual properties will be logged.
CCD - THE COSMIC CAMERA Image copyright Other CCDs turn the light falling on their surface into an electronic signal that is then easily transmitted
The devices, which earned their inventors a Nobel in 2009, are integral to modern space missions
e2v produced 174 devices for the Gaia project. Four are seen above in their carrying jigs
The largest current space array is on Nasa's Kepler planet-hunting telescope - also from e2v
Although 106 were needed for the final mission, the associated development and test programme meant far more CCDs were actually delivered to satellite manufacturer Astrium, which is assembling Gaia in its facilities in Toulouse, France.
"The total number of flight models and flight spares was actually 130, which is really a significant number when you think that for most of our space programmes we're talking five or six flight devices, maybe 10," explained e2v principal project manager, Roy Steward. "And then of course there were engineering and other models along the way - 44 of those. So, 174 CCDs in total."
Gaia is certainly a long-term project. From first approval to launch will be 13 years. Gathering and processing all the data for its star catalogue will probably take another seven or eight years.
"The raw data that has to be collected is about 100 terabytes, and when all the data are processed in the archive we are talking about up to one petabyte," says Giuseppe Sarri, Esa's Gaia project manager. "For the analysis, a supercomputer will be needed to get out all the numbers."
To get all Gaia's information to the ground will require quite an impressive downlink capability: about 5 Mbit/s during its daily passes, similar to many home broadband connections today, but from 1.5 million km away.
e2v's Gaia project, valued all up at about 20 million euros, has been more than just an interesting challenge. The investments required at the Chelmsford site to produce all the CCDs - new cleanroom space and test equipment - mean that it is now in an excellent position to compete for more space business.
"Gaia forced the pace and pushed us ahead of the curve," says e2v marketing and applications manager, Jon Kemp.
Image copyright OtherStory highlights A group of doctors allegedly altered oxygen levels for patients
Police: The doctors also administered lethal doses of medication
Seven other health care professionals have been charged in the case
A Brazilian doctor appeared in court for allegedly killing seven patients to free up hospital beds in the southeast city of Curitiba.
Virginia Helena Soares de Souza recruited a group of doctors to help administer lethal doses of anesthetics, sedatives and painkillers, according to authorities.
In addition, the group allegedly altered oxygen levels for patients, leading to deaths by asphyxiation, police said.
Seven other health care professionals have been charged in the case.
Prosecutors allege de Souza pulled the plug on victims against the wishes of patients and their families, and in so doing broke the law. She did that to free up beds in the ICU and clear up the "clutter" the patients were causing, according to police.
De Souza was arrested in February, but was later released until trial. Her court appearance Wednesday is part of mandated monthly appearances to avoid going back to jail.
Investigators say between 2006 and 2013, de Souza ordered medical professionals working under her at an intensive care unit to alter medication and oxygen levels.
In an interview with CNN affiliate TV Globo, Mario Lobato, the doctor tasked by the health ministry to investigate the case, said the number of deaths could be much higher.
He said his team is analyzing medical charts of more than 1,700 patients and interviewing more doctors.
During the seven years the incidents occurred, in cases where de Souza did not prescribe the drugs herself, she ordered other doctors to change mechanical ventilation devices, according to authorities. She allowed them access to medical records to issue prescriptions in her name, police said.
De Souza has pleaded not guilty.
Her lawyer, Elias Mattar Assad, said she will prove that her orders in the ICU were backed and justified by medical literature. Lobato, however, said some of the patients were awake and conscious moments before the drugs were administered.
CNN affiliate TV Record reported that the investigation began a year ago. In telephone recordings made with the consent of the justice department, de Souza ordered other medical doctors and employees to shut down some ventilation devices.
Euthanasia is considered a crime in Brazil.Tionne Jones resides in the Greenmount West neighborhood on the east side of Baltimore. Last month, he took a simple yet dangerous step for a young African-American man. He told a police officer that he could not search his home without a warrant signed by a judge. Absent some emergency, what Jones told the officers is exactly correct under the United States Constitution and Maryland Declaration of Rights. Yet, in practice, when poor African-American residents invoke these protections in encounters with the police, the words of remote legal documents are no match for police authority on the street. For Jones, his choice to assert his rights meant his body was grabbed, dragged down his front steps, thrown on the cement sidewalk, and his arms were handcuffed behind his back.
We know the story of Tionne Jones because of the relatively recent practice of recording police conduct with cell phones and uploading them to the Internet. Video captures Jones standing in the archway of his front door when a police officer approaches and demands to talk to the property owner. Jones tells the police officer that that the police need a warrant for entry into the home. Another officer then arrives, walks directly up the front steps toward Jones says, "This is my house." The officer responds, "It doesn't matter," at which point the officer grabs Jones, drags him to the sidewalk, throws him violently to the ground, and handcuffs him. The police then tell the other individuals present to go inside the house and a voice over the recording states, "this is why I don't like the police at all."
Jones was initially charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor criminal offense. All charges were later dropped by the Office of the States Attorney. Unfortunately, these incidents are not new or infrequent. The Maryland Office of the Public Defender regularly holds community workshops to teach members of the public about their constitutional rights and how to exercise them. When Jones answered the front door, he followed the advice we regularly give the public, to ask the police to display a warrant before allowing them into a home. Yet as the video of the incident between Mr. Jones and the police aptly captures, Baltimore residents are forced to choose between their constitutional rights and the risk of being falsely arrested and charged. For Tionne Jones, and too many others, this predicament is a way of life in poor neighborhoods: comply with requests by the police even when unsupported by the law, or risk a pat down, an illegal arrest, or far worse.
It has been a little over a year since Freddie Gray's death. International attention was focused on Baltimore during Gray's funeral, and the aftermath of protests, curfews, looting, and criminal charges that defined our city in the spring of 2015. The Maryland Office of the Public Defender represented many people who were arrested, held, and never charged with a crime during this turbulent time. This Baltimore experience has shaped the complex identity of our city and its role in a national movement that has shed light on unfair police practices, as well as the broader impact of criminal justice on the urban poor. Despite attention drawn by this moment in the spotlight, little has changed for those who are most vulnerable to violence by the police—the urban poor.
This issue involves policing practices and their relationship to the communities they seek to protect. The police, though, are just one aspect of a broader criminal justice system that disparately treats people from poor neighborhoods. When police act inappropriately in criminal cases, courts are tasked with reviewing police conduct for constitutional violations and suppressing evidence when appropriate. Too often, judges are not willing to make such rulings, afraid to be seen as "soft on crime," which inevitably empowers the police to continue the unlawful behavior as it is implicitly sanctioned by the courts. Civil suits against the police can be cumbersome and costly, making it difficult to find attorneys to take such cases, and may provide only limited redress for those who are victims of false arrests.
Where are we a year or so after Freddie Gray's death here in Baltimore? Tionne Jones' experience seems to speak for itself. When African-American men are still being falsely arrested for exercising their constitutional rights, it is hard to say we have made much progress. United States Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo wrote "law never is but is always about to be." Law is a process that can be something else, and should be something else, but it has to have meaning for the Freddie Grays and the Tionne Jones of the world. Until all people can exercise their constitutional rights without retribution, the law acts as an unfair tool to keep some communities down. It is time we progress toward something better, a simple goal that our constitution demands.
David Walsh-Little is the Chief Attorney of the Felony Trial Division of the Office of the Public Defender in Baltimore.Bill found me in 2014 after the kind folks at Adobe featured me. Despite being more of a photographer than a videographer, something about my work captivated his attention, and he asked me to help him immortalize his creation in a small video of the majestic palace.
Fountains and towers combining traditional Terrenganu patterns with islamic Alhambra architecture
Boasting over a 100 rooms, 14 ton bronze doors and halls over three stories high, capturing the majesty of the palace was an enormous challenge. I invited Malaysian cinematographer Eric Oh to help me, and together we decided that careful framing — rather than expensive cranes and jibs - were going to be used to maximize the effect of this small passion project. It’s hard to describe what goes through your mind when you first set foot into a palace as grandiose as this. The first impression definitely borders on awe. A part of you just can’t get over the fact that you’re walking inside the private palace of a Sultan. Then, once the sensation of awe fades, it’s quickly replaced by a feeling of being utterly and completely lost. Each of the 100 rooms is completely different from the next, making it impossible to trace your way back to where you came from.
The Alhambra room Even more impressive is when Bill himself eventually catches up to you, bubbling over with all the enthusiasm of a child as he describes each and every detail of the palace he created. Moroccan hand cut ceramic tiles, deep cobalt blues, and a plethora of local bronze antiques — every single detail, carefully overseen to create the most magnificent piece of architecture the Sultan had ever laid eyes on. Unfortunately, being there for work soon brought the realization that we had quite a job on our hands. This would be our one and only chance to create a short piece that would do the palace justice.
Night and day — from barren untamed land into a magnificent piece of timeless architecture.
Preparing for the shoot was an experience on its own. We not only had to figure out not only which of the 100 rooms to feature, but also how we were going to capture them without getting lost within the palace grounds. Room vs Krishna Although the largest, most spacious rooms — from the private mosque to the extravagant halls -were the most attractive, they were also the most challenging to capture given how huge they were. In order to emphasize how large these rooms truly were, I convinced the Bill Bensley team to dress up as a variety of different characters. From guards to royal house-guests, all the costumes were hand-made and designed to bring this small video project to life. We were even fortunate enough to be able to borrow a couple of the Sultan’s own horses for our video! Once all the pieces were in place — from costumes, to architects-turned-actors — it was up to Eric’s crew and myself to do our part and create a video that would hopefully capture what it felt like to walk through such a beautiful space. After many hours of planning, shooting, and editing, we’re proud to invite you to walk the palace alongside us, and experience its majesty for yourself: -Sorry the video has been temporarily suspended- Though it was an absolutely phenomenal experience, I can’t help but feel like we didn’t have nearly enough time to do the palace justice. So many details and rooms were left un-featured, and it is my hope that one day the palace is opened to the public so that everybody appreciate its beauty. Until then, many of the details are shown in Bensleys new tome published this year by Serindia.JUNE 14 — One of the most outrageous documentaries ever produced in history is “The Eternal Jew” (Der ewige Jude), a propaganda film, churned out by the Nazis in 1940, to mould German public opinion on the minority Jewish community.
This documentary had only aim; to portray the Jews as a dirty, disgusting race of dangerous aggressors who threatened the “pure” Aryan way of life. In one infamous scene, a swarm of sewer rats are shown emerging from a cellar, juxtaposed with images of Jews, thus equating the Jews with vermin. The idea behind this move was to demonise the Jews to such an extent that there would be little public outcry when the horrific policy of genocide was inflicted on them.
The documentary, which was full of untruths and which actively engaged in coercion of its actors, would eventually be denounced by the director himself, sixty years later, as the “most disgraceful example of anti-Semitism”.
It is therefore troubling to hear of a local institution of higher learning producing slides that depict Sikhs and Hindus as ignorant and dirty, respectively. This institution’s actions are frankly reminiscent of Nazi propagandists, with their ill-concocted and spurious claims.
The Holocaust is a grim reminder of how bigotry ended in the mass extermination of its minorities. By belittling the diverse faiths of the Malaysian population, this institution appears to be advocating bigotry, to the detriment of this nation.
Do we need a tragedy to occur before we come to our senses?
* This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.Agafia Lykova, 70, is waiting to be airlifted back to solitude after being treated for a pain in her leg
A 70-year-old Siberian hermit is returning to solitude in the Russian wilderness after being airlifted to a hospital for treatment.
Agafia Lykova was discharged from care in Tashtagol, a town in Siberia’s Kemerovo region, on Tuesday but will stay there until state emergency services can airlift her home, the Russian news site Sobesednik.ru reported.
Lykova was taken to hospital last week after she notified the authorities of a leg pain via satellite phone.
Stalin, Siberia and salt: Russian recluse's life story made into film Read more
She was born in the Siberian wilderness near the Mongolian border. Her parents, members of the Old Believers sect that broke away from the Orthodox church in the 17th century, had fled there in the late 1930s, fearing religious persecution in the Soviet Union. The family lived in isolation until geologists happened upon them in 1978.
Lykova has lived alone since her father’s death in 1988. She has been out of the wilderness several times before for short periods but prefers the familiarity of rural Siberia.
“There are so many cars. Why do you need so many?” Lykova asked about city life during an interview this week with the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda. “There’s so much smoke from them, there’s nothing to breathe.”Share ‘Ken’ by Andrew Hosken: what Livingstone's story tells us about Corbyn
‘Ken’ by Andrew Hosken: what Livingstone's story tells us about Corbyn The theme that runs throughout the book is the factional in-fighting on the Left
The theme that runs throughout the book is the factional in-fighting on the Left Livingstone’s relationship with the Left’s various factions was always based on mutual utility
Ken: The Ups and Downs of Ken Livingstone. Andrew Hosken, Arcadia Books, RPR £15.99
Jeremy Corbyn only appears once in the pages of ‘Ken’, and it is a bizarre cameo indeed. In 1994, Ken Livingstone announced that he was running against Tony Blair for Labour leader, with Corbyn as his deputy. The only problem was that he hadn’t actually told Corbyn about it.
Corbyn was not a vital player in Livingstone’s story. Yet Livingstone certainly has been in Corbyn’s. That’s not just because Ken’s mayoral victories are the Corbyn team’s proof that a genuine Left-winger can win power. It’s because that team is dominated by those who cut their teeth as Livingstone’s City Hall consiglieres – in particular Simon Fletcher, Corbyn’s chief of staff, and Neale Coleman, his director of “policy and rebuttal”. Even John McDonnell claims he is qualified to oversee the nation’s finances because of his experience running the Greater London Council’s under Ken.
So what can Livingstone’s story – set out in 2008 in this excellent investigative biography by the BBC’s Andrew Hosken – tell us about Corbyn’s?
The first, and overwhelming, impression is of history repeating. The Left of the Livingstone era share not just an ideology but a methodology with their heirs today: an obsession with winning battles inside the party rather than appealing to the electorate; a conviction that a hostile media are blinding voters to their true interest; a willingness to chum up to any unsavoury terrorists or dictators who share their rhetorical objections to the capitalist classes.
It is also easy to see why moderate Labourites today are so petrified. Livingstone was at the heart of an attempt by the Left to capture Labour, starting with the base and working up to the head: his famous decapitation of Andrew McIntosh, the GLC’s elected leader, on the day after the 1981 election was intended as a blueprint for a Tony Benn triumph.
Corbyn has now won the victory Benn and Livingstone never could – but his platform for greater party democracy (ie mandatory reselection of MPs and handing control of policy to the membership) are exactly those made by Livingstone and his cohorts. Then, as now, it wasn’t about democracy, but control. Any non-Corbynite MP will read the grim details of Livingstone’s four-year war against Reg Freeson, the kind and popular MP whose Brent East seat he coveted, with alarm.
Corbyn and Livingstone also emerge as similar figures. Both were self-made intellectuals from outside the party mainstream, with no university education. Both formed their beliefs early, and stuck to them. Both were easily demonised by the Right-wing press simultaneously as odd, obsessive little men – for Corbyn’s manhole covers, read Livingstone’s cherished newts – and as a clear and present danger to the nation. Horace Cutler, the Tories’ leader on the GLC, described Ken as “the worst thing to hit London since the plague, and in some ways akin to it”.
Even without drawing parallels to Corbyn, Hosken’s book is fascinating – and devastating. Gerry Healy, the head of the Workers’ Revolutionary Party, who printed Livingstone’s newspapers, emerges as the most fascinating grotesque in British politics: a Koresh-style socialist cult leader who raped his female subordinates and beat up his male ones. (At his funeral, a loyal Ken claimed that the repulsive Healy had been the victim of an MI5 plot.)
Similarly, it turns out that Livingstone’s deeply insensitive recent comments about Kevan Jones, the Labour MP struggling with depression, fit a pattern. Ken’s instinct, over and over again, is to refer to his critics needing treatment or being under the weather or (as with Frank Dobson in the London mayoral race in 2000) suffering from, yes, depression.
The theme that runs throughout the book – and which has assumed fresh relevance today – is the factional in-fighting on the Left, and the way in which Ken harnessed the zealots to pursue his own ends. In particular, Hosken reveals the role played by Socialist Action – a small group of highly capable true believers, including Fletcher – who gravitated to Ken after Thatcher shut down the GLC and cast him into the backbench wilderness.
Socialist Action were, says Hosken, “Livingstone’s guiding light, his foot soldiers, his mentors, and his political family.” During his two terms as London’s first elected mayor, they formed a formidably effective praetorian guard around Ken. But they were also his closest friends: he served as best man at Fletcher’s wedding.
The longevity – and success – of this socialist splinter group is quite something. They are, as Labour moderates may soon find out, formidably effective operators. But their record at City Hall also shows that they are not mindless revolutionaries.
That, indeed, is the most fascinating point of difference between Livingstone and Corbyn. Ken denounced Fleet Street, but wrote columns for Murdoch and Rothermere. As mayor, he lauded Venezuela and consorted with Islamists, but also schmoozed City grandees and approved every skyscraper that crossed his desk: London’s glory was Ken’s glory.
This isn’t to say that Ken isn’t a man of principle: he clearly is, especially when it comes to his longstanding commitment to equality. It’s just that he always understood, when push came to shove, that power was more important.
The episode in which this was most on show was a row over “rate-capping” in 1985. The Tory government wanted to restrain runaway spending by Labour councils. The socialists (led by McDonnell, the GLC’s finance chair) hit on the wheeze of failing to submit a legal budget, in the sincere but deluded belief that the resulting collapse in public services would – coupled with the Miners’ Strike – drive Thatcher from power.
The only problem – apart from the threat of jail time – was that the GLC actually had plenty of money, so wouldn’t need to “go illegal” at all. When the officials brought McDonnell the documents showing that, instead of the £25 million cuts he was claiming, there would in fact be a £140 million surplus, he apparently said: “I hear what you say; shred the documents!”
In the end, Livingstone backed down, causing a schism in the Labour group and vitriolic accusations of betrayal from the zealots. Reaching for the worst epithet in his vocabulary, McDonnell labelled Livingstone “a Kinnock”.
Whether it be the Young Chartists (his initial Trotskyite henchmen) or Socialist Action, Livingstone’s relationship with the Left’s various factions was always based on mutual utility: they were helping him and he was helping them.
Corbyn, on the other hand, appears to be one of the true believers – a naive theorist in a world of serpentine schemers. Exactly the sort of person, judging from this fascinating book, whom Ken Livingstone and his team would have eaten for breakfast.
Robert Colvile was comment editor at the Telegraph and UK news director at BuzzFeed. He now writes on politics and |
medals, three world records, six world marathon majors wins, 13 other big city marathon wins before they were exposed by the IAAF as cheats".
The IAAF said that before the introduction in 2009 of the biological passport to monitor blood values, its testers had "systematically pursued" all results that were deemed "atypical" with immediate urine tests for EPO and then target-tested those athletes in and out of competition.
"We condemn the fact that two experienced scientists were naive enough to place themselves in a situation where their analysis of incomplete data is being used against athletes in the public domain," it said.
The IAAF says it conducts approximately 3,500 in- and out-of-competition anti-doping tests every year
Since the introduction of the passport, the IAAF says it has "pursued more cases under the passport system than all other anti-doping organisations together", and is spending $2m a year on combating cheating. "As a percentage of overall annual budget this is the highest of any sport," it added.
There can be various reasons for abnormal blood samples other than performance-enhancing drugs. Illness, altitude training and pregnancy can all influence values.
The Sunday Times reports that eight British athletes - including Mo Farah and Jo Pavey - have published their blood test data "to show they are clean" with results falling within the normal expected range.
"I'm happy to do what it takes to prove I'm a clean athlete," said double Olympic champion Farah. "The decision to release my results is a personal one."
Pavey said: "It's nice to get it [her blood data] out there, as a clean athlete I've got no reason not to."
UK Athletics said it was "counselling caution" to athletes because "full transparency requires release of all of an athlete's testing history rather than incomplete data that has the possibility of being open to misinterpretation."
It added: "Athletes that have chosen to allow their results to be published have in many cases asked for guidance before agreeing to do so, in order to be better informed of any risks involved."
UK Anti-Doping said it has a "robust" Athlete Biological Passport system in place and is "confident" in its procedures.
On Friday a former winner of the London Marathon was stripped of her title for doping.
Russian Liliya Shobukhova, who won in 2010 and was runner-up in 2011, has had her results since 2009 annulled. The Sunday Times claims that she recorded "extreme blood scores" for nine years before the athletics authorities finally took action against her in 2014, and that marathon organisers were not told about the scores..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
NB: The Teacher’s guide explains the method carried out in this series, as well as the pedagogical approach for both book 1 and book 2. After the chapter by chapter explanation, there is an answer key for the English to Latin exercises contained in both books, as well as a key for the Latin scrambles. This has been completely reformatted and typeset, it is not a facsimile!
Coming soon! Volume 3
Bulk pricing available for schools, homeschool co-ops, colleges and seminaries. (contact: info at mediatrixpress.com)
Latin by the Nat. Meth. Set $65.00
From the Preface:
Most Americans who have studied Latin, with our priests and seminarians included, have employed this method, which they thought was ‘traditional’. But as something fully developed, this tradition scarcely goes farther back than 1880; and even in its beginnings it hardly antedates the seventeenth century.
In contrast to this method of grammatical analysis, Father Most’s textbooks reproduce much of the “natural method” by which children learn their native language. Hence, the significance of Father Most’s books is manifestly great for the Latin classes in any Catholic high schools or colleges. So much of our Catholic doctrine and culture have been deposited in Latin that we want many of our educated Catholics to be able to use Latin with ease. But the special significance of Father Most’s texts is for the Latin classes in our seminaries. Here the students still have much the same cogent motives to master the art of using Latin with ease as the pupils of the thirteenth or sixteenth century. They need it as an indispensable means of communicating thought in their higher studies, and afterwards throughout life. The objectives (knowledge about Latin and training of mind) and corresponding methods (grammatical analysis and translation) “traditional” since 1880 have taken over in our seminaries; and there too the students have been experiencing an ever growing inability to use Latin. Father Most’s textbooks can contribute much towards revolutionizing the teaching of Latin by bringing back, as the chief objective, the art of reading, writing, and (when desired) speaking Latin with ease.” [Preface]
Fr. Most’s textbooks start from a pedagogical method which is revolutionary in Latin instruction: the starting point is Later Latin (3-6th century), which Fr. Most considers more advanced than classical Latin by a simple principle: a language is effective at communicating its ideas in a clear manner with simpler vehicles. In the teacher’s guide, he makes his case for why Later Latin is more advanced in this than classical Latin, as the classical period was still evolving its vehicles and devices for communication. When he says this, Fr. Most is not attempting to belittle the importance of the silver and golden ages, but to simply note they are not per se the be all and end all of what is Latin. So he begins with Later Latin principles and grammar, and proceeds backward to reading the classical period at the end of book two and in book three. Thus, Fr. Most’s texts culminate in reading the prose of the classical period.
This is an excellent text applying the “natural method” with English language instruction to help the student read and understand Latin natively, with numerous vehicles for simplifying the necessary memorization as well as aiding in truly understanding Latin without constant need to look in a dictionary for rudimentary sentences.
********
Update: Thanks to a reader, we have acquired the tape-script for the otherwise unattainable tapes that accompanied these books. We will be working next year to reproduce the tape script on CD as well as for download. Keep this intention in your prayers!
Update 2: [3-1-2018] We are still working on producing the tape series. It takes a lot of time because it must be recorded precisely and accurately and this requires a lot of audio editing. The same person who runs the press, does the translation and the marketing is also doing the audio recording, so it takes some time.May 4, 2015, 3:31 PM GMT / Updated May 4, 2015, 3:35 PM GMT / Source: NBC News
A new review of 2013 immigration data shows that China replaced Mexico as the top country of origin for immigrants to the United States. The 2013 American Community Survey, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, recorded 1,201,000 immigrants. Of those, 125,000 came from Mexico, 129,000 came from India, and 147,000 came from China. The previous year, Mexican immigration (125,000) just topped Chinese immigration (124,000).
According to Eric Jensen, Statistician/Demographer with the Census Bureau's Population Division, this latest flip followed "a decade where immigration from China and India increased while immigration from Mexico decreased." Jensen reports that in 2000, 41.2 percent of all foreign-born immigrants were Hispanic, but by 2009, that number had fallen to 30.1 percent, while the rate of immigration for non-Hispanic Asian, foreign-born grew to 34.7 percent.
Asian Americans comprise the fastest-growing racial group in the U.S. at 2.9 percent, with the total population just short of 20 million. According to experts, immigration is the primary driver of that growth, "accounting for 61 percent of the total Asian population change" between 2012 and 2013. An estimated 74 percent of Asian adults in 2012 were foreign born. The 54-million strong Hispanic population is growing at 2.1 percent, with the birth rate accounting for 78 percent of that growth.
IN-DEPTHA year on, the mood has changed. Nicosia, by embarking on a unilateral exploration program, has antagonized both Turkish Cypriots and the Turkish government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ankara, in turn has warned that it would respond forcefully to continued drilling unless the “inherent and equal rights” of the Turkish Cypriots to hydrocarbon finds are respected, said Mithat Rende, a senior Turkish foreign ministry official, in an interview last month.
Turkey also claims that portions of the exclusive economic zone established by Nicosia in 2010 as part of its gas exploration program lie within Turkey’s continental shelf.
Last month, at an international energy conference in Istanbul, Turkey reiterated warnings that the world’s major energy companies would lose access to its vast market should they work with Nicosia on Aphrodite. Companies currently negotiating possible deals with Cyprus include Total of France, Eni of Italy and Novatek of Russia.
In a similarly pointed warning, in May, Turkish fighter jets chased Israeli warplanes from what Ankara said was Turkish airspace just north of Cyprus. The chilling of formerly cordial relations between Turkey and Israel reflects not only the standoff over Israel’s blockade of Gaza but also close Israeli cooperation with Nicosia on exploration of Cypriot gas reserves.
According to a report from the International Crisis Group, citing local news reports, tensions are continuing to rise, with Greek Cypriots accusing Turkey of increasingly provocative military maneuvers and “gunboat diplomacy.”
“We cannot rely on either side of Cyprus to show leadership on this issue,” says Ozdil Nami, a member of the Turkish Cypriot Parliament and a former chief of negotiations for reunification. “We need the U.S., Russia and others to take a stance. Otherwise this area will present itself with another conflict in a region where we don’t need another one.”
Photo
Since it could take at least seven years to deliver Aphrodite gas to market, some observers say interested parties have plenty of time to unravel their thicket of disputes. Most agree, however, that reconciliation over the field is unlikely without progress on Cypriot reunification, the prospects for which are dim.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
There are also market forces to consider. As sources of natural gas proliferate, the price may decline even as Europe revives economically. Energy analysts say U.S. shale gas in particular, which now accounts for 35 percent of U.S. natural gas consumption compared with just 1 percent in 2000, is a global game changer.
One obvious way to leverage a price advantage from Aphrodite gas would be to transport it in the most cost-efficient way, which by all accounts means pumping it through a pipeline from Cyprus to Turkey, where it could be shipped to Europe. That would suit the Europeans who, having been denied gas supplies in late 2006 as a consequence of feuding between Russia and Ukraine, identified Turkey as a vital transit point for fuel.
Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content, updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters.
In addition to the cost benefits, some analysts say, a Cyprus-Turkey pipeline would be just the tonic needed to stir reunification talks, or as Laura Le Cornu, an energy consultant based in Cyprus, puts it, “the mother of all confidence-building measures.”
For many Greek Cypriots, however, to say nothing of Israelis, such faith in Turkish good will is dangerously naïve. Not only has Russia been known to turn off its gas taps to settle geopolitical scores, Egypt in April briefly interrupted Israeli and Jordanian supplies and Turkey has done the same to Greece over the last several years. Given such exigencies, says Andreas Theophanous, a professor at the University of Nicosia, “Why would you accommodate a country that does not recognize your right to exist?”
That leaves only two alternatives: pumping the gas via pipeline from Greek Cyprus to the Greek island of Crete and then on to Europe, or building a liquefied natural gas terminal and transporting the fuel by sea. Both options are expensive; L.N.G. terminals typically cost about $10 billion, or about 10 times the estimated $1 billion price of a Cyprus-Turkey pipeline.
A pipeline linking Cyprus to Crete would cost even more. Harry Sachinis, chief executive of the publicly controlled Greek firm, Public Gas Corp., which is known by its acronym Depa, says that a study by the pipeline contractor J.P. Kenny has shown the feasibility of such a project: “If a decision were made today,” he said, “it could mean gas to Europe by 2018.”
Still, at some 1,150 kilometers in total pipeline length, a Cyprus-Crete link would be comparable in scale to the Nord Stream system that brings Russian gas to Western Europe under the Baltic Sea and could cost as much as $17 billion to build, according to Strata Insight, a hydrocarbons consulting firm in Nicosia.
Such is the burden of politics, says Praxoula Antoniadou Kyriacou, a former Cypriot gas minister and now a leader of the country’s liberal United Democrats party. “To the extent this problem is unresolved and there is no pipeline through Turkey, that leaves us with more expensive alternatives” she said. “We have no choice but to consider political and economic factors.”
Turkey is also running out of options. The strong international response to Nicosia’s tender has challenged Ankara on its threat to punish companies that entered the bidding process.
“Cyprus has done a good job of converting licenses into support from big countries,” said Mr. Haustmann of the University of Nicosia. “The Turks cannot take on France, Italy, the U.S. — and Israel.”
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
Hugh Pope, a director at International Crisis Group, said that “everyone could win” if relations were normalized. “But a failure to strike a political compromise has held Turkey back for decades: Now it’s blocking Nicosia’s most obvious route back to prosperity.”Matt Smith has said that he would "love" a crossover episode between Doctor Who and Breaking Bad.
The actor named the dark AMC drama when asked about his dream crossover by Radio 1's Fearne Cotton.
BBC
"I've been loving Breaking Bad... I'd love the Doctor to meet Heisenberg in Breaking Bad," Smith enthused, referring to the pseudonym used by Walter White (Bryan Cranston) in his criminal dealings.
"Breaking Bad flips your world upside down."
In a crossover closer to home, Smith was recently pictured alongside his predecessor as the Doctor, David Tennant.
> Bryan Cranston 'Breaking Bad' Q&A: 'I don't know how it will end'
> 'Doctor Who' shoots in London - new series pictures
Watch Digital Spy speaking to Doctor Who cast members including Matt Smith below:I left off in my last blog by re-scripting my morning routine, effectively editing out any OCD behavior. I saw how it in fact not only completely sabotages my mornings, but also sabotages my relationship to myself. It does this by severely undermining my self-trust, as I have shown myself that with OCD, I can’t depend on myself because I can’t depend on whether or not my own actions will be congruent with my intentions. Also, the fact that I accept and allow myself to fall into compulsions in the morning causes me stress and anxiety, due to the fear of being late for work, which fuels and perpetuates the disorder throughout the day. This ‘starting the day out on a bad foot’ creates a nearly impossible foundation for me to walk throughout my day with the vigilance and discipline I require to combat OCD, which I require to do throughout the day and into the evening.A sea turtle trapped in bales of cocaine was rescued during a counter drug patrol mission in the eastern Pacific Ocean that also resulted in the seizure of about $53 million in drugs, U.S. Coast Guard officials said Sunday.
The cutter Thetis crew discovered the sea turtle on Nov. 19, after launching a small boat to investigate a debris field.
Upon close inspection, the crew discovered the marine reptile was trapped in what appeared to be multiple bales of suspected contraband, according to a Coast Guard news release.
“They saw significant chaffing from the lines on his neck and flippers,” the release stated.
Crew members carefully cut the lines wrapped around the sea turtle, freeing the reptile. They also recovered about 75-feet of line to prevent other sea animals from becoming trapped in it.
Authorities ended up recovering approximately 1,800 pounds of cocaine — with an estimated value of more than $53 million — from international waters, according to the release.
The incident took place while the cutter Thetis crew was on a 68-day mission in support of Operation Martillo, an international, interagency operation involving 18 participating countries targeting criminal organizations and illicit trafficking routes, according to the release.
The mission resulted in the seizure of nearly 15,000 pounds of cocaine and 14 pounds of marijuana, according to the release. Two dozen suspected smugglers were also apprehended.
The cutter crew returned to its port in Key West on Sunday.Here’s something that happened in this election that has been largely overlooked but I think is a very big deal indeed. Trickle-down economics died last Tuesday. The post-election chatter has been dominated by demographics, Latinos, women, and the culture war. But economics played a strong and even pivotal role in this election too, and Reaganomics came out a huge loser, while the Democrats have started to wrap their arms around a simple, winning alternative: the idea that government must invest in the middle class and not the rich. It’s middle-out economics instead of trickle-down, and it won last week and will keep on winning.
You know the history. Arthur Laffer sketched out his famous curve—whether on a napkin or not is apparently still debated—back in 1974, when the top marginal rate was 90 percent. There is a certain point, Laffer explained, at which rates decrease revenue. Since many of the people to whom he was doing this explaining found themselves to be in or near the top bracket, quite naturally they liked his theory a lot.
Up sprang the nonprofits devoted to getting the little people to buy in to the idea that taxes on the wealthy should be lowered, and soon enough supply-side economics was born. Along came Ronald Reagan to assure everyone that the rising tide would lift all boats. It’s never happened quite the way conservatives said it would. Even during the general prosperity of the second Reagan term, income inequality began to expand dramatically, wage stagnation became a permanent feature of American life, and the immiseration of the poor worsened.
So supply side’s first shot at governance was at best half a success. Then came the second go-round under George W. Bush, and this of course was an unmitigated disaster. You know the details on that. But as catastrophic as the Bush era was, the fear has always existed that people would vote to go back to that. After all, it’s pretty hard to turn down a 20-percent tax cut, right?
Actually, it turned out that most voters were able to turn it down. Mitt Romney was offering people a bigger cut than even Bush had. It was the centerpiece of his campaign, as it had been of Bush’s, and it was the central policy issue of this campaign in a way that Bush’s tax proposal wasn’t in 2000. In other words, if there was a single policy issue on which people voted this time, it was tax policy—whether everyone should get a massive cut (Romney), or whether the middle class should be held harmless and the wealthy should pay more (Barack Obama). It’s impossible to imagine a way in which the choice could have been clearer. And it’s hard to imagine the voters’ response being much clearer, either.
Supply side was rejected. And in its place, voters went for an economic vision that says: don’t invest in the wealthy in the hope that they’ll decide to spread the wealth around; invest in the middle class, because it’s demand from a prosperous middle class that ultimately creates more jobs, and because doing that makes for a healthier society all the way around. Obama embraced this message late last year in his speech in Kansas, and even though I wouldn’t say he pressed it consistently for a whole year, he certainly emphasized it in the second debate and spoke regularly about it toward the end. “I believe you grow the economy from the middle out,” he said in a key October ad.
He did not originate the phrase. Writing in The New York Times in July, Nick Hanauer and Eric Liu, authors of The Gardens of Democracy, wrote: “Lasting growth doesn’t trickle down; it emerges from the middle out.”
A whole cohort of progressive economists and activists has been at work on middle-class economics since 2009. Robert Reich has been there, as have Hanauer and Liu and the Center for American Progress, especially Heather Boushey and David Madland. I’m proud to add that the journal I edit, Democracy, has been in on this crusade too. Hanauer and Liu are advisers to the journal, and in our Spring 2011 issue Madland wrote the first long piece to appear on middle-class economics.
Well, it takes a village, as they say. But middle-out economics is still in formation. It will be up to Obama, those named above, and others to provide more definition over the course of a second term. But even if that isn’t yet fully clear, this is: trickle-down economics is over. There was a time when a promise of a 20-percent tax cut would have ended the whole conversation in Romney’s favor. But all it accomplished this time was to raise questions—legitimate and never answered—about how he was going to pay for it. Romney had nothing to say to the middle class beyond cutting taxes and watching the magic happen. But voters have stopped believing in that magic.
Some conservatives understand this. But it’s literally three or four people right now—Ramesh Ponnuru, Ross Douthat, Reihan Salam, and maybe one or two others. The rest of the Republican Party is still in fantasy land. You may have seen a few days before the election that Mitch McConnell killed a Congressional Research Service report on taxes. Its offense? To assert that lowering top tax rates doesn’t necessarily produce more revenue and growth.
That’s Republican theology. Some time will be needed before any reformation is accepted. But as far as the voters are concerned, that god is dead.Since 2015, Pakistan has witnessed increased incidences of women’s participation in transnational jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The formation of AQIS’s Shaheen women’s wing that is reportedly training more than 500 female suicide bombers, the Al Zikra academy network of upper middle class women in Karachi carrying out fundraising and matchmaking activities for ISIS, and the case of three women who left for Syria with their 12 children in 2015 are just some of the visible instances of women’s radicalization and active roles in terrorism.
So are these cases an anomaly or indicative of a broader phenomenon? To understand this issue, one needs to know that the involvement of women in terrorist organizations within Pakistan is not unprecedented. Pakistan’s policymakers and security agencies have adopted a male-centric approach when looking at terrorist groups, negating or underestimating the crucial roles women have played in the past, within the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and now AQIS and ISIS. There is no doubt that these groups limit women’s roles, banning education and relegating them primarily to the domestic sphere. However, regardless of these structural gender inequalities embedded within their conception of an “Islamic” society, these groups envision the participation of women under critical and specialized roles that can be categorized as “women’s jihad.”
First, women have acted as “facilitators and fundraisers,” which was evident when women sold off their jewelry to support the Taliban in Swat, gaining inspiration from Mullah Fazlullah’s notorious radio broadcasts. Second, women are the nucleus of the domestic sphere in the case of Pakistan’s patriarchal society. Thus, terrorist organizations envision women as the “domestic radicalizers,” indoctrinating their children and networks of women with the violent and extremist ideology of the group at hand. In 2014, students from Jamia-e-Hafsa, the women’s wing of the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in Islamabad, pledged allegiance to ISIS in a video. Such networks of women that rely on exchanging extremist religious knowledge also act as the recruiters at home, expected to groom their children as generations of like-minded jihadists. Third, women have also provided support as suicide bombers for TTP, with the first such case reported in 2007 in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). In another mass-casualty attack in 2010, a female suicide bomber from the TTP detonated explosives at a World Food Program distribution center in FATA, killing 45 and injuring 80 others.
The recruitment of women that took place under TTP is now mirrored by AQIS and ISIS. Although there is little information about the recruitment patterns of AQIS for women, several incidences of ISIS recruiting middle and upper-middle class educated women from urban centers, such as Sialkot, Lahore, and Karachi have been reported. More recently, in February 2017, the case of a young medical student came to the fore, where the police claimed that she had been radicalized by ISIS online and had left for Syria.
It seems rather paradoxical that educated and urban women would willingly join an Islamist terrorist group that unabashedly denies them the same rights as the men and largely restricts their mobility. Hence, gendered or personal explanations are often deployed to explain women’s participating in these groups. As such, the woman is believed to be following her husband, father, or brother or perceived as seeking revenge for their killing by the opposition group or the state. However, in September 2016, Bushra Cheema deserted her husband and left for Syria to join ISIS with their four children. In a voice message sent to her husband, she stated, “I love God and his religion… If you can’t join us then at least pray your wife and children die in jihad.” What motivated Bushra Cheema to join ISIS?
Nimi Gowrinathan discusses the women in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka, who in part fought to ensure security for the marginalized Tamil community. Gowrinathan adds that women are recruited by ISIS based on identity politics, with marginalized and oppressed Muslim women forming the membership base.
Bushra Cheema’s radicalization then can be studied as negating the madrasa-terrorism nexus, instead showcasing an identity crisis stemming from resentment toward the state in the form of political and economic grievances. Women’s radicalization processes reflect the same considerations, with the solution entrenched within AQIS and ISIS’s political ideology of an “Islamic” state making the members (men and women) stakeholders working within the realm of their own specialized roles.
The women-terrorism nexus within Pakistan remains a reality that should no longer be ignored by the state and security officials. Although it is not likely the majority in the ranks of these traditionally patriarchal and misogynist groups will be women, their active recruitment signals a threat to the state. This necessitates a replacement of the age-old male-centric approach to counterterrorism with a more gender neutral perspective.
Female suicide bombers are a dire security concern, due to their ability to easily access security check-posts while concealing suicide jackets underneath their clothing or burqas. This problem is linked to the low induction of females within the Pakistani police and military. A report by the National Police Bureau of Pakistan in 2011 indicated that only 0.89 percent of the police force comprised of women. This number is negligible considering that an estimated 48-50 percent of the total population manage to skip security checkpoints, as men are unable to conduct physical checks. Thus, increased recruitment of women would allow the security establishment to better respond to and counter threats emanating from women.
Pakistani society is based on a strong family structure, which makes it permissible for women to partake in family-based radicalization of their children. In the context of this long-term threat, women’s emancipation and economic empowerment could hold the key to preventing the growing traction of extremist narratives as an alternative to the current status quo.
Sara Mahmood is a Research Analyst with the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore.http://plantuml.com/ is a very easy to use sequence diagram maker that is free. It has a extremely intuitive syntax that will allow you to create complex diagrams within minutes.
There’s a online version here : https://www.planttext.com
Take for example :
@startuml participant FDC_FPGA box "FPGA" #LightYellow participant FDC_FPGA end box box "MPC" #LightBlue participant Kernel participant User_Space end box User_Space -> Kernel : Wait Data Ready ioctl activate User_Space activate Kernel FDC_FPGA -> Kernel : Data Ready Interrupt Kernel -> User_Space : Data Ready Awake deactivate Kernel deactivate User_Space User_Space -> Kernel : Setup Read Descriptors ioctl Kernel -> FDC_FPGA : Set Registers User_Space -> Kernel : Enable DMA Start ioctl Kernel -> FDC_FPGA : Set Registers User_Space->Kernel : Wait DMA Done ioctl activate Kernel activate User_Space FDC_FPGA -> Kernel : Dma Done Interrupt Kernel -> User_Space : Dma Done Awake deactivate User_Space deactivate Kernel @enduml
This gives a very nice diagram that is ready for presentation :
I use it all over the place for Software Design Documents. The best thing is – it has “source code”, so anytime there’s a change done, all I have to do is to use the “source” to regenerate the diagram. Happiness!
AdvertisementsRepublican strategist Rick Wilson rips fans of Donald Trump on Jan. 19, 2016. (Crooks and Liars)
News that Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) received intelligence of possible surveillance of Trump administration officials from two people from within the Trump administration rocked the political world on Thursday — and one longtime GOP strategist thinks more explosive revelations are still to come.
GOP strategist Rick Wilson wrote a tweet storm on Thursday afternoon that connected the dots that link Nunes, White House officials Michael Ellis and Ezra Cohen-Watnick, White House political strategist Steve Bannon, and disgraced former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn.
“Two White House operatives — possibly improperly — accessed classified to pass it to Nunes as part of a political pushback operation,” Wilson began. “Who ordered it? Who asked for them to do so? If you think two lower-level guys took it upon themselves to make this play, I’ve got a Nigerian prince with $30 million dollars for you. Who is running the WH pushback operation on Trump’s Russia scandal? It rhymes with Beeve Stannon.”
From there, Wilson connected the entire story back to Flynn, who was ousted after it was revealed that he lied to the public and members about the Trump administration about the nature of his contacts with Russian government officials.
“Flynn’s stay-behind agent Cohen-Watnick was about to be shitcanned by [National Security Adviser H.R.] McMaster,” Wilson explained. “Cohen-Watnick — the NSC intel director — was a Flynnite from DIA days. Flynn was gone but the channel was still open.”
However, Wilson noted that both Bannon and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner both personally pushed back on McMaster’s desire to fire Cohen-Watnick because he is “helping run the pushback operation on Russia with Nunes.”
“Strap in tight,” Wilson concluded. “It’s going to be a rough landing.”
2/ The Ellis connection was obvious from the moment I heard it. Nunes is a clumsy liar, and DC only rewards talented liars. — Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) March 30, 2017
4/ So two WH operatives — possibly improperly — accessed classified to pass it to Nunes as part of a *political* pushback operation. — Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) March 30, 2017
6 …I've got a Nigerian prince with $30 million dollars for you.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) March 30, 2017
8/ This is where it gets good, so ride along with me. Flynn's staybehind agent Cohen-Watnick was about to be shitcanned by McMaster. — Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) March 30, 2017
10/ McMaster, Pompeo et al wanted him gone. "But Rick," you ask, "Why was he STILL there with all we know about Flynn?" pic.twitter.com/BPuRd5Y2Do — Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) March 30, 2017Photo of Fisker booth before the reveal of the Karma S at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. Photo: Michael Graham Richard
Photo: Michael Graham Richard
Kleiner Perkins investor, and former President of Oracle, Ray Lane, let slip during the AlwaysOn Going Green conference that Fisker would make a major announcement later this week or next week about a new plug-in hybrid that would sell for $39,000 and be available in 2012.According to Reuters, Fisker "would likely refurbish a factory in the United States to build the vehicle and is aiming to produce 100,000 of the lower-cost plug-in hybrids."
Ray Lane further added that Fisker would be making money on those lower-priced PHEVs, even though the batteries in them might be worth $12-15k. He said: "We are not going to announce and introduce to the market to lose money."
Fisker Automotive is also about to raise another round of financing, no doubt to help with the production of its $87,900 Karma plug-in hybrid.
Via Reuters
More Electric Cars
No Tesla Motors IPO Before Late 2010
BYD to Sell a Limited Number of E6 Electric Cars in the U.S. Starting in 2010
Second-Generation Smart Electric Drive Production Begins in November (With Some Tesla Under the Hood)Death in Dubai: Suspect in Mabhouh killing 'had genuine British passport' BelfastTelegraph.co.uk The emirate of Dubai has named a British citizen as a 19th suspect of the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, the Hamas official murdered in the emirate four months ago, apparently by a group that included holders of forged British passports. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/death-in-dubai-suspect-in-mabhouh-killing-had-genuine-british-passport-28536056.html
Email
The emirate of Dubai has named a British citizen as a 19th suspect of the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, the Hamas official murdered in the emirate four months ago, apparently by a group that included holders of forged British passports.
According to a source in the United Arab Emirates, the suspect arrived in Dubai under his own name and carrying a genuine British passport.
The document, the details of which are known by The Independent on Sunday but which they have decided not to publish, shows that he holds a real British passport dated 24 October 2007, valid for 11 years, and was born in 1948.
It is believed that his father was a Jewish Palestinian who migrated to the UK just after the Second World War. Dubai police have informed Interpol of the name and passport number of the suspect. The man is believed to be hiding in Western Europe.
According to Dubai sources, the British man was identified parking a rental car close to the hotel where Mr Mabhouh was murdered and can be seen parking his car on a videotape that is in the possession of UEA authorities; a copy of the tape has been given to the British police. According to the UEA, the suspect has recently visited both Canada and France.
Mr Mabhouh was smothered to death in his hotel room and the Emirates have named 33 suspects. Investigations revealed that up to 12 of them had used forged British passports. Other suspects used similar counterfeit or stolen Irish, Australian, French and German passports.
Those involved are widely believed to be members of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service. British, Irish and French governments have asked Israeli ambassadors to explain the use of their national passports in the killing.
The involvement of a genuine British suspect will not improve diplomatic relations between London and Tel Aviv. The former foreign secretary David Miliband condemned the counterfeiting of British passports as "intolerable" and demanded reassurances from Israel that it would not be repeated.
Britain also ordered an Israeli diplomat to leave the UK in March after an investigation by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency showed that there were "compelling reasons" why Israel was believed to be behind the misuse of the passports.
The inquiry determined that the documents were cloned when British citizens passed through airports on their way into Israel, with officials taking them away for "checks" that lasted around 20 minutes. Britain's decision was attacked by angry Israeli MPs who described it as the action of "anti-semitic dogs".
The diplomat asked to leave the UK was understood to be an intelligence officer who was known to the UK authorities and worked as official liaison with Britain's MI6. There was no suggestion the officer was personally involved in the passports affair.
Israel has never admitted any role in February's Dubai assassination of Mr Mabhouh, who was described as a key figure in smuggling Iranian weapons into the Gaza Strip on behalf of Hamas. It has abstained from signing any material that might be construed as a confession.
Belfast Telegraphby Terry Lee
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) - Tuesday's Green Bay City Council decision on the Clarion Hotel could jeopardize an estimated $35 million renovation of the Hotel Northland.
Northland developer Frantz-Hobart says the city’s decision on a proposal for the Clarion is cause for concern because when they started their plans nine months ago, they were under the assumption that the Clarion would stay as a mid-tier hotel, not become a new four star hotel.
The Northland is expected to be a five-star hotel.
CEO Mike Frantz says their studies show downtown Green Bay can’t support that many premium rooms.
“It’s directly in contradiction to what the |
, invariably make it harder to vote, demanding greater and greater levels of identification. Not so coincidentally, minorities, who tend to favor the Democratic Party, often have a harder time meeting these enhanced thresholds. The problem is that, just as in the United States, there is no evidence, from any Canadian jurisdiction, that voter fraud is a problem. St. Arnaud’s claim was bogus. Within a couple of days the director general of elections released data showing there was no flood of new registrations, and in some of the ridings named by the PQ, there were fewer registrations than in 2012. This is happening not just on a provincial level. It’s happening countrywide with Stephen Harper’s so-called Fair Elections Act — a proposed vote-suppression bill that has drawn fire from a nearly unanimous chorus of experts and editorialists, who say its zeal to crack down on so-called irregularities will make it harder for people to identify themselves and vote — again, an echo of Republican tactics farther south. In 2011, Harry Neufeld, a former Elections Canada executive and eight-year chief of Elections BC was commissioned by Elections Canada to write a report on election irregularities in the 2011 Canadian election. He found no substantive evidence of voter fraud. “I’ve never in my 33 years of election administration seen in Canada any level of systematic fraud by voters. What I have seen is that fewer and fewer and fewer people are voting,” Neufeld told the Vancouver Observer. The threat of voter fraud is illusory, yet the Canadian and Quebec governments are remorselessly peddling it for electoral advantage.
No surprisesIllinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin says he might not have voted for Neil Gorsuch in his 2006 confirmation to become a federal judge, even if the record might suggest he was passed by a unanimous voice vote.
"Good question," Durbin said. "I just don't remember, on voice votes you don't make much of a note about it. It is possible! I don't believe there was a lot of controversy surrounding it."
"I will meet with Judge Gorsuch and support a hearing and a vote for him — both of which were denied to an eminently qualified nominee presented by President Obama," Durbin said in a statement last night.
"The Congressional record shows you did vote in favor, it was a unanimous vote," host Willie Geist said.
Watch the full Morning Joe interview:"Nesson" redirects here. For the French poet, see Pierre de Nesson.
Charles Rothwell Nesson (born February 11, 1939) is the William F. Weld Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the founder of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society[1] and of the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society.[2] He is author of Evidence, with Murray and Green, and has participated in several cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including the landmark case Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals.[3]
In 1971, Nesson defended Daniel Ellsberg in the Pentagon Papers case.[1] He was co-counsel for the plaintiffs in the case against W. R. Grace and Company that was made into the book A Civil Action, which was, in turn, made into the film of the same name.[4] Nesson's nickname in the book, Billion-Dollar Charlie, was given to him by Mark Phillips, who worked with him on the W.R. Grace case.[5]
Nesson is currently "interested in advancing justice in Jamaica, the evolution of the Internet, as well as national drug policy."[6]
Early life and education [ edit ]
Nesson attended Harvard College as an undergraduate, studying mathematics. He took the law school boards junior year, earning a nearly perfect score, but he was initially rejected early admission from Harvard Law School for his grades.[5] After improving his grades, Nesson was accepted. Nesson surprised himself by achieving and retaining a ranking of first out of five hundred students.[5] He is rumored to have achieved the highest grade point average since Felix Frankfurter graduated in 1907.[5]
Nesson was a law clerk to Justice John Marshall Harlan II on the United States Supreme Court, 1965 term. He then worked as a special assistant in the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division under John Doar.[5] His first case, White v. Crook, made race-based and gender-based jury selection in Alabama unconstitutional. Nesson joined the Harvard Law School faculty in 1966, and was tenured three years later.[1] In 1998, he co-founded Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society.
Nesson at an iCommons meeting in Dubrovnik 2007
Current activities [ edit ]
He is currently leading a project to "reify university as a meta player in cyberspace", to advance restorative justice in Jamaica, and to legitimize and teach poker and the value of strategic poker thinking.[2] For the last one, he made an appearance on The Colbert Report. When Colbert joked that Nesson may have a gambling problem, he responded, "My gambling problem is that poker gets lumped in with gambling."[7]
In May 2008, he represented the founder of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and the publisher of High Times Magazine, who wished to challenge Massachusetts marijuana possession laws after they were arrested for smoking marijuana at the 2007 Boston Freedom Rally.[8] The defendants were found guilty and sentenced to a day in jail. Nesson planned, in the wake of the conviction, to appeal the verdict.[9]
In 2006, he taught CyberOne: Law in the Court of Public Opinion with Rebecca Nesson and Gene Koo.[10] He teaches courses in the law and practice of evidence, Trials in Second Life, where he is represented by his avatar "Eon",[11] and a reading group with Fern Nesson[12] on Freedom.[2] He also teaches a class on the American Jury.
Nesson continued to defend Joel Tenenbaum, who is accused of downloading and sharing 31 songs on Kazaa file-sharing network, after the jury came to a $675,000 verdict against Tenenbaum. Many of Nesson's less conventional actions, including an "almost obsessive desire for transparency and documentation", drew criticism. Nesson had encouraged his client to admit that he had downloaded and shared the 31 songs after he had denied it in depositions.[13]
In Jamaica, Nesson is pro bono counsel to the Westmoreland Hemp & Ganja Farmers Association (WHGFA).
Publications [ edit ]
Selected publications:[14]
Green, Nesson & Murray, Evidence (3rd ed. Aspen)
(3rd ed. Aspen) Constitutional Hearsay: Requiring Foundational Testing and Corroboration under the Confrontation Clause, 81 Va. L. Rev. 149 (1995), with Yochai Benkler
, 81 Va. L. Rev. 149 (1995), with Yochai Benkler Incentives to Spoliate Evidence in Civil Litigation: The Need for Vigorous Judicial Action, 13 Cardozo L. Rev. 793 (1991)
, 13 Cardozo L. Rev. 793 (1991) Agent Orange Meets the Blue Bus: Factfinding at the Frontier of Knowledge, 66 B.U.L. Rev. 521 (1986)
, 66 B.U.L. Rev. 521 (1986) The Evidence or the Event? On Judicial Proof and the Acceptability of Verdicts, 98 Harvard Law Review 1357 (1985)
, 98 Harvard Law Review 1357 (1985) Reasonable Doubt and Permissive Inferences: The Value of Complexity, 92 Harvard Law Review 1187 (1979)
Personal life [ edit ]
Following his tenure at Harvard, Nesson married Fern Leicher Nesson, one of his students, and bought a home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, near the Harvard campus where he has since lived. The Nessons have two daughters, Rebecca and Leila, and four grandchildren, Nico and Charlie, Sasha and Max and a dog affectionately called "Sweet Pea".[5]Pentagon officials say a discussion is ongoing about the possibility of granting US forces in the Philippine authority to conduct airstrikes against the nation’s ISIS affiliate, and that the announcement and naming of the new operation could happen within the next 24 hours.
ISIS affiliates have been active in the southern Philippines in recent months, seizing the city of Marawi and leading to a protracted battle with the Philippine military, which the US has been participating in in a limited role.
The US is always keen for deeper military involvement in the Philippines, especially as President Duterte was until very recently talking about his interest in getting the US military out of his country entirely. This could be just the pretext to get the US dug in even deeper.
Philippines military officials were quick to deny the reports, saying that the Pentagon hadn’t spoken to them about it at all. While that hardly disproves the US discussions, they did note the agreement with the US would only allow such airstrikes in the case of a foreign invasion.
Duterte had been courting ties with Russia and China, but now seems to be committed to the US, greeting Secretary of State Rex Tillerson by declaring himself to be America’s “humble friend in Southeast Asia.”
Last 5 posts by Jason DitzEuropean Central Bank President Mario Draghi didn't mince words last week. "Within our mandate, the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough," Draghi said at a conference in London.
Now the ECB is zeroing in on a strategy to fulfil that promise, Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on Thursday. According to the Munich-based daily, the ECB is planning to restart its program of buying bonds on secondary markets from struggling euro-zone member states in order to push down their borrowing costs. In addition, Draghi will reportedly propose that the permanent euro-zone rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), be allowed to buy sovereign bonds on the primary market once it goes into effect.
Draghi is expected to comment on the proposals on Thursday afternoon at a press conference following the ECB's monthly policy meeting. Concrete details of his plan, however, will likely have to wait. A final decision on whether to allow the ESM to buy sovereign bonds won't made before September when EU leaders gather.
Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen also hinted on Thursday that European leaders were moving forward on a plan to have the permanent rescue fund jump into the sovereign bond market. "We have to find a way to use the (ESM) more efficiently, for example by buying state bonds on the primary market," Katainen told the Italian paper Repubblica. "That would go straight at the problem, lowering spreads more strongly." He also said that such an idea has been under consideration for the past two years.
Pushing Down Interest Rates
The new proposals come in response to rising concern over the fate of the euro zone this summer. Spain in particular has European leaders worried, with the country's borrowing costs remaining stubbornly high despite a recent EU bailout of struggling Spanish banks. On Thursday, Madrid was able to successfully auction off just over 1 billion worth of 10-year bonds at a rate of 6.64 percent, close to the 7 percent limit that economists say is unsustainable in the long term.
According to the Süddeutsche, Draghi envisions the ECB and ESM working together, with the ECB moving to buy up bonds on the secondary market prior to auctions to push down interest rates. The ESM would then buy on the primary market as needed to further lower or stabilize the rates. The plan has the advantage of limiting ESM expenditures as much as possible, which is important because the fund will only achieve its envisioned 700 billion volume over time. The temporary fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), only has 148 billion in funding left.
Draghi, of course, has little choice but to provide further details about how exactly the ECB plans to respond to the worsening crisis. His pledge last week has raised expectations, and if he fails to deliver, market response could be painful.
Still, his bond-buying plan is far from uncontroversial. For one, some have criticized that it comes perilously close to providing countries the kind of direct aid that the ECB is prohibited from granting. As such, bond-purchasing programs could ultimately endanger the ECB's independence, say critics.
Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, has been particularly wary of the bond-buying program, which has already resulted in 211 billion worth of shaky bonds on the ECB's books. Bundesbank head Jens Weidmann is concerned that the program rewards countries without requiring them to take any consolidation measures in return.
German Opposition
Draghi's plan could also put German Chancellor Angela Merkel in an uncomfortable position. Many conservative politicians in the country are opposed to aid that does not come paired with either additional austerity measures from the countries in need or further steps toward greater EU oversight of both national budgets and Europe's banking system. Already faced with signs that the euro crisis is weakening her government, the chancellor is not likely to be interested in angering coalition lawmakers further.
Indeed, several parliamentarians from her center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) on Thursday criticized the plan. Wolfgang Bosbach, a notorious skeptic of efforts to save the euro, said that "the problem is constantly climbing sovereign debt" in an interview with German public broadcaster ARD. "If we take away the pressure provided by high interest rates, then the willingness to make needed reforms disappears as well," he added.
Hans Michelbach, the senior conservative member of German parliament's Finance Committee, demanded in an interview with the financial daily Handelsblatt that the ECB be explicitly banned from buying sovereign bonds on the secondary market. "The central bank under the leadership of Mario Draghi has pursued increasingly adventuresome contortions to get around the prohibition against state financing," he told the paper.
Alexander Dobrindt, general secretary of the Christian Social Union, Bavarian sister party to Merkel's CDU, likewise criticized Draghi's idea. "If the ECB buys sovereign bonds, it would be akin to state financing through the back door. The ECB would be leaving the path of monetary stability," he told the mass-circulation daily Bild.
The influential tabloid also launched a campaign of its own to convince Draghi not to pursue his bond-purchasing plans. Earlier this year, the paper gave the ECB president a Prussian spiked helmet from 1871 to encourage him to impose Prussian-style discipline on the central bank. In an article on Thursday, however, the paper wrote: "Even more ECB billions for indebted countries? Then Bild wants its helmet back!"Michael Jackson almost played Jar Jar Binks — one of cinema’s most hated characters of all time — according to Ahmed Best, the actor who played the clumsy, arguably racist “Star Wars” creature.
The King of Pop apparently expressed an interest in playing the character using prosthetics and makeup, but George Lucas rejected the notion, Ahmed told Vice in a recent interview.
According to Best, he met Jackson backstage at a London concert, which he attended with Natalie Portman and Lucas. “George introduced me as ‘Jar Jar,’ and I was like, ‘That’s kind of weird,'” the actor said. Jackson drove off and the rest went to an after-party. “I’m having a drink with George, and I said, ‘Why did you introduce me as Jar Jar?’ He said, ‘Well, Michael wanted to do the part but he wanted to do it in prosthetics and makeup like ‘Thriller.'”
Lucas decided to make Binks entirely computer generated, and ultimately went with the previously unknown Best for the role. “My guess is ultimately Michael Jackson would have been bigger than the movie,” Best said, “and I don’t think he wanted that.”
Although Jackson’s would-be performance is sadly left to the imagination, Lucas may have saved the performer from embarrassment. In 2006 Binks topped a list of “most irksome” characters in movie history, and is generally despised by fans.
Still, Best has accepted the criticism of his character, and has come to terms with the public’s reception. “At the end of the day, it is the movie business, and if the character doesn’t work for the people who watch the movie then the character doesn’t work,” he told Vice. “I can’t take that personally.” Since portraying the floppy-eared Gungan, Best studied at the American Film Institute producer’s program and has gone on to dabble in writing, directing and producing in addition to acting.
Best also mentioned that Jackson was interested in the part in a Reddit AMA he did last year. “Michael Jackson really wanted to do it but George picked me,” he said. “Marinate on that one. I still am.”Just like in the original movie series, “Star Trek Beyond,” the third film in the rebooted “Star Trek” movie franchise, will have for a plotline the five-year intrepid space mission to be led by Captain James Kirk, played by Chris Pine, onboard the USS Enterprise.
Despite being a big movie, there was previously very little information regarding “Star Trek Beyond” except with the fact that filming has already wrapped up late last year.
The movie already has a July 22, 2016 playdate on worldwide theaters but the details of the film and its plotline were still shrouded then in as much secrecy as Paramount can manage.
However, there a number of photos and videos from the movie that still leaked to the internet featuring extras and the main cast actors on the movie’s outdoor sets.
There are also sanctioned leaks of late from actors Zoe Saldana, who plays Uhura, and Zachary Quinto, who plays Spock, via their social media accounts, sharing photos from the set in an effort to drumbeat and hype up fan excitement for the third movie of the rebooted franchise.
Paramount has likewise released the first official trailer for “Star Trek Beyond” and fans were finally able to get their first look at some actual footage from the film, which shall incidentally mark the 50th anniversary of the original TV show’s debut way back in 1966, details the Cheat Sheet.
The intrepid space mission
Based on the trailer of “Star Trek Beyond,” the plot of the film is going to focus on the five-year mission, and if the film reboot is going to be faithful to the original movie, Captain Kirk, Spock, and the USS Enterprise team will head out in order to explore the final frontier that is space.
In fact, Captain Kirk described the goal of the space mission in the original film series through the now famous quote that says to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no man has gone before.
In an interview sometime last year, Zachary Quinto revealed about the five-year space mission being the plot for “Star Trek Beyond.” However, he did mention that there will be some sense of evolution in the characters which was being built through during the first few films.
The inclusion of Idris Elba in the movie also made it big in the rumor mills last year. The actor was reported to play the role of the villain Klingon.
Eventually, Director Justin Lin confirmed that Idris Elba will play a villain in “Star Trek Beyond,” but he will not be taking the role of Klingon. Instead, he will play a reptilian alien named Krall. In the official trailer for the movie, Elba was quoted as saying to Captain Kirk that this is where it begins and that this is where the frontier pushes back.
Not just a Kirk and Spock movie
While the first two films in the rebooted “Star Trek” series featured mostly Captain Kirk and Spock as the lead protagonists, the upcoming third film will also put to the spotlight the other popular characters from the original film franchise.
Reports have it that Spock will be turning his attention to Dr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy, played by Karl Urban, instead of Captain Kirk.
In the original series, Bones seems to have a closer relationship with Kirk as the two first met while boarding the shuttle for Starfleet academy. But in the upcoming “Star Trek Beyond,” it would be a nice change of pace for both Spock and Bones as one is blunt and calculating while the other is more emotionally-driven, details Cinema Blend.
“Star Trek Beyond” is to be the 13th film in the American science-fiction action film franchise since it began in 1966.
Interestingly, this year marks the 50th Anniversary of “Star Trek” and “Star Trek Beyond” will actually underpin that important milestone in the history of the franchise, confirms Simon Pegg, who plays Scotty in the “Star Trek” reboot.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter7 dead after plane catches fire, crashes on takeoff from Hanscom Field
A private plane with seven people aboard crashed and erupted into flames Saturday night as it was leaving Hanscom Field.Authorities said all seven people on board were killed. Their names were not immediately released.Photos: Rescue crews at crash sceneAccording to the FAA, the Gulfstream IV aircraft apparently ran off Runway 11 at Hanscom Field in Bedford at 9:40 p.m. The aircraft was departing and caught fire.Officials said the private aircraft was heading to Atlantic City, N.J. Nearby residents recounted seeing a fireball and feeling the blast of the explosion shake their homes.The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating and will determine the cause of the accident, said Jim Peters, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.Hanscom Air Base is used by the military and for general aviation and charter service.
A private plane with seven people aboard crashed and erupted into flames Saturday night as it was leaving Hanscom Field.
Authorities said all seven people on board were killed. Their names were not immediately released.
Advertisement Related Content Photos: 7 killed in corporate jet crash at Hanscom
Photos: Rescue crews at crash scene
According to the FAA, the Gulfstream IV aircraft apparently ran off Runway 11 at Hanscom Field in Bedford at 9:40 p.m. The aircraft was departing and caught fire.
Officials said the private aircraft was heading to Atlantic City, N.J.
Nearby residents recounted seeing a fireball and feeling the blast of the explosion shake their homes.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating and will determine the cause of the accident, said Jim Peters, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Hanscom Air Base is used by the military and for general aviation and charter service.
AlertMeOn the corner of Legion and Franklin streets in downtown Olympia, a building is coming to life. With 19 upper-story lofts and Thurston First Bank moving into the 26,000-square-foot space, one more business makes this trifecta complete: Three Magnets Brewing Co.
Owned by Sara and Nathan Reilly, who also own Darby's Cafe, a successful breakfast/brunch/Bloody Mary spot on Fifth Avenue in downtown Olympia, Three Magnets will be an extension of three things they love: beer, soccer and community.
The concept for the brewpub will include plenty of outdoor seating (gas fire pits anyone?) a family friendly vibe, up to 12 rotating beers on tap, a pub-version of a surf-and-turf menu and a 90-inch TV for catching all the Sounders' games.
"We're excited to make relationships and collaborate," said Sara. "I think everyone in Olympia wants Olympia to be known for beer again. And we are beyond supportive; we'd like to see this become a destination."
>>> Three Magnets Brewing Co. is currently under construction. Photo credit: Pappi Swarner
So what's behind the name Three Magnets?
Inspired by the garden city approach to urban planning, Three Magnets Brewing feeds off the book Garden Cities of To-Morrow, written by Ebenezer Howard in 1898. Howard's diagram of the concept of town, country and town-country, which asks the question, ‘Where will people go?' contains three magnets to represent the areas of residences, industry and agriculture.
"Essentially, the third magnet, town-country, is proportionate parts of all," explained Nathan, "and what Olympia strives to be."
Plus, said Sara, the symbol of the horseshoe is a nod to Olympia's beer history.
>>> Nathan Reilly double checks details with the contractor. Photo credit: Pappi Swarner
For the Reillys, the third magnet is represented in their relationship with many local farms, specifically Helsing Junction, where they picked up one of their brewers, Pat Jansen, whose creativity with hops, yeasts and brewing is exactly what Three Magnets desires.
One signature beer will be Helsing Junction Farmhouse Saison, with different botanicals from the farm in each batch. For example, they hope to start with fennel pollen. The other brewer is Jeff Stokes, who hails from Olympia businesses Gravity Beer Market and Skip and Skein.
Other unique qualities of the brew side of things are the offering of session beers that contain no higher than 5 percent ABV, featuring a balance between malt and hops and, typically, a clean finish for drinkability. In addition to an ABV board, the temperature of the beers will be listed, too.
"We think that's the direction micro brew is going," said Nathan. "In the '90s, there were staples... but now, people want something new. Our idea is to have constantly rotating taps and a few flagship beers for those that don't like change."
And to continue with the vision of unique and local, the kitchen side will pump out casual versions of surf-and-turf: housemade burgers and in-house cured fishes, for example. Condiments will be made in-house as well, and a kid's menu will be featured.
"We want to do what we did for breakfasts for brewpubs," Nathan said.
The Reillys hope for a soft opening in July.
THREE MAGNETS BREWING CO., 600 Franklin St. SE, Suite 102, OlympiaIn its second set of mass-casualty drone strikes this month, the Pentagon has killed roughly 200 people in Yemen and Somalia.
On Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook confirmed that the US military had bombed a "training camp" used by "more than 70 AQAP [al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula] terrorists."
"We continue to assess the results of the operation, but our initial assessment is that dozens of AQAP fighters have been removed from the battlefield," the spokesman said in a statement.
The Pentagon has not revealed the specific location of the camp and has not released details on possible civilian deaths.
According to local Yemeni medics and officials, at least 50 were killed and another 30 wounded.
"The planes struck as al-Qaeda people stood in line to receive their dinner meal," said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
This is the second mass-casualty airstrike conducted by the US military this month. On March 5, the Pentagon killed an estimated 150 people, targeting an al-Shabaab training camp in Somalia.
"We know they were going to be departing the camp and that they posed an imminent threat to US and to Amisom, African Union mission in Somalia forces, that are in Somalia," a Pentagon spokesman said at the time.
"Their removal will degrade al-Shabaab’s ability to meet the group’s objectives in Somalia, which include recruiting new members, establishing bases and planning attacks on US and Amisom forces there."
© REUTERS / Kevin Lamarque Obama Administration Fails to Establish 'Sensible' US Drone Policy - Stimson Center
The spokesman assured reporters that there were no civilian casualties.
The strikes are the latest example of the Obama administration's reliance on drone warfare. The program’s lack of transparency has been heavily criticized by rights groups.
"Little progress has been made during the past year and a half to enact reforms that establish a more sensible US drone policy consistent with America’s long-term security and economic interests," reads a report from US think tank Stimson Center.
"The lack of a clear drone policy risks leaving a legacy on drone use that is based on secrecy and a lack of accountability that undermines efforts to support the international rule of law."
While the Pentagon downplays civilians deaths, data collected by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism shows that US drone strikes have killed roughly 1,000 civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen over the past 10 years.It's been nearly three years since many Tampa-area businesses took part in a trade mission to Colombia. Occurring just months after the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement was put in motion, the trip was designed to foster fruitful new relationships with the South American country.Looking back, experts say the initiative was a clear success."We did about $7.3 million in expected sales from that trade mission," says Lorrie Belovich, director of international business development for the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corporation. "We have a lot of strong ties to Colombia; it's actually the number two top trading partner with Florida."Colombia is a particularly attractive market for the Tampa Bay region for a number of reasons. According to Belovich, Bogota has put a lot of money into infrastructure and development. The city is also shedding the inaccurate image of being dangerous and economically turbulent."It's just a very safe, major city, and exporters looking at Colombia are very pleasantly surprised by what's going on on the ground over there," she says.Belovich adds that Tampa Bay's top export sectors to Colombia include IT, food processing, automotive and more. On the whole, the Latin American country also thrives on renewable energy and infrastructure investments.What else is driving local companies to explore Colombia?Three Tampa business owners share why they're investing in this relationship. Absolute Mobile Solutions is no stranger to sustaining international relationships -- the Tampa-based digital marketing agency also has offices in Germany and Romania. Setting up shop in Colombia has been in the works for some time."[Bogota] is emerging as a tech hub for all of Latin America, and we saw that once we were down there," says Alfred Goldberg, president of Absolute Mobile Solutions. "Latin America is going to be the next big market for mobile technology. I believe Brazil is already the fifth-largest mobile market in the world - that' s bigger than India."During his participation in the Colombian trade mission back in 2012, Goldberg realized the importance of establishing a viable presence there. Opening an office and hiring additional staff would give them the opportunity to grow a local reputation and, in turn, snag some local business. But as Goldberg notes, these kinds of new relationships take time to flourish (especially in Latin America)."Our biggest concern is with the increase in recognition of what they have there in Bogota," Goldberg adds. "Will it be difficult to acquire talent? Because that would be our primary reason for opening an office."Either way, he says that Colombia represents a very attractive emerging tech market.When Peter Tracey, CEO of Micon Packaging, saw a unique opportunity to create a business relationship with Colombia, he jumped on it.It began with a Colombian operation that exports flowers from Bogota to Miami. From there, the flowers are shipped out to several Florida-based satellite operations. The downside? The two jumbo jets the company used were then deadheading back to Colombia with no cargo. After introductions were made, they identified an area of opportunity.What if the jets returned to Colombia with some of Micon Packaging's corrugated flower boxes? Tracey says they've done some preliminary shipments and it seems to have improved the concept. They're currently working on refining the program and securing regular ties to Colombia. He adds that Micon, which has been operating in Tampa since 1978, may also be able to fix a unique problem for the flower supplier."When they ship the flowers in boxes, they're shipped with water, and that keeps the roses properly hydrated for the shipment," says Tracey. "But they've had a lot of problems over the years with water spilling out."When this happens, water can saturate the cardboard boxes, which can actually cause a whole pallet to fall over in transit. It's an expensive problem that Tracey might be able to solve. He's currently developing boxes that prevent moisture absorption while still preserving the roses.If all goes well, the new relationship will be a mutually beneficial one.Tampa law firm Holland & Knight, which sponsored the 2012 trade mission, has a long history of business dealings with South America. In 2012, they officially opened a practice in Bogota, which represents both Colombian companies that have international legal needs, as well as non-Colombian businesses interested in entering the Colombian market."Because of the growing market there in general, the free trade agreement, and the fact that the attitude of the government there is very positive toward foreign investment, it all led us to come to the conclusion that we should set up an office there," says Bob Grammig, a partner in Holland & Knight's Tampa office and leader of the firm's Public Companies and Securities Practice."We already had a significant level of clients, and we had Colombian lawyers that worked for us, so it was a happy set of coincidences that let us go in there -- and we've had a lot of luck in Colombia," he adds.The firm's Colombian presence helps U.S. businesses that are just entering the Colombian market to navigate the unfamiliar waters. Grammig says that approaching a big infrastructure project in Colombia actually isn't all that different from seeing a similar project through in the United States."If you tried to do something across the Everglades, for example, you'd have a lot of issues that would have to be dealt with," he says. "Except in the U.S., you generally know who to approach and what agencies to go to and all that sort of thing. In Colombia, you have to have somebody who knows the ropes on the ground."Grammig adds that Peru is another expanding Latin American market with great trade potential for Tampa."One of the things people forget is that we are the closest port to both Colombia and Peru in the U.S.," says Grammig. "There's a great deal of potential for additional jobs and economic activity with both those countries."In recent years, there has been a lot of enthusiasm for how cryptocurrencies will create new platforms, markets, and economies. But what will the future of commerce and, indeed, the world look like? A vital question, and one that really hasn’t been answered.
advertisement
advertisement
Right now, the playing field is a virtual Wild West. The developers behind Bitcoin and Ethereum believe their respective creations can be the platform for everything, and their most vocal chorus of fanboys are crypto-enthusiasts and venture capitalists. But MIT’s Media Lab and the Digital Currency Initiative, in partnership with various other departments, is hoping to change the dialogue, bringing a more balanced approach to imagining the future of commerce. The Media Lab is now offering two courses. The Future of Commerce (MAS.S63) will explore how blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum disrupt existing markets and financial services, and allow graduate students to build new business models, products, or technical concepts. More specifically, students will be taught to imagine the future of money, markets, transactions, and marketplaces, and issues like commerce, security, and privacy. The other course, Blockchain Technologies (MAS.S65), is a deep technical dive into the blockchain technology behind Bitcoin and other digital currencies. The focus will be on how to scale projects on the blockchain while keeping them secure and private. Students will also learn how to design applications on the blockchain; a great idea since this type of technology can sound rather esoteric—though perhaps not to MIT students. David Shrier, the Managing director of MIT Connection Science and one of the creators of the program, tells Fast Company the two courses are complementary. “[Future of Commerce] will help build a company or product/service and [Blockchain Technologies] provides strong technical capabilities around the blockchain,” he says. “Your CTO might take both. Your CEO (unless technical) would probably take the Future of Commerce.” MIT’s David Shrier Origin Story Shrier says that a number of different strands converged in the formation of the courses. For years, the Media Lab had researched not just blockchains and digital currencies, but the future of commerce: predicting markets, harnessing crowds, tuning networks of financial traders to financial policies, and how people could reliably and securely take a currency out of a central ledger (i.e., a central bank). With the Bitcoin blockchain, the last point was suddenly a reality—a decentralized currency that simply exists “out there in the cloud,” as Shrier put it. The creation of the Digital Currency Initiative within the Media Lab, in collaboration with Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and MIT Sloan School of Management, also played a part. Add to this a considerable amount of student interest and the emergence and maturation of peer-to-peer networks, and a course on the blockchain became a no-brainer for the Media Lab.
advertisement
“We want to try and bring all of these things together under one roof, and help inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs,” says Shrier. “We hope to attract MBAs, engineers, designers, and community leader-oriented individuals who are all interested in innovating commerce. The idea is to build multi-disciplinary teams that will work in different problems and hopefully come up with some solutions.” So, what will set the future digital currency CEO apart from more traditional CEO of the 20th and early 21st century? Brian Forde, director of MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative, wagers that the “Bitcoin CEO” will be similar to a CEO of a company that already uses emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, the sharing economy, and so on. Forde, the former White House advisor for Mobile & Data Innovation, says the reason for this is that there is no specific plan that can serve as a model for future blockchain-based companies. “You’re breaking existing business models because you have access to new, colorful technologies that haven’t previously been created,” Forde says. “You can’t just read a Harvard Business Review case study to look at past examples because you’re going to be breaking new ground. So, you’ll have to be thoughtful about the implications of what you’re doing and what you can’t see around the corner.” Infinite Space Forde draws a parallel between the blockchain and the creation of a “relatively infinite amount of storage” online for very low cost. At one point, no one could have imagined it. Now we have platforms like YouTube, Dropbox, and others. Similarly, Forde says that no one could have imagined the transaction infrastructure of a bank or credit card company, and now we have that in the form of the blockchain. This gives startup entrepreneurs access to an infrastructure that can scale to a similar size without the cost of building bank infrastructure to process transactions. What happens when the the cost of that infrastructure goes to near zero, and new business models emerge out of this? That’s the question Forde and Shrier hope to answer in the Future of Commerce course by sparking student imagination. Not surprisingly, that imagination will have to be tuned to various frequencies. Indeed, the future Bitcoin CEO will have to understand cryptography, data, privacy, computer science, economics, monetary policy, design, and various other topics.
advertisement
Director of MIT’s Digital Currency Initiative Brian Forde “The toolkit is going to have be pretty big,” Forde says. “No one’s a jack |
, anonymous false), including the entry (timestamp 3, anonymous true). When it scanned that middle entry, Mongo saw it pointed to an anonymous comment and skipped it, without inspecting the document itself. Thus the incognito comment is charged against nscanned but not against nscannedObjects, and nscannedObjects is only 2.
Can I improve this plan? Can I get nscanned down to 2, also? You probably know this: the order I declared the fields in my compound index was wrong. It shouldn’t be “timestamp, anonymous” but “anonymous, timestamp”:
> db.comments.createIndex( { anonymous :1, timestamp :1 } ) > db.comments.find(... { timestamp : { $gte : 2, $lte : 4 }, anonymous : false }... ).explain() { "cursor" : "BtreeCursor anonymous_1_timestamp_1", "n" : 2, "nscannedObjects" : 2, "nscanned" : 2, "scanAndOrder" : false }
Order matters in MongoDB compound indexes, as with any database. If I make an index with “anonymous” first, Mongo can jump straight to the section of the index with signed comments, then do a range-scan from timestamp 2 to 4.
So I’ve shown the first part of my heuristic: equality tests before range filters!
Let’s consider whether including “anonymous” in the index was worth it. In a system with millions of comments and millions of queries per day, reducing nscanned might seriously improve throughput. Plus, if the anonymous section of the index is rarely used, it can be paged out to disk and make room for hotter sections. On the other hand, a two-field index is larger than a one-field index and takes more RAM, so the win could be outweighed by the costs. Most likely, the compound index is a win if a significant proportion of comments are anonymous, otherwise not.
Digression: How MongoDB Chooses An Index
Let’s not skip an interesting question. In the previous example I first created an index on “timestamp”, then on “timestamp, anonymous”, and finally on “anonymous, timestamp”. Mongo chose the final, superior index for my query. How?
MongoDB’s optimizer chooses an index for a query in two phases. First it looks for a prima facie “optimal index” for the query. Second, if no such index exists it runs an experiment to see which index actually performs best. The optimizer remembers its choice for all similar queries. (Until a thousand documents are modified or an index is added or removed.)
What does the optimizer consider an “optimal index” for a query? The optimal index must include all the query’s filtered fields and sort fields. Additionally, any range-filtered or sort fields in the query must come after equality fields. (If there are multiple optimal indexes, Mongo chooses one arbitrarily.) In my example, the “anonymous, timestamp” index is clearly optimal, so MongoDB chooses it immediately.
This isn’t a terrifically exciting explanation, so I’ll describe how the second phase would work. When the optimizer needs to choose an index and none is obviously optimal, it gathers all the indexes relevant to the query and pits them against each other in a race to see who finishes, or finds 101 documents, first.
Here’s my query again:
db.comments.find({ timestamp : { $gte : 2, $lte : 4 }, anonymous : false })
All three indexes are relevant, so MongoDB lines them up in an arbitrary order and advances each index one entry in turn:
(I omitted the ratings for brevity; I’m just showing the documents’ timestamps and anonymosity.)
All the indexes return
{ timestamp : 2, anonymous : false, rating : 5 }
first. On the second pass through the indexes, the left and middle return
{ timestamp : 3, anonymous : true, rating : 1 }
which isn’t a match, and our champion index on the right returns
{ timestamp : 4, anonymous : false, rating : 2 }
which is a match. Now the index on the right is finished before the others, so it’s declared the winner and used until the next race.
In short: if there are several useful indexes, MongoDB chooses the one that gives the lowest nscanned.
Update: Betlista reminded me in the comments that you can do explain({ verbose: true }) to get all the plans Mongo tried. In this example, there are three relevant indexes, but the verbose explain will only show one plan, because one index is an “optimal index.”
Equality, Range Query, And Sort
Now I have the perfect index to find signed comments with timestamps between 2 and 4. The last step is to sort them, top-rated first:
> db.comments.find(... { timestamp : { $gte : 2, $lte : 4 }, anonymous : false }... ).sort( { rating : -1 } ).explain() { "cursor" : "BtreeCursor anonymous_1_timestamp_1", "n" : 2, "nscannedObjects" : 2, "nscanned" : 2, "scanAndOrder" : true }
This is the same access plan as before, and it’s still good: nscanned = nscannedObjects = n. But now “scanAndOrder” is true. This means MongoDB had to batch up all the results in memory, sort them, and then return them. Infelicities abound. First, it costs RAM and CPU on the server. Also, instead of streaming my results in batches, Mongo just dumps them all onto the network at once, taxing the RAM on my app servers. And finally, Mongo enforces a 32MB limit on data it will sort in memory. We’re only dealing with four comments now, but we’re designing a system to handle millions!
How can I avoid scanAndOrder? I want an index where Mongo can jump to the non-anonymous section, and scan that section in order from top-rated to bottom-rated:
> db.comments.createIndex( { anonymous : 1, rating : 1 } )
Will Mongo use this index? No, because it doesn’t win the race to the lowest nscanned. The optimizer does not consider whether the index helps with sorting.
I’ll use a hint to force Mongo’s choice:
> db.comments.find( … { timestamp : { $gte : 2, $lte : 4 }, anonymous : false } … ).sort( { rating : -1 } … ).hint( { anonymous : 1, rating : 1 } ).explain() { "cursor" : "BtreeCursor anonymous_1_rating_1 reverse", "n" : 2, "nscannedObjects" : 3, "nscanned" : 3, "scanAndOrder" : false }
The argument to hint is the same as createIndex. Now nscanned has risen to 3 but scanAndOrder is false. Mongo walks through the “anonymous, rating” index in reverse, getting comments in the correct order, and then checks each document to see if its timestamp is in range.
This is why the optimizer won’t choose this index, but prefers to go with the old “anonymous, timestamp” index which requires an in-memory sort but has a lower nscanned.
So I’ve solved the scanAndOrder problem, at the cost of a higher nscanned. I can’t reduce nscanned, but can I reduce nscannedObjects? I’ll put the timestamp in the index so Mongo doesn’t have to get it from each document:
> db.comments.createIndex( { anonymous : 1, rating : 1, timestamp : 1 } )
Again, the optimizer won’t prefer this index so I have to force it:
> db.comments.find(... { timestamp : { $gte : 2, $lte : 4 }, anonymous : false }... ).sort( { rating : -1 }... ).hint( { anonymous : 1, rating : 1, timestamp : 1 } ).explain() { "cursor" : "BtreeCursor anonymous_1_rating_1_timestamp_1 reverse", "n" : 2, "nscannedObjects" : 2, "nscanned" : 3, "scanAndOrder" : false, }
This is as good as it gets. Mongo follows a similar plan as before, moonwalking across the “anonymous, rating, timestamp” index so it finds comments in the right order. But now, nscannedObjects is only 2, because Mongo can tell from the index entry alone that the comment with timestamp 1 isn’t a match.
If my range filter on timestamp is selective, adding timestamp to the index is worthwhile; if it’s not selective then the additional size of the index won’t be worth the price.
Final Method
So here’s my method for creating a compound index for a query combining equality tests, sort fields, and range filters:
Equality Tests Add all equality-tested fields to the compound index, in any order Sort Fields (ascending / descending only matters if there are multiple sort fields) Add sort fields to the index in the same order and direction as your query’s sort Range Filters First, add the range filter for the field with the lowest cardinality (fewest distinct values in the collection)
Then the next lowest-cardinality range filter, and so on to the highest-cardinality
You can omit some equality-test fields or range-filter fields if they are not selective, to decrease the index size—a rule of thumb is, if the field doesn’t filter out at least 90% of the possible documents in your collection, it’s probably better to omit it from the index. Remember that if you have several indexes on a collection, you may need to hint Mongo to use the right index.
That’s it! For complex queries on several fields, there’s a heap of possible indexes to consider. If you use this method you’ll narrow your choices radically and go straight to a good index.Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.
A Pro-Hezbollah website on Monday quoted Lebanon’s parliament speaker as denouncing an Israeli warplane’s breaking the sound barrier a day earlier as “a direct threat.”
The Al-Akhbar site said that Speaker Nabih Berri additionally called the loud flyover, which damaged some buildings in the Sidon area of southern Lebanon, “a message directed at us, meaning that we [Israel] is aware of what you [Lebanon] has been able to accomplish, but we have not forgotten you. We are here all the time.”
The IDF is currently holding its largest drill in close to 20 years, with tens of thousands of soldiers from all branches of the army simulating a war with Hezbollah.Lebanese security sources and residents said Israeli jets flew low over the city of Saida on Sunday, causing sonic booms that broke windows and shook buildings, for the first time in years. The IDF had no comment.In addition to the dozens of ground troops brigades, the army’s cyber units, the navy and air force are also taking part in the drill. The air force will be practicing bombing runs and close air support, as well as supplying troops in the field with intelligence.According to the IDF, the drill is unique and unprecedented in scope and will enable the army to maintain a high level of readiness in an ever-changing region.Al-Akhbar also quoted Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general, Sheikh Naim Qassem, as saying the maneuvers were not viewed by the group as “preparation for war, but we are ready for any war.”IDF assessments state that while it is unlikely that Hezbollah would attack Israel in the near future, the northern border remains the most explosive, and both sides have warned that the next conflict between the two would be devastating.In August, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who also belongs to the security cabinet, cautioned that all of Lebanon would be hit if Hezbollah were to shoot at Israel.Hezbollah says future Israel war could draw more fighters than in 2006 (credit: REUTERS)“Israel’s interest is to prevent another confrontation in Lebanon, and so our new strategy is simple: Lebanon equals Hezbollah, Hezbollah equals Lebanon,” Bennett said. “Unlike the Second Lebanon War, this time we won’t differentiate between the organization and the State of Lebanon. This means any attack by Hezbollah will cause destruction throughout Lebanon and its institutions.”A brigade commander in the Artillery Corps taking part in the exercise told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that although the Lebanese Armed Forces is not Israel’s “main enemy,” as long as it is connected to Hezbollah, the IDF is prepared to deal with it.“The IDF knows all targets and positions of the Lebanese Army,” he told the Post close to the border area with Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. “The army is prepared to fight the Lebanese Army as an enemy.”In August the Lebanese Army carried out an offensive against Islamic State forces on its northeast border with Syria near the town of Ras Baalbek, while Hezbollah assaulted them from the Qalamoun region of the Syrian side.While the Lebanese Army said that it was not coordinating with Syria or Hezbollah, according to the Al-Akhbar report Qassem stated that “it is true that there is no joint operations room with the army, but coordination has achieved what needs to be achieved in the war against terrorism.”In 2006 Israel fought against Hezbollah in the 34-day Second Lebanon War. Since then, hostilities have been limited to occasional firing across the border and air strikes by Israel against Hezbollah leaders and military equipment in Syria, where the group is fighting in support of President Bashar Assad.Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said he would file a complaint to the United Nations against Israel for violating the country’s airspace on Sunday.“We have started preparing to file a complaint to the Security Council against Israel for flying its planes at low altitude... causing material, moral and sovereign damage,” Bassil said in a tweet.Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said Lebanon would issue its complaint “against Israel for planting spy devices on Lebanese land and continuously breaching” its airspace, his office said.Israeli warplanes regularly enter Lebanon’s airspace, the Lebanese Army says, but rarely fly so low.Reuters contributed to this report.
Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>>Wonder Woman: Humanity is pretty rotten, but the Germans are the worst of the lot
By David Walsh
13 June 2017
“I recently attended a showing of Wonder Woman exclusively for women and women-identifying viewers … While there was a man in attendance who began to ruin the experience for me and those around me, the hurt feelings got lost once the movie started. We were in this together, and we all united over our shared excitement for this amazing female-led and -directed superhero movie that means so much to us for so many reasons” (Carrie Wittmer, Business Insider).
“Wonder Woman offers what no other superhero can: an essentially female-power fantasy. Close your eyes and imagine an island with achingly gorgeous vistas in which a diverse group of intelligent, strong women have created an immensely more advanced society. No men. No sexism. No capitalist burden to perform that leaves women, especially women of color, vulnerable” (Angelica Jade Bastién, Slate).
These comments were presumably written by adults.
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins, is a trite, often tedious, special effects-laden film based on a comic book. The story involves an Amazonian princess/demigoddess who makes her way, in the company of an American Allied spy, from her island paradise to Europe and the Western Front toward the end of the First World War.
Appalled by German brutality, Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) intervenes on the side of the Allies and prevents the dastardly “Huns”—and a fascistic Gen. Erich Ludendorff (Danny Houston) in particular—from developing a new and devastating weapon. In the course of things, she also has to take on and defeat her half-brother, Ares, the god of war, who is bent on destroying the human race.
Wonder Woman passes along a considerable amount of undigested American and British World War I disinformation. A portion of the film takes place in Belgium and it echoes the official Allied claims of the time about German aggression against “poor little Belgium.” Terrified survivors in a small town tell Diana and her American colleague, Capt. Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), that the Germans have “enslaved” their fellow villagers. Ludendorff and the German forces subsequently murder the remaining townspeople with a new, deadly poison gas.
In short, the film is not antiwar, it is anti-German. The Americans and British, for the most part, are high-minded and peace loving, although they end up massacring more Germans than the latter do Americans and British. Capt. Trevor says he wants to “stop the war,” but, in fact, he wants to win it for his side. And “his side” is identified with normalcy and civilization. Wonder Woman’s supposed contributions to “peace,” including “liberating” the Belgian village by almost single-handedly wiping out a German battalion, are contributions entirely to the Allied cause. She says, “I will fight, for those who can not fight for themselves,” but, in fact, she fights on behalf of the British ruling elite and its interests.
Piercing through a lot of the nonsense and bombast, this is pretty crude nationalist and pro-war propaganda. Does the sudden reemergence of Germany (and not the Nazi regime) as the bestial, sadistic enemy have an ideological significance in the given climate of increased tensions between the US and Europe? Only time will tell.
The dialog and characterizations here are banal and perfunctory in the extreme. If they are less banal and perfunctory than the dialog and characterizations in other comic book films, and this is one of the chief arguments being made in Wonder Woman’s favor, that seems like faint praise.
Chris Pine and Gal Gadot
The relationship between Diana and Capt. Trevor is as lifelike and convincing as one might expect, given the circumstances: a mythological creature and a heroic, self-sacrificing American fighter taking on the forces of darkness in wartime Europe, in the peculiar company of a heavy-drinking Scottish former sharpshooter (Ewen Bremner), a French-Moroccan con artist (Saïd Taghmaoui) and a Native American smuggler (Eugene Brave Rock). This is the level of the dialog:
Diana Prince: You’re a man...
Steve Trevor: Yeah... I mean... do I not look like one?
* * * * *
Steve Trevor: Have you never met a man before? What about your father?
Diana Prince: I had no father. My mother sculpted me from clay and I was brought to life by Zeus.
Steve Trevor: Well that’s neat.
* * * * *
Steve Trevor: [to Diana] I can save today. You can save the world.
Diana sums up the film’s wisdom at the end: “I used to want to save the world, to end war and bring peace to mankind. But then I glimpsed the darkness that lives within their light. I learnt that inside every one of them there will always be both. The choice each must make for themselves—something no hero will ever defeat. And now I know... that only love can truly save the world. So now I stay, I fight and I give—for the world I know can be. This is my mission now, for ever.”
Insofar as one takes this last bit at all seriously, it is reactionary twaddle.
The actors are not to blame, but there is nothing much to be said about them. But what is British actor David Thewlis, who has appeared in serious films such as Mike Leigh’s Naked (1993), doing here flying around in Ares’ giant-warrior armor?
The comments cited at the top of this article are typical of the overheated praise for and excitement surrounding Wonder Woman.
In certain (quite confined) quarters, the appearance of a female superhero film is one of the major cultural events of the year, or perhaps in recent years.
The critics either share this excitement or are intimidated by the clamor.
Danny Huston as Erich Ludendorff in Wonder Woman
Richard Brody of the New Yorker writes that Wonder Woman “is a superhero movie, and it fulfills the heroic and mythic demands of that genre, but it’s also an entry in the genre of wisdom literature that shares hard-won insights and long-pondered paradoxes of the past with a sincere intimacy.”
In the Guardian, Zoe Williams headlines her review, “Why Wonder Woman is a masterpiece of subversive feminism.”
“What lingers... is the feeling of hope that the movie brings, that it someday might be possible for female rationality to defeat male brutality,” comments Mick LaSalle in the San Francisco Chronicle.
And A.O. Scott of the New York Times suggests that Wonder Woman “briskly shakes off blockbuster branding imperatives and allows itself to be something relatively rare in the modern superhero cosmos. It feels less like yet another installment in an endless sequence of apocalyptic merchandising opportunities than like … what’s the word I’m looking for? A movie. A pretty good one, too.”
The critical consensus, according to one review aggregator web site? “Thrilling, earnest, and buoyed by Gal Gadot’s charismatic performance, Wonder Woman succeeds in spectacular fashion.”
I wonder, when I read these comments, whether I’ve seen the same film.
This is not the occasion to go into the question at any length, but there must be a connection between how upper middle class layers have made large amounts of money in recent decades and the terrible intellectual laziness that prevails.
The reliance on an apparently endless upward movement of stock prices and, in many cases, real estate values, the extreme parasitism of the economy, the almost “automatic” character of money-making in certain spheres, the relative ease with which, frankly, a great number of extremely limited human beings (in some cases, downright imbeciles) have made fortunes … to all this correspond certain retrograde moods and sentiments.
To many, it has seemed as though critical, painstaking thought no longer had any value. Identity politics plays its own role here too. The validity of one’s positions is no longer determined by rational argumentation, by objective facts, but instead by biology or ethnicity, sexual orientation. “I am a woman … an African American … a gay person, therefore what I have to say is a priori valid or true.” It’s an extremely harmful approach for all involved.
Or take the anti-Russian hysteria that has seized not merely the American political establishment, but certain sections of the comfortable middle class.
Settling on the “Russian nemesis,” which also involves sneering at the need for “proof” of “Putin’s interference” in the elections, absolves certain layers of the need to seriously take stock of the right-wing character of the Democratic Party, the advanced decay of the economic and political system, the wretched conditions under which tens of millions of people live in this country. “The Russians did it!”
There are good reasons why these quite disparate phenomena—the identity politics mania, the “excitement” over Wonder Woman and other such cultural trivia, the anti-Russian frenzy—exist on the same historical plane.
It is not the same for the working class. Whatever the ideological difficulties, workers, like the residents in Flint, Michigan, have had to go on making continually more painful and difficult decisions. They do not have the luxury of the empty-headedness and self-indulgence of the upper middle class. They are objectively driven toward the truth about society.
I attended a public screening of Wonder Woman. There was occasional amusement, some interest in the spectacle, some disappointment too that the film did not live up to the media buildup, but none of the “thrilling” and “shared excitement” that the official commentators report.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Latitude 48° 14 North. Longitude 174° 26 West. Almost midnight on the North Pacific, about 230 miles south of Alaska's Aleutian Islands. A heavy fog blankets the sea. There's nothing but the wind spinning eddies through the mist. Out of the darkness, a rumble grows. The water begins to vibrate. Suddenly, the prow of a massive ship splits the fog. Its steel hull rises seven stories above the water and stretches two football fields back into the night. A 15,683-horsepower engine roars through the holds, pushing 55,328 tons of steel. Crisp white capital letters — COUGAR ACE — spell the ship's name above the ocean froth. A deep-sea car transport, its 14 decks are packed with 4,703 new Mazdas bound for North America. Estimated cargo value: $103 million. On the bridge and belowdecks, the captain and crew begin the intricate process of releasing water from the ship's ballast tanks in preparation for entry into US territorial waters. They took on the water in Japan to keep the ship steady, but US rules require that it be dumped here to prevent contaminating American marine environments. It's a tricky procedure. To maintain stability and equilibrium, the ballast tanks need to be drained of foreign water and simultaneously refilled with local water. The bridge gives the go-ahead to commence the operation, and a ship engineer uses a hydraulic-powered system to open the starboard tank valves. Water gushes out one side of the ship and pours into the ocean. It's July 23, 2006. In the crew's quarters below the bridge, Saw "Lucky" Kyin, the ship's 41-year-old Burmese steward, rinses off in the common shower. The ship rolls underneath his feet. He's been at sea for long stretches of the past six years. In his experience, when a ship rolls to one side, it generally rolls right back the other way. This time it doesn't. Instead, the tilt increases. For some reason, the starboard ballast tanks have failed to refill properly, and the ship has abruptly lost its balance. At the worst possible moment, a large swell hits the Cougar Ace and rolls the ship even farther to port. Objects begin to slide across the deck. They pick up momentum and crash against the port-side walls as the ship dips farther. Wedged naked in the shower stall, Kyin is confronted by an undeniable fact: The Cougar Ace is capsizing. He lunges for a towel and staggers into the hallway as the ship's windmill-sized propeller spins out of the water. Throughout the ship, the other 22 crew members begin to lose their footing as the decks rear up. There are shouts and screams. Kyin escapes through a door into the damp night air. He's barefoot and dripping wet, and the deck is now a slick metal ramp. In an instant, he's skidding down the slope toward the Pacific. He slams into the railings and his left leg snaps, bone puncturing skin. He's now draped naked and bleeding on the railing, which has dipped to within feet of the frigid ocean. The deck towers 105 feet above him like a giant wave about to break. Kyin starts to pray. Jackson Hole, Wyoming, 4 am.
A phone rings. Rich Habib opens his eyes and blinks in the darkness. He reaches for the phone, disturbing a pair of dogs cuddled around him. He was going to take them to the river for a swim today. Now the sound of his phone means that somewhere, somehow, a ship is going down, and he's going to have to get out of bed and go save it. It always starts like this. Last Christmas Day, an 835-foot container vessel ran aground in Ensenada, Mexico. The phone rang, he hopped on a plane, and was soon on a Jet Ski pounding his way through the Baja surf. The ship had run aground on a beach while loaded with approximately 1,800 containers. He had to rustle up a Sikorsky Skycrane — one of the world's most powerful helicopters — to offload the cargo. Rich Habib, Senior Salvage Master Photo: Andrew Hetherington Ship captains spend their careers trying to avoid a collision or grounding like this. But for Habib, nearly every month brings a welcome disaster. While people are shouting "Abandon ship!" Habib is scrambling aboard. He's been at sea since he was 18, and now, at 51, his tanned face, square jaw, and don't-even-try-bullshitting-me stare convey a world-weary air of command. He holds an unlimited master's license, which means he's one of the select few who are qualified to pilot ships of any size, anywhere in the world. He spent his early years captaining hulking vessels that lifted other ships on board and hauled them across oceans. He helped the Navy transport a nuclear refueling facility from California to Hawaii. Now he's the senior salvage master — the guy who runs the show at sea — for Titan Salvage, a highly specialized outfit of men who race around the world saving ships. They're a motley mix: American, British, Swedish, Panamanian. Each has a specialty — deep-sea diving, computer modeling, underwater welding, big-engine repair. And then there's Habib, the guy who regularly helicopters onto the deck of a sinking ship, greets whatever crew is left, and takes command of the stricken vessel. The Cougar Ace Length: 654 feet
Weight: 55,328 tons
Decks: 14
Max stowage capacity: 5,542 cars
Ballast: 11 stabilization tanks (teal)
Crew on July 23, 2006: 23 Salvage work has long been viewed as a form of legal piracy. The insurers of a disabled ship with valuable cargo will offer from 10 to 70 percent of the value of the ship and its cargo to anyone who can save it. If the salvage effort fails, they don't pay a dime. It's a risky business: As ships have gotten bigger and cargo more valuable, the expertise and resources required to mount a salvage effort have steadily increased. When a job went bad in 2004, Titan ended up with little more than the ship's bell as a souvenir. Around the company's headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, it's known as the $11.6 million bell. But the rewards have grown as well. When the Titan team refloated that container ship in Mexico, the company was offered $30 million, and it's holding out for more. That kind of money finances staging grounds in southern Florida, England, and Singapore and pays the salaries of 45 employees who drive Lotuses, BMWs, and muscle cars tricked out with loud aftermarket DynoMax exhaust systems. There's also a wall at Titan headquarters with a row of photos of the men who died on the job. Three have been killed in the past three years. Titan's biggest competitors are Dutch firms, which have dominated the business for at least a century due in part to the pumping expertise they developed to keep their low-lying lands dry. But 20 years ago, a couple of yacht brokers in southern Florida — David Parrot and Dick Fairbanks — got fed up dealing with crazy, rich clients and decided that saving sinking ships would be more fun. They didn't really know much about the salvage business but thought that the Dutch companies had come to rely too much on heavy machinery. When a ship was in distress, the Dutch firms invariably wanted to use their impressive fleet of tugs and heavy-lift cranes. Fairbanks envisioned a different kind of salvage company — one with no tugs or cranes of its own. Instead, the new outfit would buy jet-ready containers for pumps and generators, and when a ship called for help the Titan team would charter anything from a Learjet to a 747, fly it to the airport nearest the ship, and then hire a speedboat or a helicopter to get a team aboard. If they needed a tug, they'd rent one. Titan's business plan hinged on the idea that ships could be saved by human ingenuity, not horsepower, and the company's unconventional approach worked. When a container ship ran aground in a remote part of Iceland in the mid-'90s, the Dutch wanted to bring in their cranes. Titan jury-rigged the ship's own 198-ton cranes and used those instead — no long-distance transport needed. In 1992, a freighter sank alongside a dock in Dunkirk, France. Again, the Dutch called for cranes, but Titan won the contract by proposing a novel approach: It hired a naval architect to create a computer model of the ship. The model indicated that the vessel would float again if water was pumped out of the holds in a specific sequence. Titan put the plan into action using a few crates of relatively inexpensive pumps; the ship bobbed to the surface as if by magic. Since then, a naval architect capable of rapidly building digital 3-D ship models has been a key member of the Titan team. Jolted awake in Wyoming, Habib pushes himself out of bed. His dogs cluster around him. He gives Beauregard a scratch behind the ear. Clearly the dogs want to go along, but he'll need a little more help than they can give. It's time to mobilize the Titan A-team. Seattle, Washington. Breezy, warm.
Marty Johnson zips through the traffic in his black BMW Z3 convertible. He's wearing shades, and though he just turned 40 he has a boyish look that suits the car. But the cool-guy persona has its limits. He just learned how to drive a stick shift, so he takes the long way around town to avoid hills. He is actually a shy naval architect who likes to discuss the early history of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth and certain aspects of particle physics. But he has a taste for fast cars and the money to buy them, thanks to an unusual ability to build digital models of ships. Since graduating first in his class from New York's Webb Institute, a preeminent undergraduate naval architecture school, Johnson has traveled the world with his laptop, building 3-D models and helping refloat sunken things. He was on the team that recovered the Japanese fishing trawler sunk by a US submarine off Hawaii in 2001, and he oversaw a system to lift a submerged F-14 from 220 feet of water near San Diego in 2004. In his free time, he wins boat races in which the skippers build their vessels from scratch in six hours or less. But so far, Johnson has refloated only vessels that are already sunk. Most days, he's cooped up in an office at the port, waiting for something exciting to happen. His skills don't go to waste — he's particularly well known for designing a 76-foot tugboat able to navigate rivers as shallow as 3 feet. But Johnson wants more; he wants to be one of those guys who drops onto the deck of a sinking ship and saves the day. He's about to get his chance. His office calls: Rich Habib wants him on a salvage job for the history books — one Johnson might have missed if not for a lucky break. Habib's usual 3-D modeler, Phil Reed, is visiting his in-laws in Chicago, and his wife won't let him go to Alaska. He recommends Johnson, who has worked with Habib once before. Photo: Courtesy of US Coast Guard The job is daunting: Board the Cougar Ace with the team and build an on-the-fly digital replica of the ship. The car carrier has 33 tanks containing fuel, freshwater, and ballast. The amount of fluid in each tank affects the way the ship moves at sea, as does the weight and placement of the cargo. It's a complex system when the ship is upright and undamaged. When the cargo holds take on seawater or the ship rolls off-center — both of which have occurred — the vessel becomes an intricate, floating puzzle. Johnson will have to unravel the complexity. He'll rely on ship diagrams and his own onboard measurements to re-create the vessel using an obscure maritime modeling software known as GHS — General HydroStatics. The model will allow him to simulate and test what will happen as water is transferred from tank to tank in an effort to use the weight of the liquid to roll the ship upright. If the model isn't accurate, the operation could end up sinking the ship. Habib thinks Johnson is up to the task. In 2004 they worked together on a partially sunken passenger ferry near Sitka, Alaska. The hull was gashed open on a rock — water had flooded in everywhere. The US Coast Guard safety officer told Habib and Johnson to get off the ship, saying it was about to sink completely. It was too dangerous. Habib refused. His point of view: It was his ship now, and he would do what he wanted. The safety officer reprimanded Habib and told him that no ship was worth "even the tip of your pinky." Habib smiled. Insurance lawyers have calculated the value of a pinky — $14,000, tops — and that's far less than the value of a modern commercial vessel. Johnson told the Coast Guard not to worry; the ferry would be floating again in three days at exactly 10:36 in the morning. The Coast Guard was skeptical but, three days later, as the tide peaked at 10:36 am, the ferry bobbed up and floated off the rock. It was a rush to be that right. So when he gets the message inviting him to join the team headed to the Cougar Ace, his only question is "When do we leave?" Trinidad and Tobago. Offshore.
And if I say to you tomorrow, take my hand child come with me. The languid sound of Led Zeppelin's "What Is and What Should Never Be" drifts across the Caribbean. A 24-foot fishing boat lolls in the blue waters, the stereo cranked up in the wheelhouse. It's to a castle I will take you, where what's to be they say will be. The island of Trinidad — lush, green, rugged — is just off the port bow. A few beers remain in the bottom of the boat's 98-can cooler, and a bottle of Guyanese rum sloshes about on the floorboards. On the back deck, a fishing pole droops lazily from the densely tattooed arm of Colin Trepte: boat owner, rum drinker, and deep-sea diver who's always ready with a roguish grin for the ladies. Trepte loves days like this — mid-80s, a couple of snapper in |
was a really good offseason. This doesn’t mean the Wizards will really be good.
They still brought back Randy Wittman, and in case you forgot, this team was barely better than the Bobcats with Wittman coaching. Wall still has to get better, Beal has to get more consistent, Otto has to prove he can play on a real NBA court. Nene will be gone in two years, and given the age of Marcin Gortat and his five-year, $60 million deal, there’s a decent chance he’ll be worse by the time 2016 comes around and it’s time to recruit Durant. I’m excited for this season, and the summer was great. But it’s not like the Wizards are title contenders just waiting for Durant to come over and turn them into a dynasty.
4. The Lakers, Knicks, Heat, and GodKnowsWhoElse Will Also Have Cap Space. If Durant really does test the market, there will be plenty of competition. This will matter.
But:
5. Oklahoma City is really, really good. Seriously. I mean, I understand why people are talking about this like it could really happen. For three weeks in June, everyone in the media dismissed the possibility of LeBron James ever going back to Cleveland. It would be too crazy, said everyone.
Now, nobody’s willing to discount the possibility with Durant. Everyone learned their lesson.
But the key point is that LeBron left for a better long-term basketball situation. No matter what that Sports Illustrated letter said, this wasn’t just some sentimental thing that felt right in his heart. Maybe it was sentimental too. But it happened now — smack in the middle of his prime — only because the Cavs somehow stumbled into the luckiest 12 months in history, and the near future in Cleveland became much brighter than it would’ve been in Miami.
No matter what happens in the next two years, this won’t be true with the Wizards or almost any other team going after KD. Russell Westbrook’s a top-10 player, Serge Ibaka’s defense and spot-up shooting might make him the best possible big man to pair with Durant and Westbrook, and even if you think the Thunder have gone cheap on the supporting cast, the core they have (plus Reggie Jackson and Steven Adams) still adds up to the most pure talent in the league.
They may not win the next two titles, but they’ll be in the conversation every year, and everyone’s still young and just inching into their prime. No matter what happens the next two years, in 2016 it’ll be much tougher for Durant to leave the Thunder roster than it was for LeBron to leave Miami’s roster.
Finally …
6. JUST NOBODY SAY A GODDAMN WORD. This was fun when it was a joke around the office, but now it’s getting real. Nobody move. Nobody say a word. Everybody just try to act natural.
“Everybody’s asked me about it,” Durant told reporters yesterday. “Every time I go on Instagram or Twitter. All my friends ask me about it. So I’m not going to sit here and act like I’m naive to the fact that people think about that stuff. But I just tell everybody that I’m here in Oklahoma City, [and] I love it here. Who knows what will happen? I never close the door on anything. But I like where I’m at right now, so I can’t answer that question.”
Listen to how depressed he sounds about signing that extension a few years ago: “To be honest, I just didn’t know. I was 21. I didn’t know. Obviously, when you sign a deal, you want to have the best options for yourself, the best flexibility for yourself. But I loved Oklahoma City so much I just wanted to dedicate and show them that I’m all about the team.”
Listen to him talk about the Wizards: “Beal is a tremendous player, I love watching him. One of those players that’s going to be a thrill to watch for the next 10-15 years and he’s a player for my hometown team so I love him. I also like Wall; he’s one of my great friends and I’m glad he’s [in Vegas].”
Look at this: “I’m going to do what’s best for me. It’s hard to talk about that right now when I’ve got two years left in Oklahoma City. I’m just going to focus on that. I’m not going to make a decision based on what anybody else does. I grew up watching the Bullets/Wizards. I grew up taking the train to that arena, all the time, to watch Georgetown, the Bullets, the Washington Mystics. That whole city is a part of me. It’s in my blood. I love going back home, seeing my family and playing there, but I love Oklahoma City too.”
Listen to Wall: “He’s like an older brother to me. He’s happy to see the things I’m doing and what I’m doing for the city of D.C., especially since that’s where he’s from. That’s a big honor to me and an honor to him, so we enjoy it. We enjoy our conversations. We enjoy hanging out. We have our fun times.”
See that?
THEY ENJOY THEIR CONVERSATIONS.
THEY HAVE THEIR FUN TIMES.
[Puts on tinfoil hat.]
You want to know why this can happen? Because Durant’s pissed that the Thunder traded two of his best friends in the NBA (Jeff Green and James Harden) and never really spent the money to replace them in the rotation. Because OKC could’ve taken Cleanthony Early or Nick Johnson in June, and instead they got involved in an elaborate scheme to game the luxury tax with a crappy small forward who probably won’t help them very much in a few years and definitely won’t help them next year. Because Durant is actually good friends with John Wall and he’s never been as close with Russell Westbrook as it seems. Because the lack of chemistry between KD and Westbrook is real on the court, and Westbrook’s success comes at the expense of KD sometimes, and people continue to deny this, because it’s one of those weird basketball Internet things where you’re not even allowed to wonder about it without getting attacked, but it’s been real, especially since they lost Harden. If they lose the next two years the same way they did this year, if they can’t afford to keep someone like Reggie Jackson in free agency, if OKC’s owners continue to profit every year without spending money on the team … there’s plenty that could go wrong to push Durant out of Oklahoma. (Also, it’s fucking Oklahoma. Would YOU stay forever?)
There’s no situation that’ll make more sense than D.C. in two years. Forget the Lakers and Knicks. You think he’s gonna go play next to Melo? The Wizards may not be real title contenders now, but that’s only because Wall’s true destiny is as a no. 2 superstar who sets up someone else, the same way Beal’s destiny is to be Ray Allen in his prime, the perfect third superstar who just murders people in the playoffs. The Wizards are in an easier conference, Beal and Wall will be perennial All-Stars by 2016, they just hired his high school coach, and D.C. is home. I’ve watched Durant play streetball in the summers here since 2009. He buys 100 tickets for friends and family every time OKC plays here. He went to Mystics games growing up, he reps the Redskins constantly. He thinks go-go music is good. D.C. is in his blood.
Durant loves his city as much as anyone in the NBA, and he loves it so much that he’s apparently incapable of not talking about how much he loves D.C. even as he tries to quiet the rumors about 2016. He’s not closing the door on anything. A lot needs to go wrong for the Thunder and right for the Wizards, but none of this is as crazy as people are making it seem. It’s easy to dismiss the rumor and act above all the speculation; it’s harder to say this is entirely plausible and we’ll just have to wait and see.
“The whole city is part of me.”
“All my friends ask me about it.”
“I grew up taking the train to that arena.”
“It’s funny seeing guys think about more than just basketball for once. He thought about the city where he comes from … how he can affect so many of the kids just being there playing basketball. I love that. You gotta respect that.”
“Who knows what will happen?”
“I never close the door on anything.”
[Turns tinfoil hat into Larry O’Brien Trophy.]
Nope.
It’s stupid that we’re even having this conversation.
It’s not happening.
But just to be safe, nobody say another goddamn word about this until 2016.Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a rally at the state house, Jan. 18, 2016, in Columbia, South Carolina. Sean Rayford/Getty Images
COLUMBIA, South Carolina—Sen. Bernie Sanders often speaks about reducing economic inequality and expanding access to health care and public education. It is hard to get him to talk about much else, really. But not often is Sanders asked to join in worship for these platform planks, as he was at a Tuesday prayer breakfast with black church leaders in Columbia.
“Let us pray for economic and criminal justice reform in this state,” the invocation began in the gymnasium of Allen University, a small, historically black college a short walk from the much larger University of South Carolina. (Sanders would visit both schools before lunchtime on Tuesday.) And so there was such a prayer, and a relatively wonky one at that, including references to how black Americans are “disproportionately locked behind bars.” After that prayer followed the one about increasing government support for public education and those in need to quality health care.
The prayers were wedged between pre-event performances from a local gospel choir (including a duet of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come”) and from singer Shirley Murdock, as the mostly black attendees noshed on eggs and bacon.
All of which is to say: Bernie Sanders is not in New Hampshire anymore.
The coalition of young people and assorted other white liberals who won him 60 percent of the vote in the Granite State do not comprise a majority of Democrats in South Carolina or in many of the Southern states that follow on Super Tuesday. Roughly half of South Carolina Democratic voters are black, and building a successful organization means going through church leaders. As South Carolina state Rep. Joe Neal, a pastor himself, said in introducing Sanders, the church has “long been the backbone of politics in the African-American community.”
Which brings us to the somewhat jarring (and, OK, amusing) image of an elderly Vermont socialist following a rousing gospel performance by bowing his head in prayer. And really bowing, too—his head was practically in line with his knees. Sanders takes nothing lightly.
Look. Sanders does not speak much in terms of the holy because, although born and raised Jewish, he is not active in organized religion. He does not operate in many gears, and it would come across as clunky—and inauthentic—if he started prattling on about his most cherished Old Testament verses. But if winning over large numbers of black voters is the key to winning the Democratic nomination, then developing a spiritual fluency is something that wouldn’t hurt him.
Spiritual is a good way of describing how Sanders has begun speaking to voters of faith. “My spirituality is that we are all in this together,” Sanders said in a New Hampshire town hall earlier this month, “and that when children go hungry, when veterans sleep out on the street, it impacts me. That is my very strong spiritual belief.” Neal quoted this “simple yet elegant statement” as a line that “resounded” with him, and the applause from his fellow breakfasting supplicants suggested that it did with them, too.
The line sounds like something that, first, is a true belief of his, whether or not there’s any organized monotheistic backing to it or not. This brand of social justice spirituality also allows him to express his beliefs without straying too far from his campaign platform. Sanders gets uncomfortable if he strays even an inch from his message of economic inequality, so he simply doesn’t stray from it. And this version of spirituality, embodied in human solidarity, allows him to stay on topic.
Sanders is still most confident—if his decibel level is properly gauged—when he’s raging against the billionaires who he says have taken and continue to take all of the money and explaining how he will take it back. That was all politely applauded at the prayer breakfast, too, but nowhere near as deafeningly as it has been at some of the younger, whiter events I saw Sanders host in New Hampshire. Conflict is not the best frame for winning over churchgoers.
Sanders stuck largely to a more sermonlike tone. Gone was his apocalyptic opening about a country in late-stage crisis for which “establishment politics and establishment economics” are no longer the applicable medicine. In its place he began speaking about “our mission as human beings, the mission here of our life.” There are some people out there, he notes, who say the purpose of life is “to accumulate as much money as they possibly can.” These people, of course, are the billionaires. We are not like them.
He spoke extensively about reforming the criminal justice system and ending mass incarceration, positions that now earn central booking in his pitch but still blend with everything else. After noting the millions of people whose lives are “forever altered” when marijuana possession earns them a criminal record, Sanders offered a useful contrast: the executives of large banks who caused the financial crisis, who earned bonuses for their work instead of criminal records. Gotta change that.
There’s another part of Sanders’ regular presentation during which he urges people to think big to change perceptions of the possible. Usually as his illustrative examples, he talks about the women’s suffrage movement, the civil rights movement, and the gay rights movement. On Tuesday he took it in a slightly different direction. “If people never dreamed, where would we be together? What would we have accomplished?” he asked. “If we didn’t dream, does anybody here think that we’d have an African-American as president of the United States today?”
And climate change, Sanders’ other dear issue next to economic inequality, is usually a subject for which he lists all of the expected ill consequences and then rails against the oil and gas industry and their political cronies. (Indeed, he would return to this formulation during his next stop when addressing University of South Carolina students.) On Tuesday, though, he spoke about the issue, in part, as a matter of faith. “As religious people,” he said, “we have got to understand that we do not have the right to destroy God’s earth.”
Was that just a we and religious people in the same sentence of a Bernie Sanders stump speech, in reference to climate change? Does it even work? In 11 days, God will reveal all.In yet another prompt response to a request for help, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today asked the Indian embassy in Kuala Lumpur to help an Indian family get their travel documents, despite the mission being closed on weekends.Swaraj's response came after one, Meera Ramesh Patel, sought the former's intervention saying her family was at the airport and had lost their passports."Indian Embassy in Malaysia : This is an emergency case. Pls open the Embassy and help the Indian family @hcikl," the minister said in a tweet.Responding to Swaraj's request, the Indian embassy in Malaysia tweeted that the family members have been contacted and the matter was being resolved.Earlier in her tweet to the Union minister, Patel said, "@SushmaSwaraj Mam my family is in malasia airport and lost their passports. Due to weekend Indian Embassy is closed. Please help".In yet another case, the external affairs minister requested the Indian embassy in Washington to help an Indian student who had lost her passport In a tweet, Anusha Dhulipala said she was a student in the United States and had lost her passport because of which she could not travel anywhere."@SushmaSwaraj I really need help as they say I have to go to India to get my Visa its my exams time I cant travel without passport sooner," she said.Fionn Whitehead in Dunkirk (Photo: Warner Bros.)
Christopher Nolan’s film of disastrous defeat and miraculous rescue is harrowingly realistic.
Dunkirk is a word that has come to mean both catastrophe and miracle, and Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk similarly invites a balance of contrasting descriptions. It’s gripping, but it’s also relentless. The soundscape is thrilling to the point of being harrowing, with a Hans Zimmer score that is so intense that it might be called bombastic. As a whole, the film is so brilliantly realized it may nauseate you. It’s as if Nolan, recalling the opening 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, thought, “That level of intensity, except this time keep it up for an entire movie.”
Advertisement
Advertisement
As magnificently well crafted as Dunkirk is, it is a film destined to be respected more than it is loved, and given Nolan’s record — I credit him with five great movies — I call this a highly honorable achievement that nonetheless slightly disappoints. There have been many World War II films, and many of them are great. It may be the most covered topic in cinema history. For a filmmaker as inventive and allergic to cliché as Nolan, the challenge is to find a different way to do everything. Yet sometimes an old way is best.
In war movies, combat tends to be chatty — “Over the top, men!” in the earnest films, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” on the ironic side — so Nolan makes the bold choice to give almost no dialogue to his leading men, stranded soldiers in the eerie ghost town of Dunkirk, France, in 1940. Leaflets floating through the air tell the story to them, and us: The Germans have the British surrounded. Their backs are to the sea. Surrender and death seem to be the only two options.
Advertisement
To reduce the enormous scale of the event — some 400,000 men awaited evacuation and most got it, when crowdsourcing was invented — Nolan focuses on three human dramas within the carnage, one each on land, sea, and air. Nolan intercuts scenes told through the eyes of a single soldier, Tommy (Fionn Whitehead), a pleasure-boat owner (Mark Rylance) who independently decides to cross the English Channel to rescue as many troops as he can, and an RAF fighter pilot (Tom Hardy, who loves films in which his face is concealed by a mask).
Nolan begins in apocalyptic quiet, with silent soldiers aimless in the town, their languor ended by ferocious bursts of gunfire from an unseen enemy. Nolan sticks with these two choices throughout: We never get a good look at the face of any German, Whitehead utters only a few lines in the entire film. Nor does Nolan give us much in the way of exposition or character development: No flashbacks establish that, say, the pilot’s wife is pregnant, or that the skipper barely survived the Great War. No, we’re simply right there, in medias res. You might be able to fit all the dialogue in the film on 15 or 20 pages.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Because what is there to say? When we first see the beaches, there are enormous crowds of men in orderly lines facing out to sea. There’s no camaraderie, no mordant humor, just near-despair and the will to survive. One soldier takes off his equipment and simply hurls himself into the waves. Nearby three others watch, blankly.
Advertisement
This is all very much how Stanley Kubrick would have done it, albeit with an added ironic tang Nolan eschews, but Nolan, as Kubrick frequently did, resists sentiment to his cost. Just as a film about boredom shouldn’t actually be boring, a film about war that strays too close to what it must have felt like is almost too bleak to endure — even though we all know about the happy ending going in. Dunkirk is mostly a catalogue of misery that eagerly imagines even the incidental ways you can get killed in total war — for instance, if an enemy pilot crashes near you while you’re in the water and the flaming oil slick from his wreck is right over your head. Burn or drown: Pick one.
Amid the slaughter, we know so little about Nolan’s characters that it’s difficult to get attached to them, even the one who dies in the most unexpected and tragic way. Steven Spielberg cleared this hurdle in the opening minute of Saving Private Ryan: We have a history with Tom Hanks. We know and like him. When we see his hand tremble as he takes out his canteen, he and Spielberg have got us. Nolan, consciously rejecting the well-trodden path, chooses mostly little-known actors (Whitehead, Aneurin Barnard, Barry Keoghan, and the One Direction pop singer Harry Styles, who is largely unknown to anyone past 30). To the extent there is some glamorous movie-star charisma, it’s tightly limited to a naval officer played by Kenneth Branagh who sees all of his men off the beaches.
Advertisement
Patriotic declarations, too, are such war-movie staples that Nolan studiously avoids the usual approach, presenting perhaps the greatest speech of the 20th century in the least grandiose way imaginable. In my book, that makes the power of the words all the more effective, but so grueling is the journey upon which Nolan has taken us that we require more relief than he gives us — more payoff, as the studio suits would say, more catharsis, more (if you like) tear-jerking. Spielberg has become a less sentimental filmmaker as he has aged, but even now I don’t think he would dispute that the hope of being swept away by our emotions is why we go to the movies. The Battle of Dunkirk was, of course, merely an early chapter in an epic of bloodshed, and all celebration would have been muted by the fear, or rather expectation, of imminent invasion. In placing us in that moment Nolan has succeeded marvelously. Yet I would have swapped some of the film’s Kubrickian technical mastery for a bit more of Spielberg’s heart.
Advertisement
Advertisement
READ MORE:
Advertisement
War for the Planet of the Apes: Gorgeously Shot, Smartly Executed
Spider-Man: Homecoming: Delivering the Goods
The Big Sick: Not Big Enough“The part that’s most disappointing is that I haven’t spoken to the president in several weeks. I haven’t spoken to Melania or any of the kids,” Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s longtime lawyer and confidante, lamented to me last week. It was a Friday morning and Cohen was biting into eggs over easy and dry seven-grain toast at a coffee shop in Water Mill, the hamlet of Southampton, which was sandwiched between a Tracy Anderson studio and a farmers’ market, and near his vacation home. It was the unofficial last weekend of summer, and while the diners around us discussed their upcoming boat trips or blueprints for new houses, Cohen was facing a more pressing, and public, summons. As one of several figures under scrutiny in an F.B.I. and congressional investigation into purported links between the Trump campaign and Russia, Cohen was preparing to testify before the House Intelligence Committee. The testimony, originally scheduled for the Tuesday after Labor Day, had been delayed by the time we met, leaving him to spin his wheels as his name appeared in stories and across cable-news chyrons. His profile had recently been amplified by a Washington Post report noting that he had reached out to the Kremlin during the 2016 presidential race seeking help for a potential Trump real-estate project in Russia. And Cohen was already a co-star of the infamous dossier on Trump and Russia, prepared as opposition research by a former British Intelligence agent. In the unverified report, he’s said to be a crucial conduit to the Russians. “It’s like a Michael Crichton novel,” Cohen told me. In advance of the hearing, Cohen said that at the advice of his lawyer, he and the Trumps were now on a forced break from speaking to one another. “All parties thought it would be best if we ceased communication unless it was an emergency so that when the questioning occurs, nobody can say to me, ‘Well, did you speak to the president within the last week or three weeks? What did you talk about?’” He continued: “It’s good legal advice,” he said. “But it’s not the advice I want.... That’s something that’s difficult for me because I routinely spoke to all of them on a regular basis.” Cohen has been described as the sixth Trump child, or as the Tom Hagen in this twisted version of The Godfather, and sometimes as both, even by Cohen himself. It is, in many ways, a fair description. Like Trump, Cohen has a porous filter, a perennially puffed-up chest, and a penchant for histrionics, particularly when things are not going his way. He also grew up on the outskirts of New York City looking in, doesn't sleep more than three hours per night, he said, and appears to subscribe to the notion that all press is good press. When I asked Cohen how he handles being the object of social-media ire, he responded, without a breath, “It means I’m relevant.” Perhaps most pointedly, the two men prioritize loyalty. After a decade as a counsel for the Trump Organization, where he rose to executive vice president, Cohen resigned in January in order to serve as Trump’s personal lawyer, thereby avoiding the appearance of a conflict that would come with cashing a Trump Organization check while working for the president. But as Cohen put it to me, the distance was now grating on him. He would much prefer to be in Washington with his former boss, especially as the president faced the roughest stretch of his tenure amid the Russia investigation, a pair of historically catastrophic hurricanes, and forthcoming debates over the debt-ceiling, tax reform, and health-care. “At times I wish I were there in D.C. more, sitting with him in the Oval Office, like we used to at Trump Tower, to protect him,” he said. “I feel guilty that he’s in there right now almost alone, especially now that Keith has resigned,” he said. (Cohen was referring to Trump’s longtime bodyguard and confidante, Keith Schiller, who is reportedly leaving the White House.) “There are guys who are very loyal to him that would have gone in, but there was a concerted effort by high-ranking individuals to keep out loyalists.” The word “loyal” came up more than a dozen times in the course of our conversations. During a telephone discussion a few days earlier, Cohen joked that maybe if he saw the president in a white sheet at a Klan rally, then he would think twice about lending his support. (After making the comment, Cohen, who is Jewish and the child of a Holocaust survivor, clarified that he was speaking in jest, and that neither he nor the president condone white supremacy.) His loyalty is so unceasing, he said, that it tortures him to even walk by Trump Tower, and it infuriates him that he believes there are still people in the White House who are more interested in building their own brands than in being loyal to the president or serving the American people. Even though Cohen is not currently talking to Trump, he kept two phones—one in a white extended battery case, the other in a black model—on the table throughout our meeting. One is a personal phone, and the other, he said, is just for the White House. “It has the contact info for everybody in D.C. My voicemail fills up quite frequently. I want to make sure that people can get through to me,” he explained. I asked if it was the white phone. “It’s actually the black one. I just figured people would think it’s the white one if they were going to try to grab it off the table.” That phone’s backdrop, though, is a photo of the White House. It may not matter that Trump and Cohen are currently on their communication hiatus. Psychically, they occupy the same bunker. At one point, Cohen seemed to succinctly explain their relationship, as he saw it. “One man who wants to do so much good with so many detractors against him needs support,” he said. As he spoke, he appeared to tear up.
Cohen agreed to meet me in the midst of his own media maelstrom of Trumpian proportions. Earlier that week, he had submitted records to Congress ahead of his hearing, including e-mails. Part of the dump, according to both The Washington Post and The New York Times, included an e-mail exchange between him and Felix Sater, a real-estate broker with ties to the Kremlin who worked with the Trump Organization, in 2015, in which the two discussed the possibility of a Trump Tower project in Moscow. Sater, the e-mails showed, suggested that the plans could be built with the help of the Russian government, and that it could aid in Trump’s election bid. “Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it,” Sater wrote as part of the exchange, according to the reports. “I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this, I will manage this process.” (The project was dropped before the Republican primaries, and there is no evidence that Sater, who Cohen described as a “salesman,” delivered on any of his promises.) Cohen waved the controversy away. He told me he was just doing his job when he received the proposal and that this was just “business as usual and nothing more... just another project, another licensing deal.” Still, he said he was keen on making it happen. “I really wanted to see this building go up, because the economics were fantastic.” As he talked it over with Sater, Cohen said that Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, came up in their conversation. “I said, let me e-mail him and I’m going to see whether or not this is legitimate, that they’re aware of it with the land acquisition.” Neither of them had his e-mail address, he said. “I typed in ‘Kremlin’ into Google and there’s a phone number that’s there and underneath it, there’s an e-mail address for info@kremlin.ru or whatever it is. I’ll show you right now.” The service in Water Mill is terrible, so it took a few minutes for Cohen to pull it up, but he eventually showed me a site displaying both a phone number and that general e-mail address. “It’s comedy,” he said. Cohen sent Peskov a note through that general e-mail inbox, which Peskov confirmed he received but did not respond to. “There is nothing, no contact between me and any Russian officials except sending one e-mail to a general inbox and it went unresponded,” he said. “I was a little disappointed that it went unresponded,” he smiled. His expression turned serious, however, as he circled back to his purported innocence, something he did repeatedly. “I can tell you for certainty that neither I nor the president were involved, at any point in time, with this Russian conspiracy,” he said. “I’ve never been paid by or colluded with any Russian to hack the D.N.C., to create search-engine optimization tools to cause Trump’s positives up and Hillary’s negatives up, I’ve never been to Prague”—as alleged by the unverified dossier—“I’ve never been to the Czech Republic. This whole thing has been an attack on me for doing my job. That’s all that I did. I did my job.” Cohen echoed this sentiment in an eight-page letter that his lawyer sent to the House Intelligence Committee. “Mr. Cohen is not aware of any impropriety related to Mr. Trump’s ‘relationship’ with Russia, nor is he aware of Mr. Trump having an improper political relationship with officials of the Russian Federation,” the letter said. It also provided a detailed rebuttal of the dossier, which alleged that Cohen was a central figure in the effort to influence the 2016 election. His name is peppered throughout the 35-page document, which claims, among other far more salacious, unsubstantiated details, that Cohen traveled to Prague last summer to meet with a Russian official. “The actuality is that I was in California at U.S.C. with my son meeting the baseball coach and taking a tour,” he said. “Then you have these snarky idiots who said ‘Well, maybe it was the next day.’ Well, actually, no, because I was with Harvey Levin,” he explained, the man behind the gossip empire TMZ, who he said is an old friend. They went to TMZ studios to watch them produce some show, he said. (Levin did not respond to a request for comment.) Cohen said he was anxious to repeat this to Congress, whenever the hearing is scheduled, so that he could get on with his life. He wants to get back on cable TV to defend the president, as he did throughout the campaign. His lawyers have advised him to take a break to prepare for the hearing, but Cohen said he was already prepared the day he was subpoenaed. Because “how do you prepare for something you never did?” He initially wanted the hearing to be public, he said, though his lawyers and friends advised him against it. One reason for their concern may be that he runs hot, and he knows it. In 2015, Cohen threatened a reporter from The Daily Beast who was writing a story about reports that Ivana Trump had accused Trump of rape in a deposition as part of their divorce. (Ivana Trump has recanted the statement.) “I’m warning you, tread very fucking lightly,” Cohen said,according to The Daily Beast. “Because what I’m going to do to you is going to be fucking disgusting.” Cohen told me that while he made some statements that were inarticulate, he would do no differently today in order to protect Trump and “the children.” If Congress respects him, he said, he will give them the same respect back, though he said he will have no patience for “stupidity.” And if they don’t show him that respect? “The transcript is going to be very interesting to read.”
Cohen first met Trump through his son, Donald Jr., back in 2006. At the time, he was an attorney at a law firm, and he had a number of businesses on the side—at one point or another working in the taxi medallion business and the Ukrainian ethanol business with his brother, whose Ukrainian father-in-law had an agribusiness company. It was when he became treasurer of the board for Trump World Tower, where he and his family owned apartments, that Cohen said he caught their eye. After consulting with the president on a few legal matters, he said Trump brought him into his office and, to his shock, offered him a job. “He said, ‘I’d love it.’ I’d work right for him, that I’d be perfect. I said, ‘Well, how much are you paying?’ He writes a number on a piece of paper. I said, ‘No. It just wasn’t going to work.’ That’s when the negotiation then started. Everything with Trump is a negotiation.” They reached a deal, and Cohen became executive vice president of the Trump Organization and special counsel to Trump, setting up shop in Ivanka Trump’s old office, making him one of the highest-ranking employees without a shared last name. “During the campaign, towards the end, I was offered $10 million to write a tell-all book,” he told me. “I said, ‘How about $100 million.’ They asked if I’d do it for that much and I told them no, I just wanted to see how high I could get them up and then say no. There’s no money in the world that could get me to disclose anything about them.” That wasn’t long after Steve Bannon joined the campaign, and, on his second day, according to Cohen, accused him of leaking to a reporter. “I’m thankful I sat on my hands that day,” he said. “I’m the guy who stops the leaks. I’m the guy who protects the president and the family. I’m the guy who would take a bullet for the president... and I told him that before he comes here with his anger and his conjectures, I strongly recommended he think twice before doing it again.” (Bannon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.) Cohen said he didn’t, and that he likes Bannon and still thinks he is loyal to the president, which he can’t say for some others who remain in the White House. (He would not name names.) He is glad that Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, are still there, though he said he warned them not to go down to Washington. “They’re under attack also... and I told them it would be ugly for them and I recommended that they not go in. I remember both of them telling me that ‘dad needs our help,’” he said. “Unfortunately, my prediction was correct.... There’s things that came out about Jared and his real estate and the finances. This is a family that tries to stay under the radar in terms of their business and I’m sure Charlie [Kushner] is not happy right now at all." That is not to say that Cohen blindly supports the president. He said that he wishes the president would occasionally stop tweeting. He can’t understand why Trump gave his infamous press conference about the violent protest in Charlottesville, at which the president equated neo-Nazis chanting “Jews will not replace us” with those gathered to protest them. And he said that he would have changed the way the administration rolled out its Muslim ban executive order. “Do I agree with everything he says? No,” he said. “The same way that you’d protect a sibling is the same way that I’d protect the children. The same way that I’d protect your parents is the same way that I’d protect the president and Melania.” Cohen’s actual family has suffered because of his support of the Trump family. He said some students at his daughter’s college and his son’s school in New York City say things about him that “decorum would say they probably shouldn’t have.” His mother checks in every day to see how he is doing. He says that he routinely receives death threats on social media for associating with Trump. Sometimes people on the street will say “really nasty, negative stuff,” which he sometimes responds to by asking them to step two or three feet closer and “see what happens. I tell them to come say it right to my face, not from across the street. Come shake my hand.” The way his family has been treated weighs on him. “It was my decision to go and work for Trump,” he said. “Not my brother’s. Not his wife’s. Not my nephews’—13 and 11. They’re like me, casualties of war that nobody cares about as long as they can defame |
. The penalty for the Redskins amounts to fully 30% of a season's roster cost. If each player were paid the same amount, the Redskins would have to go into Opening Day short 16 players if they took the penalty all in one year. The fact that they can split the penalty over two years is little relief, as it still amounts to the same insanely high cost, just suffered more slowly. For comparison, in response to Spygate, one of the most blatantly anti-competitive scandals in the league's history, the NFL took away one first round draft pick, which is far less severe than 30% of a roster. Even if there were a violation of a rule here, the only appropriately proportional penalty would be to assign the disputed 2010 payments pro rata to the rest of the team's salary caps.
These penalties are unfair, illegitimate and tone deaf. This wasn't some simmering issue that people were clamoring for the NFL to deal with. Maybe a few owners were ticked off about this when it happened, but wasn't the teams' mediocrity in 2011 enough to dispel their annoyance? Now you have the NFL screwing over two franchises at an incredibly inopportune time for wanting to pay their players market salaries in 2010.
The Redskins and Cowboys should fight these penalties as hard as they can.Commanders,
Starting from 26 January, there will be a new fun game mode available for you to enjoy: the Winter Showdown.
How to play the new mode? It's simple: select one of the three concept tanks (8-bit versions of the vehicles T110E5, AMX 50 Foch (155) and LTTB) and press Battle! Then you will be taken to a special map, resembling the style of old 8-bit games.
Important: the special tanks will be awarded on 26 January at 06:10 CET (UTC+1). Players who are already in-game at the time of the tanks’ crediting will have to either log out then back in, or play a random battle, in order to have the vehicles delivered. These special tanks can be used in the Winter Showdown battle mode exclusively and cannot be sold.
Important Information About the "Winter Showdown"
If, after playing in the game mode, any elements of the interface go missing, please remove any and all mods you may have installed.
The game mode is available from 26 January, 06:10 until 9 February, 06:10 CET (UTC+1).
Battle duration: 7 minutes.
Format: 10 vs 10 mode for "Random Battle" or 5 person platoons. In the latter option, platoons will be fighting other platoons exclusively.
Victory Conditions: Destroy all enemy vehicles or capture a single base (similar to the Encounter game mode).
Special Tanks: Details
Each of the three tanks has its own specialisation. They can be divided into three types:
Mammoth (heavy tank);
Polar Bear (tank destroyer);
Arctic Fox (light tank).
As you can see, the gameplay will not differ that much from what you are already used to, with light tanks dashing around, heavies breaking or holding the line, and tank destroyers bashing the enemy from a distance. The only difference is that these tanks have an unusually large number of hit points. Also, these vehicles are subject to the following rules:
Emblems, camouflage and inscriptions are not available.
Winter Showdown statistics will not affect the general statistics of the player.
Once the game mode closes, all equipment installed on the special tanks will be automatically removed and placed in the player’s depot.
The crew cannot be injured, and their number will correspond to that of the respective original tanks. It is possible to assign other crews to the special vehicles instead of the default ones. Once the Winter Showdown ends, the crew will be placed in the Barracks automatically. If there are no free bunks available, the Barracks will be temporarily expanded to accommodate them. The additional slots will disappear once the crew members are placed on new vehicles or dismissed.
With the release of Update 9.6, the crew will be retrained automatically:
Mammoth crew - to T110E5.
Arctic Fox crew - to LTTB.
Polar Bear crew - to AMX 50 Foch (155).
We should also mention shells. There are two types of ammunition available, each of them with its own characteristics.
Conventional shells (bought for credits): can destroy brick cubes (1 shot = 1 cube) and cause damage to the enemy.
Premium shells (bought for gold or credits): can heal allies (defined amount of damage), destroy brick cubes (1 shot = 1 cube) and cause damage to the enemy.
Missions and Awards
For winning battles in the Winter Showdown, players will be awarded with a special commemorative medal, "Operation: Winter."
In addition, as part of the Winter Showdown, you will be able to enjoy a set of dedicated missions:
Winter Showdown Missions: Collapse Winter Medal Reward Operation: Winter medal Requirements Only for vehicles:
Mammoth
Arctic Fox
Polar Bear
Mammoth Arctic Fox Polar Bear Once per account Conditions Win a battle Winter Battles Reward 25,000 Combat XP
25,000 Crew XP
250,000 The reward Combat XP and Crew XP will appear on the vehicle which completes the mission. Requirements Only for vehicles:
Mammoth
Arctic Fox
Polar Bear
Mammoth Arctic Fox Polar Bear 5 times per account Conditions Participate in a total of 25 battles
Deal at least 500 damage per battle Winter Sniper Reward 1,500 Combat XP
1,500 Crew XP
10,000 Requirements Polar Bear only
Repeatable Conditions Deal at least 3,300 damage in battle Winter Heavyweight Reward 1,500 Combat XP
1,500 Crew XP
10,000 Requirements Mammoth only
Repeatable Conditions Deal at least 2,500 damage in battle Winter Light Reward 1,500 Combat XP
1,500 Crew XP
10,000 Requirements Arctic Fox only
Repeatable Conditions Deal at least 1,700 damage in battle Winter Platoons Reward 2,500 Combat XP
2,500 Crew XP
20,000 The reward Combat XP and Crew XP will appear on the vehicle which completes the mission. Requirements Only for vehicles:
Mammoth
Arctic Fox
Polar Bear
Mammoth Arctic Fox Polar Bear Repeatable
Platoon members only Conditions As a platoon, deal at least 15,000 combined damage within a battle Collapse Expand
Important: If you turn on the Accelerated Crew Training option on the special vehicles, all Combat XP earned in the missions will be distributed to the respective crews.
Once Winter Showdown ends and Version 9.6 is implemented, all combat experience accumulated on the special vehicles will be redistributed as follows:
XP on Mammoth - to T1 Cunningham.
XP on Arctic Fox - to MS-1.
XP on Polar Bear - to Renault FT.
The tanks will be credited XP regardless of whether they are present in the garage or not.
Join the Winter Showdown, Commanders!Russia has named the U.S. as one of the threats to its national security in a new assessment signed by President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, according to a published report.
Reuters reported the document, “About the Strategy of National Security of Russian Federation,” replaces the 2009 version endorsed by former President Dmitry Medvedev, which didn’t mention the U.S. or NATO. Russia continues to increase its role in solving global conflicts, which has caused some negative reaction from the West, according to the document.
It is the first time Russia has officially named the U.S. a national security threat, according to Reuters.
Russia claims its heightened global influence has caused “counteraction from the USA and its allies, which are striving to retain their dominance in global affairs.” The document claims that Western pressures will likely lead to increased “political, economical, military and informational pressure” on Russia.
Relations between Moscow and the West became to deteriorate stemming from Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Western nations have repeatedly accused Russia of funding insurgents in Ukraine despite Moscow’s denials.
Russia’s security document accuses the U.S. and EU of supporting an “anti-constitutional coup d’etat in Ukraine,” which has deepened the rift between Moscow and the West.
The U.S. and European Union have imposed sanctions against Russian companies and businessmen. Russia, in turn, clamped down on food imported from EU countries.
The expansion of NATO also concerns Russia. The document also said the U.S. has expanded its military biological labs in neighboring countries.
According to Reuters, the document fails to mention anything on Russia’s ongoing airstrikes in Syria, which has aided the Bashar al-Assad regime in the embattled nation. Assad, a Russian ally, has received military support from Russia in its civil war against U.S.-backed rebels and the Islamic State.
Click for more from Reuters.Cannabis or marijuana is not something that suddenly grew in popularity. It was used since ancient times as a substance to achieve euphoria. It was used in Chinese in the form of a medicine as long back as 2737 BC from accounts of the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung. It then spread to India, then Africa and subsequently to Europe in 500 AD. It was prescribed as medication due to its sedating effects for diseases such as rheumatism, gout and malaria. But once it spread to India it was used as a recreational drug. It was a common alternative to alcohol for the Muslims as alcohol was forbidden under the Koran. It was not as seen as something dangerous back then.
But presently, in many places marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug. It is grouped in the same category as meth and heroin, two extremely dangerous drugs that have the potential to be life-threatening and addictive. In 1545, it was the Spanish that brought marijuana to the United States. It was grown as a commodity along with tobacco and it was also sought after for hemp, a major cash crop. This all changed during the 20th century when marijuana was criminalized to vilify the people who used it, the Mexicans. There was no proof of that the use of marijuana would cause insanity or violent behaviour in its users. There was also no proof it was completely safe either because making it illegal and a schedule I drug meant it could not be researched upon to verify any claims of safety. But things are currently shifting slowly. Though it is still illegal federally, states have given the option to overrule this either for recreational and/or medicinal use. Colorado and Washington DC were among the first states to legalize marijuana. This was followed by a slew of other states, most recently California joining the ranks.
As stated before, India has had a long history of marijuana use, both recreationally and as part of religion. The British conducted studies in India after colonization and attempted to criminalize marijuana three times in 1838, 1871 and 1877 but was mooted all three times. It wasn’t until 1961 under the international treaty Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, that India was forced to criminalize marijuana. People were still allowed to use the seeds and leaves as it was used in the traditional drink consumed during Holi, bhang. Currently, efforts are being made to decriminalize the plant again with the movement getting a lot of traction. In July of 2017, the first-ever license to grow cannabis was given to Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), in collaboration with the Bombay Hemp Company (BOHECO), under medical research grounds.
Other countries that have some sort of legalization include Australia, Netherlands, Belgium, Russia, Peru, Portugal and many more with varying levels of legality. But the common trend is shifting to legalization as more and more is known about the plant. While much research still needs to be done, there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel for people who use it regularly.Two nationwide organizations purporting to be cancer charities will be dissolved, and their president is banned from profiting from any charity fundraising in the future, under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Cancer Fund of America Inc. (CFA), Cancer Support Services Inc. (CSS) and their leader, James Reynolds, Sr., agreed to settle charges that CFA and CSS claimed to help cancer patients, but instead, spent the overwhelming majority of donations on their operators, families and friends, and fundraisers.
The agencies’ complaint, filed in May 2015, targeted four purported non-profits, which the Commission alleged were sham charities, run by Reynolds and his family members that allegedly bilked more than $187 million from donors. CFA and CSS were responsible for more than $75 million of that amount. The other two alleged sham charities settled in May 2015. The settlement announced today concludes the largest joint enforcement action ever undertaken by the FTC and state charity regulators.
Under the settlement order, CFA and CSS will be permanently dissolved and their assets liquidated. Reynolds is banned from profiting from charity fundraising and nonprofit work, and from serving as a charity’s director or trustee or otherwise managing charitable assets. He is also prohibited from making misrepresentations about goods or services, and violating the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule and state laws.
“The FTC and our state enforcement partners have ended a pernicious charity fraud that syphoned hundreds of millions of dollars away from well-meaning consumers, legitimate charities, and people with cancer who needed the services the defendants falsely promised,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Today’s settlement, along with those announced earlier, shut down the sham charities once and for all and banned the individual perpetrators for life.”
“Our office is proud to have shut down these individuals who stole donations meant to benefit people suffering from cancer and used those funds to live luxurious lifestyles and for their own personal gain,” New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas said. “Together, the FTC and charity regulators from every state in the country have made it clear--we will not sit idly while scammers defraud consumers and deprive legitimate charities of much needed support.”
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said, “This settlement helps ensure Reynolds is punished for his despicable and greedy acts. Reynolds took millions of dollars in donations intended to help cancer victims and instead lined his own pockets. Under this settlement, Reynolds is now permanently banned from operating or fundraising for non-profit organizations.”
The order imposes a judgment against CFA, CSS, and Reynolds, jointly and severally, of $75,825,653, the amount consumers donated to CFA and CSS between 2008 and 2012. The judgment against CFA and CSS will be partially satisfied via liquidation of their assets. The judgment against Reynolds will be suspended upon surrender of certain personal assets. The full judgment will become due immediately if he is found to have misrepresented his financial condition.
The other defendants in the case were CFA’s and CSS’s chief financial officer and CSS’s former president, Kyle Effler; Children’s Cancer Fund of America Inc. (CCFOA) and its president and executive director, Rose Perkins; and The Breast Cancer Society Inc. (BCS) and its executive director and former president, James Reynolds II. Under settlement orders, Effler, Perkins and Reynolds II were banned from fundraising, charity management, and oversight of charitable assets, and CCFOA and BCS are in receivership and will be dissolved after their assets are liquidated.
The Commission vote approving the proposed stipulated final order was 4-0. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.
NOTE: Stipulated orders have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court judge.
Before giving to a charity, read the FTC’s Charity Scams.
The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.The buzz in China is thatmay have signed a contract with's new showbiz company.
According to Sina, Wang Sicong, son of China's wealthiest man Wang Jianlin of the Dalian Wanda Group, is allegedly starting up an entertainment company called 'Banana Plan', and the first artist they have signed is T-ara.
Wang Sicong is said to be a big fan of the girl group, to the point that he invited them to put on a private concert for his birthday previously. So after a year of much thought and negotiation, he and T-ara are said to have signed a contract.
He's also said to have revealed his intention to sign on many more artists for his new startup company, and that he'll reveal details at a later date.
Some rumors going around about this matter say that the deal that Wang Sicong made with T-ara is that he'll give each member a Ferrari, and that he'll pay T-ara's current agency $8 million to terminate their contract with the girl group. However, these may just be wild exaggerated rumors sprouting up due to the buzz surrounding T-ara's alleged signing with Wang Sicong.
T-ara's agency, MBK Entertainment, has yet to issue a response to the matter.This much we know: Carlos Condit will fight in a No. 1 contender’s bout at UFC 171, and Matt Brown, Nick Diaz and Tyron Woodley have been ruled out as potential opponents. Jake Ellenberger, meanwhile, is game for a rematch with the former interim champ.
Ellenberger, who suffered a narrow split-decision defeat to Condit at UFC Fight Night 19 back in 2009, apparently has been asked about the open slot. On Sunday evening, he gave his answer.
I've been getting bombarded from the fans about Condit/Ellenberger II fight -If that's what you guys want, I'm in! — Jake Ellenberger (@EllenbergerMMA) December 16, 2013
The UFC welterweight division was thrown into a state of chaos this past week when long-reigning champion Georges St-Pierre vacated his title and announced an indefinite hiatus from fighting. The UFC then booked Johny Hendricks (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) and Robbie Lawler (22-9 MMA, 7-3 UFC) for a title fight at UFC 171, which takes place March 15 at American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Condit (29-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) also was booked for the pay-per-view card, though an opponent hasn’t been finalized for the title eliminator. Brown, who was forced out of a planned UFC on FOX 9 bout with Condit due to a back injury, won’t get the slot, according to White. Additionally, White said Diaz turned it down, and he said Woodley isn’t ranked high enough for the fight.
In that regard, Ellenberger (29-7 MMA, 8-3 UFC) may be an attractive option for the UFC. With St-Pierre still No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings, No. 2 Hendricks and No. 11 Lawler will fight for the vacant title. Condit is ranked No. 3, and No. 4 Diaz, No. 9 Brown and Woodley (who’s an honorable mention and outside the top 15) have been ruled out. Unless No. 5 Rory MacDonald is pulled from a UFC 170 bout with No. 8 Demian Maia, No. 6 Ellenberger is the highest-ranked candidate.
Ellenberger was on an 8-1 run, which included victories over the likes of Jake Shields and Nate Marquardt, before a recent decision loss to MacDonald at UFC on FOX 8. He was then slated to fight Tarec Saffiedine next month at UFC Fight Night 34. However, Ellenberger suffered a hamstring injury and pulled out of the bout.
Apparently confident he’d be ready in time for UFC 171, Ellenberger has now made his case for the Condit rematch.
For the latest on UFC 171, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.
(Pictured: Jake Ellenberger)“In the course of getting a plate of food to our table, we’re paying a lot of attention to the farmer, the chef, the farmers market — all of that is as it should be, but we pay very little attention to the thing that starts it all, the seed.” That sentiment comes from Janisse Ray, farmer and author of the new book The Seed Underground: A Growing Revolution to Save Food.
And it’s true; for many of us, seeds are a mysterious, invisible piece of the food puzzle. While we’re busy thinking about how to fix our food economies, seeds often slip through the cracks. And we’ve lost an almost unfathomable amount of genetic diversity as a result; depending on whom you ask, anywhere between 75 to 95 percent of our fruit and vegetable varieties have been lost for good. Highly functional, often bland, hybridized and genetically engineered varieties have taken over the commercial market — as opposed to the more delicate, complex heirloom varieties with stories and names attached, such as Dragon Tongue beans, Country Gentleman sweet corn, and May Queen lettuce — and Monsanto, Dupont, and Syngenta now own over half of the world’s seeds.
So, you might say Ray’s book has appeared just in time. In it, she makes a compelling argument for seed-saving as a subversive act that has the potential to undermine industrial agribusiness and takes readers to the farms and gardens of people around the country who are growing, collecting, and swapping seeds.
“Our grandparents and great-grandparents were caretakers of seeds. Now we rent them,” she told me in a recent interview. Eighty-eight percent of corn is genetically engineered, for instance, says Ray, and it has been engineered so that it’s impossible to save. Every year farmers must buy new seeds from the companies that engineer them in a laboratory. On the other hand, says Ray, “100 years ago there would have been thousands of varieties of corn all across this country. Local, vintage, place-adapted corn. When seed companies patent genetic material, own it, and decide what you get to buy, it’s time to pay attention.”
Open-pollinated, non-GMO seeds also have a role to play in helping us prepare for climate change, says Ray. She describes “place adaptation” as one of the secret miracles of seeds. (It only takes around seven years of planting and seed-saving in the same location for, say, your favorite pepper variety to become adapted to where you live.)
“A seed is like a natural memory stick; it contains millions of years of DNA, it stores and reproduces climate data for generations. Among these thousands of genes are some you never know if you’re going to need, but in this time of intense climatic variability, seeds will be able to offer us avenues for survival.”
Ray points to organizations like The Organic Seed Alliance and others that are “leading farmers to breed seeds especially adapted for organic, low-input agriculture and adapted for conditions that we’re facing now, like long periods of drought.” (Their odds of succeeding are probably better over time than the “drought-tolerant” seeds Monsanto has on the market.) And while seed banks — like the one the Norwegian government has carved deep into the permafrost in the arctic circle — are both fascinating and important, Ray says an active culture of gardening and seed saving can serve the same purpose, and it’s more democratic, as most people can rarely gain access to big institutional seed banks.
In the book, Ray brings her audience along to visit some of the people who have put seed-saving at the center of their lives — from Sylvia Davatz, a breeder who grows and sells her own seeds, to Will Bonsall of Maine’s Scatterseed Project, and Charles Case, “The Tomato Man.” She also tells stories of people like John Gilfeather, a man known for breeding and preserving his own turnip varieties.
“They’re revolutionaries who would never call themselves that, who have been keeping these foods alive. Sometimes it’ll be one cantaloupe variety in a family — they grow it, then their kids and grandkids grow it. Or sometimes it’ll be one person curating hundreds of varieties, like Glenn Downs [of the Sand Hill Preservation center] in Iowa.” Ray says she’s met one North Carolina gardener who grows over 50 varieties of sweet potatoes alone.
And, perhaps more important, each seed variety tells a story. “The story just keeps growing as the seeds get passed from person to person,” Ray says. “I got this bean from my friend who got it from a gardener in Mississippi, who got it from another farmer in Georgia …” By comparison, Ray points to the laboratories she’s visited, where each strain of each plant is given a name like X1247B. What is often lost — in today’s farming world — is the stories. And, as Ray sees it, stories belong at the center of our relationships with food.
In The Seed Underground, Ray details her own effort to track down the seeds for a rare cowpea (a Southern legume, similar to a black-eyed pea) she has grown and then lost. Although she ultimately gets sent a batch of the seeds, there is a moment in the book where Ray worries that the variety may no longer exist anywhere. When she calls the owners of the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds company and they can’t find it either, she starts to worry. Then, after contacting another seed-saver, who she believes may have them, she writes:
She didn’t know that I had grown the seeds and lost them. She didn’t know that I was afraid she would check her supply and find out that she’d been mistaken, that she had lost them too. I was afraid that they were gone for good, a big X-mark on my karma.
When asked about the kind of responsibility she and other seed-savers like her feel, Ray said she hopes to awaken in eaters the sense that we all need to be responsible for keeping our food and farming genetically diverse. But for Ray, it’s a form of responsibility rooted in deep connection. Quoting Aldo Leopold, she sums it up this way: “Obligation follows on the heels of love.”
Read one excerpt from Ray’s book called “How to save tomato seeds.”Starbucks says it plans to hire 10,000 refugees over five years in the 75 countries where it does business.
Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz outlined the company's plan in a memo sent to employees Sunday in response to President Trump's executive order banning travel from seven Muslim majority countries.
"We are living in an unprecedented time," Schultz wrote in the memo, which listed several actions the company says it is taking to "reinforce our belief in our partners around the world."
The refugee hiring proposal, Schultz wrote, will begin with a focus on people who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel.
Related: GE's Jeff Immelt shares employee 'concern' over Trump travel ban
Schultz also reiterated Starbucks' (SBUX) support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which helps undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children get driver's licenses, enroll in college and secure jobs. The program was created by President Obama through an executive order in 2012.
And Schultz said the company is "ready to help and support our Mexican customers, partners and their families" should any proposed trade sanctions, immigration restrictions and taxes affect their businesses.
Related: These companies wouldn't exist if it weren't for immigrants
"We are in business to inspire and nurture the human spirit, one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time," Schultz wrote. "That will not change. You have my word on that."
Schultz is the latest business executive to weigh in on the travel ban. Earlier Sunday, General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt wrote to employees that he shared their "concern" over the order, and added that GE has many employees from the countries named in the ban.
Several tech executives have also publicly denounced the travel ban.Everywhere I go, I come in contact with men (and sometimes women) who have fallen into some addictive sexual sin. Most people are looking for an easy way to get rid of their “problem.”
My response to them is not what they were looking for, but it does offer hope in a way that only God can offer. You see, the same issue that led to our “problem” keeps us enslaved to our “problem.” Most of us are hard-core hedonists.
Hedonism is a school of thought that’s older than Christianity. It has two major tenants: first, the pursuit of pleasure, and second, the avoidance of pain. Unfortunately, nearly all of us have been formed in this school of thought and attempt to live this out IN our Christianity. It is because of this that our efforts, perceptions of truth, and conclusions are diluted.
Dying to Self
The critical issue is that our fallen nature is full of “self-love.” This self-centeredness is focuses on taking care of ourselves before anyone else. In doing that, we look to meet our needs regardless of the impact on others. God created us for LOVE, not selfish appeasement. Love always comes from God. Love is selfless and always puts the other first.
Addictive sexual sins are so prevalent these days because Satan has saturated our entire culture with sex and focused our attention on the feelings we get from this activity. In doing this, he has removed our attention from the true meaning of our sexuality and cultivated in us a desire to use ourselves and others as mere sources of pleasure.
Therefore, those of us who are looking to get rid of our addictive sin, are not really committed to “paying the price” (suffering) to be free of it. The entire reason we started the activity was to feel better about ourselves when we felt pain. As Hedonists, we want God to heal us without having to suffer any pain. Our priority has always been to find the path of least pain and suffering. Following the path the freedom, that Jesus offers, requires that we choose to love Him more than we love ourselves. This requires that we lean into the pain, instead of medicating our way out of it.
So how does this process work? It always begins with God. Jesus gave us the answer in John 14:15 ”If you love me, you will obey my commandments.” If you want to be free of addictive sin, then LOVE Jesus.
He calls us into an intimate relationship with Himself. In learning to love Him, through giving your entire life to him, we will gain a love for Him that becomes a powerful motivation to fight against yourself — to die! As we grow in our relationship with the Holy Spirit, he will empower use to love greater and more deeply than we ever thought possible.
Our whole focus of life changes as we gain more light from the truth. When we utilize the Sacraments of the Church, we learn recognize their power to transform us. As we increasingly seek to live in the truth, we begin to reject the fantasy life of self-medicating lies and actions. The Sacraments are weapons of the Church for destroying evil in our midst, let us use them!
Growing out of bondage to addictive sexual sin is the process of dying to ourselves. It won’t happen overnight and sometimes the struggle appears to be ineffective. One thing I learned in my journey was that so long as I remained with Christ in the truth, He would heal me! The journey to freedom can be long and hard but well worth the struggle. Don’t give up! Rise, men and women of God, and fight to follow Jesus.
Come, die with me, says the Lord!
_______________________
As the founder of New Evangelization Ministries (NEM), Deacon Ralph Poyo seeks to be a useful tool for assisting pastors in training their parish leadership in evangelization and discipleship. He has traveled extensively around the United States, serving as an evangelist and speaker. Information about his presentations can be found at www.DeaconRalphPoyo.com. You can follow Deacon Ralph on Twitter at @HobbitDeacon. Deacon Ralph is married to his high school sweetheart, Susan, and has five daughters, two son-in-laws, and three grandchildren.In wake of historic Irish vote, constitutional expert says parliament would still need to create laws to enable same-sex partners to marry
A referendum on marriage equality would amount to a “big opinion poll” as parliament would still need to create laws to enable same-sex partners to marry, according to a constitutional expert.
In the wake of the historic Irish vote in support of same-sex marriage, Professor George Williams told Guardian Australia parliament would need to authorise any referendum and the result would not allow any bypass of parliament. A majority on the floor of parliament would still be required to enable same-sex laws.
“You could hold a referendum if you wanted but only if parliament authorises it,” said Williams. “In which case it would be a plebiscite, or essentially a big opinion poll.”
His comments came as Tony Abbott all but ruled out a referendum on same-sex marriage because he said referendums are only required for a proposal to change the constitution.
But the prime minister, who is opposed to same-sex marriage, suggested MPs in favour have to decide whether to bring a vote to parliament.
“Referendums are held in this country when there is a proposal to change our constitution and I don’t think anyone is suggesting the constitution needs to be changed in this respect,” Abbott said.
“It’s up to members of parliament who are eager for change to decide whether they want to bring it forward.”
Williams said while referendums were usually held to change the constitution, there had been three held in Australian history. One related to the national anthem and two related to military conscription.
He said Ireland was “the odd one out” among countries on gay marriage as most governments introduced legislation without a referendum.
Williams said the average cost of a referendum was between $100m and $150m outside an election and half that if it was held in conjunction with an election.
“Given the amount of money we don’t have for other things, it seems a luxury to do this when it wouldn’t change the law,” said Williams.
He said referendums had a poor success rate in Australia and he suggested a same-sex marriage debate would be better enabled as a unifying moment.
“[Referendums] tend to polarise, they can lead to a lot of bitterness and division,” he said. “You would hope it would be a unifying moment.”
After 62% voted in favour of allowing gay marriage in Ireland, ACT Liberal senator Zed Seselja suggested Australia should also have a referendum even though he does not support same-sex marriage himself.
Ireland has become the first country in the world to approve gay marriage by popular vote.
“If you are going to make such a fundamental change it should go to a referendum. I think there is a reasonable argument for that,” Seselja told the ABC on Sunday.
The prime minister said questions of marriage were the preserve of the federal government but it was for the supporters of same-sex marriage to bring the matter before parliament.
“Plainly this is a matter which could quite properly come before the commonwealth parliament if members of parliament wanted it to be raised,” Abbott said.
In recent years, there have been three bills put to the parliament to allow same-sex marriage but all have failed. The Liberal party has not allowed a conscience vote on the issue in the past.
In December 2013, the high court struck down the nation’s first same-sex marriage laws, introduced by the ACT government. The court found, however, the federal parliament had the constitutional power to introduce a national law allowing same-sex couples to marry.
On Sunday, Abbott said there were a range of views in the parliament and the Liberal party room and in his own family. His sister Christine Forster tweeted in support of the result.
Inside the Abbott family I’m probably the last holdout for the traditional position, so look, it is a serious issue Tony Abbott
“Inside the Abbott family I’m probably the last holdout for the traditional position, so look, it is a serious issue,” he said. “I don’t know if and when it’s going to come before our parliament again. It came before our parliament in the last term and was dealt with fairly decisively.
“If it comes before our parliament again, our party room will deal with it. Our party room will decide whether our existing policy continues or not and then we’ll have a good debate.”
Both sides of the Australian marriage equality debate are vowing to step up their efforts following Ireland’s historic “Yes” vote.
Marriage Equality Australia says the result in the traditionally conservative and predominantly Catholic Ireland will remove any doubt marriage equality can be achieved in Australia.
But the Australian Christian Lobby has vowed to campaign harder against same-sex marriage in the wake of the result.
A referendum was held in Ireland because the government believed that an amendment was required to the country’s constitution. In Australia, an equivalent change could be achieved through legislation, but that has not stopped other MPs and senators backing a referendum.
The independent senator for Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie, also backs a referendum, without supporting gay marriage herself.
“We have an elderly population here in Australia... I don’t think you are going to get the same result that has just happened in Ireland,” she told Sky News.
The independent senator Nick Xenophon says a referendum here would be a “circuit breaker”.
“I think the best approach is that there be a conscience vote in the parliament... after all it has been an election issue,” the South Australian senator told Sky News.
The Greens deputy leader, Scott Ludlam, hopes the Irish result moves the issue along in Australia. He says several bills have just fallen short over the past seven years.
“There were reports last week that we may be four votes short in the House of Representatives and we might be able to carry a majority in the Senate,” Ludlam told Sky News.
Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm is preparing a bill for a conscience vote among politicians and believes it now has a greater chance of being supported.
“The traditional argument is equality... my argument is it’s not the government’s business what gender person you are allowed to marry,” he told Sky News.
The Coalition frontbencher Bruce Billson believes there shouldn’t be a single word used to cover all kinds of relationships, especially if it’s one that people feel strongly about, such as marriage.
He suggests formally recognising “committed life partnerships” to allow same-sex couples to attest their commitment to life-long partners before family and friends.
“Polarising the discussion is unhelpful and completely ignores what should be the quality of the relationship and the opportunity for people to love who they love,” he told ABC TV.
• Australian Associated Press contributed to this report
• This article was amended on 28 May 2015. An earlier version said a referendum was required in Ireland because marriage was defined in the country’s constitution as being between a man and a |
726623-b )
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150121/726623-c )
WhatSim connects to more than 400 operators in about 150 countries. Anywhere in the world it connects to the provider with the best coverage and signal right where you are. If you change your position, it automatically searches for a new provider. If a better one is available, it connects by itself without you even noticing it.
Thanks to WhatSim and its worldwide data connection, you can finally chat with WhatsApp whenever and wherever you want without any limits.
The idea came to an Italian entrepreneur, Manuel Zanella (38 years old), engineer, founder and CEO of Zeromobile, Italy's first Global Mobile Operator for low-cost roaming.
Zanella is also famous for being in 2011 the "first mover" in the wearable technology industry with i'm Watch, the world's first smartwatch.
WhatSim is a stroke of genius. Everyone now uses WhatsApp, even when traveling. But you need a data or Wi-Fi connection to chat for free. The most common problem is that the roaming data connection is usually expensive and Wi-Fi is not available everywhere and often it is not even free.
WhatSim allows you to chat with WhatsApp whenever you want.
WhatSim costs just €10 and you can chat for free all over the world for a year. WhatSim has neither fixed costs nor monthly payments and it never expires.
Zanella had also the idea to realize a special version of WhatSim that is inspired by Pope Francis and designed for those countries of the world that the UN calls the Global South.
In some of these countries, buying a WhatSim will cost €5 instead of €10.
For Further Info:
http://www.whatsim.com
http://www.zeromobile.it
press@whatsim.com
Silvia Bullo
+39-347-2780951
communication@silviabullo.com
marketing@silviabullo.com
SOURCE ZeromobileMore options: Share, Mark as favorite
(Note: The map above and post and table below have been slightly updated to reflect new, more complete, and revised state GDP data for 2015 that were released today by the BEA. The previous post was based on preliminary data through the third quarter of last year.)
The map above (click to enlarge) was created (with assistance from AEI’s graphic design director Olivier Ballou) by matching the economic output (GDP) in each US state (and the District of Columbia) in 2015 to foreign countries with comparable nominal GDP last year, using data from the BEA for GDP by US state and data for GDP by country from the International Monetary Fund. For each US state (and the District of Columbia), I identified the country closest in economic size in 2015 (measured by nominal GDP), and for each state there was a country with a pretty close match – those countries are displayed in the map above and in the table below. Obviously, in some cases the closest match was a country that produced slightly more, or slightly less, economic output in 2015 than a given US state.
It’s pretty amazing how ridiculously large the US economy is, and the map above helps put America’s GDP of $18 trillion in 2015 into perspective by comparing the GDP of US states to other country’s entire national GDP. For example:
1. America’s largest state economy is California, which produced $2.46 trillion of economic output in 2015, just slightly above the GDP of France during the same period of $2.42 trillion. Consider this: California has a workforce of about 19 million compared to an employment level in France of slightly more than 25 million workers. Amazingly, it required 32% (and 6 million) more workers in France to produce the same economic output last year as California! That’s a testament to the superior, world-class productivity of the American worker. Further, California as a separate country would have been the 6th largest economy in the world last year, ahead of France ($2.42 trillion) and India ($2.09 trillion) and not too far behind No. 5 UK at $2.85 trillion.
2. America’s second largest state economy – Texas – produced $1.59 trillion of economic output in 2015, which would have ranked the Lone Star State as the world’s 10th largest economy last year. GDP in Texas was also slightly higher than Canada’s GDP last year of $1.55 trillion. However, to produce about the same amount of economic output as Texas required a workforce in Canada (18 million) that was 50% larger than employment in the state of Texas (12 million). That is, it required 6 million more workers in Canada to produce the same output as Texas last year. Another example of the world-class productivity of the American workforce.
3. Even with all of its oil wealth, Saudi Arabia’s GDP in 2015 at $653 billion was below the GDP of US states like Pennsylvania ($689 billion) and Illinois ($775 billion).
4. America’s third largest state economy – New York with a GDP in 2015 of $1.44 trillion – produced slightly more economic output last year than South Korea ($1.38 trillion). As a separate country, New York would have ranked as the world’s 11th largest economy last year, ahead of both No. 12 South Korea and No. 13 Russia ($1.32 trillion). Amazingly, it took almost three times as many workers in South Korea (26 million) to produce roughly the same amount of economic output that required only 9.2 million New York workers! More evidence of the world-class productivity of American workers.
5. Other comparisons: Florida ($883 billion) produced about the same amount of GDP in 2015 as Indonesia ($859 billion), even though Florida’s workforce of 9.3 million is only about 8% of the size of Indonesia’s workforce of 115 million employees. GDP in Illinois last year of $775 billion was just slightly higher than economic output in the Netherlands ($738 billion), even though employment in Illinois (6.2 million workers) is about 25% below the employment level in the Netherlands (8.34 million workers).
MP: Overall, the US produced 24.5% of world GDP in 2015, with only about 4.5% of the world’s population. Three of America’s states (California, Texas and New York) – as separate countries – would have ranked in the world’s top 11 largest economies last year. Together, those three US states produced $5.5 trillion in economic output last year, and as a separate country would have ranked as the world’s third largest economy and ahead of No. 3 Japan ($4.1 trillion) by almost $1.5 trillion. And one of those states – California – produced more than $2 trillion in economic output in 2015 – and the other two (Texas and New York) produced more than $1.5 trillion and $1.4 trillion of GDP in 2015 respectively. Adjusted for the size of the workforce, there might not be any country in the world that produces as much output per worker as the US, thanks to the world-class productivity of the American workforce. The map above and the statistics summarized here help remind us of the enormity of the economic powerhouse we live and work in. So let’s not lose sight of how ridiculously large and powerful the US economy is, and how much wealth, output and prosperity is being created every day in the largest economic engine ever in human history.
Note 1: Earl Fry, Professor of Political Science at Brigham Young University, gets credit as the original creator of US maps with states renamed for countries with similar GDPs (international doppelgangers of US states). He has produced these maps on a regular basis since 2003.“We’re taking the necessary steps to make it clear to President Trump, the Republicans and the Democrats that we will continue this peaceful fight for DREAMers and immigrants as long as it takes to enact legislation and put DREAMers in a safe place,” Rep. Luis Gutierrez said in a statement. | Scott Olson/Getty Images Democratic lawmakers arrested for protesting outside Trump Tower
Three Democratic lawmakers were arrested Tuesday outside Trump Tower in Manhattan, where they were protesting President Donald Trump’s decision to halt a program that extends work permits to undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
A spokesman for Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) confirmed that the Chicago lawmaker had been arrested amid an act of “civil disobedience,” and that he was joined in that act by Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) and Melissa Mark Viverito, the speaker of New York’s city council.
Story Continued Below
A spokeswoman for Espaillat, the first member of Congress to have previously been an undocumented immigrant, confirmed that the New York lawmaker had been among those arrested as well. Photos circulating online appeared to show Grijalva being arrested as well, although a spokeswoman for the Tucson, Arizona, lawmaker did not immediately return an email seeking confirmation that he had been.
“We’re taking the necessary steps to make it clear to President Trump, the Republicans and the Democrats that we will continue this peaceful fight for DREAMers and immigrants as long as it takes to enact legislation and put DREAMers in a safe place,” Gutierrez said in a statement issued via his spokesman. “A few Congressmen and elected-officials gathering in front of Trump Tower doesn’t mean much if it is not backed up by the grassroots and allies and today we are standing with diverse allies to make sure Congress and the president do more than just talk about solutions, they actually follow through with action.”
“Espaillat stood up for immigrant youth to say loud and clear – unequivocally, that he dedicates his work in Congress to protecting immigrants, immigrant families, and their future in America,” Espaillat’s spokeswoman, Candace Randle Person, said in a statement. “Since day one, the Trump Administration has threatened Latinos, Muslims, LGBT, women and the list continues. His decision to end the DACA program earlier this month increased the urgency of what’s at stake and the lives at risk when we fail to speak out against racism in America.”
The most reliable politics newsletter. Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every 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.
Trump’s decision earlier this month to rescind DACA, the Obama-era program that offered protections to so-called Dreamers, prompted an immediate outcry from Democrats and defenders of undocumented immigrants. The president’s decision, announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, comes with a six-month delay, a window in which Trump has indicated he would like Congress to act to permanently protect Dreamers.
While the move to rescind DACA sparked ire towards the Trump administration, the White House has characterized the decision as compassionate, arguing that DACA was likely to be found unconstitutional and a court could have ended it without the six-month window left open by the president. Trump has also suggested that should Congress fail to act, he would “revisit this issue.”The Pentagon is sending as many as 1,000 more troops to Africa to help fight the Ebola virus.
The troops are being sent on top of the 3,000 President Obama has already ordered to help efforts in West Africa.
"We project that there could be nearly 4,000 troops deployed in support of this mission," Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said Friday.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I'm not going to put a floor or ceiling on this," he added.
More than 230 U.S. troops are currently in Africa helping to contain the disease.
The troops are deploying to West Africa to help build hospitals and other treatment centers, as well as testing labs. They will not have direct contact with Ebola patients.
Nonetheless, Kirby said all returning troops would be screened, and those suspected of exposure to the virus would be monitored for 21 days.
The additional deployments come as fears grow that the disease could spread after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first Ebola case in the U.S. on Tuesday.
Officials warned that the outbreak could widen. As many as 100 people in Texas were questioned, and 50 of those are being monitored for signs of the disease after coming into contact with the patient. Ten are considered at high risk for contracting the virus.USA Cycling today announced the five discretionary picks who will join Megan Guarnier on the Olympic Games road team later this summer in Rio, with Kristin Armstrong and Evelyn Stevens slated to compete in the women's time trial, and Mara Abbott and Guarnier joining them to form a strong and experienced quartet for the road race. On the men's side, Taylor Phinney and Brent Bookwalter will compete in both the road race and time trial. Related Articles Olympic prospects look good for Evelyn Stevens
Kristin Armstrong still optimistic about Olympic selection
Guarnier's surprise win in Philly bodes well for Olympic gold dreams
Phinney: I wouldn't want to go to the Olympics if I didn't think I could medal
Abbott targeting Olympic Games debut in 2016
Bookwalter strikes a balance at BMC
Guarnier earned an automatic selection by placing third last year at the world championships in Richmond. Olympic rules mandate that the riders who compete in the time trial must also compete in the road race.
“I think we have a really good team,” said Jim Miller, USA Cycling vice president of athletics, in an interview with Cyclingnews on Thursday. “We have really experienced teams with athletes who are at the age where they can realistically produce medals. We have a really experienced staff that has been together for a couple of quads, so I think we're in a good position to have the possibility of doing something exceptional. But this is the Olympic Games. Winning world titles is very difficult; winning Olympic titles is even more difficult. I think we're in a great position, but it is tough.”
Following the withdrawal from consideration for the men's team by Tejay van Garderen and Andrew Talansky, Miller said, the selection process was fairly clear cut. Criteria established more than 18 months ago dictated that the time trial selections be prioritized over the road race, and with just two spots for the US, the time trial selections also comprised the entirety of the road race team.
“Had Tejay and had Talansky not withdrawn from consideration, then you have a serious conversation,” Miller said. “But when they do, then the conversation kind of goes away.”
Miller said USA Cycling began the selection process nearly two years ago under the pretense that it would have five spots for the road race, but that turned out not to be the case.
“It turned out that the qualification process is based on nation strength and rank of WorldTour teams in the year 2015 – totally different than how they do it in every other discipline,” he said. “Then you have a host of injuries and some sicknesses, you have some unfortunate things that happen to your Grand Tour riders, and we find ourselves at the end of 2015 ranked 18th in the nations ranking and only two spots.”
The time trial route in Rio, which the men will traverse two times, is considerably lumpy, with two significant climbs [one of which is 6km] and a rolling section of unengineered roads that follow the coastline's topography. The parcours call into question how well Phinney, who recently won the US time trial championship in North Carolina, will fare. Miller expressed confidence in the chances for the 25-year-old American, who was second at the 2012 world championship time trial in the Netherlands and fourth in the 2012 London Olympics road race and time trial.
“It was really lumpy and a really hard time trial, not that unsimilar to this time trial in Rio, with the exception that this Rio course has one climb that's considerably longer,” Miller said of the 2012 worlds course. “Other than that, it's pretty lumpy like that, and Taylor was [second]. I think with time trialists, ultimately, no matter where you put the time trial, no matter what the terrain, no matter what the course, the good time trialists still produce good results. So I think Taylor will be fine on this course.”
Phinney most recently raced at the Ster ZLM Toer, where he finished second to LottoNL-Jumbo's Jos Van Emden in the 6.4km opening race against the clock. He told Cyclingnews that following that Dutch race he was returning to his home in Boulder, Colorado, to train specifically for the Olympic time trial.
“One thing about Taylor is – some guys are really good trainers and some guys aren't, they just prefer to race – Taylor happens to be a phenomenal trainer, and when he says he's going to do something, he's gonna go back and hibernate and 'Rocky' style the camp, so you know he'll show up prepared,” Miller said.
Armstrong gets another shot at Gold
The selections for the women's time trial and road race will likely be more controversial than the men's, with Carmen Small recently winning the US time trial championships in Winston-Salem but not making the cut for the Olympic team. Small beat Armstrong, who was third in Winston-Salem, by more than a minute. Stevens was sixth, nearly two minutes down.
Miller, who recused himself from the women's selection process because he coaches Armstrong, said the selection committee removed any subjectivity from the process and based its decision “bullet point for bullet point” from the printed selection criteria.
“We don't have the luxury of professional opinions or subjectively making a choice,” he said. “We have to objectively evaluate those bullet points, and say, 'Who checks the box?' Prior arbitrations have made it crystal clear that top international results take precedent over top domestic results. In our own printed athlete selections we have a paragraph discussing that, and it's clear.”
The top set of criteria involve medal capability, including top finishes at the most recent Olympic Games. Armstrong, who has twice won time trial gold at the world championships and Olympics, checked several of those boxes with past performances, including a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London, while Small was third at the 2013 world championships.
Nevertheless, Armstrong's admittedly lacklustre performance at nationals last month called into question her ability to continue to perform at a “medal-winning” level, another part of the selection criteria. Armstrong appeared to wither in Winston-Salem's heat and humidity, conditions she's likely to face again in Rio.
But Miller said not too much should be read into the nationals performances from Armstrong and Stevens, who holds the current UCI Hour Record. Both were coming off tough races at the Tour of California, a race Small did not compete in.
“Because I do coach Kristin, I can tell you the issue in Winston-Salem – there was the heat and humidity – but I think it had a lot more to do with the Tour of California,” he said. “You saw this with Evelyn, too. They raced really hard at the front for that GC. They took big shots at each other. That was a pretty big load in terms of kilojoules that they came with, and then they all flew directly to North Carolina.
“I'm sure they were all doing their own heat acclimation programs to prepare for Winston-Salem, but then they all went to Tour of California, where they stayed in relatively cold weather, and that will kill your heat acclimatization.”
Miller said Armstrong's power files from the national time trial showed a rider who came into the event fatigued.
“She didn't make any excuses for it, by the way, but she gets there and she gets in the heat and, just looking at her power file, there's a pretty linear decay in power throughout the course of that time trial, so that was the deal,” he said. “Whether or not they debated this in the selection, I don't know.”
With Armstrong and Stevens selected first for the time trial, and Guarnier having earned an automatic qualification for the road race in Richmond, for all practical purposed the selection committee had just one more rider to pick for the road race. Given the hilly nature of the Rio route, Abbott was a natural selection for the team.
“Mara is unquestionably the best climber in the world,” Miller said. “I don't think there's any room for debate from anyone. Her climbing and her results stands by itself when it goes uphill.”
Although the course is well suited for a climbing specialist like Abbott, Miller said, Guarnier, who currently leads the Women's WorldTour after winning the Tour of California and the Philadelphia International Cycling Classic, has been riding phenomenally.
“She's on great form and she's been on great form,” Miller said. “She's the first or second best road racer of the year. Between her or Lizzie [Armitstead]. And it really depends on their team who they are going to ride for to get the result.”
The team for the women's road race is heavy on experience and is tactically savvy, Miller said, providing the US with flexibility once the race begins to play out.
“I don't want to give away too much of the tactics,” he said, “but I think it gives us the ability to race multiple tactics and to be able to call audibles and migrate through a progression of options and still be a player at the end of the game.”
Given that experience and strength, the women's road team is going into the race as one of the favourites, and considering the men have only two spots, clearly represents the best chance for a road medal during the games. That's a lot of pressure from a country pining for high-profile international success that the Olympics provide, but Miller said all four riders are up to the task.
“All four of these women have raced their entire careers with a lot of pressure and a lot of high expectations, not only from themselves but from others,” he said. “They haven't gotten to where they've gotten because they can't manage pressure or high expectations."
2016 U.S. Olympic Cycling Team:
Road
Mara Abbott (Boulder, Colo./Wiggle-Honda): Women's Road Race
Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho/TWENTY16-RideBiker): Women's Road Race, Women's Individual Time Trial
Brent Bookwalter (Asheville, N.C./BMC Racing Team): Men's Road Race, Men's Individual Time Trial
Megan Guarnier (Queensbury, N.Y./Boels Dolmans Cycling Team): Women's Road Race*
Taylor Phinney (Boulder, Colo./BMC Racing Team): Men's Road Race, Men's Individual Time Trial
Evelyn Stevens (San Francisco, Calif./Boels Dolmans Cycling Team): Women's Road Race, Women's Individual Time Trial
Track (announced March 18)
Matt Baranoski (Perkasie, Pa./Custom Velo): Men’s Keirin
Kelly Catlin (Arden Hills, Minn./NorthStar Development): Women’s Team Pursuit
Chloe Dygert (Brownsburg, Ind./TWENTY16 p/b SHO-AIR): Women’s Team Pursuit
Sarah Hammer (Colorado Springs, Colo.): Women’s Omnium*, Women’s Team Pursuit
Bobby Lea (Mertztown, Pa./Custom Velo): Men’s Omnium
Jennifer Valente (San Diego, Calif./TWENTY16 p/b SHO-AIR): Women’s Team Pursuit
Ruth Winder (Lafayette, Calif./UnitedHealthcare): Women’s Team Pursuit
Mountain Bike
Lea Davison (Jericho, Vt./Specialized Factory Racing)
Howard Grotts (Durango, Colo./Specialized Factory Racing)
Chloe Woodruff (Prescott, Ariz./Team Stan’s NoTubes-Niner)
BMX
Brooke Crain (Visalia, Calif./Haro Bikes-Dans Comp)
Connor Fields (Henderson, Nev./Chase BMX-Monster Energy)
Nic Long (Lakeside, Calif./Haro Bikes-Dans Comp)*
Alise Post (Chula Vista, Calif./Redline USA)*
Corben Sharrah (Tucson, Ariz./Daylight Cycle Co.)*
*Automatic qualificationTexture version 2.0 pre alpha
During my residency period, I’m rewriting “Texture”, the visual front-end for Tidal I started making way back in the closing moments of my PhD. The first step is to re-implement Texture in Haskell — before it was written in C, and spat out code that was then piped into the Haskell interpreter, which was a bit nuts. I’m taking a bricolage approach so don’t have a clear plan, but have a rudimentary interface starting to work:
As before, the idea is that values are applied to the closest function with a compatible type signature. I’ve still had to ‘reimplement’ the Haskell type system in itself to some extent. While I could get Haskell to tell me whether a value could be type-compatible with a function, it seems that this is not enough. This is because in practice, it is very likely that things will be type compatible, and the real constraints come with the presence of type class instances. Or something like that.
My next step is where the real point of this rewriting exercise comes in – visualisation of patterns as they are passed through a tree of transformations. I’m not sure exactly how this is going to look, but because this is all about visualising higher order functions of time and not streams of data, it’s going to be something quite a bit different from dataflow; it’ll be able to include past and future values in the visualisation without any buffering.
The (currently useless) code is available here, under the GPLv3 license.Everything Will Be Too Big to Fail
By the year 2025 we will have finally come to grasp that in virtually every human endeavor, density pays.
Silicon Valley has known this since Gordon Moore coined his eponymous law nearly half a century ago, predicting the exponentially increasing density and decreasing price of the processing power crammed onto microchips — a dynamic that has turned young adults into billionaires with regularity ever since. But as everyone from Paul Krugman (whose Nobel-winning research pointed out the trade benefits of geographic concentration) to contemporary French chefs (who artfully condense the essence of a stick of butter into ever smaller morsels) to condo developers (no explanation necessary) has learned, density pays in the physical world as well. As the World Bank observed in its 2009 World Development Report, half the world’s GDP is produced on 1.5 percent of its land surface. Humanity’s global migration toward ever denser urban living has added trillions of dollars to the global GDP every decade since at least the end of World War II.
Global markets have followed a similar trajectory toward ever greater concentration. The Bank for International Settlements reports that the international derivatives market has grown to $600 trillion from just under $100 trillion a decade ago, whereas the world’s economic output approximately doubled over the same period. The 10 largest banks in the United States now hold $11 trillion of the country’s total $13 trillion in banking assets; the assets of the top five French banks equal 325 percent of France’s GDP. Too big to fail? Not unless you want to render your financial centers impotent.
But density has consequences. Cramming more than half the world’s population and production onto a relatively small area of mostly coastal land means that the cost of natural catastrophes of all kinds will rise dramatically. This year’s earthquake in Japan, which caused more than $300 billion in economic damage, was just a preview; a decade and a half from now, a single hurricane or earthquake will come with a potential price tag of $1 trillion or more. Imagine a world in which economic damage equivalent to that caused by a major war or the detonation of a midsized nuclear weapon in a major city could materialize with a warning of only a few days (in the case of a hurricane) or just one second (an earthquake).
We can look forward to bigger and more frequent financial catastrophes as well. Think of equity capital as land, industry segment as location, and financial risk as density. Concentrating all of these means greater productivity, but it also means that we are inviting ever more catastrophic financial hurricanes. How could the defaulted home loan of a strawberry picker in California wipe out $16 trillion in global financial market value and put so many people out of a job? You might as well ask how O’Leary’s cow, kicking over a lantern in a barn on DeKoven Street, could have caused the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
The world’s exponentially increasing density of, and dependence on, information technology poses similar risks. Consider the "flash crash" of May 6, 2010, in which a perfect storm of faster-than-you-can-think trading algorithms, a large but ill-timed electronic sell order, and a market with a bad case of the nerves caused the Dow Jones industrial average to plunge 700 points in a little over 10 minutes — at one moment achieving the largest single-day decline in the Dow’s history — only to recover within minutes. Or think of April’s failure of the massive Amazon "cloud" (a popular and widely used server platform), which knocked everyone from tech start-ups to U.S. Energy Department researchers offline for several days. In both cases, you do not have to be a network administrator to know that while information technology is watching over us, it is not clear who is watching over information technology. Are we putting the global economy’s trillions of eggs in the largest electronic basket ever constructed?
Recognizing the importance of the density dynamic is essential not only to harnessing its benefits but also to managing its costs — and they can be managed. Technology made megacities possible, while at the same time making catastrophic citywide fires a thing of the past. Now that we are building megacities of financial risk, we need to put the equivalent of new building practices and fire codes in place to keep an ill-timed and poorly placed financial fire from burning down a third of the metropolis. Hedge funds complain about "crowded trades": too many investors and speculators buying the same stocks, bonds, or commodities, thus increasing the risk of market crashes should investors panic and sell the same things at the same time. But where is there a sign in financial markets that says "Occupancy of This Trading Position by More Than 140 Hedge Funds and Banks Is Dangerous and Unlawful"?
Learning to live with the risks of density requires recognizing that density is here to stay — and that’s a good thing. People generally tend to see density as a problem, as anyone who’s ever spent hours in traffic in Lagos or Jakarta can attest. But if density were only about crowded megacities, with their tiny, expensive apartments and horrific traffic, they surely would have splintered apart long ago. Instead, these megalopolises keep getting bigger and denser — and though costs of living climb ever higher, there’s no mass exodus for the countryside. Similarly, the largest banks and information networks may be too big to fail, but their size is too central to the growth of our economies to break them apart. Our visceral uneasiness with this state of affairs means that for many years to come, we will continue to think of density as a side effect of progress, rather than a fundamental driver of it. It may be decades before the rest of us learn what the microchip business learned in the 1960s: that the future is a crowded place, and we’ll all be better for it.Quick Guide:
Spoiler
Option1. Download It(Right Click and Save as..) C:\Users\"User"\Documents\My Games\Path of Exile And Save it There
C:\Users\"User"\Documents\My Games\Path of Exile And Save it There Option2. Copy %userprofile%\documents\my games\Path of Exile and click Windows Key+R, filter there
and click Windows Key+R, filter there Option3. Ingame Option option menu, go to UI tab, Scroll to the bottom and click on the Show Folder Past filters files there
2. Ingame go to Options > UI Tab & scrolls down.
3.
You ready to go :) 2. Ingame go to Options > UI Tab & scrolls down.3. Select the filter and Click reload You ready to go :)
Download Links:
Ment's Item Filters Full[Level 1-64] & Limited [Level 65+] Download It(Right Click and Save as..)
https://github.com/ment2008/POE/releases
Full[Level 1-64]
http://pastebin.com/jZjDRFRn
Limited [Level 65+]
http://pastebin.com/UCj6AbMv
--------------------------
▪ Ment's Filter highlights ▪
I don't see any point by making filter for each item in the game.
This will cause a lot of (visual) confusion. People won't see specific drops. Besides that, new players won't be able to edit it due to the heavy and long list of 1000 lines.
Keep it simple, most of the old colours remain the same.
Keep it organized, sizeable rarity (white low size, magic mid size, rare normal size).
Fit it to your screen, you won't get a mess over the whole screen.
A lot of tests have been made during the awakening beta.
the original code have been improved to enhance the performance and the quality for the Novice~Experienced Exile.
Red highlight version is available for players with color blindness,
more highlight colours may be implanted by requests.
Filter have been splitted into a two parts: Full & Limited,
for letting the Novice players (Without basic coding knowledge) the ability to edit or modificate the script.
Filter have been splitted into a two parts: Full & Limited,
Full for leveling and LIMITED for farming.
You still will be able to see the "Hidden" drops simply by hold the "ALT" key.
--------------------------
Please comment and suggest to improve it, i will keep working on it.
Path of Exile Item Filter | Path of Exile Loot Filter | POE Item Filter | POE Loot FilterFull[Level 1-64]Limited [Level 65+]----------------------------------------------------Please comment and suggest to improve it, i will keep working on it. IGN: MENT
https://github.com/ment2008/POE/releases - My Loot Filter
Last edited by ment2008 on Sep 11, 2018, 2:01:26 PM Last bumped on Dec 5, 2018, 4:30:50 PM Posted by ment2008
on on Quote this Post
Thanks!!!
perfect for lazy 0 codding players like me :)) also me like that you keep original items colors so no need to remember new one Posted by etpcpc
on on Quote this Post
I don't think you're going to find that all that color and "filter" does what you want it to. Your brain's natural filter is going to go to work on it and give you a different result than your theory intended. Posted by Shagsbeard
on on Quote this Post
" Shagsbeard I don't think you're going to find that all that color and "filter" does what you want it to. Your brain's natural filter is going to go to work on it and give you a different result than your theory intended.
I was going to say the same thing. I'm noticing that you're using the same color (yellow) to represent a few different things. And, there are too many colors. This seems really counter productive.
I was going to say the same thing. I'm noticing that you're using the same color (yellow) to represent a few different things. And, there are too many colors. This seems really counter productive. A comprehensive, easy on the eyes loot filter:
http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1245785
Need a chill group exiles to hang with? Join us:
http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1251403 Last edited by Antnee on May 18, 2015, 9:07:09 PM Posted by Antnee
on on Quote this Post
" Shagsbeard I don't think you're going to find that all that color and "filter" does what you want it to. Your brain's natural filter is going to go to work on it and give you a different result than your theory intended.
Agree but not completely, some things may be exact as i made them but some may not :)
anyway i will fix and modify them when item filters patch will arrive.
" Antnee " Shagsbeard I don't think you're going to find that all that color and "filter" does what you want it to. Your brain's natural filter is going to go to work on it and give you a different result than your theory intended.
I was going to say the same thing. I'm noticing that you're using the same color (yellow) to represent a few different things. And, there are too many colors. This seems really counter productive.
If it works for you, ok. I just don't see it working for anyone else. I was going to say the same thing. I'm noticing that you're using the same color (yellow) to represent a few different things. And, there are too many colors. This seems really counter productive.If it works for you, ok. I just don't see it working for anyone else.
"
Show
BaseType "Orb of Fusing" "Orb of Alchemy" "Jeweller's Orb" "Chromatic Orb" "Cartographer's Chisel" "Orb of Alteration" "Orb of Transmutation" "Orb of Augmentation" "Blacksmith's Whetstone" "Armourer's Scrap" "Scroll of Wisdom" "Portal Scroll"
PlayAlertSound 3
SetTextColor 255 255 200 ShowBaseType "Orb of Fusing" "Orb of Alchemy" "Jeweller's Orb" "Chromatic Orb" "Cartographer's Chisel" "Orb of Alteration" "Orb of Transmutation" "Orb of Augmentation" "Blacksmith's Whetstone" "Armourer's Scrap" "Scroll of Wisdom" "Portal Scroll"PlayAlertSound 3SetTextColor 255 255 200
Only low currency items have this "Low yellow"
linked RGB = low currency worth items have the same "Low Yellow" as they worth exact take same valve.
Mid currency items have this "low yellow + Border yellow Color" as 6 sockets
Rare Items got pure yellow 255 255 0 without border as they dropped right now Agree but not completely, some things may be exact as i made them but some may not :)anyway i will fix and modify them when item filters patch will arrive.Only low currency items have this "Low yellow"linked RGB = low currency |
the right of his own goal, Evra fluffs an easy clearance. The ball ends up at the feet of O'Hara on the edge of the area. He's got time and space, but inexplicably decides to lean back and shovel a hopeless shot high and wide left. A real chance, that.
2 min 50-odd seconds: GOAL!!! Wolves 0-1 Man Utd. Wolves may have owned the opening minute, but it's United who take the lead. And it's so simple. Nani chases a ball down the inside-right channel and into the area. He stands still with it at his feet, and with Elokobi facing him, does the Steve Nicol Jiggle for a while before cutting back and unleashing an unstoppable shot into the bottom right-hand corner of the net. What a finish!
5 min: Rooney has a pelt goalwards now. Hennessey is well behind it. Those opening 57 seconds seem so long ago.
7 min: Nani cuts inside from the right and takes another pelt at goal. It's easily dealt with by the home keeper. "Such a curious season, with today's matches a microcosm of it. Manchester United appear to be not so much 'The Invincibles' as a team surrounded by 'The Vincibles'," writes Gary Naylor. "With only two good teams in Spain and none (apparently) in Italy and Germany, where have all the good players gone?" Scotland? Inverness Caley Thistle had a good win today. You can't stop that Adam Rooney.
9 min: We only need one more goal for 40 today in the Premiership. Come on, lads, pull your fingers out.
10 min: WHAT A REPONSE BY WOLVES!!! Wolves 1-1 Man Utd. That's the 40 up, and what a goal! Wolves take a quick corner on the left. Rafael is wandering around in the jazz style, the Best of Elis Regina tootling away in his head. He's paying no attention to Jarvis and Hammill, who trade passes before the former whips a ball into the centre, where Elokobi - who had been diddled for Nani's goal - plants an unstoppable header into the right-hand side of Van der Sar's goal.
13 min: Nani screams down the right and reaches the byline, pulling a delightful ball back to the edge of the D. Fletcher (I think) is coming in to blast it, but Stearman slides in to toe-poke the ball away from the onrushing United player. Great play all round.
15 min: Giggs bowls down the left and hammers a wild shot wide right of goal. Stearman, however, is taking no chances and slides in to deflect the ball out for a corner on the left. From it, the ball's sent through a busy six-yard box and out of play on the right. No United player can get near to the cross, due in no small part to Berra shoving Vidic in the chest. Think Elaine Benes screaming "get out" and then walloping Jerry Seinfeld. The referee, 6, is having none of it.
19 min: It's all United, this, though Hennessey hasn't been forced into a save of late. Wolves are allowing a lot of crosses to fly through their six-yard box from either side, though. "Looking at your picture of Rio Ferdinand, has anyone else noticed what a spitting image he is of John Turturro as Jesus in the Big Lebowski?" asks Simon Reece.
21 min: A lovely flowing move by United. Evra sails down the left, cuts inside, rolls the ball to Rooney, who sets Nani free down the right. Nani sends the ball to the far post, where Berbatov attempts to loop a header over Hennessey and into the top-right corner. The effort sails over the bar and nestles on the top of the net. "How are Wolves so bad?" asks Hugh Collins. "Every time i see them they put in decent performances, they're not afraid of the big teams and there is some quality in their starting 11. Yet somehow they lag behind clueless outfits like West Ham." Does anyone in Sunderland or Ireland want to field this one?
24 min: United's defence momentarily opens up, offering Doyle a chance to rip into the area down the inside-right channel. But Doyle hesitates, Evra comes over to close down the gap, and the chance is gone. Seconds later, Doyle has the ball in a similar area; this time, he decides to zip into the area. Vidic bustles him off the ball, Doyle hitting the floor, causing the crowd to bay for a penalty, but that seemed fair enough to me.
27 min: Stearman clatters into Rooney 20-odd yards out, roughly in line with the left-hand side of the Wolves box. Nani and Giggs stand over the set piece. Giggs dummies, allowing Nani to whip a cute effort just over the bar. That wasn't too far from the top-left corner at all.
30 min: It's a nice open game, this. United are on top, but Wolves have managed a few sorties in the opposition box, usually causing a bit of confusion before a United defender hacks clear at the second or third time of asking.
32 min: Some more decent play from Wolves. A couple of corners down the right. From the first, O'Hara tries to beat Van der Sar at his near post from a tight angle, the keeper hacking clear with his feet. The second is sent deep, Jarvis dancing around on the edge of the area for a while before sending in a hopeless cross. This is a pretty impressive display from the division's bottom side, especially after the start they suffered.
34 min: Nani picks Elokobi's pocket down the right, turns, and wheechs into the Wolves area. I wonder why he didn't shoot? Instead, he hammers a low cross in towards Berbatov and Rooney, which Berra hacks clear. "Nani has certainly started well tonight, but is he any better than wide players of the past like Gordon Hill, Peter Taylor & Peter Barnes?" asks Ian Burch. "Yes he might be quicker and have more skill, but could he don a flat cap and entertain his teammates with a passable impression of Norman Wisdom like them? I doubt it very much."
35 min: Evra whips a cross in from the left. At the far post, Berbatov shapes to scissor a volley into the net, but he drags Berra to the floor as he does so.
37 min: Rafael clunks into the back of Henry, just to the left of the United D. That's a free kick. Milijas tries to dink one over the wall and into the bottom-left corner, but the ball takes a big deflection and only just sails wide right of the goal with Van der Sar stranded. The corner is an egregious disgrace.
40 min: GOAL!!! Wolves 2-1 Man Utd. Rooney, with his back to goal on the edge of the Wolves box, is robbed brilliantly by a combination of Stearman and Zubar. The full back tears right up the middle of the pitch, trades passes with Doyle, and is upended on the right-hand edge of the box. Milijas whips the free kick in towards the near post, the ball either coming off Doyle's head, or rolling down Elokobi's back, and into the right-hand corner of the net! I think that's Elokobi's goal, though this testimony will carry little weight in a court of law.
42 min: Henry is booked for tripping Carrick as he bombs down the inside-right channel. Giggs sends the free kick straight into the hands of Hennessey, much to the collective joy of the home crowd.
44 min: Ferguson is on the touchline with the purple on, a sure sign that Wolves have United rattled. He's not pleased that Rooney was caught by a late challenge in no-man's land that went unpunished. "In response to your comment about Inverness, I can testify that even the mighty Caley Thistle aren't having a great time of it," responds Tim Hiley. "Look at their results since mid december, not just a hammering of a lower league team and you'll find that genuinely there are only 3 top teams in Europe. Luckily, Tolima of Colombia are showing that there is another invincible in the world - did you see them beat Corinthians?"
45 min: A great move by United, Rooney freeing Rafael down the right with a pinpoint pass, the full back planting a cross right on Nani's head eight yards out. The winger sends his effort over the bar when he surely should have hit the target.
HALF TIME: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Manchester United. There's a bit of time for a frustrated Rooney to kick Hammill in the lower back - a real toss-up as to whether he was pulling out of a challenge or simply sticking it in - and that's it for the half. Wolves deserve that lead, having responded positively to an early setback. This is far from over, of course. Remember what happened to Blackpool?
HALF-TIME ENTERTAINMENT: "I adore Elis Regina but I'm 61 e ela ja era," writes Gene Salorio. "I'd bet Rafael has no clue." Well, just in case Fergie lets his charges log on during the break...
Ah, Elis and Tom! Caipirinha, anyone?
And we're off again! United haven't been beaten in the league for 308 days, according to the nice man on ESPN. They're 45 minutes away from that record disappearing. In an attempt to keep it going, Scholes replaces Carrick at half time.
48 min: United start the half on the front foot. Giggs wins a corner down the left, Stearman heading his whipped cross behind. Giggs takes himself, though nothing comes of it. "Re Simon Reece's comment: I have noticed the John Turturro/Rio Ferdinand lookalike before, so I pointed it out to a friend, who laughed at me," writes Tom Chivers. "Perhaps Mr Reece will agree with me that Ruud van Nistelrooy looks like the love child of Neve Campbell and a shirehorse."
49 min: Nani, loitering on the right-hand corner of the Wolves box, has a swipe for the top left. He's not far away.
51 min: O'Hara is booked for a cynical tug on Fletcher.
53 min: Wolves take their time over a goal kick, then a throw in, hoping to take the wind out of United's second-half sails.
55 min: Rooney nearly releases Giggs into the Wolves area with a clever backheel, but the home side close ranks quickly. United have raised their tempo since the restart. "Regarding Tom Chivers' message, I don't have a clue who or what Neve Campbell is but I doubt if any self-respecting shire horse would be flattered by being compared to Ruud van Nistelrooy, at least in the looks deprtament," writes Simon Gill. "Ability to kick is a different matter, though."
56 min: Jarvis twists and turns down the left, then pulls the ball back for the onrushing O'Hara, whose sidefooted effort is blocked but bounces loose. O'Hara rushes after it himself, but is beaten to it by Fletcher, who he upends with a late lunge. Having just seen yellow, he could easily have picked up a second caution there, but the referee opts to blow for a foul and nothing else. Hmm. Fletcher goes ballistic, demanding O'Hara sees red. A poor decision, but that's pretty low behaviour, though his team-mates seem to approve of the harangue. Hold on: didn't poor Rafael get a slap by Ferdinand for acting like this at Spurs? It's almost as though there are different standards for foreign players and British ones.
59 min: Having said all that, there's no doubting O'Hara got away with one there. Realising this, Mick McCarthy hauls him off, replacing him with Foley.
62 min: Jonny Evans goes down for a few seconds and gets up very gingerly. It looks like he's cramping up a bit. "This game is like a slasher movie," chirps the cheery Niall Mullen. "The outcome is entirely predictable, the only intrigue is the manner in which Wolves will come to a gruesome end."
64 min: Rafael has just dislocated his finger in a tussle down the left. Ouch. His hand looks like a geometry project. That's got to hurt. He'll have that popped back in and taped up, he'll be OK.
66 min: SUBFEST! Hammill goes off for Ward. Meanwhile United make two changes, Smalling for a limping Evans, Hernandez for Berbatov. Given the languid striker's contribution to this game, that's a net gain of one player for the visitors.
68 min: Rooney is booked for, well, not much of a lunge on Zubar. Maybe the ref's wondering whether he should have booked the United player for that crump on Hammill just before half time, and it's all totted up. But as a stand-alone offence, that wasn't much.
72 min: Wolves have got a bank of nine players along the front of their area. United pass the ball around a lot. Nani loses patience and skelps a long shot miles wide left and high. "Suddenly your Youtube post from earlier contains a certain irony in the case of poor young Rafael," writes Craig Smaaskjaer. "No jazz piano for you tonight, young man." Jobim's delicate introduction to that track is, now you mention it, the perfect soundtrack for the young full-back's finger gently tinkling out of its socket.
73 min: Hennessey takes a goal kick, really trying it on with the amount of time he uses up doing so. Alex Ferguson is standing on the touchline pointing at his watch. Even by his impressive standards, this is an early showing for that sort of carry-on. "Surely Niall Mullen's fictional wolf-based slasher movie would run afoul of PETA?" wonders liberal do-gooder Alex Hanton.
75 min: A Wolves long ball down the middle. Doyle isn't a million miles from reaching it and breaking clear, but Van der Sar is out of the traps super-early, coming from his box to head clear. Brilliant goalkeeping. United are going to miss this guy when he's gone.
77 min: Giggs races down the left in acres. Inexplicably, he hits an early low cross instead of eating up the yards with the ball at his feet; with few options in the centre, the ball is hacked clear.
78 min: With the Little Pea challenging him in the middle of the Wolves area, Hennessey flaps under a high cross. The ball drops to Rooney, who slices a dreadful effort wide. There were players on the line, so the goal wasn't exactly gaping, but not getting that on target was a crime.
81 min: Evra appears to have winded himself by sliding along the ground in an attempt to save the ball going out for a goal kick. I have no idea how he did that.
84 min: A real full-on scramble on the Wolves penalty spot. It's like the 1970s in there. Hernandez isn't able to get on the end of Nani's left-wing cross. Rooney can't turn and shoot. Fletcher tries to rush in and shoot, but his scuffed effort is shuttled wide right of goal and out for a corner. From which nothing comes. Wolves are really on the rack all of a sudden.
85 min: Scholes is booked for attempting to slam dunk a right-wing cross into the net. That was quite something. He makes no complaint at the decision. He'd have some front if he did.
86 min: United have more of a case for complaint here, though, as Evra reaches the byline down the left and chips a cross into the centre. The ball hits the arm of Zubar, standing right in front of him. Penalties have been given for that, though only ever harshly.
88 min: I tell you what, Giggs may have been fortunate to escape a straight red here. He clatters Doyle straight in the shins, the play already stopped for a Wolves free kick. That was deliberate, and seemed uncharacteristically nasty. The referee gives Giggs the benefit of the doubt, the player claiming he was simply trying to kick the nearby ball to where the free kick was to be taken. Hmm.
90 min: There will be 5 93 added minutes of this.
90 min +1: United are just lumping it aimlessly forward at the moment.
90 min +2: Smalling and Doyle come together down the Wolves left. The former's elbow cracks the latter's nose. Not sure there was much intent, though I only saw it from the corner of my eye.
90 min +3: United still can't string anything together.
90 min +4: At Molineux, a cacophany of discordant whistles. Erstwhile Wolves fan Edward Elgar wouldn't have been impressed.
FULL TIME: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Manchester United. And that's it!!! An extraordinary result. Wolves fully deserved that, bouncing back from Nani's superb early goal, scoring twice, and soaking up an awful lot of pressure in the second half. United looked well below par - Hennessey didn't have a save to make in the second period - and it's a performance which has done for their unbeaten run. Wolves are still bottom, United are still top, but things feel a whole lot different than they did 90 minutes ago.Four members of the United States Military have confirmed that at 7pm local time Thursday, the United States performed a single-missile airstrike targeting an underground tunnel network suspected to be occupied by Islamic State Militants.
The weapon, known as a MOAB (Massive-Ordinance Air Burst, aka Mother of All Bombs) is a 21,000 lb guided missile and creates a massive explosion equal to 11 tons of TNT and has become the most powerful non-nuclear weapon to ever be used in warfare.
General John Nicholson, Commander of US forces in Afghanistan, signed off on the airstrike, which took place in the Achin district of the Nangarhar province.
No casualties have been confirmed yet. The US military is currently investigating the damage and potential success of the bombing.
-Contributed by J.M.
All images property of the United States Air Force.
Advertisements
Share this: Tweet
Like this: Like Loading...Ripples of a revolution: what will Bernie Sanders' supporters do next? Read more
I don’t know what Bernie Sanders is going to do from here on, and I’m not going to presume to advise him on his next steps. He’s earned the right to figure out for himself what’s next for his campaign and the movement he has launched.
But let me tell you this: He’s already succeeded beyond anyone’s imagining.
I remember when he launched his campaign in April 2015. The media labeled him a “fringe” candidate. Comedians made fun of his hair and his frumpled look.
Political junkies smirked. How could a 74-year-old, political Independent, Jewish, self-described democratic socialist take on the most powerful political machine in modern history? How dare he rail against the establishment, the mainstream media, and the moneyed interests? They said he had a “zero chance” of getting anywhere.
Then he won 22 states.
And in almost every state – even in those he lost - he won vast majorities of voters under 30, including a majority of young women and Latinos. By March he had accumulated more votes among voters under 30 than had Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump combined. He also received the most votes from people under 45.
America's voting system is broken. It's time to overhaul it | Trevor Timm Read more
He has helped shape the next generation.
Even more remarkably, he did it without Superpacs or big money from corporations, Wall Street and billionaires. He did it with small contributions from millions of us.
He’s shown it’s possible to come within a stone’s throw of getting the Democratic nomination for president of the United States (granted, it’s not really over until superdelegates vote July 25), without selling your soul or compromising your conviction.
That’s a big deal. It gives lie to the often-repeated claim by Democratic candidates that, while they believe in reforming America’s campaign finance laws, they won’t run “with one hand tied behind their back,” and therefore must rely on big money in order to compete effectively.
With a powerful message delivered by a messenger with passion and conviction, small donations will pour in.
Five things people should stop saying about Bernie Sanders | Trevor Timm Read more
He’s also inspired millions to get involved in politics – and to fight the most important and basic of all fights on which all else depends: to reclaim our economy and democracy from the moneyed interests.
Unless and until that happens, nothing else that’s important for America to do can be done. It’s not possible to reverse climate change when big energy companies dominate politics. It’s hard to achieve equal opportunity when big corporations and Wall Street pay for special privileges and corporate welfare. We can’t have a sane foreign policy when military contractors hold sway. There’s no way the nation can get healthcare costs under control when big pharmaceutical companies and giant insurance companies have so much influence in Washington.
Sanders has forced a serious debate about many of the initiatives he has proposed, such as the necessity of single-payer healthcare, free tuition at public universities, a $15 minimum wage, busting up the biggest Wall Street banks, taxing the financial speculation, expanding Social Security, imposing a tax on carbon and getting big money out of politics.
These proposals will shape the progressive agenda for years to come. I predict many will ultimately be enacted.
Just as progressive leaders at the turn of the last century – “fighting” Bob LaFollette, William Jennings Bryan, and Hiram Johnson – laid the foundation for Teddy Roosevelt’s era of progressivism, Sanders has laid the foundation for a new progressivism. And because America now finds itself burdened as it was then with wide inequalities of income, wealth, and political power, his leadership has been essential.
Sanders’ courage in taking on the political establishment has emboldened millions to stand up and demand our voices be heard.
Regardless of what Sanders decides to do now, he has ignited a movement that will fight onward. We will fight to put more progressives into the House and Senate. We will fight at the state level. We will organize for the 2020 presidential election. We will not succumb to cynicism. We are in it for the long haul. We will never give up.Get the latest from TODAY Sign up for our newsletter
Jan. 24, 2013, 10:05 AM GMT By JoNel Aleccia, Staff Writer, NBC News and JoNel Aleccia
Unhappy with the slow pace of public health efforts to curb America’s stubborn obesity epidemic, a prominent bioethicist is proposing a new push for what he says is an “edgier strategy” to promote weight loss: ginning up social stigma.
Daniel Callahan, a senior research scholar and president emeritus of The Hastings Center, put out a new paper this week calling for a renewed emphasis on social pressure against heavy people -- what some may call fat-shaming -- including public posters that would pose questions like this:
“If you are overweight or obese, are you pleased with the way that you look?”
Callahan outlined a strategy that applauds efforts to boost education, promote public health awareness of obesity and curb marketing of unhealthy foods to children.
But, he added, those plans could do with a dose of shame if there’s any hope of repairing a nation where more than a third of adults and 17 percent of kids are obese.
“Safe and slow incrementalism that strives never to stigmatize obesity has not and cannot do the necessary work,” wrote Callahan in a Hastings Center Report from the nonprofit bioethics think tank.
Weight-acceptance advocates and doctors who treat obesity reacted swiftly to the plan proposed by Callahan, a trim 82-year-old.
“For him to argue that we need more stigma, I don’t know what world he’s living in,” said Deb Burgard, a California psychologist specializing in eating disorders and a member of the advisory board for the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.
“He must not have any contact with actual free-range fat people,” she added.
That view is shared by Dr. Tom Inge, an expert in childhood obesity at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
“No amount of teasing, probing questions about what they wish they could do, or medications seem to help,” Inge said. “So if one is proposing to help them by more stigmatization, that would seem at once both antithetical and unethical.”
Still, Callahan, a former smoker, argued that public shunning of those who lit up led to plunging rates of cigarette use. People were asked to smoke outside and told directly or indirectly that their “nasty” habit was socially unacceptable.
“The force of being shamed and beat upon socially was as persuasive for me to stop smoking as the threats to my health,” he wrote. “The campaign to stigmatize smoking was a great success turning what had been considered simply a bad habit into reprehensible behavior.”
That same pressure could be applied to overweight people, perhaps leading to increased efforts by people to eat right, exercise -- and actually succeed in losing weight, Callahan argued.
“The individual seems to be left out of this,” he told NBC News.
But the difference between smoking and obesity is huge, said Burgard, the eating disorder expert.
“Deciding whether to smoke or not is a behavior,” she said. “The weight your body is is not a behavior.”
Stigmatizing obesity targets not just the act, but the entire person.
“It’s a kind of identity you have that is actually the very most intimate thing about you: your very body,” she said.
Callahan does worry that increased stigma will lead to more retaliation against overweight people in employment and other areas. He frets about finding a way to pressure people to do something about their extra pounds, but without making them feel too badly about it.
“Can there be social pressure that does not lead to outright discrimination – a kind of stigmatization lite?” he wrote.
Callahan’s theory has drawn criticism, not only from obesity specialists, but also from other bioethicists. There’s already plenty of stigma heaped on the obese, said Art Caplan, the head of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Langone Medical Center, and an NBC News contributor.
“Zinging the chubby does not require a shift in our daily conversation,” he said. “Plenty of Americans are already more than willing to chide their fellow fatties about their weight.”
Instead of shaming people, social efforts should focus on forcing food manufacturers and marketers to stop creating what’s been termed an “obesogenic environment.”
“Calls on each of us to take more charge of our food behavior in an environment in which the promotion of fast, unhealthy foods is omnipresent and celebrity chefs extol the wonders of high-caloric meals on television hour after hour is to spit personal virtue against a tsunami of marketing coming in the other direction,” Caplan said.
Still, Inge, the medical expert, says Callahan’s call for more social pressure might play a role when it comes to prevention, particularly with parents of kids on the borderline of obesity.
“If we could somehow make an impact with an edgier approach with young parents who for convenience sake, or out of ignorance, poverty or whatever make very bad dietary and lifestyle choices for their unwitting toddler, that might be something very worthwhile,” Inge said.
Related stories:Psychonauts 2 has hit its crowd-funding goal of $3.3 million as of last night.
The Fig funding page now sits just over that goal, with five days left in the campaign.
"Holy Smokes! We did it you guys!" reads a brief note. "Psychonauts 2 is now fully funded! We want to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for making this possible. We’ve wanted to make this game for a long time, and now we finally can! So thank you, thank you, thank you!"
The sequel to the 2005 platformer was announced in December during The Game Awards, and raised more than half of its goal on the first day.
The Fig crowdfunding resource allows for actual investment in a project, rather than simple donations. Tim Schafer, president and CEO of Double Fine, serves on the Fig advisory board.
Steve Watts is a freelance writer who gets in your head the old fashioned way, with a drill. You can read more of his keen insights by following him on Twitter and IGN.A Kaleen man who was bitten on the penis by his former girlfriend has been found guilty of biting back.
Shane Mitchell Walden, 22, admitted to biting the woman's nose and contravening a protection order that dictated he must stay 100 metres away from her at all times.
Magistrate Robert Cook on Friday found Walden guilty of two counts of common assault and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm over the incident at Bruce in April.
But Walden was acquitted of a further charge of common assault and choking the woman until she lost consciousness.
The court heard Walden had contact with the woman several times at the Groovin' the Moo music festival and sent her text messages to meet later that night at her Bruce home.Getty Images
DeAngelo Williams moved into a new arena recently when he slipped on some tights and stepped into a wrestling ring for a tag team match alongside former NFL player Quinn Ojinnaka.
Williams’ debut was a winning one, although it came with a brief scare when an attempt to leap off the top rope and drive his opponent through a table ended with an awkward fall for the longtime NFL running back. Williams told Adam Schefter of ESPN on a podcast that he once told his late uncle, who was a huge wrestling fan, that he’d get in the ring if the opportunity ever came about and that it was a one-time deal because he still wants to play football.
“I’m definitely playing football,” Williams said. “I guess you could say I’m waiting on the phone call. I guess you could say that. I mean, not guess. You can say that. I’m waiting on the phone call with a G.M. or head coach or whoever decides they need my services. I’ll be ready. You can rest assured of that. I work out every day. I keep in shape because I know once that phone call comes — when it comes, not if — I’ll be ready to step up and deliver.”
Williams ran for 343 yards and four touchdowns for the Steelers last year while also missing time with a knee injury and it may take an injury to another player for that phone call to come Williams’ way.Get the biggest celebs 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
VETERAN comedian Rowan Atkinson wants to do a fifth series of his classic sitcom Blackadder.
The actor, who is currently launching his new spy spoof movie Johnny English Reborn, said yesterday: “It could be reprised in some form or other. I think there is a possibility of a fifth series.”
Atkinson, 56, who also starred in Mr Bean and Not The Nine O’Clock News, told ITV’s Daybreak show that a new Blackadder would take a different approach.
The historical TV sitcom ran for four series between 1983 to 1989, and co-starred Stephen Fry, Miranda Richardson, Hugh Laurie and Tony Robinson.
Atkinson added: “We’re all getting a bit old, sadly, to play the characters in the way we did so we’d have to shift it a bit to make it work.
“They’ve all got slightly different attitudes and experiences to call upon now.
“It would be nice to get them all back together.”Finally, Wickr has released its core crypto code to the open source community.
The end-to-end messaging service launched in 2012, long before Signal took off and rolled out encryption of its own.Yet Wickr became one of the last to publish its code to the open source community.
The service's use of encrypted and disappearing messaging, à la, helped to gain users' that their messages wouldn't, leaked, or exposed to either hackers or federal agents.
But the company's choice to restrict access to its crypto code made it for anyone to be sure that the service was free from vulnerabilities or backdoors, except for a very few select cryptographers and security auditors.
Wickr hopes that publishing the source code will allay those fears and nullify one of the app's critiques -- that nobody could be certain the app was truly secure.
The company released the code on GitHub along with a technical white paper.
"It is now time to begin opening the source code so our customers and partners can easily review the crypto codebase and validate the promises we make to Wickr's users," said Joel Wallenstrom, Wickr's executive.
But while the source code release was months in the making, the company didn't consider the move until recently.
When we met former chief executive in May, he said in the face of his company's critics there there would be no release of source code, citing the company's proprietary intellectual property and a for-profit business structure as barriers.
He departed the company several months later, and the company underwent an internal about-face.
While the service was initially used by dissidents and activists, the company late last year announced its leap into government and enterprise markets with its secure professional-level service in an effort to challenge the collaborative apps, like Slack and Convo, while making the service free for personal use.
When Wallenstrom took over at the helm in November, his was set on bolstering that enterprise customer, and pushing an open source mantra, something which he believes is important in the security space.
The company said it listened to "key voices" to a push towards opening its code to the public, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which its most recent "Who Has Your Back" report gave the company de facto full-marks for its privacy and security.
But that still wasn't enough to convince some companies to turn over their internal communications systems to an untrusted during a time of greater scrutiny in the wake of high-profile hacks and suspicion of surveillance.
Wickr hopes that now that anyone can the code, it will ease the minds of privacy-minded companies.
The response to Wickr's open-sourcing so far has been positive.
"You can't leak what you don't have," said Dan Kaminsky, a veteran security researcher who also advises Wickr.
"For years, Wickr has been at the of ephemeral communication. With Wickr, they are allowing to be confident that what is discussed is not distributed. And by opening their code, they are giving the engineering community strong reasons to trust their," he said.
Opening its code to the world may be unfamiliar territory for the company, but Wallenstrom calls it "an important in Wickr's growth."
Realistically in security, service will only get you so far. It's trust that these companies strive for. In Wickr's case, it's late to the party, but it's better now than never.Last year came the introduction of the new SOLAS requirements for container weight verification to gauge accurate Verified Gross Mass (VGM) of load ocean containers. However after 9 months of the amendment being in place new data has emerged that few are complying to the change.
The Victoria International Container Terminal at Webb Dock has begin to check reference weighing export containers against the VGM of the forwarder. According to their data, an average of 20% of export boxes were mis-declared by a variance of 500kgs, and 8% of exports of boxes exceeded a mis-declaration of a tonne.
Despite a $9000 penalty for mis-declaration of VGM, mis-declaration is much higher than previous expected, especially in imports, which had mis-declarations of 40% for a variance over 500kg and an 11% mis-declaration for a variance greater than a tonne.
Last year, the SOLAS requirements were introduced with little protest. Most understood that their introduction was a necessary factor in providing a safer industry that did not result in tragedys such as the MSC Napoli. However the current rate of compliance to the requirement is something that should be a major concern for the industry.
Currently the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) mostly conducts paper-based auditing for export containers, which can be fraught with problems in mis-compliance. However check-weighing at the terminal will allow a legal accountability for everyone in the chain to understand the necessity to properly report.
In the future the VICT will introduce variance fees to stop the mis-declaration of boxes over a tonne, however in the meantime they are allowing a brief grace period to let the industry catch up to needed standards.
VICT is also encouraging members to use the Weight at Terminal Service which allows Pre-Receival Advice to not include the VGM, allowing members to gauge an accurate reading as opposed to a mis-declared estimate.
DP World are similarly developing a weight at terminal service, however a date of completion has not yet been identified.
Source: Lloyds List AustraliaThere's little in the Australian football world that John Kosmina does not know about.
So when he suggests it should be almost mandatory for coaches to complete their coaching education in the tier of Australian football immediately below the A-League, before taking on a job in the top division, perhaps we should listen and give the idea some consideration.
John Kosmina is one of Australia's most experienced football coaches. Credit:Anthony Johnson
Of course, with privately owned clubs, such an initiative is difficult to mandate. Rich owners will exercise their rights and argue that as they pay the piper, they can call the tune and hire whoever they want. And if they want a recently retired big-name player with little coaching experience, that's who they'll employ.
Nevertheless, Kosmina's suggestion has merit, especially if Football Federation Australia wants the newly branded National Premier League to have credibility as a stepping stone to the big show for both players and coaches, as they say they do.LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Larry Flynt, the publisher of the porn magazine Hustler who was shot and paralyzed in 1978, has gone to court to object to the pending execution in Missouri of a convicted serial killer he says fired the bullet that put him in a wheelchair.
Publisher Larry Flynt, president of Larry Flynt Publications is interviewed at induction ceremonies for adult film stars and producers John Stagliano and actress Belladonna into the Hustler Hollywood Walk of Fame in West Hollywood, California March 22, |
of its own internal contradictions” (Laing). But what is most important at this time, years after a cohesive “movement” has faded, is that the demise of punk marked the beginning, rather than the end of a phase of ideological struggle within popular music itself.
The contradictory character of this beginning is nowhere more evident than in the United States. Here new wave, which was born in the English working class sub-culture has developed as an element of a counter-culture, which, by definition, is lacking strong working class roots. As such new wave in the United States takes on many of the features of the counter-cultural experience as it presently exists, de-politicized, individualistic, heavily influenced by sexism and racist values.
Even English political punk rock, when introduced in this country, has difficulty making the appropriate connections with its new found American audience, because of their different ideological and cultural perceptions. Some groups are sensitive to the dilution of the political significance of their lyrics which results from this trans-Atlantic voyage. On his first album Elvis Costello included a song against the fascist revival in England, aimed at Oswald Mosley (“Mr. Oswald”), its acknowledged leader in the 1930s. On his North American tour, however, Costello found the political impact of his song diminished by the audience’s unfamiliarity with English politics. He thereupon rewrote the song especially for the tour with new political lyrics, this time about the Kennedy assassination and Lee Harvey Oswald.
In some ways punk was transcended and its musicians absorbed, however tentatively, into the broad spectrum of popular rock and roll. The ultimate example of this is the widespread popular acceptance of the Clash, once called “the punk’s punks.” But since punk continues to exist, admittedly in a scattered rather than a concentrated form, it opened many doors and still generates a pressure on popular music to maintain less rigidly defined boundaries, open to new musicians who have something to say.
But our analysis of punk rock must address more than what the musicians have to say. To successfully analyze a cultural phenomenon in such a way as to productively intervene as communists in the class struggle in popular culture, we must address four major elements in a cultural exchange. These elements are the musician or cultural worker, the song or work itself, the audience, and the role of the capitalist cultural and media industries. In each concrete situation, at any particular moment in time, there will be uneven development of various aspects of each of these elements. Each must be understood separately and in their dialectical interconnection.
The elements of a cultural exchange within popular culture exist as a complex totality with various internal contradictions. At any given time, specific internal contradictions will be dominant, and in each instance the interaction of the dominant aspects of the four elements will combine with the secondary aspects to generate a cultural object of varying degrees of importance to the individuals involved, and to society as a whole. A clear example of the wide divergence of historical development, just within the category of the artist, can be seen in Bob Dylan’s political/ philosophical role in culture and society during the Vietnam war, and his current religious/cultural significance today.
With these thoughts in mind we can begin to deepen our understanding of punk rock through a discussion of punk rock musicians.
Punk Rock Musicians
I don’t want to know about what the rich are doing, I don’t want to go where the rich are going. “Garageland”–Joe Strummer and Mick Jones of the Clash
The intention of a musician, artist, or film producer is an important aspect of the process of cultural production, though by itself such intent does not determine the full character of a cultural product, as we shall soon see.
Some people have more dedication to, and/or access to the necessary materials, instruments and time for creative production, and express their inner visions and feelings in ways that can find acceptance by others. This means that the creative intent of an individual can take on more significance than an individual response to one’s environment and life, and become a social expression as well. But though a certain commonality of our lived environment can be expressed for the social whole through an individual, this is not to say that a collective expression is not possible or not necessary. The individual expression is simply the most common under modern capitalism, where the dominant ideology, and most relations of production reinforce and perpetuate individualism.
In responding to the environment and the history of their cultural expression, individuals can accept or reject their experiences. The most frequent response embodies a complex interaction of both acceptance and rejection, with one degree or another of transformation of historical expression. Within this framework the intent of a musician, author or artist can be both progressive and/or backward, and still give expression to broader social attitudes and desires.
Further, the critical tools of satire and parody are means of expressing social criticism that can be both effective and highly contradictory. These forms of expression create a complex link between the intent of the artist and the response of the audience in the process of the creation and perception of a cultural object. We will address this complex link more when we discuss the response of punk audiences. But first we will address the expressed intent of punk musicians.
Punks have become (in)famous for their open hostility to the musical status quo:
That hostility took three major forms: a challenge to the ’capital-intensive’ production of music within the orbit of the multi-nationals, a rejection of the ideology of ’artistic excellence’ which was influential among established musicians, and the aggressive injection of new subject-matter into popular song, much of which (including politics) had previously been taboo.[28]
The established musicians were technically proficient in the use of their instruments and the sophisticated recording equipment increasingly popular with producers looking for a “polished” sound. Thus they were offered the vast majority of recording contracts. In the attempt to justify their own drift away from the raw energy and youthful exuberance of early rock and roll, toward the polished and “sophisticated” styles of rock and roll as “high art” so highly prized by most record companies, many rock stars produced ghastly hybrids of pretentious lyrics, that were often willfully obscure, combined with worn out repetitive sounds. Such attempts to justify ensconement as guitar virtuosos and operatic geniuses was more of an expression of elitism and condescension toward the “faceless crowd,” than it was an attempt to gain recognition for their acknowledged abilities. (The ultimate parody of this elitism is Joe Jackson’s claim that his fans can never hope to touch or see him; they can “only hope to hear me on your Radio.” 10CC has addressed the “high art” debate in “Art for Art’s sake,” where they expose the ultimate concern of most established musicians as “money, for God’s sake!”)
With most record labels trying to make their profits by pushing the established, well-known artists, the slump in the record industry signaled less money available to take a chance on new and un-proven talent. Thus, it became impossible for new groups to get a chance to record songs through normal channels and be heard by more than their local fans. This meant quite simply that these new groups could not make a living making music. Out of the frustration that these circumstances created came the ideology of the “garage bands.” Jimmy Pursey of Sham 69 explained it this way:
... What punk did was give a lot of little groups all over the country the start Tiny little groups just getting up on the stage playing... singing about the environments about them. ’Cos they didn’t have to copy anymore. Like previously all bands played old Beatles tunes and that. Now they just got up and did it.[29]
Another aspect of the attitudes of punk musicians in stark contrast to the star system was/is an openness for interaction between musicians and the audience. When asked by Melody Maker in March of this year why Stiff Little Fingers, an Irish band from Ulster, still considered themselves a punk band, Jake Burns replied,
We are still true to the initial values; we still believe in it as an extension of the audience. We will, hopefully, always be willing to play gigs to those kids and then afterwards hang out... to see whoever wants to come backstage. We’ve always talked to the kids because... knowing what sort of people are filling those seats is more important [than knowing how many people attended].[30]
Further, the punk’s attitude that anyone can play music for entertainment has been born out, as the best and most dedicated of the punks have shown that they can learn to play well in the process of trying, and most often succeeding, to entertain an audience.
Control over the means of production is one of the key issues that punks have addressed, not only in their songs, but also in contract negotiations. Most of the militant progressive punks have songs denouncing their treatment by the multinational record companies. The importance of the early struggles of the Sex Pistols and the Clash in attempting to maintain control over their music and contracts is reflected in the fact that other bands can now take a firmer stand with the corporations. The Gang of Four, an avowedly socialist British band, recently negotiated a contract with Warner Brother for the release of their album Entertainment! that gave the band nearly complete control over their music, advertising and the album cover, all areas where most musicians find they must capitulate to monopoly manipulation. Further, the Clash reportedly demanded that the price of their double album London Calling (CBS) be kept low enough so their fans could afford to buy it.
Many new wave and punk musicians go further in their critique of corporate manipulation, pin-pointing the role of the media, and radio explicitly, in shaping people’s consciousness. The most articulate critique is Elvis Costello’s “Radio, Radio,” where he explains how the radio industry presents itself as the “voice of reason,” advising us what to do and acting to “anesthetize the way that you feel.” Costello worries about “the times ahead,” and denounces those who sit around “overwhelmed by indifference,” unable to look beyond their radios and tape recorders.
As we mentioned before, many British punk musicians are consciously aware of the extreme contradictions existing in modern society, and have built their musical expression around the angry protest of a segment of the youth population. The Clash sing about career opportunities that “never knock,” and recognize that “All the power is in the hands/of people rich enough to buy it.” In 1977 the only solution for the Clash seemed to be a “White Riot,” where white people who had had enough of economic difficulties, were challenged to take the lead from Black people who weren’t afraid to “throw a brick.”
Needless to say, anarchistic themes abound in punk rock, as do nihilistic themes, particularly in the US. The Deadboys (US punks) ironically sang about how much “fun” it is to be down and out and know “you’re gonna die young.” And of course there is always Richard Hell and the Voidoids’ “Blank Generation.” But anarchism and nihilism were not the only reactions to existing reality taken up by punks. The English group Chelsea has a popular single where they sing “We’ve got a right to work,” which was one of the British Socialist Workers Party’s (SWP) agitational slogans.
Directly connected to the protest against dead-end jobs and unemployment is an anti-military stance that threads through much of punk rock, and even some new wave in general. This is so because a commonly advised “alternative” to unemployment is military service. In “Oliver’s Army” Elvis Costello ironically proposes the deployment of the British colonial army around the world: on the “murder mile” in Ireland, to Palestine and to Johannesburg, as a solution to those who are “out of luck or out of work.” And the Clash make it clear that joining the army or the RAF (Royal Air Force) are career opportunities that they can do without.
On their first album the Clash also denounced “Hate and War.” They further develop progressive themes on London Calling. In “Working for the Clampdown” those who are angry at the cruelty of Margaret Thatcher’s racist clampdown on “undesirables” are encouraged to turn that anger into power. In “Spanish Bombs” the Clash draw explicit parallels between the struggles in Ireland and in the Basque territory and the Spanish Civil War. But not only is “Spanish Bombs” a reflection on the brutalities of civil war, it also keeps alive the aspirations of those who fought and died in the trenches with the remembrance that “The hillsides ring with ’Free the people’.”
The Irish band Stiff Little Fingers expresses an angry impatience with the brutality of the British occupation of their native land on Inflammable Material. Like so many youthful musicians, playing in a rock band is an attempt to escape the stagnation of life in Ireland where so many young people end up living and working next door to their parents in a resigned acceptance of the constant state of civil war. On Inflammable Material (Rough Trade) they graphically reflected the Irish situation in harsh and abrasive guitar work and raspy, shouted vocal delivery, interestingly combined at times with Beach Boys harmonies and the beat and rhythm of reggae. Presenting an anarchistic pacifism in “Wasted Life,” on “Alternative Ulster” the band calls for an “anti-security force.” SLF’s dominant message is to “stop the killing,” especially clearly presented in their mournful cover of Bob Marley’s “Johnny Was.” Finally, it would be hard to find a clearer indictment of the false promises of army recruiters than “Tin Soldier,” on SLF’s second album. Nobody’s Heroes (Chrysalis) develops the theme of challenging listeners to look for strength in themselves, blacks and whites, and not to expect rock stars to solve social problems.
One of the most biting anti-military songs to come out of the British new wave is the Gang of Four’s “Armalite Rifle.” This song draws a clear connection between the presence of British troops in Ireland and the pervasive anti-Irish ideology of the British ruling class. The armalite rifle functions “like Irish jokes on the BBC,” to maintain and reproduce the oppression of Ireland. A more in depth discussion of the Gang of Four is developed below.
Sexism and Violence in Punk
Take me and strap me to the electric chair. But you’ll never kill me I’ll always be there. The Deadboys–“Son of Sam”
In spite of the punks who develop progressive themes, expression of sexism, racism and mindless violence are common themes for a number of punk bands, particularly in the US. Robert Christgau of the Village Voice explains that much of punk rock flirts with sexism by exploring rock and roll’s traditional subject matter. Christgau concludes that punk rock in general is “certainly no better place for women than any other rock scene, and in some crucial instances [is] worse.”[31] But he goes on to explain that this very fact is what makes certain groups so important. “In England, the Sex Pistols and the Clash direct their underclass rage, so often deflected toward women in rock and roll, right where it belongs, at the rich and powerful... ”[32]
An emphasis on aggressive arrogance calculated to shock is often the medium that punks utilize for expressing satire and parody. But it is this very lyrical content of punk rock that is the most controversial and contradictory. Social comment is often mixed with sexism, and even racism, sometimes in the same song, and even by groups that purport to have a progressive outlook. The contradictory character of popular ideology is nowhere more graphically displayed than in punk rock lyrics.
In the US sexism and racism have always been a part of the counter-culture which is dominated by white men. Since punk in the US is a counter-cultural phenomenon, and since violence and aggression are emphasized in punk, the tendency is for the sexism and racism to take on a more disturbing character. Songs like the Cortina’s “Fascist Dictator” (I don’t want love in any case, All I want to do is smash your face), and the Nun’s “Decadent Jew”[33] are only two of the most explicit examples of the regressive and reactionary tendencies in punk; but they most assuredly have their counterparts in other areas of popular culture, including country music. British working class culture is not without racism and sexism, and the British punk sub-culture exhibits its share of negative aspects. But in Britain important countervailing tendencies exist in Rock Against Racism and Rock Against Sexism to combat the negative developments that go unchecked in the US counter-culture.
Thus we cannot ignore the reactionary aspects of punk, but must recognize that they reflect attitudes that exist in society as a whole, ideas that once exposed can be struggled with. The key to assessing sexism, violence and racism in punk rock is to analyze to what degree such attitudes are dominant, and to what degree they reflect the general mood of the masses.
The positive elements of popular ideology should not be overlooked simply because the negative elements are so disturbing. It is through the processes of analysis and struggle, and our intervention by means of ideological practice, that the positive elements can be reinforced and the negative elements isolated and overcome. It is only a realistic assessment of existing ideology that will permit productive struggle to break down existing capitalist hegemony and to create an ideological hegemony that will serve all working people.
Finally, “The Clash and the Pistols have established social realism as an essential part of punk ideology, but this does not make their music the ’direct expression of the contemporary working class’.”[34] Contradictory mediations exist between society in general and the ideology of the audience and the musicians, mediations that shape the final lyrical content of punk songs.
Punk musicians, like any others, make their music with reference not just to their own individual or class experiences, but also to existing ideas about the meaning and purpose and potential of Rock. Punk is in its turn, seized on by the music business and given commercial meanings and interpretations which filter back to the musicians.[35]
Thus, the role of the culture and media industries becomes a crucial area for analysis.
The Capitalist Culture Industry
They said we’d be artistically free, When we signed that bit of paper. They meant, let’s make a lotta monnee An’ worry about it later.–The Clash “Complete Control”
In analyzing popular culture the role of the capitalist culture and media industries is quite significant, but also quite contradictory. The culture industry can take what our minds conceive and turn ideas into advertising slogans, works of imagination into hit songs. “This is its overwhelming power, yet it is also its most vulnerable spot: it thrives on a stuff which it cannot manufacture by itself. It depends on the very substance it must fear most, and must suppress what it feeds on: the creative productivity of people.”[36]
The means and relations of musical and artistic production under capitalism have taken on a specific character that lends itself to control by, and profit for capitalists. The industries that have developed around records, concerts, films, television, radio and other cultural forms, all have their specific characteristics, but tend to reproduce similar types of relations, specifically in the separation of the cultural worker from the audience, and in the production of commodities to be consumed by isolated individuals. In discussing this process in the music industry, specifically in relation to the transformation of rock music in the 1960s from a “folk music” which was “listened to and made by the same group of people,” into an expansive commercialized commodity industry, Jon Landau of the Rolling Stone explains how rock and roll
came from the life experiences of the artists and their interaction with an audience that was roughly the same age. As that spontaneity and creativity have become more stylized and analyzed and structured, it has become easier for businessmen and behind-the-scenes manipulators to structure their approach to merchandising music. The process of creating stars has become a routine and a formula as dry as an equation.[37]
With the perpetuation of the star-cult phenomenon capital attempts to maintain control over the entire process of cultural production, from the production of records and movies in the studio, in total isolation from an audience, to the separation of the performer from the audience before, during and after a concert, spirited away by the “Goon Squad” (Costello) provided by the manager and record company to create and maintain a particular mystical image of the star.
But at the same time that the cultural industry manipulates its producers and consumers, it is also subject to contradictions from both directions. While the culture industry is vulnerable to the changing mood of the masses, which it works so hard and effectively to control through advertising, it is also vulnerable to changes in the standard of living of the masses. When inflation generates the need to choose between eating and seeing a movie, generally (but not always) the food industry gets the money before the entertainment industry. But even further, to make “new” culture the culture industry depends on people capable of innovation–in other words, potential “troublemakers.”
It is inherent in the process of creation that there is no way to predict its results. Consequently, intellectuals are, from the point of view of any power structure bent on its own perpetuation, a security risk. It takes consummate skill to ’handle’ them and to neutralize their subversive influence. All sorts of techniques, from the crudest to the most sophisticated, have been developed to this end: physical threat, blacklisting, moral and economic pressure on the one hand, overexposure, star-cult, cooptation into the power elite on the other, are the extremes of a whole gamut of manipulation.[38]
But these are short term practical approaches to a problem which in principle cannot be finally resolved. For on the level of production, even more so than in consumption, the cultural industry has to deal with partners who are potential enemies. In their attempts to proliferate an all pervasive popular culture, the industry simultaneously proliferates its own contradictions.
Thus, when we analyze the industry element of popular culture we cannot concentrate exclusively on the supposed, and often quite real conspiracies of manipulation, but must develop an understanding of areas where the industry is vulnerable to the progressive struggle to alter the status quo.
It is thus important to see that the punk ideology of the garage band was more than just an attack on the star system. It became a mechanism whereby the bands recorded themselves, without expensive equipment, and even distributed the recordings outside the established outlets. The Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen” moved to the top of the record charts in England even though the major record retail chains refused to handle it.
One important aspect of this development is that new independent recording companies grew up in competition with the huge multinationals. By now, though, most of the independents have either folded, been absorbed by the large conglomerates, or become conglomerates themselves. The main exception is Rough Trade records. Rough Trade is a cooperatively run independent that maintains an open policy toward musicians and recording, and released the debut albums of the all women band, the Raincoats, and Stiff Little Fingers. Rough Trade also has a progressive operating policy, where all staff receive the same wages, and successful struggles have been waged against sexist record covers.[39]
Interestingly enough, the earliest innovators in rock and roll had problems with major recording companies similar to those of the punks. Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and the Drifters all started on small independent labels. Of course the multinationals got into the act once the new music had proven itself marketable and profitable.
The special relations of cultural production under capitalism generate the production of specific cultural products in particular ways. But the relationship between the cultural worker and specific capitalists cannot totally dominate our analysis. The cultural object created takes on its own significance, outside of the intent of its creator, the manipulation of capital or the response of a given audience at a given time, potentially taking on a lasting historical significance.
The Cultural Product
The cultural object or product itself can take many forms, both materially as a concrete object, or transitorily as an experience, including songs, paintings, films, books, posters, cartoons and dramatic or musical performances. Such a product “must be appreciated as a unique and specific embodiment of a determinant ideology or ideological element, reflecting their contradictions and ambiguities. But a cultural product is not simply a reflection of the ideology it embodies. It serves to develop that ideology, to constitute it in a new way, and reflects back upon and shapes the ideology in terms of both form and content.”[40] A good example of this is the effect that the songs of Bob Dylan had on the attitudes of masses of young people and other musicians in the early 1960s, helping infuse a “new” socio-political content into the form of rock and roll music, and actually helping to transform the musical vehicle for social protest.
And while it is true that the cultural form of a song, novel or painting cannot be totally isolated from the content of the ideas and feelings embodied in that form; the two are not mechanically linked in a monolithic unity. For the purposes of analysis it is crucial to be able to discuss the two distinct elements in their relations of relative autonomy to each other. Form, no less than content, is a product of historical development linked to ideology and ultimately to the mode of production. Today the popular song is a form of expression for such widely diverse content as protesting nuclear power and promoting reactionary foreign policy toward oil exporting countries.
Thus, our previous discussions of the musical form of punk rock are not detours into “bourgeois formalism.” By recognizing the specific form of a song like Bob Marley’s “Johnny Was” as specifically an expression of Jamaican reggae (with all that this means for its form–base line, rhythm, vocal style, lyrical content, etc.) we can begin to understand how and why such a song can be taken up and transformed by Stiff Little Fingers into an object expressing similar emotions of sorrow in a quite different national and political context (Northern Ireland). An abrasive and cacophonous guitar lead to what was originally a lilting reggae song seems incongruous unless we recognize that the urban pace and regular machine gun and rifle fire of civil war torn Belfast, create a reality that can only be expressed for those adhering to “social realism” as harsh and disconcerting musical sounds.
The electric guitar, and amplified instruments generally, have been explained as a conscious response to the intensity of urban life and modern technology. For example, the Chicago Blues style developed by Muddy Waters, Little Walter and many others, took the old Mississippi Delta Blues and transformed it. Delta Blues are not “real” blues in opposition to Chicago Blues; neither is more valid or “better” than the other. Chicago Blues simply reflects the changing values and life experiences of a new generation of musicians entertaining people who work in factories rather than cotton fields.
A serious concern in the analysis of the popular song is, again, the role of the capitalists and the less creative artists trying to cash in on the innovations of others. There is a strong tendency within rock and roll toward the cooptation of every innovation in attempts to transform or incorporate them into “pop” music, the watered down “easy listening” sound, at times hardly more invigorating than Muzak. This happened to Rockabilly in the ’50s, to “progressive” rock in the ’60s and has happened with the same regularity to punk, with Linda Ronstadt’s new album (Ronstadt has always been a leader in covering rock and roll classics), the Cretones, the Knack, and even Alvin and Chipmunk Punk.
Quite unlike their counterparts in the ’50s and ’60’s, the punks recognized this tendency as a possibility from the very beginning. Tom Robinson, on “Too Good to be True,” sang “I hope in hell I’m able to tell/whatever’s happened to me,” and the Clash speak volumes on this process of cooptation in many of their songs. This recognition by the punks is demonstrated more than in just the lyrics to some songs, but in the music itself. This is especially clear on the Clash’s new album, London Calling, where the band has maintained and deepened their cultural integrity by going back to the roots of rock. The Clash have done this by incorporating into their own developing sound, musical ideas from the different forms of youth music (rhythm and blues, ska, rockabilly, reggae) from before they were coopted into “pop.”
Because mention of the Clash usually finds people anticipating “angry lyrics and the most blistering musical pace in memory,”[41] their new album is quite significant. “Their militancy assimilated into style, their anger into care and caution, the Clash have sought redemption in diversification...,”[42] But this is not to say that the energy and political stand of the Clash are lost on London Calling. It is to say that these elements have been combined into a powerful cultural-political statement that should be carefully considered by the US left.
As a realistic picture of the attitudes of a large segment of British working class youth, parts of this album are an important historical document. “Lost in the Supermarket” provides a description of the loneliness and dissatisfaction that accompany modern consumerism that is equally applicable to the US. The Clash’s militancy is here exchanged for an autobiographical sketch that one reviewer has likened to a lullaby. Other reflections on the current state of affairs, however, are not so calmly articulated. The title track paints an apocalyptic picture of impending famine, war and nuclear meltdown.
A much less weighty, though important topic is addressed in “Lover’s Rock,” which considers birth control pills and sexual responsibility. Though somewhat lost in the lyrical presentation (which Joe Strummer has said is based on “The Tao of Love and Sex”), a clear implication is that unwanted pregnancies are not simply the responsibility of the woman, but concern the men, “so free with your seed,” who should take some responsibility in love relationships.
Songs such as the remake of “Stagger-Lee” (“Wrong ’Em Boyo”) with its refrain to avoid cheating the “trying man,”[43] “The Card Cheat” where “There’s a solitary man cryin’ ’hold me’/It’s only because he’s lonely,” and “I’m not Down” all reflect feelings and values not uncommon to a vast audience of young working people. And it is the innovative musical presentation of such popular and perceptive reflections that draws big corporations to distribute music that is generally quite openly anti-corporate in content.
This is not to say that the contradictions of the Clash can be ignored, but it is to say that their weaknesses must be situated in a much more broadly defined understanding of their importance as progressive musicians actively shaping our cultural lives, entertaining a very broad popular audience, and in some ways helping to break down the existing ideological hegemony of the ruling class in rock and roll.
Thus we must go beyond the recognition that much of punk rock was mediocre, and some indeed incompetent, including the definite tendencies toward monotony due to the lack of “rhythmic subtlety and memorable melodies” (Dancis) in many bands’ music. Any musical expression based on young inexperienced artists trying to create something new rather than just copy others must face these problems. This is not to excuse monotony, but to put it in perspective. The key to assessing the punk product is not where it starts, but how that start has led to a process where monotonous music gave way to interesting music and eventually to “good” rock and roll.
Preserving the heritage of blues, folk and rock and roll music, as well as innovating and creating new songs and sounds, are important cultural tasks. But the crucial element in it for us as communists is the element of a “heightened consciousness.” Eric Clapton has utilized the musical achievements of black musicians, and in fact built his successful career on covers of old Blues classics like “Crossroads,” “Spoonful” and “I’m So Glad”; but he has still developed a reactionary position on Black immigrants in Britain (see the section on Rock Against Racism; to Clapton’s credit he was one of the few 1960s rock and roll musicians who- covered blues classics and actually credited the original musicians like Robert Johnson, Willie Dixon and Skip James. Other musicians like Boz Scaggs simply “stole” songs on legal technicalities, building successful careers while leaving the original bluesmen in obscurity and most often in poverty.)
The style and form of punk rock songs can be analyzed as part of an historical process of the development of popular music. Specific formal elements of which, like short songs with repeated choruses, vocal/instrumental call-and-response, chording and playing techniques, as well as certain themes, can be traced back to Black southern blues and traditional folk music. In guarding against the tendencies of traditional cultural criticism to regard formal aspects of music separate from knowledge of the musician, the corporations and the audience, and isolated from historical and class developments, we must not overreact and negate the cultural significance of formal concerns.
Because rock and roll does have a history that shapes the music and audiences today, most often in unconscious ways, the attitudes and response of the audience is an important factor in any analysis of popular culture.
The Punk Audience
The distinctions between US and British punk rock are based solidly on differences in the audience. In the US the counter-cultural character of punk is evident in the primary emphasis on style of dress and posturing. “Middle class” youth can copy the style of the British punks and are afforded the economic and ideological space to make it a whole lifestyle, similar to the way the hippies dropped out, turned on and tuned in. It is primarily those who do not have to work for a living who can afford the outrageous blue, green and orange punk hair styles and gold safety pins. The working class generally cannot choose to go to work with orange hair. In England punk is much more complex, especially given the history of other sub-cultures such as the Mods, Rockers and Skinheads. British punks find in their sub-cultural expressions of music and attitudes, as well as styles, more of an organic indication of their experiences as under- or unemployed youth. In the US, punk has few organic working class roots, and it thus functions as a broad counter-cultural milieu that does not indict the system for lack of jobs, but tends toward nihilism and mindlessness.
The broad sub-cultural expression in Britain of thousands of white “lower class,” primarily male youth, includes not only music but also expressions in their clothing, language and outlook toward society. Many punks put on a calculated “dumb” look, reflecting the common attitude that no acceptable foreseeable future exists for them. The punks have tended to celebrate ”in mock-heroic terms the death of the community and the collapse of traditional forms of meaning.”[44] A key issue here is addressed by Poly Styrene in “Identity,” where she asks:
Did you do it for fame? Did you do it in a fit? Did you do it before You read about it?[45]
Again, in the US, punks tend to adopt styles and poses when they are fashionable, and not out of a conscious reaction to perceptions that there exists “no future.”
In acting out parodies of alienation and emptiness, punks have worn torn clothing, safety pins and rubber and plastic attire, some going to the extreme of bondage gear or acting like robots. This is even reflected in a rejection of smooth and flowing popular dances, since the punks prefer to pogo up and down, the robot and the pose (held at times for several minutes, as if to be photographed). Poly Styrene again: “I’m a poseur and I don’t care. I like to make people stare.” Rejecting so much of the society that rejects them, many punks celebrate and cultivate the image of “degenerates.”
Because the punk subcultural construction of shocking images is the site of a generally unconscious class struggle– displaced from the areas of work and politics into the area of leisure–any “victories” are temporary and symbolic. Thus the concentration on bizarre sexuality by some punks in songs, clothing, language and even names (Sex Pistols, the Slits), works to expose the “mutual dependence of the concepts of normality and abnormality in sexual matters,” expressing “hostility toward the obsession with the subject matter shared by puritans and pornographers.”[46]
But mocking sexual taboos cannot lead to their elimination unless there is a “heightened consciousness.” Without a progressive orientation, such taboos can be reinforced, and the audience, musicians and society as a whole will not be transformed in the process. This raises the issue of satire and the need to analyze both the motivation of the artist, satirical or otherwise, as well as the perception of the audience, who may perceive satire where it does not exist, or may take up satirical social comment as a real expression of intent or advocacy.
The appeal of punk in the US counter-culture is the angry nihilism of so many bands, indicating extremely limited possibilities for progressive politics; whereas in Britain the significance of the nihilists is over-shadowed by the influence of the progressive punks that function within a cohesive social and political community.
To the degree that the progressive punks have had an impact in the US, and the Clash and the Gang of Four have developed followings, the audience is being made conscious of society’s contradictions. In other words, through their “critical realism” the progressive punks have made US audiences more politically aware. Further, just as politics has been brought to punk audiences, progressive punks have gone to political audiences. This is most clearly seen in Britain in Rock Against Racism, but is also evident in the punks that played for the Stearns County Miners benefit some years ago in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in the punks who play for anti-nuclear rallies. The most important interaction between punk bands, political militants and a mass audience is Rock Against Racism.
Rock Against Racism
The cultural-political fusion found in Rock Against Racism (RAR) has important implications for the US left. Though it is a contradictory phenomenon, and its politics seem to be dominated by the British Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party (SWP), it is a broad cultural front including many political attitudes and mobilizing thousands of people.
In an attempt to counter and check the rise of the ideology and policies of the National Front, a British neo-Nazi revival with an emphasis on the deportation of immigrants, the SWP initiated steps to fuse their political theory with punk rock, which they view as progressive, working class music. Rock Against Racism was initially organized in response to racist comments by Eric Clapton, who said of the leading anti-immigrationist, “Enoch Powell is the man for me; there are too many foreigners in our country.” Similar comments emanated from Rod Stewart. Thus the punk rejection of stars coincided with the open racism of some of the established musicians whom the punks were in the process of rejecting for other reasons.
In conjunction with the Anti-Nazi League, Rock Against Racism has sponsored several successful “Carnivals” where as many as 30,000 to 100,000 people have rallied against racism and fascism. The organizers of the Carnivals have included members of the British Communist Party, the Labour Party and independent trade unionists, as well as the SWP. A wide range of white musicians have played for RAR carnivals and benefits, including |
companies waiting for payouts include the London Bridge Experience visitor attraction plus several market traders.
Labour MP Neil Coyle urged the Government to speed up its formal decision and said: “If we want terrorists never to win, then we need to protect small businesses and jobs from the effects of incidents like this with rapid payouts of compensation.
“A lot of Borough Market traders are facing great hardship because they lost entire stocks as well as being unable to trade for a week. Those whose insurance did not cover terrorist attack should get help from the Government.”
Ttraders at the ancient market are estimated to have lost £1.4 million. They include Grovers, a fruit and veg wholesalers who lost £17,000 in stock alone, and Applebeesfish outlet which was damaged in the attacks and lost £40,000 plus stock and wages.
Darren Henaghan, the market’s managing director, said traders who were specifically covered for terrorism were still waiting for payments pending the Treasury verdict.
An Association of British Insurers spokesman said Terrorist attacks are reinsured through a Government-backed firm called Pool Re which legally needs a terrorist attack to be confirmed.
He added:”We understand this is imminent. A Treasury source said the process had to be carried out within 21 days.A Treasury spokesperson said: “Following an established legal process, we certified the Manchester and Westminster attacks as terrorist incidents for the purposes of insurance after discussions with the relevant police forces.
“We are currently in active discussions with the Metropolitan police regarding the London Bridge attack and are confident that we will be able to provide certainty to insurers shortly.”The Republic of Saugeais (French: La République du Saugeais, pronounced [so.ʒɛ]) is a long-lived self-proclaimed micronation located in eastern France, in the département of Doubs. The republic comprises the 11 municipalities of Les Alliés, Arçon, Bugny, La Chaux-de-Gilley, Gilley, Hauterive-la-Fresse, La Longeville, Montflovin, Maisons-du-Bois-Lièvremont, Ville-du-Pont, and its capital Montbenoît.
History [ edit ]
In 1947, the prefect of the département of Doubs came to Montbenoît to attend an official event. The prefect had lunch in the Hôtel de l'Abbaye in Montbenoît, which was owned by Georges Pourchet. As a joke, Pourchet asked the prefect "Do you have a permit allowing you to enter the Republic of Saugeais?" The prefect asked for details on the mysterious republic, which Pourchet made up on the spot. The prefect responded by appointing Pourchet president of the Free Republic of Saugeais.
Georges Pourchet died in 1968 and his wife Gabrielle initially succeeded as president. She retired in 1970 but remained active in Montbenoît, helping the parish priest to preserve the abbey. To raise funds, a festival was organised in 1972, during which Gabrielle Pourchet was elected President for life by acclamation.
President Gabrielle Pourchet appointed a prime minister, a general secretary, twelve ambassadors and more than 300 honorary citizens. A song written in the Langue Saugette, a Franco-Provençal dialect, by Joseph Botillon in 1910 was adopted as the republic's national anthem. A banknote was released in 1997, and the French Postal Service issued a postal stamp commemorating the republic in 1987.[2]
Gabrielle Pourchet died on 31 August 2005, at the age of 99, and her daughter Georgette Bertin-Pourchet succeeded as president.
List of presidents [ edit ]
Georges Pourchet (1947–68) Gabrielle Pourchet (1968–31 August 2005) Georgette Bertin-Pourchet (since 2005)
President of Seugeais Incumbent
Georgette Bertin-Pourchet
since 31 August 2005 Formation 1947
References [ edit ]That’s right! An AR-15 from Taurus USA. That is, it’s designed and manufactured completely in the U.S. at Taurus USA in Miami, FL. It’s called the T4SA, and it looks like quite a nice AR-15, to boot...
Both KeyMod and M-LOK will be available. A shorter handguard will come on the 11.5″ barrel version. That’s right, a factory SBR. Same price as the 16″ and 14.5″ flavors, too.
Matte black anodized or available in Cerakote Elite in sand or jungle. Magpul MOE grip and CTR stock on a mil-spec buffer tube.
Mil-spec trigger, safety, bolt release. The trigger guard is an oversized job from Magpul.
H2 (heavy) buffer.
The BCG is entirely Melonited and MPI inspected. Key is properly staked (as is the castle nut).
The T4SA runs a carbine-length gas system with a Melonited, pinned gas block. The barrel is 1:7 twist CMV, M4 profile, and is also Melonited. As is the barrel nut.
Taurus says they put over 300,000 rounds through these guns during development. Barrel life is well in excess of 10,000 rounds…A round count that the rifle seen above is apparently creeping up on (7,500+) without ever having received cleaning or lubrication.
The T4SA “Meets requirements of MIL–DTL–71186A with AMENDMENT 3 Dated 20 July 2012 (US Military Detail Specification)”. Full specs can be downloaded in PDF form by clicking here.
MSRP is $1,199 for all versions.As the nation focuses on the efforts of Governor Scott Walker to take away collective bargaining rights from public employees in Wisconsin, new information is coming to light that reveals what is truly going on here.
Mother Jones is reporting that much of the funding behind the Walker for Governor campaign came from none other than uber-conservatives, the infamous Koch Brothers.
What’s more, the plan to kill the unions is right out of the Koch Brothers play book.
Koch-backed groups like Americans for Prosperity, the Cato Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the Reason Foundation have long taken a very antagonistic view toward public-sector unions. Several of these groups have urged the eradication of these unions. The Kochs also invited Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, an anti-union outfit, to a June 2010 confab in Aspen, Colorado; Via Mother Jones
If you are reluctant to believe that this is a coordinated attack, consider this-
This afternoon, Marty Beil, executive director of the Wisconsin Public Workers Union, sent a message to the Governor’s office agreeing to the cuts to pension & welfare benefits sought by Walker in his bill. The governor’s response was "nothing doing." He wants the whole kit and kaboodle - the end of the collective bargaining rights of the public unions.
As noted in my earlier post, this is, indeed, the first shot in the final battle to end unionism in America.
UPDATE: The Americans for Prosperity group, a Tea Party group that is a Koch Brothers front, has put up a website and petition called www.standwithwalker.com. The website attacks all collective bargaining - not just for public employees' unions. Americans for Prosperity is also organizing a rally tomorrow in Wisconsin to support Gov. Walker.
Why are the Koch Brothers so interested in Wisconsin? They are a major business player in the state.
This from Think Progress:
Koch owns a coal company subsidiary with facilities in Green Bay, Manitowoc, Ashland and Sheboygan; six timber plants throughout the state; and a large network of pipelines in Wisconsin. While Koch controls much of the infrastructure in the state, they have laid off workers to boost profits. At a time when Koch Industries owners David and Charles Koch awarded themselves an extra $11 billion of income from the company, Koch slashed jobs at their Green Bay plant: Officials at Georgia-Pacific said the company is laying off 158 workers at its Day Street plant because out-of-date equipment at the facility is being replaced with newer, more-efficient equipment. The company said much of the new, papermaking equipment will be automated. [...] Malach tells FOX 11 that the layoffs are not because of a drop in demand. In fact, Malach said demand is high for the bath tissue and napkins manufactured at the plant.
You really have to wonder how long it will take for Tea Party devotees to realize just how badly they are being used.
Contact Rick at thepolicypage@gmail.comImage caption Ai Weiwei unveiled a carpet of 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds at London's Tate Modern last year
Detained Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has been made an honorary member of Britain's Royal Academy of Art along with Danish painter Per Kirkeby.
Ai, a staunch critic of the Chinese government, was arrested in April trying to board a flight for Hong Kong.
The academy said he was being honoured as "one of the most significant cultural figures of his generation".
Each year, the 80 full academicians - who all practise in Britain - can vote in honorary international members.
China alleges that Ai has evaded taxes and destroyed evidence while his supporters say charges are motivated by his activism.
In October, the artist unveiled a carpet of 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds at London's Tate Modern, which he said questioned the role of an individual in society.
In 2009, the same gallery hosted a retrospective of the work of fellow honorary academician Kirkeby, one of Denmark's most prominent contemporary artists.
He gained international recognition in the early 1980s for his monolithic brick sculptures and is best known for his vigorous brushwork.Maryland Athletics
By DAN KARELL
Highly rated goalkeeper Zack Steffen has decided to begin his professional soccer career in Europe.
The University of Maryland announced on Friday morning that Steffen has signed with SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga, and will forgo his final two seasons of eligibility. The sophomore goalkeeper was an instant starter from day one, and he helped lead Maryland to the Big Ten regular season and tournament title in the Terrapins first season in the conference.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for him to develop,” U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team head coach Tab Ramos told SBI. “In this country he was tied up with the Philadelphia Union and I think in his particular case, signing with a club like Freiburg, known for developing players and caring for their players, I think its a great move.”
Steffen started all 48 games he played for Maryland over the past two falls, finishing his collegiate career with a 1.00 goals against average and a.701 save percentage. He finishes with a record of 30-10-8, with 17 shutouts.
“My time at Maryland has been nothing short of spectacular,” Steffen said in a statement. “I want to thank my coaches and my teammates for an amazing two years in College Park. While at Maryland, I’ve had a chance to develop both on the field and off and I am excited to take the next step in my soccer career. I’d also like to thank the fans – the best in all of college soccer – for their incredible support.”
The 19-year-old Steffen is also a member of the U.S. U-20s, and is a product of FC Delco in the Philadelphia area. Steffen was on the U.S. U-20 team at the 2013 U-20 World Cup, despite being two years younger than most of his teammates and the opposition.
Steffen won’t be the only American at SC Freiburg when he arrives. The youngster is joined by 21-year-old midfielder/defender Caleb Stanko, who is currently recovering from a serious knee injury.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for Zack and we could not be more proud of him,” head coach Sasho Cirovski said. “Zack is going to have a long and prosperous soccer career and we feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to help Zack in his growth both as a player and as a person. On behalf of all of Terp Nation, we wish Zack nothing but the absolute best.”
Steffen becomes the first Terrapin to leave school early for Europe since Robbie Rogers signed with Heerenveen in 2006 following his freshman season.
———–
What do you think of this development? Like the move to Freiburg? Do you see him earning minutes with their reserves this season?
Share your thoughts below.In Focus
Summary of Gisha’s Gaza Policy Forum
Gisha recently gathered more than 100 Israeli, Palestinian and foreign stakeholders – including diplomats, academics, and representatives of international organizations and... (Read More)
Small Businesses, Big Dreams
People in Gaza are engaged in entrepreneurship in a variety of fields, despite myriad challenges. The small businesses they run create... (Read More)
Watch the clip: 1.4 Million Young People
Did you know that seventy percent of the population in Gaza, 1.4 million people, are under 30 years old? Half of... (Read More)
Cookie Crackdown: How Israel’s ban on exit of processed food impedes an entire industry
November 2018. Inexplicably, Israel continues to impose a ban on the exit of processed foods from Gaza to markets in the... (Read More)
Cookie Crackdown
November 2018. Inexplicably, Israel continues to impose a ban on the exit of processed foods from Gaza to markets in the... (Read More)Healy Baumgardner speaks to CNN (screen grab)
Trump campaign spokesperson Healy Baumgardner really can’t catch a break. A little more than a week after her last utterly disastrous appearance on CNN, Baumgardner was back on today to explain her boss’s positions on issues such as temporarily banning all Muslims from entering the U.S. and whether he would have a debate with Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders.
Amazingly, she didn’t know Trump’s official positions despite being his campaign’s senior press representative.
“Is there going to be a Donald Trump-Bernie Sanders debate?” asked CNN’s John Berman, via Mediaite.
“I wish I could tell you, I’m not a political fortune teller, so I can’t answer that unfortunately,” she replied.
When pressed on how she could possibly not know the intentions of the candidate whom she represents, she replied that “only Mr. Trump speaks for Mr. Trump,” which seems to suggest that having her on the campaign’s payroll is utterly pointless.
Berman then asked Baumgardner to ask about whether Trump would really soften his proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the United States.
“I’m not sure, I can’t really answer that at this point,” she replied. “That’s something we’ll sit down and develop more specifically, as well as the other issues that Mr. Trump looks forward to addressing, and we’ll be talking about this more specifically on the campaign trail moving forward.”
After this, Baumgardner was asked to remark on Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s comments that picking a woman or a minority for Trump’s vice president would be seen as “pandering.” Baumgardner said that she couldn’t possibly comment on Manafort because she wasn’t there when he said it and couldn’t speculate on what he meant.
At this point, CNN’s Kate Bolduan got a little incredulous.
“Again, you represent the Donald Trump campaign,” Bolduan said as Baumgardner’s eyes bulged in an expression of abject terror.
“I do represent the Donald Trump campaign, you’re 100% correct,” she replied. “However, I cannot speculate based on another person who works for the campaign’s remarks and what they meant by those.”
Watch the entire train wreck below.The Honolulu City Council enters the new year with push coming to shove on the $6.6 billion commuter rail project.
For months, Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation officials have appeared before the full council and its budget committee urging the leaders to approve a five-year extension of the 0.5 percent general excise tax surcharge for rail.
The rail agency estimates the extension will generate about $1.5 billion in additional revenue through 2027, money it desperately needs to cover overruns that have already reached about $900 million.
HART officials say that money is crucial to completing the 20-mile system from East Kapolei to Ala Moana Center.
As the City Council prepares for a final round of public hearings and an ultimate decision on the extension, lawmakers must determine whether Honolulu taxpayers are buying a pig in a poke.
Pressure for quick council approval has been mounting since Gov. David Ige signed a bill last July authorizing an extension — but giving local lawmakers a year to approve its actual implementation. And the state made it clear that Honolulu could not make another trip to shake the money tree.
HART says it can’t wait much longer for the council to make up its mind. With the first of the final round of public hearings scheduled Wednesday, pivotal questions remain:
Will the extra money be enough to complete the project?
Cory Lum/Civil Beat
Nobody knows what the final cost of building the rail system will be. When the Federal Transit Administration approved the project in 2012 and agreed to contribute $1.5 billion, HART estimated total project costs would be $5.1 billion. Today, that estimate has jumped by almost 30 percent to around $6.6 billion.
Coming up with accurate estimates of the final costs is HART’s biggest quandary. Until the council approves the tax surcharge extension and the rail agency is assured of the additional revenue, it can’t provide the FTA with a revised baseline budget, something federal officials have been demanding for months. To underscore those demands the FTA had said it could delay releasing the next $250 million allotment until the council makes up its mind.
According to HART’s most recent reports it has already spent $447 million in federal funds with $109 million remaining from its last allotment, but will receive no more until the surcharge extension is approved. At the same time, HART says council inaction could delay awarding of the final two major construction contracts, something that could push costs even higher for a project that is already nearly two years behind schedule.
Will HART’s cost containment strategy work?
PF Bentley/Civil Beat
HART’s most difficult hurdle in producing accurate cost estimates has been its partial reliance on projections made nearly four years ago when the final financial plan was submitted for FTA approval. With changing economic conditions and other unanticipated circumstances, those early projections have proved to be off-base in several areas.
Project costs have escalated far above original estimates and revenues have dropped millions below what the FTA was told they would be. Although HART updated many of its estimates several times last year, its inability to produce a more precise bottom line has been hampered by the uncertainty of additional surcharge collections needed to balance its checkbook.
For example, in 2012 HART estimated construction costs would increase an average of 4.5 percent annually. Instead they jumped by an average of 10.3 percent for 2013 and 2014 and are estimated to go even higher during the next two years.
HART has worked to reduce construction costs through repackaging contracts and making other reductions. When bids for the first nine stations came in 60 percent over the agency’s own estimates, HART re-bid the work in separate packages of three stations each.
Although its repackaging strategy appears to have saved some money, HART has hedged its bets with revised project cost estimates that added an additional $539 million in contingency funds – $240 million allocated for construction cost overruns and $299 million in “unallocated” money to cover unexpected expenses.
The unallocated contingency may come in handy. One of the project’s biggest financial unknowns is the final costs for utility relocations and other expenses related to work being performed by Hawaiian Electric Co.
Despite more than doubling the cost estimates in October from $50 million to $120 million for potentially having to lay HECO power lines underground along portions of the Dillingham Highway guideway and other potential costs related to the location of power poles, HART has no idea what its final HECO bill will be.
Already it appears that HECO costs have increased even more. In a Dec. 23 letter responding to council questions, HART executive director Daniel Grabauskas further quantified those costs, saying a total of about $157 million has been budgeted for laying underground power lines — $67 million in the original project plans and an additional $90 million for increasing the scope of the work.
Grabauskas said the final costs will be “determined by the contractors” bidding on the remaining airport and city center sections of the project. He added that discussions with HECO on other matters related to utility work on the western half of the rail line were ongoing and several options were being considered, but any additional costs would come from HART contingency funds.
In addition, HART may be on the hook to reimburse HECO for some, if not all, of any additional wages and benefits the utility may be required to pay if the U.S. Department of Labor denies its request to waive requirement of the Davis-Bacon Act — an 84-year-old federal law requiring contractors and subcontractors on all projects receiving federal funding to pay the “locally prevailing wages and fringe benefits for the same work performed on similar projects in the area” as determined by the labor department.
Existing HECO labor contracts contain wage scales and pay periods that do not fully comply with federal requirements. HECO’s request for a waiver of those requirements was initially denied and has been appealed.
And then there’s the Pearl Highlands parking garage. Back in 2012 HART estimated the cost for the garage, an attendant freeway off ramp and bus transit facility would be $173 million. The agency’s updated plan now pegs the cost at $240 million — but doesn’t directly include the $110 million cost of the garage. Instead HART hopes to come up with that money through a public-private partnership.
How much will the city pay to run the trains?
Cory Lum/Civil Beat
Paying for construction of the railroad is one thing. Covering the cost of running the trains is something else again, especially when GET surcharge revenue can’t be used except for the $193 million HART expects to have left over from construction to use for operations and maintenance.
Future operating costs have been a concern for some state legislators and City Councilman Joey Manahan, but the current focus on a surcharge extension has seemingly put the issue on a back burner.
Whatever the cost, Grabauskas told Civil Beat last June it’s not HART’s problem. Operations and maintenance costs are the city’s responsibility.
At the same time Mike Formby, the city’s director of transportation services and a HART board member, said the city was working on a plan to address these costs but had to resolve several other issues first such as fare pricing and integrating Honolulu’s bus and Handi-Van operations.
Whatever transit plan the city devises for getting people from one place to another, taxpayers will be tapped for hefty subsidies to pay for municipal transportation.
Based upon the city’s 2012 projections submitted to the FTA, from 2016 — when rail was expected to begin limited operation — to 2030 the city estimated it would collect $1.8 billion in combined fare revenues, with less than 30 percent actually coming from rail.
During the same period the city calculated that combined operations and maintenance expenses for bus, rail and Handi-Van would be about $7 billion, requiring a subsidy of about $5.2 billion. Some, if not all, of this subsidy would likely come from the city’s general fund, which is replenished annually with hundreds of millions in property and other taxes.
Revised estimates prepared for the Legislature last year focused solely on rail and projected an $894.5 million deficit from 2019, when limited service is now expected to begin, to 2030. This deficit could increase substantially depending upon HART’s actual construction surplus.
Much of this deficit will be created by HART’s share of the operations and maintenance costs not included in Ansaldo’s (now Hitachi Rail’s) $1.4 billion contract to design and manufacture HART’s railcars and provide the “core systems” that will operate the driverless trains.
That contract included $824 million for operating the system during an interim service period – originally scheduled to begin last month, but now delayed until at least 2019 – and the first five years of full service plus an optional five-year period that could be terminated by HART.
Excluded from that contract was HART’s $709.5 million share of the operations and maintenance costs, which included an estimated $250 million for electrical power and $175.9 million to cover HART administrative costs.
How much sway does Ernie Martin have, really?
Cory Lum/Civil Beat
Honolulu City Council Chairman Ernie Martin has drawn a hard line on extending the GET extension, saying he won’t support any measure that doesn’t put a spending cap on any new taxes collected from the surcharge. He initially wanted that cap to be $910 million, but based on HART’s latest projections that’s not enough to complete the project to FTA standards.
Several of Martin’s colleagues have pushed back against the cap, saying it’s unrealistic given current realities. The most notable critic of Martin’s cap was Vice Chair Ikaika Anderson, who said he would not support a measure that includes a cap on spending.
The divide sets the stage for a political showdown between Martin and the rest of the council over what to do about extending the tax. HART officials and Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell have made it clear that they don’t support a cap. Council members Kymberly Pine and Brandon Elefante have also proposed measures to remove it, although neither bill gained enough to support.
What remains to be seen are the final oversight mechanisms the council inserts into the tax-extension bill to keep tabs on HART. Martin’s proposal included several provisions that will require HART to disclose more information to the council about the project, including details about how much subcontractors are being paid.
Anderson has also said he will put forth a bill that will call for more council control over approving change orders on the project. These details will have to be hammered out before any final tax extension can be approved, which is expected to occur this month.
What does this all mean for the 2016 Honolulu mayoral race?
Cory Lum/Civil Beat
Caldwell is up for re-election, and although no serious candidate has officially announced a challenge, Martin has expressed his desire to seek higher office in city government. And the council chairman sure hasn’t let the rail project’s persistent fiscal woes go to waste.
Martin has used the tax extension to slam HART and the administration for lax oversight of the project. He’s also openly questioned whether the city should break its $1.5 billion contract with the FTA so that Honolulu is not forced to build a “seriously flawed and mismanaged project.”
Martin is not the only critic of the project who might run for mayor, however. Former Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona — who ran for governor as a Republican in the last two elections — has said Caldwell is doing a “terrible” job and is considering his own run for office.
Unlike Martin, Aiona does not support the rail project, saying it’s too expensive. Anti-rail sentiment is alive and well on Oahu, and the former judge stands to gain a baseline of support simply because of his stance.
Former Gov. Ben Cayetano took this tack in 2012 and nearly pulled it off. Cayetano was a front-runner for much of the campaign. He eventually lost to Caldwell in a runoff after pro-rail groups — and in particular the Pacific Resource Partnership — spent millions of dollars to undermine Cayetano’s candidacy.
Could history repeat itself if Aiona decides to run? And how would Martin’s candidacy play in a three-way race for mayor?Ávila, Spain — I made the mistake of falling for a man who wants a wife. I should clarify that I do not mean he wants me to be his wife. Men don’t look at me and think I’d make good wife material. Maybe because of how much I swear. But I go to Berlin to see him, he tells me his future plans for marriage and family, and I understand that I am not compatible with those plans. Then I flee, to huddle in the backs of cathedrals, an impulse that I do not fully understand.
I am not Catholic, and yet I find myself drawn to the women saints. There is something about them that I admire. Maybe it is simply the lengths to which they went to avoid marrying. When St. Catherine’s mother said her hair would surely attract a good suitor, she cut all of it off. When St. Lucia’s pursuer said she had lovely eyes, she cut them out and presented them to him. (“What,” I imagine her asking him as he screamed. “I thought you said you liked them.”) Then there’s St. Olga of Kiev, whose feast day is my birthday. Emissaries came to her and suggested she marry their prince. She had them all buried alive.
After another disastrous visit with the man in Berlin, I got on a plane and came to Ávila, Spain, on a pilgrimage to St. Teresa, the 16th-century mystic nun and philosopher. The town was celebrating her 500th birthday with banners of her poetry and a whole year of events. She did not have to remove any body parts to stay unmarried, nor murder scores of men. She did have to defy her family, though. As well as what she thought she wanted out of life, which was love. But she had watched her mother slowly die through pregnancy after pregnancy, her body weakening with each child, and she saw that this was her wifely duty.
Teresa did not want to be reduced to merely a body, bred and sacrificed for the sake of her husband and children. If she had to choose between being a body and a brain, she would choose to be a brain. So she entered the church — the only way a woman could become a philosopher.Before we get into all the playtesting goodness... WE HAVEN’T SENT THE SURVEY OUT YET!
Soon we’ll send out a charming little survey that will let you update your mailing address, make changes to your order, and get denied again when you ask us to stop what we’re doing and sign a deck for you. We're still teaching the survey its manners and making sure it eats all its broccoli. Soon it will be a strapping young survey, but it's not ready for you yet. So sit tight, and we’ll let you know when to look for it.
Over the past two weeks, our dedicated #KittenConsul have been hosting Playtest Parties throughout the world, and the results have been spectacular.
You amazing folks have collected supplies and raised hundreds for animal shelters, started an Extra Life team to raise money for sick kids (that you can join today), and submitted over 750 individual playtest reports already with more coming in every day!
If you want to to help us perfect the Exploding Kittens gameplay experience, there’s still time. There are 9 final opportunities coming up this weekend in Austin, Chicago, and others. See the remaining playtest locations here: explodingkittens.com/kittenconsul
April 20th is your last chance to help us make the game as great as it can be. After that we’ll be entering the FINAL PHASE OF KITTEN CREATION!
Thoroughly critiqued kisses,
The Exploding Kittens TeamDear Jason,
Article continues below...
Thanks for the strategic advice on how to attack Tampa’s defense. I appreciate you returning my phone calls throughout the week.
Sincerely,
Mike Tomlin
It’s just Week 4 and I’m already in midseason NFL Truths form. Buckle up and open your minds for the Truth:
10. From the we’re-not-supposed-to-mention-this file: It was fascinating watching Peyton Manning and his BYU offense destroy the Denver Broncos.
The unwritten rule in sports writing/journalism is we’re only supposed to mention racial progress when it involves dark-skin minorities. Obviously, I don’t care about rules.
With receiver Pierre Garcon sidelined with an injury, the Colts started and played nine white guys on offense pretty much all day. NFL rosters are nearly 70 percent comprised of African-Americans. What the Colts did was significant.
For a day, the best offense in football was 82 percent white. Austin Collie, Garcon’s replacement, put a clown suit on the Denver secondary with precise route running and nifty moves after the catch. Some practice-squad kid, Blair White, performed a Collie impersonation when Collie was tired.
Peyton Manning is the Larry Bird of this era. I mean that as high, high praise. I’m not accusing Manning or the Colts of any kind of racism. Bill Polian, Jim Caldwell (and Tony Dungy) have surrounded Manning with players who mirror his approach to the game. Race is not the determining factor.
A willingness to prepare and shared values, I believe, are the determining factors.
I’m not going to get back into it today, but I’ve been writing for three years that baby-mama culture (no father in a child’s life) is going to cost African-Americans jobs in professional team sports. This summer, Ron English, the black head coach at Eastern Michigan, came under fire for admitting he’d prefer to recruit players who have fathers in their lives.
If Michael Vick had a stable/traditional upbringing, he might be on pace to be the greatest quarterback in the history of the league.
9. If the Steelers beat the Ravens this Sunday and remain undefeated, don’t fall for the silly hype that Ben Roethlisberger is overrated.
Given his off-field trouble, it’s fashionable to bash Big Ben. I’ve participated in the bashing. From what little we know, Roethlisberger is as shady off the field as any player in the league. But there is also a lot more proof that he is one of the best players on it, too.
I can already hear Roethlisberger’s critics arguing the Colts could never win three or four games without Peyton Manning. So? That might have more to do with the way the Colts are coached and constructed than Manning being superior to Roethlisberger.
That’s right. When their careers are over, I think there’s going to be a debate about which quarterback was better, Roethlisberger or Manning. Peyton is going to have the statistics on his side. Big Ben is going to have three or four Super Bowl rings.
Toughness in the pocket is the most important asset a QB can have. Since Tom Brady injured his knee, no quarterback rivals Ben’s combination of fearlessness in the face of pressure and the ability to deliver the football accurately under duress.
You can have all the gaudy stats. I’d rather have a quarterback who isn’t rattled by Dwight Freeney, James Harrison, Jared Allen and all the other QB killers.
8. I don’t understand why some people are not rooting for Underdog.
Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News wrote a good column this week addressing how white and black people view Vick’s comeback differently. Black folks love Vick. White folks are still extremely bothered by his involvement in dogfighting.
Count me in the "love Vick" camp. And it has nothing to do with our shared race. It’s about fairness. The dude did his time in the joint. We have to give him a second chance. The people who think Vick didn’t do enough time in prison don’t know a damn thing about prison.
I’d rather enthusiastically cheer Vick as he tries to do the right thing and rip him when/if he fails than root for his failure. He could be quite an inspiration to a lot of kids. Vick could be more effective as a role model than as a cautionary tale.
7. Why is icing the kicker with a late timeout a controversy in need of a rule change?
The media have determined that fans are distraught because no one can see the coach call the timeout. This is a joke. Maybe a losing gambler is upset. But there’s nothing wrong or unfair about the way things play out with a last-second field goal.
Hell, I’m more pissed about all the penalties flagged during kickoff and punt returns. Nothing is worse than watching a beautiful kick return ruined by a cheap holding penalty. I say let the offensive players hold on kickoff returns.
Here’s a radical rule change I’d love to see: If a defensive team scores on an interception or fumble return, its offense gets the ball, too. If you get the ball after a safety, why not get possession after a pick-6?
Here’s another rule change: In the final two minutes of the game, the offensive team with the lead must advance the football at least one yard or the clock stops until the snap of the next play. No more kneeling to run out the clock. Make the offense earn it by moving the football. If the score is tied, the rule applies to both offenses.
6. I need to acknowledge that my hometown Kansas City Chiefs are better than I anticipated. However, they still have major problems that can’t be covered by general manager Scott Pioli manipulating the local and national media.
Quarterback Matt Cassel is horrible. Rookie safety Eric Berry is off to a terrible start. Second-year defensive lineman Tyson Jackson’s absence has been a blessing to the defense.
If you’re scoring at home: Pioli’s handpicked QB and his two first-round picks are looking like busts.
The young nucleus of players left behind by Herm Edwards — Brandon Flowers, Tamba Hali, Jamaal Charles, Brandon Albert, Brandon Carr — are finally paying big dividends. The addition of experienced coordinators Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis has helped head coach Todd Haley mature.
To Pioli’s credit, rookies Dexter McCluster and Tony Moeaki and free-agent pickups Ryan Lilja and Shaun “The Genital Giant” Smith have been terrific.
The Chiefs might have the easiest schedule in the history of the league. They’re the Boise State of professional football. The Chiefs can’t win important games with Cassel at quarterback.
5. Yes, the Peter Principle and the good-old-boys network apply to black coaches, too. Evidence? Jimmy Raye being made offensive coordinator of the 49ers.
With Singletary as coach, Raye had the complexion for the connection. Raye certainly didn’t have the proper resume. Raye, 64 and a solid position coach, is proof that if you stand around a pile long enough someone will give you credit for the tackle.
I give Singletary credit for dumping Raye. San Francisco players sound downright giddy that Raye and his mammoth playbook are gone.
Mike Johnson, the 49ers’ new OC, is a good hire. Singletary has 13 games to evaluate Johnson, and Johnson has 13 games to figure out how to call plays. Now Singletary (and his stopwatch) needs to leave Johnson completely alone. Sing |
and Dele Alli make it difficult for Tottenham to attract players
"I don't know where they can improve the team so all they can do is bring squad players in.
"When everyone is fit I think they're the best starting XI in the country. Man for man I wouldn't swap them with anyone, that starting XI is a top, top team."
Rose has not asked to leave Spurs and still has four years left on his current contract, after spending a good deal of last season out injured.
Manchester United have said Rose is not a player they are looking to sign this summer and Sky Sports News understands selling Rose has not been part of Tottenham's plan, having already sold right-back Kyle Walker to Manchester City for £50m.Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
Sep. 12, 2014, 10:57 PM GMT
It all starts with a line in the dirt.
When a wildfire sparks anywhere in the back country, it’s the fireline that is the first defense. Before the air tankers, the helicopters, and hundreds of fire engines, it’s a small team with shovels and hand tools scratches a fireline down to mineral soil to surround the fire and stop its spread.
NBC News was given unprecedented access to one of the most dramatic of firelines — the front lines of the 100,000-acre Happy Camp Complex fire in northern California. To date, the U.S. Forest Service has spent more than 70 million dollars to fight this fire, started by lightning in mid-August. More than 150 square miles of heavy timber has burned, covering incredibly steep mountains in the Klamath National Forest. Homes and small communities are threatened, but none have been lost so far.
As the fire grows, the line moves with the fire, flanking the head of the fire all the way. Working the line 10 miles from the fire’s origin, Nolan Reynolds, a USFS engine crewmember, says “the anchor of the fire is way back there”, pointing back into the thick steep forest. “We have to make sure nothing burns over this line, because if it does all of our work is for nothing. The guys further up the line … we have to watch their back to make sure there’s no fire behind them.”
At the height, 2,800 people are working on this fire around the clock. Firefighters from as far away as North Carolina and Virginia, who are making their summer swing through the west, come to help. This will probably be the last big fire of the season for most of these teams. Northern California is suffering from incredible drought, making fire bosses worry about the explosive potential in the woods.
“When you go to a lumberyard and you get a 2x4, it’s like 12% (fuel moisture). Well, the fuels around here are running 5-7%, so all the trees, all of the brush, everything is fuel for the fire”, says Jeanne Pincha-Tulley, the Incident Commander. She’s been fighting fires in the woods for more than 30 years and says they can sneak up on you in a heartbeat. “I think a lot of people think we go in and just choose the next ridge. No! We have multiple plans because the fire moves so fast. You can go from your direct plan to your fifth contingency in 15-20 minutes on some fires.”
For the firefighters, each day begins early with a 6 a.m. briefing, then out to the line for at least a 12-hour shift, then back to camp to sleep in the dirt in a sleeping bag.
Sign up for The Nightly newsletter from Brian Williams and the Nightly News team
Firefighters stand on a 60-degree slope at the Happy Camp Complex, as they dig fireline, clear brush that might spread a fire, “mop up”- work through a burned area to make sure all hotspots are completely cool so they don’t rekindle.
It’s incredibly hot and dirty work. Crews joke that it should be called “coal mining above ground”. Fire crews will spend the summer together, travelling from fire to fire. Michael Lamez, who runs a chainsaw for a crew out of northern California, says the grind of the job is taxing. “I haven’t had any contact with my family for like 3, 4 days now, so I’m sure they’re probably pretty worried, wanting to know what’s going on. On the other hand, that’s what we gotta deal with, there’s no phone out here.” His squad boss, Mathew Beccaria, says the brotherhood in the woods is a strong bond. “My family’s out here as much as my family at home, so that’s the way I treat it. These are my kids and I gotta watch out for them.” The pressure to keep everyone safe a constant worry.Chris Poole created a site called 4chan.org back when he was 15 years old.
4chan is now a huge website.
According to SimilarWeb, it is the 154th largest in the US and the 360th largest in the world. It's just a little smaller than NYT.com.
4chan is also incredibly influential.
"Memes" like Lolcats and Rick Rolling started there. The hacking group Anonymous, and the group behind protests like Occupy Wall Street, first organized themselves there.
You'd think, having created such a big and powerful Website in his teens, Poole would be very wealthy.
He's not.
It's weird.
Poole came by the office the other day, and we asked him about it.
Watch below.
// OO.ready(function() { OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer', 'w0MGs1ZDo9DB_LN5AuSy8dQfNh0dznNA'); }); // &lt;div&gt;Please enable Javascript to watch this video&lt;/div&gt;
Edited by Justin GmoserELMHURST, IL — York High School has been competing in the Capitol Hill Challenge for the last few years. This year, however, one of the teams at the school finished second in the entire country. The Capitol Hill Challenge is a national program that teaches middle and high school students the importance of saving and investing, while also gaining a better understanding of government, according to a release.
"Schools are awarded 10 stock teams, and we have traditionally split these teams between our Honors Personal Finance course and our Economics Club," Business Department chair Jim Borel, said in a release. "This year, 4 of our 10 teams finished in the top 1 percent of the 3,939 stock teams participating in the Capital Hill Challenge. The second place team in the country consists of seniors Burke Corcoran, Kevin Lipkin, Mark Leali and junior Jason Kentra. This team was part of Tamra Carl's Economics Club."
In the challenge, teams invest a hypothetical $100,000 in listed stocks, bonds, and mutual funds and learn the value of the capital markets as they work together to maximize the return of their portfolios, according to a release.
"Tamra does a great job and should be commended for our national second place finish. I will be accompanying the team on the trip to Washington, DC from June 20-22. SIFMA covers all expenses for the trip," Borel added in the release. "Last year, we finished in ninth place in the country with a CHC team from the Honors Personal Finance course. This a great opportunity for our students to learn investing strategies. The trip is also a great opportunity for our students see our democracy in action."
An awards reception will be held on June 21 in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capital Hill in Washington, DC.
"I also want to note that this is a special accomplishment because three years ago members of this team were in line to make the top 10 in the nation and got bumped out the last night of the competition. It was their goal every year since then to place in the top 10," Carl said in a release. "I am so proud of them for working hard to trade strategically up until the very end of the competition, showing leadership to the Economics Club at our weekly meetings, and meeting their objective!"
According to a release, middle and high school students from all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia participated in this year's competition.
Montgomery Area High School in Pennsylvania was this year's winner of the stock market game.
Photos provided by District 205.NHK's Anime World + Blog announced today on December 11 that the 25-episode first season of the Attack on Titan TV anime will be aired on its satellite channel BS Premium from January 9, 2016. NHK will also start airing the Love Live! School Idol Project TV anime on its terrestrial educational channel ETV next month, from January 2.
The first season of the Attack on Titan TV anime was first aired on several commercial stations from April to September of 2013, and the second season is scheduled to premiere at sometime in 2016. Linked Horizon performed the first OP song "Guren no Yumiya" in the 64th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen on December 31, 2013.
NHK previously aired few TV anime series originally produced for commercial networks, only Anne of Green Gables, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon and Nichijo in the past. "We want more young people to watch
NHK," an NHK official explains the reason. Attack on Titan will be aired two episodes at a time, every
Saturday at 25:15. The last three episodes, 23rd to 25th, will be aired in one night.
"Attack on Titan" TV anime main visual
Source: NHK's Anime World + Blog, Mantan Web
(C) Hajime Isayama, Kodansha/"Attack on Titan" Production CommitteeNot content with the recent Harper government decision to trim program costs by raising the age of eligibility for Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (OAS/GIS) from 65 to 67, the Fraser Institute wants to withdraw OAS benefits from more seniors.
They propose to claw back OAS benefits from seniors with individual incomes of more than $51,000, instead of the current clawback level of $71,000. Under their proposal, benefits would be entirely lost at an income of $95,000, instead of the current $115,000.
The Fraser Institute says these changes are needed to make the OAS program fiscally sustainable, even though the Parliamentary Budget Officer has said that there is no major issue in this regard, and even though program costs are projected to increase only modestly from 1.7 per cent of gross domestic product to 2.4 per cent over the next two decades.
Story continues below advertisement
In any case, the Fraser Institute proposal would cut the annual cost of the OAS program by only about 2 per cent, according to their own estimates, not taking into account their proposal to reduce the current clawback rate of 15 per cent by an unspecified amount on additional income over the threshold.
The fundamental question is whether we should provide a basic OAS pension worth just over $6,500 a year to all seniors, or maintain and even increase a clawback for those with higher incomes.
The principle of a clawback is now well entrenched. It was introduced by the Mulroney Progressive Conservative government in 1989, and was maintained by the Liberals. The Chrétien government proposed to withdraw OAS benefits from higher-income seniors at a lower level based on family income in 1996, but backed off under political pressure.
The current clawback affects just 6 per cent of all seniors, and just over 2 per cent lose all of their benefits.
The argument that OAS benefits should not flow to the affluent tends to gloss over the point that the 15-per-cent clawback is added on top of regular income tax on OAS benefits. Even before the clawback rate of 15 per cent is levied on additional income, affluent seniors are taxed at a combined federal/provincial marginal rate of about 50 per cent on their OAS benefits in most provinces.
The principled argument for not clawing back OAS benefits is that all seniors should be entitled to a bare-bones public pension as a basic building block of the overall retirement income system. The OAS benefit is very low and is added to a meagre Canada Pension Plan benefit that replaces just 25 per cent of average earnings up to a maximum of $12,144 a year.
True, the very affluent do not need OAS. But this was equally true of OAS when it was introduced as a non-means-tested universal benefit in 1951 and a key building block of the postwar welfare state. The core idea was that universal benefits should be paid to all as a basic right of citizenship, and as an indication that all citizens should benefit from as well as pay taxes to support a strong social safety net.
Story continues below advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
Receiving the full OAS benefit – taxed at an already significant marginal rate – is a modest recompense for paying progressive income taxes over a working lifetime. And universality does not stand in the way of providing much more significant benefits to those who are most in need, as we do through the income-tested Guaranteed Income Supplement to OAS.
Experience shows that mean-testing previously universal benefits has undermined support for social security programs among the affluent. Certainly, the more narrowly targeted an income support program becomes, the more the political support for that program tends to evaporate.
Seen from this perspective, universality has benefits over and above the modest fiscal cost.
Andrew Jackson is the Packer Professor of Social Justice at York University and senior policy adviser to the Broadbent Institute.Responsible gun own Billy Swaggerty claims a stripper stole 16 firearms, including assault rifles (screengrab).
A self-identified “responsible” gun owner in Kokomo, Indiana is blaming a stripper for the theft of 16 firearms from the bedroom where he let her stay despite the objections of his wife.
“And that’s another thing…don’t let strippers in your house,” Billy Swaggerty told WXIN Fox 59 News.
Apparently, the woman moved-in with the married couple last winter.
“And I put her in the bedroom with the safes and it came back and bit me,” Swaggerty explained. “We didn’t know that she was a stripper.”
Swaggerty claims a $10,000 value for the stolen firearms.
“Word is is that she went to her drug dealer and sold my guns for $450,” said Swaggerty. “My worst fear is one of my guns is gonna kill a child.”
Yet Swaggerty told Fox 59 he still considers himself a “responsible legal gun owner.”
“I had probably three.22 rifles, two shotguns, numerous pistols, I had an SKS which is.762 millimeter, I had an AK-74 which is a.554 millimeter and I had an AR-15 which I just got for Christmas which is a.556 millimeter,” Swaggerty noted.
Watch:August 13, 2012 - Saxton Hale
This is Saxton. Hale! And that legion business in the title was a Bible quote to let you know how serious this all is: Bible serious. So listen up, mercs. Some puny cowards built an army of robots to fight his fights for him. I don't know if robots have human emotions, but if not, they’re doing a Saxxy-worthy impression of them, because they look mad. Also, Reddy tells me they’re heading straight at Mann Co.
So there's a big fight coming, and I'm going to need you mercs to fight it for me. Not for coward reasons, though. Fight reasons. I got a different fight going and I can't fight both fights at once. Well, I could, but the fights are on different continents.
Boyohboy. If you're like me, reading the word "fight" this much has got you in the mood to fight. Last thing you probably want to do right now is read. Unfortunately, Bidwell wrote a stupid report on all the heavy hitters you’ll be running into out there. If I was you I’d skip it.
Alright, enough reading advice. It's man-to-man talk time. I am not going to lie to you: I am going to have to lie to you. You men are absolutely prepared to deal with this, and you are going to be just fine. Right. End of lie. Now get ready to absorb some bullets so they don’t hit my factories.
We have 48 hours until robots arrive. Get moving.Having suspended a chaotic council meeting last week amid noisy protests demanding the resignation of former spycop (and current councillor) Andy Coles, Peterborough Mayor John Fox closed today’s planned meeting to the public entirely today fearing “equally disruptive” actions.
Mayor Fox, who was himself a former police officer with the Cambridge force for 23 years and only retired as a community police officer last year, serves with Mr Coles as a fellow Conservative councillor. In a statement, he said:
Based on information from officers and the police, I feel I have grounds to expect a similar protest at the reconvened meeting on July 26th. There is no evidence that the circumstances around the protest have changed, if anything it may be on a larger scale. I believe that there is a strong possibility that the demonstration will be equally, or perhaps even more disruptive.
As such, it is with the greatest reluctance that I have taken the decision, under my inherent powers as chairman, to exclude the public from the council chamber and public gallery at the reconvened council meeting. I have come to this view after very carefully weighing up the needs to secure the safety of the public and members, and the need to ensure that the legitimate democratic processes of the council are not further frustrated. In forming this view I have taken the advice of officers, the police and the council’s legal officer.
Last Wednesday saw a council meeting at Peterborough Town Hall closed after around 30 people demonstrated, talking to councillors and the public, and handing out leaflets detailing Coles’ past as someone who had been involved in activist circles as an undercover police officer. Coles was one of several officers to deceive women into a relationship in the course of their deployment, in his case with a 19-year-old animal rights activist, known as Jessica. In a report, COPs said:
He groomed Jessica for a relationship. He told her he was 24 when he was in fact 32 and already married. When she discovered his true identity in May this year she spoke out, explaining that “Although not legally underage, I feel that my youth and vulnerability were used to target me. I was groomed by someone much older, and far more experienced (he had been an acting police officer for 10 years) and I was manipulated into having a sexual relationship with him.”
The meeting began at 7pm but lasted less than five minutes. People in the public gallery asked why Coles was present when anyone else, so damningly unmasked, would be suspended or – as he has done from the Deputy PCC post – resign.
A banner painted by Jessica herself was hung from the public gallery saying HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSER ANDY COLES. It is not a controversial statement, it merely echoes how his erstwhile employers have described officers like him. The mayor adjourned the meeting and refused to reconvene it until the banner was removed.
The people in the gallery refused to remove the banner until Coles left the building. Jessica, and those like her, have been quiet for too long already. Coles refused to leave and so, after an hour’s standoff, the mayor formally abandoned the meeting. The people in the public gallery left, vowing to return next week and bring their friends.
His clinging to the equally untenable position of councillor is insulting to the women he abused and to the council itself. He must go.
Coles, who resigned from his role as Deputy Police & Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire after he was exposed, still clings on to other positions. Alongside his role as a councillor he is the governor of two schools – West Park Primary and the Voyager Academy.
It’s been seven years since the first bunch of spycops were exposed. A group of eight women who were deceived into intimate relationships by undercover officers brought a case against the police. They asserted that this was not merely deceit, but a strategy by the agents of Britain’s political secret police. They didn’t sue the officers who abused them, but the the employers who devised and enacted the strategy.
In 2015, after four years of police stonewalling, they received a landmark apology. The cases also sparked the Pitchford Inquiry, which is ongoing.Spread the love
Eutawville, SC — A former police chief was sentenced to one year of house arrest on Tuesday after pleading guilty to killing an unarmed man in a town hall parking lot. Although the police chief has been tried twice this year for the murder, both proceedings ended in a mistrial. On Tuesday, the former police chief entered a guilty plea of misconduct in office.
On May 2, 2011, Bernard Bailey, 54, arrived at Eutawville’s Town Hall to request an extension on a ticket issued to his daughter for a broken taillight in South Carolina. Six weeks earlier, Eutawville Police Chief Richard Combs had pulled over Bailey’s daughter who ended up calling her father to the scene to provide proof of insurance. After briefly arguing with Bailey, Chief Combs issued a traffic ticket to his daughter and claimed Bailey was interfering.
Other police at the scene later testified that Bailey’s conduct did not equate to interference with an officer. However, Combs contacted a magistrate after the traffic stop and obtained a warrant against Bailey for obstruction of justice, which carries up to 10 years in prison. Combs did not inform Bailey of the charges against him.
When Bailey appeared at the Town Hall weeks later, Combs began arguing with Bailey again and attempted to arrest him. Without threatening or attacking the police chief, Bailey exited the building towards his truck. As Combs followed him into the parking lot, Bailey entered his vehicle and turned the ignition.
Before Bailey could close his door, Combs reached inside the truck, attempting to shut off the engine. According to Combs, he became entangled in the truck’s steering wheel while trying to turn off the ignition. As the truck backed out of the parking space, Combs fell to the ground and pulled out his gun, shooting Bailey twice in the chest and once in the shoulder.
“He was probably upset because a black man decided to leave him, and he was a law enforcement officer,” said Bailey’s brother, the Rev. Kenneth Bailey.
Combs was placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting and dismissed from the police force six months later. Prior to this dismissal, in 2007, the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office had fired him for unsatisfactory performance.
In 2012, Bailey’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Combs and Eutawville. After reaching a settlement, the family received $400,000 for his death.
After investigating possible civil rights violations, the Justice Department closed their probe in March 2013 without charging Combs. 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe then asked the State Law Enforcement Division to investigate the incident further and won a grand jury indictment against Combs for misconduct in office in August 2013.
On November 25, Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson denied a motion by Combs’ lawyer requesting immunity from prosecution under South Carolina’s “stand your ground” law. Judge Dickson stated that Bailey had not posed a threat to the public and that Combs failed to show he was without fault by escalating the incident.
Combs went to trial for Bailey’s murder twice this year, but each trial ended in hung juries. In both murder trials, the majority of jurors favored some conviction for Combs.
After finding out that he was going to be tried for the murder for a third time, Combs pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a misdemeanor charge of misconduct in office for using deadly force when it was not necessary. Judge Edgar Dickson sentenced Combs to 10 years in prison, suspended upon service of five years’ probation and one year of home arrest with a GPS monitor. As long as he adheres to these restrictions, Combs will serve no time behind bars for taking another human being’s life.Canada's largest mining companies have endorsed the federal government's effort to establish a national price on carbon pollution.
The Mining Association of Canada is set to release Wednesday its proposal for a national climate policy, which recommends a "broad-based carbon price that is applicable to all sectors of the Canadian economy."
The association represents most of the largest miners in the country, including oil sands producers such as Suncor Energy Inc. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC.
Story continues below advertisement
Its recommendations come as the government works with the provinces and territories to establish a pan-Canadian approach to carbon pricing.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the premiers agreed last month in Vancouver to hammer out a national climate strategy within six months. They acknowledged the need for carbon pricing but there was no agreement on what that actually entails or whether Ottawa should set a minimum price.
Some premiers, including Saskatchewan's Brad Wall, rejected the idea of a broad-based carbon price, saying it would hurt the economy.
The mining association supports an economy-wide levy without specifying a level to be applied either through a tax or cap-and-trade approach. A carbon price represents "the most effective and efficient means of driving emissions reductions," it said in a statement to be released Wednesday.
But governments need to ease the transition to avoid declines in investment and employment in carbon-intensive sectors, it added. Ontario and Alberta are pursuing different carbon-pricing policies but both governments will cushion the impact for large industrial emitters that face foreign competition for sales and investment.
As those provinces join British Columbia and Quebec with some form of carbon pricing, most mining operations in Canada will face some form of levy, association president Pierre Gratton said Tuesday.
Mr. Gratton said many mining companies have already adopted new technology that will cut energy use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And those efforts would be hastened through the application of a carbon tax, particularly if the revenue is used to develop and deploy lower-emission technologies.
Story continues below advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
"We need to make sure that what gets collected is directed to further achieving our climate change objectives," he said.Southeast Asian film distributor Odex announced on Thursday that it will open the live-action JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable film in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The company will announce the opening date at a later time.
The Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) in Switzerland will host the film's world premiere on July 2, and the film will also screen at Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival, which will take place from July 13 to August 2. The film will open in Japan on August 4.
The film's title is JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond wa Kudakenai Dai-Ichi-Shō (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable Chapter I), although the staff have not yet confirmed additional installments for the series.
Prolific filmmaker Takashi Miike (live-action Terraformars, Ace Attorney, Crows Zero, Yatterman, For Love's Sake, Ichi the Killer ) is directing the movie.
The cast includes:
Orange, Your Lie in April, Heroine Shikkaku, Wolf Girl and Black Prince, live-action Death Note television) as Jōsuke Higashikata
Kento Yamazaki (, live-action Death Note television) as Jōsuke Higashikata Ryunosuke Kamiki (Howl's Moving Castle, The Secret World of Arrietty, Bakuman., Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno) as Kōichi Hirose
Nana Komatsu (Bakuman., Kin Kyori Renai, World of Kanako) as Yukako Yamagishi
Masaki Okada (Hana-Kimi, Boku no Hatsukoi o Kimi ni Sasagu, Otomen, Mahō Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto, Space Brothers) as Keichō Nijimura
Mackenyu (Chihayafuru) as Okuyasu Nijimura
Takayuki Yamada (Bakuman., Terraformars, Crows Zero, Gantz) as Anjūrō "Angelo" Katagiri
Yusuke Iseya (Casshern, Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno, Shinjuku Swan, Honey and Clover) as Jōtarō Kūjō
Other cast members include Alisa Mizuki (Doraemon: Nobita no Space Heroes) as Tomoko Higashikata and Jun Kunimura (Attack on Titan, Chihayafuru, The Wind Rises, Ichi the Killer) as Ryōhei Higashikata.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable is the fourth part of Hirohiko Araki's Jojo's Bizarre Adventure manga. The story is set in Morioh, located in S City in M Prefecture of Japan, and it follows the misadventures of Jōsuke Higashikata and his companions, as they are involved in a series of bizarre incidents in their town.Surplus Sales
The City of Winnipeg has surplus vehicles, equipment, and materials available for immediate sale. For Real Estate see City Properties for Sale.
Surplus equipment and material currently available for sale: For sale PDF Excel Last updated: Light Fleet
example: car, van, SUV, half-ton truck PDF Excel Friday, February 22, 2019 at 01:51 PM Heavy Equipment
example: 1 ton truck, loader, tandem truck, trailer, aerial ladder PDF Excel Friday, February 22, 2019 at 01:53 PM Agriculture
example: tractor, out-front mower, aerator PDF Excel Friday, February 22, 2019 at 01:55 PM Off Road / Specialty
example: ATV, snowmobile, forklift PDF Excel Friday, February 22, 2019 at 01:54 PM Miscellaneous
example: stump grinder, sandspreader, drill press PDF Excel Friday, February 22, 2019 at 01:55 PM Please note: Prices are non-negotiable and subject to applicable taxes (G.S.T. and P.S.T.).
All sales are final.
Viewing by appointment only. Call 204-918-3608 or email.
Vehicles are sold without a safety Certificate of Inspection.
Buyers must be 18 years of age or older.
Payment Methods
Full payment including applicable taxes must be in the form of
bank draft,
certified cheque, or
money order
payable to the City of Winnipeg.
Personal cheques of 10% of the selling price of an item will be required as a deposit. After paying the deposit, the buyer will have 3 business days to return with full payment and remove the item(s), otherwise the deposit will be forfeited.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Details about item(s), including but not limited to photographic images and text based descriptions, are thought by City of Winnipeg to be accurate. However, there is NO GUARANTEE as to correctness of such details. It is the responsibility of the buyer to ensure that all such details are accurate. City of Winnipeg will not be responsible for any errors in such details.
These items are offered for sale on an "As Is - Where Is" basis. The City makes no representations or warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, about the condition or fitness of an item for a particular purpose.
Inspection of item(s) is encouraged. Buyers are deemed to rely entirely on their own inspection and evaluation.
Unless otherwise specified, the City takes no responsibility for freight, loading, or liability during transportation of item(s).
The City of Winnipeg reserves the right to accept or reject any and all offers.Pope Benedict XVI has arrived in Berlin. His Alitalia jet touched down at 10:16 a.m. at the German capital's Tegel airport and he was received by German President Christian Wulff, Chancellor Angela Merkel, members of her cabinet and representatives from the Catholic Church. He immediately made his way to Bellevue Palace, the German president's official residence, where he was officially welcomed by Wulff.
Dressed in a white robe and bright red shoes, the pope was greeted with a 21 gun salute. In the plane on the way to Berlin, the pope voiced understanding for the criticism which has preceded his visit. "That is normal in a free society," he said.
He also said that he was pleased to be coming to Germany. "I was born in Germany. Such roots cannot be severed, nor should they be," he said. He added that such roots should be maintained even when one becomes the head of the Catholic Church.
Upon arrival at Bellevue Palace, Benedict lamented the increasing indifference to religion. He said that a common basis is necessary for human cohabitation and added that "religion is one of the foundations for successful cooperation."
The pope is scheduled to be in Germany for four days and will include stops in Erfurt in eastern Germany and Freiburg in the far southwest. On Thursday, he will speak before the German parliament before making his way to the Olympic Stadium where he will celebrate mass before an anticipated audience of 70,000.
Criticism of His Papacy
It is Benedict's third trip to Germany, but his first official state visit. And it has been a hotly anticipated visit, with several politicians in Berlin voicing their expectations for the pope. Criticism of his papacy to date has also been widespread in the German media.
On the flight to Berlin from Rome, Benedict addressed the shrinking membership of the Catholic Church in Germany and called on Catholics in both Germany and around the world not to turn their backs on the Church as a result of the abuse scandal which has rocked the Vatican in recent years. He says he understands that victims of sexual abuse and their families might say "this is not my church anymore."
But, he added, the Church should be seen as an institution which catches both "good and bad fish" in the net of God. The Church, he said, needs to find ways to battle scandal and abuse. Last year, some 181,000 people left the Catholic Church in Germany -- more than ever before.
The pope is scheduled to travel back to the Vatican on Sunday.It’s an Obama world.
Due to the sequester (proposed by the White House) the Obama administration will cancel tuition reimbursement for soldiers and Marines.
It’s Barack Obama’s special way of saying, “Thanks for serving.”
The Blaze reported:
The U.S. Army and Marine Corps have pulled the plug on their tuition assistance programs one week after across-the-board federal spending cuts known as sequestration went into effect.
Soldiers and Marines will be able to finish up courses they’ve already started, but they won’t be able to enroll in new courses, the Defense Department announced.
“This suspension is necessary given the significant budget execution challenges caused by the combined effects of a possible year-long continuing resolution and sequestration,” Pentagon Army spokesman Paul Prince told Stars and Stripes. “The Army understands the impacts of this action and will re-evaluate should the budgetary situation improve.”
According to Stars and Stripes, the Army’s program allowed for soldiers to complete a high school diploma, certificate program or college or master’s degree with the service paying all tuition and fees up to $4,500 per fiscal year.Chrono Trigger is considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, JRPG of all time, and for good reason. It’s a unique mix of Dragon Quest’s quirky but epic narrative, Final Fantasy’s character driven journeys, Dragon Ball’s visual aesthetics, Ninja Gaiden’s cinematic flair, and some of the best retro music ever composed.
So it’s surprising that when you break down the plot structure and examine the individual story elements, it’s actually rife with fantasy tropes. The princess disguising herself as a commoner to mingle with the people; the heroic quest undertaken without any consideration of the larger context; and an apocalyptic end of the world scenario these young heroes have to overturn. I realize a trope is different from being trite or cliche. At the same time, the combination of these seemingly overused elements is, strangely enough, part of Chrono Trigger’s brilliance, its almost intangible cohesion that has never been emulated, not even in its underappreciated sequel, Chrono Cross.
Because the narrative pieces are so familiar, it allowed the developers to plays with expectations, twisting them right at the moment when players thought they knew what was coming. Marle is the perfect example as the adventurous princess who gets thrown back in time. In most RPGs, the quest is driven by the goal of saving a princess/queen/damsel in distress. But in Chrono Trigger, after following Marle back to Guardia in 600 AD (would that be CE now?), Crono finds she is safely ensconced in Guardia Castle, amused that the people of that time are mistaking her for the missing queen. It seems like an anticlimactic resolution until she explodes into thin air. Her appearance in the past actually caused the demise of that time’s queen, who happens to be Marle’s ancestor, since they called off the rescue party meant to save her after she was kidnapped. Animated in charming Akira Toriyama fashion, it illustrated how the past affected the future, which is your present but your future and your past at the same time.
Context is important here; playing as a kid, the time paradox was riveting, heightening the stakes in a way that piqued me. The way it illustrated the threads of causality was impactful in the way it not only got me to reconceive time, but fantasy storytelling as well. It was also the most unique iteration of the “save the princess” trope I had experienced, complete with quantum mechanics and time travel. On top of that, it’s not like she goes off and lives happily ever after in some fantasy land once you do rescue her. Instead she joins your group and becomes an integral party member, blowing away foes with her trusty crossbow.
It’s this experimenting with tropes I want to cover in the first part of this Chrono Trigger replay that goes from the beginning of the game all the way up until your preparation for battle with Magus. I’ll be focusing specifically on the future, your trial, and boy heroes.
2300AD
2300AD is a dystopian ruin set in a roboticized society. The contrast with the medieval past is starkly bleak, and the plight of the humans is destitute with no conceivable hope. The environments have changed from the vibrant hues of Guardia Kingdom to the grim undertones marking the aftermath of a horrific Armageddon. Humans are kept alive through enertrons, even though they’re starving because |
Johannesburg demanding education rights for everyone. But the government has denied the rights — denied the protest permission to march, because the police are otherwise occupied guarding the tourists and making sure that FIFA’s property and intellectual property is being safely guarded.
Now, what the shack dwellers have been saying — and shack dwellers throughout South Africa number in over a million households — shack dwellers are saying that, “Well, actually, we know — and this is a verbatim quote from S’bu Zikode, who is the head of Abahlali baseMjondolo, the president of the organization. He said, “We know that our names are being used to” — we know that — sorry, “We know that we’re going to be excluded, but our names are being used to justify the goodness of our country in the world. But the country is divided. There are certain people who are benefiting, and we are excluded. We want to tell the other side of the story.”
And so, the way that they’re trying going to tell the story is by making themselves visible. Some shack dwellers in Cape Town, for example, will be breaking the exclusion zone to set up shacks to show people how they live. And this is an important counter-narrative, because when the media sort of comes in and tells stories about poor people, what often gets left out is the fact that poor people are not just sitting there twiddling their thumbs. They are organizing, and they are using the World Cup, just as the World Cup is using them. And so, they’re using the World Cup as an opportunity to show the rest of the world how they live and the conditions in which they have been left to wait for development to come. So, in Cape Town, for example, there will be shack dwellers outside the exclusion zone — or sorry, within the exclusion zone, and there is a danger that they will be arrested.
And within Durban, shack dwellers who were chased from their homes last year will be trying to get back into their communities. They’ve been asked back by the communities that — where the violence that excluded them happened. And they’ve been asked back, in large part, by women. Now, the organizing that shack dweller organizations like Abahlali do are the kind of organizing that are actually very gender-sensitive. They provide childcare, they provide HIV/AIDS drop-in centers, all the things that are desperately needed in communities of poor people. And, of course, when we hear the World Cup, when we hear stories about the World Cup, gender is the one thing that gets dropped out. And so, what we’re seeing is a demand from women in shacks for their leadership and for organizations to come back and to provide support. And so, in this moment of World Cup celebration, what organizations of poor people are hoping is that the world media will pay a little bit of attention to what they’re doing and to provide some cover for the organizing that will happen long after the World Cup ends and the final whistle blows.
JUAN GONZALEZ: And Raj, I’d like to ask you, about $6 billion was spent in the building of these various stadiums. How did the government finance all of this, given the huge problems and disparities, income disparities, that still exist in the country?
RAJ PATEL: Well, I mean, debt is the main way. I mean, the government has siphoned resources away from other projects, and there’s been a huge opportunity cost. This is money that shack dwellers and other people have been saying could have been going to housing, could have been going to education, could have been going to healthcare. But it’s been diverted to provide these white elephant stadiums, as Desmond Tutu called them, stadiums that will be scaled back or, in some cases, left to rot after the final whistle blows.
AMY GOODMAN: Well, Raj Patel, we want to thank you very much for being with us. Among everything else, he is the author of The Value of Nothing: How to Reshape Market Society and Reclaim Democracy.Get the biggest Celtic 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
REMEMBER the outcry when Stewart Milne stood at Hampden and blasted Stewart Gilmour and Roy MacGregor?
Apparently they were destroying the future of our game by refusing to agree to hair-brained schemes like 8-8-8, more like 6-6-6.
This season has shown the scaremongers were talking rubbish.
Going into the last week we had the fight for runners-up ongoing and the race for European places raging.
On Sunday, Aberdeen and Motherwell will have a last-day showdown for second. At the bottom, we’ve had one of the most exciting jousts in recent memory with five teams in danger of joining Hearts in going down.
Now a battle royal at Easter Road tomorrow between Hibs and Kilmarnock will settle it.
Three teams could have gone the other way, with Dundee, Hamilton and Falkirk in with a shout of automatic promotion going into the last game.
We didn’t need major change. The introduction of the play-offs was all we needed to tweak.
The split is a success, no matter what anyone says. Every year the bottom six is a dogfight and this one is the best, thanks to 11th place now also being in trouble.
Imagine if they had got their 12-12-18 plan, which bizarrely switched to 8-8-8 at halfway? Hibs. The story. The excitement right now. They wouldn’t even be involved.
Milne talked of serious damage which had been done by Gilmour and MacGregor’s stance.
Funny that after a really good season for the Dons the only time we’ve heard him this season was when he dropped sweary words into an interview after his club bagged the League Cup.
Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell said we had too many meaningless games.
What meaningless games? Going into this last week only 25 per cent of the Premiership had nothing to play for.
The only team that had meaningless games is Lawwell’s Celtic.
You could have split it 6-9-9 or 4-10-10 or 2-11-11 – it wouldn’t have mattered.
They would still be a million points clear due to their financial clout.
Fans who don’t go stay away because they have other interests, simple.
They said the cut-throat environment would stunt the development of young players but it hasn’t stopped Andrew Robertson from getting into the Scotland squad or stopped Juventus watching his team-mate Ryan Gauld. It hasn’t stopped Stevie May becoming the real deal or Peter Pawlett fulfilling his potential.
They said it would force managers into playing dreary football. Didn’t seem to stop Alan Archibald or Danny Lennon from trying to play silky football. With cloth now also being cut accordingly, clubs are getting back on their feet financially.
Lack of interest? Aberdeen had 40,000 fans at the League Cup Final and Dundee United will have over 30,000 at the Scottish Cup Final.
We’re lacking sponsors but that is as much down to those employed to find them as the product.
Put it this way, either the Grim Reaper is holed up in a bunker beside Charles Green or he’s gone for good.
If there was cash value in hot air there wouldn’t be a club in Scottish football with debt.
Is it La Liga? No. Is it packed with genuine quality? No. But it’s also not the League of Oban as some would tell you and it certainly doesn’t lack excitement.There was a big clamor in the rabble rabble about this post by Kelly Starret’s MobilityWOD.com. If you’re new, Kelly is a physical therapist who has a goal of helping amateur and professional athletes learn how to work on their bodies to help keep them performing and injury free. The post above was a video with Dr. Gary Reinl (Edit: not a doctor) and it stated a message that said, “Stop icing. It is bad for you.”
I immediately began researching and discussing this ‘controversial’ topic with various physiologists and physical therapists. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to address the issue, and the best I can think of is a regurgitation of all of the thoughts that we’ve had. Let’s take it step by step.
The Reasoning for Not Icing (from Dr. Starrett and Reinl)
When an injury occurs, the body has a response in order to heal it. Inflammation is the complex response from vascular tissues to repair damage. The body aims to remain in homeostasis, so when something different occurs (i.e. too much sun, a training stress, or a sprained ankle) it attempts to rectify the problem to return to an uninjured state. This is an amazing process; go to a museum and look at bones from humans who broke their leg, never had it casted, and continued to live on it. You’ll see how the bone grew back together to allow some sort of function, even if it was impaired. Life will find a way.
Reinl and Kelly talk about how inflammation is necessary and give examples of Reinl questioning athletic trainers as to why they would want to block inflammation. It’s the body’s natural defense against injury, so why block it? They also talk about how the lymph system remove cellular waste from the inflammatory process. However, just like veins, the lymphatics require movement in order to function and actually clear that waste. They talked about Reinl’s machine, which is apparently just an e-stim machine with electrodes that, when placed, will contract muscle. This helps clear the waste through the lymphatics via muscle contraction and can be used when the area is too painful to move on (i.e. the patient cannot walk or flex the knee, so the electrodes to the contracting).
Finally, they get to the icing issue. They say that icing increases the permeability of the lymphatics which creates a back log of “congestion” and edema (swelling) into the injured area. They also say that icing blocks the muscle/nerve connection, and Reinl asks a good question: “How could shutting off the connection between the muscles and the nerve (which effects the fully muscle-dependent lymphatic system) help the evacuation of deoxygenated blood and waste?”
It all seems very compelling. But there are many questions.
The Ancestral Argument
Part of what they talk about is that the body has evolved to deal with injury. The argument is that the body’s natural function is to go through the inflammatory process. Why interfere with this process? The body knows what to do, so let it.
I understand the argument, and agree with it to an extent, but it doesn’t hold up in all cases. I’m all for paleo eating (it’s what I do and what I recommend), but to exactly emulate paleolithic lifestyles doesn’t make sense. Aside from the fact that one day you wake up and you’re squatting to take a shit, it ignores the fact that the demands are different. Let’s ignore sedentary people, because we are all active — we actually lift. Was it common in our paleolithic ancestors to squat 500 pounds? Or to put 350+ lbs overhead? No. We know that their lifestyle included intermittent periods of low activity with high activity. Nevertheless, they were not subjected to forces and stressors that we are. At the very least, we can agree that the lifestyles are very different.
This means that the treatment of complications or injuries will be different. There are problems in the medical community (e.g. an over-emphasis on prescribing drugs), yet it is still an advanced and wondrous field that keeps people alive and heals them faster than if we were relying on our bodies to do it alone. I don’t think it’s crazy that something like icing would be off limits just because it wasn’t a method used by our paleolithic homies. To clarify, that is not Reinl’s or Kelly’s argument, but the ancestral argument was brought up several times. My only point is that the argument isn’t good enough, because it doesn’t prove anything. There are more efficient ways to everything, including heal, and just because a method wasn’t available to our ancestors doesn’t mean it should be off the shelf.
The Big Issues
I can tell you right now that this issues is inconclusive. I read the cited research (I’ll talk about it below) and everything. The most important aspect of this is that they did not address what kind of injuries this concept applied to. Does it apply to acute or chronic issues? Does it apply to muscle bellies or tendons? What about ligaments? Bone breaks? None of this was addressed, yet it’s entirely relevant.
Also, the e-stim machine is more or less promoted. This really bothered some people. They looked at it as a self promotion type situation. Some even make the claim that Kelly is just distinguishing himself from the norm to solidify his following. I don’t think these things are true, but money has done worse things in the world. I think the major point when discussing the e-stim machine is that normal people are not going to be able to use it. They won’t have access to it, and if they did, they won’t have the knowledge to place the electrodes or how to use it within the context of recovery. Sure, there will be some rich (and crazy) CrossFitters that have already purchased it, but they still won’t use it as effectively as a PT. There’s a reason they go to three years of school. And even if the average trainee knew where to put the electrodes, that doesn’t give them the anatomical and physiological context of how to optimally use it through their healing process. The point? The trainee or lifter who won’t have constant access to a PT still needs to use the methods of recovery at his disposal. The e-stim machine will not be one of those things. This is one reason why I think declaring “no icing” as pre-emptive given the context of what people can use at their home.
Speaking of “no icing”, there isn’t anything definitive in the research. It’s definitely an analgesic, but there’s inconclusive evidence for what it does with swelling and inflammation. One of my first questions was, “How quickly does ice increase the permeability of the lymphatics?” and it’s not in any research (to my current knowledge). Since the consensus is inconclusive, it seems premature to exclude this method of rehabilitation — especially within the context of the trainee that is rehabbing from home.
Note that ice is not something to use by itself. If we look at the conventional wisdom of RICE, it still has compression and elevation (the rest part is temporary, maybe 24 hours). Ice shouldn’t be used as a solitary method of rehabilitation. It’s should always used within the context of soft tissue work, muscular contraction (e.g. movement), compression, and elevation. Kelly, or any other PT, may have the luxury of eliminating icing because they have other rehabilitation methods (e.g. e-stim) at their disposal. But we all aren’t professional athletes and don’t have regular access to physical therapists. And even if we did, most physical therapists are pasty, flabby, internally rotated non-lifting goobers — they help 70 year old grandmas return to walking instead of helping a powerlifter, weightlifter, or CrossFitter return to competition. Highlight this concept in your mind, because I’ll return to it later.
My opinion right now is that icing should be black listed if and only if it is detrimental to the patient in all scenarios. That is not the case.
I’m not against Starrett and Reinl because I’m an icing fan boy. I’m only skeptical of the definitive advice in light of the consensus of information. I’ve preached to you for almost three years to be skeptical of authority, and so I’m just doing the part to synthesize the information for your availability. If anything, the message should be, “Do not ice under these circumstances.”
The Cited Research
The first study cited in the MWOD post was ‘The use of Cryotherapy in Sports Injuries,’ Sports Medicine, Vol. 3. pp. 398-414, 1986. I have a copy of that portion and have read it several times. The section on “The Effect of Local Cold Application on Inflammation and Oedema” is pretty inconclusive. It says that some researchers “have shown that cold can inhibit as well as enhance inflammation” (Schmidt et al. 1979). Then, another portion says that the results from observing ice treatment on the inflammatory response in experimentally induced ligament injuries in pigs “indicate a diminution of histological evidence of inflammation” — an over-complicated way to say “results showed cellular decrease of inflammation” (Farry et al. 1980).
Then in that same study, “swelling was greater in the ice treated limbs”. They even had swelling in the non-injured limbs that were iced. The icing protocol wasn’t elaborated on, but there was another study where they looked at 1 hour cold submersion in rabbits with a “crush injury to the forelimb” (the crush fetish people are loving this). There was increased oedema/swelling in 4, 6, to 24 post-exposure and none in the non-injured control forelimb (McMaster & Liddle, 1980). But hey — notice that these studies were done on animals. I’m not saying animal studies aren’t relevant, but they don’t definitively prove anything either. And who ices for an hour anyway?
One study (note that it is only one) showed that the moment ice is on the skin the “permeability of the superficial lymph vessels increases” (Muuesen et al. 1986). The increase is the greatest at 8 minutes and persists after application, but “by 25 minutes post-treatment the permeability of the lymph vessels will have returned to pretreatment levels.” Keep in mind that this study was only looking at cold applications. Many clinical studies — in which cold treatment is actually used with compression and elevation — do not show volume increases after cold treatment.
The totality of the “icing causes swelling” argument is summed up in three studies. One was a guy noticing swelling his hand (n=1) and the other were on animals (pigs and rabbits). Also, the rabbit injury was a “crushing”, or a breaking of the bones” type of injury. This is completely different than an acute muscle, tendon, or ligament injury and obviously unrelated to chronic injuries.
Furthermore, there was a clinical study (Basur et al. 1976) that showed much faster healing (9.7 days of mean disability) in patients who received cold treatment within the first 48 hours followed by crepe bandaging (compression) while the other group only had the compression (14.8 days of mean disability). A different study (Hocutt et al. 1982) showed that cryotherapy (icing/cold therapy) started within 36 hours of injury allowed patients to return to full activity after sprained ankles on an average of 15 days sooner than late cryotherapy or early heat therapy.
Finally, the conclusion of the paper that Dr. Starrett cited to show you that you shouldn’t ice concluded with:
Clinical studies on the effect of cryotherapy on acute sport injuries, and on the rehabilitation of the injured athlete, seem to agree that cryotherapy does improve recovery from injuries. However, it should be noted that these studies generally combine different first aid recommendations (cold, compression, elevation).
It goes on to point out that further research is necessary. Questions include whether it’s “necessary to cool the injured area to temperatures near freezing point or is it better to use a more moderate cooling method?” Essentially it means that there are unanswered questions. However, this study — again, the one that Dr. Starrett used to tell you not to ice — doesn’t reach a conclusion to not ice because of edema. And remember, the cited research concerning edema was done with animals.
Also, the 2008 study (“Is Ice Right? Does Cryotherapy Improve Outcome for Acute Soft Tissue Injury?” JEM, 2008; Feb. 25; 65–68) is a lit review…of only ten studies. The abstract itself says there were six relevant trials in humans, but four of them were thrown out because of bad research. Two of the human studies had good enough research, and one of them was in support of cooling while the other lacked statistical significance. Then, of the animal studies, four of them showed reductions in edema from cooling! Of the two systematic reviews, one was inconclusive and then the other suggested that ice may hasten return to participation. Where in that literature review is it providing enough evidence to stop icing? The result is undoubtedly inconclusive, but of the studies that actually have decent methodology, they all say that icing helps. Are these two studies supposed to convince me that icing is ineffective or detrimental? The sure as hell don’t.
Am I saying that Kelly Starrett is a horrible human being and we should never listen to him again and throw poop on him when we see him? No. But I’m just pointing out two things: 1) The research he cited doesn’t conclude what he says it does, and if anything provides actual support for icing, and 2) The research on this stuff in general is inconclusive. I can probably find any quote to prove a point from a peer reviewed study to show you that you should ice. I can do the same to say that you shouldn’t ice. I’ll say it again: the research isn’t conclusive. Furthermore, the physiological reasoning for why things occur isn’t known either.
Physiology Questions
The video talked about how ice severs the muscle/nerve connection, stops prostaglandins, and increases the permeability of the lymphatics. These were some questions I thought of as I watched the video and digested it (I’ve left a lot out):
1. How fast does ice increase permeability in the lymhatics to cause the back flow of waste back into the injured area (and increase swelling)?
2. How fast does ice block prostaglandins?
3. If number 1 and 2 are actually the case, what effect does this have on the recovery process?
4. How much does icing inhibit inflammatory processes?
I don’t have an opinion of a PT or physiologist on this next point, but there are two ways to look at stressors on the body: the immediate effect and then the adaptation. For example, when we train and apply a full body stress, there is an immediate structural and hormonal response. Then, a couple of days later, there is an adaptation that looks different than the initial injury stress we applied through training. We can potentially see the short-term effect of something like icing and its effect on the lymphatics and prostaglandins (the latter’s response to icing is not known to physical therapist friends), but do these stressors accomplish some kind of favorable adaptation? Unfavorable? Either way we don’t know.
Here are some responses that I received.
Justin: this is all news to me about the permeability of lymphatics leading to increased swelling.
That comes from a friend who just received his doctorate. Sure, it may be that something that is “progressive” isn’t necessarily a part of the curriculum, but reading, analyzing and understanding research is a part of any doctoral program so you would think it would have come up before. In the limited research I’ve seen, the main “ice increases swelling” is seen in animals or in treatments of ice by itself.
I think a better question would be does ice block prostgladins as opposed to reducing them, how much does it reduce them, and most importantly, does this result in decreased healing?
Again, this is information that is not known. Remember that the physiological mechanisms behind most of what is observed are fuzzy. This is one example.
Benefits (of icing) other than numbing and decreased nerve conduction velocity (they go hand-in-hand) would be a localized decrease in cellular metabolic rate which relates back to preventing the initial inflammation from increasing and reducing secondary hypoxic cell damage. This is why this can be bad when someone is past the acute stages of an injury.
It’s common practice for ice to be used early in the injury process, and it’s to “reduce secondary hypoxic cell damage”. It’s not necessarily used on a specific location after this process because, as it says immediately above, it decreases the cellular metabolic rate. Notice that this focuses on an acute injury, and is not specific to a certain type of injury.
What’s the conclusion?
Across the board from a variety of people, including myself, the opinion is that outright saying “do not ice” is premature. There is merit to the increased permeability of the lymphatics (as a result of icing), but in specific cases (e.g. in specific pathology or where edema already exists). There is also merit that Kelly’s clinical observance has been that people heal without ice (whether they heal better or not, I do not know). At the very least, icing can help reduce pain in recent acute injuries. At best it can reduce secondary hypoxic cell damage to result in a faster overall healing process (when combined with other treatment methods like appropriate movement, compression, and elevation). There are even studies that show it reduces edema, but the rest are inconclusive. At worst, it is creating more swelling and congestion and interfering with recovery processes, but the clinical research and practical experience generally do not show this.
Personally I have observed ice helping myself and people I have worked with recover from injury or training stress. Does that mean I am right and Kelly is wrong? No. Within the context of looking at the research and the practical experience of using it, it doesn’t make sense to draw a line in the sand and say, “Never ice again.” If it were something causing exceptional problems, then I would agree. But it doesn’t. Again, keep in mind that this is even more so the case because most of us need to be able to treat most injuries on our own because we won’t have access to physical therapists all of the time. I disagree with throwing out a potentially useful rehabilitation technique because of a philosophical distaste.
This shouldn’t turn into, “Justin says we can ice, so let’s ice,” — my friends who hold doctorates in physical therapy and anatomy and physiology agree. What we agree on is that the context determines the application of ice. Does this sound familiar? The world is full of individuals with individual sets of circumstances. There is no cookie cutter approach for strength and conditioning or injury rehabilitation. The rehab protocol is dependent on the person and their type of injury. Tomorrow we’ll discuss some methods of when icing would make sense…and when it won’t.Seydou Doumbia has emerged as Spurs’ top target for the January transfer window and
Harry Redknapp is ready to use
Roman Pavlyuchenko to land him.
Tottenham boss Redknapp is keen to freshen up his forward options and has set his sights on CSKA Moscow star Doumbia.
Seydou Doumbia is a Spurs transfer target (Allstar)
The Ivory Coast international is being watched by a number of clubs from Europe’s biggest leagues, but Spurs officials believe they have an advantage over their rivals.
In a bid to land the 23-year-old, they will put together a cash-plus-player package involving Pavlyuchenko, reports the People.
Spurs are hoping that offering a striker who is a regular starter for Russia will convince CSKA Moscow to part with a player they value at £30million.
Pavlyuchenko has not started a Premier League game so far this season and is known to be unhappy about his lack of opportunities.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Doumbia was top scorer in the Swiss league in both of his seasons with Young Boys Berne, before moving to Russia in 2010.
He has continued to be prolific since arriving in Moscow and has netted 16 league and two Champions League goals this term.Exclusive : minutes of Michel Barnier’s meeting with senior MEPs reveal he wants 27 member states to have easy access to London’s financial institutions
The EU’s chief negotiator in the Brexit talks has shown the first signs of backing away from his hardline, no-compromise approach after admitting he wants a deal with Britain that will guarantee the other 27 member states continued easy access to the City.
Michel Barnier wants a “special” relationship with the City of London after Britain has left the bloc, according to unpublished minutes seen by the Guardian that hint at unease about the costs of Brexit on continental Europe.
Barnier told a private meeting of MEPs this week that special work was needed to avoid financial instability, according to a European parliament summary of the session. “Some very specific work has to be done in this area,” he said, according to the minutes. “There will be a special/specific relationship. There will need to be work outside of the negotiation box … in order to avoid financial instability.”
Barnier later moved to clarify his comments, claiming on Twitter that he referred to a “special vigilance” required to ensure the EU remained financially stable after Brexit.
Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) When asked on equivalence I said: EU would need special vigilance on financial stability risk, not special deal to access the City @guardian
The remarks hint at concern among senior Brussels policymakers about the damaging consequences of Brexit for the continent if Europe’s biggest financial centre is cut adrift.
A spokesman for the European commission insisted that the minutes, which were drawn up by European parliament officials, did not “correctly reflect what Mr Barnier said”. A source present at the meeting, however, described the minutes as “more or less accurate”. Barnier discussed the problems of financial services, the source said, although the negotiator’s preferred options were not clear.
The suggestion recorded in the minutes does mirror the view of the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney. He told MPs on Tuesday “there are greater financial stability risks on the continent in the short term, for the transition, than there are for the UK”.
Carney said other EU nations relied heavily on the City for their financial needs and could face serious problems if international banks based in London were no longer able to gain easy access to European countries and corporations. “If you rely on a jurisdiction [the UK] for three-quarters of your hedging activities, three-quarters of your foreign exchange activity, half your lending and half your securities transactions, you should think very carefully about the transition from where you are today to where the new equilibrium will be,” he said.
The fear is that European governments and companies would find it harder and more expensive to raise capital if they were denied access to the City, which acts as Europe’s investment bank. Countries such as Italy, with very large national debt, are concerned that their economies would become even more fragile if financing costs rose.
The minutes indicate that Barnier repeated during Thursday’s meeting the well-worn mantra that the UK should not be allowed to cherry-pick the bits of the EU it likes. But his apparent concern about financial instability contrasts with bullish statements by EU leaders about swooping on London’s financial sector business.
UK to begin talks with New Zealand on post-Brexit trade deal Read more
In the days after the EU referendum, French president François Hollande said London should no longer be allowed to handle any transactions denominated in euros. These “euro clearing operations” are worth about $150tn a year. Some cities, including Paris and Frankfurt, have launched glossy marketing campaigns aimed at persuading bankers to leave the City of London.
Behind the scenes, EU officials are maintaining that the UK will be hardest hit by Brexit, but they are concerned about the costs facing continental Europe.
One senior source recently told the Guardian that closing London as a euro clearing centre was likely to increase costs for EU banks and companies. Another source has voiced concern that there would be limited gains for rival financial centres as a result of a smaller European single market.
On Friday, one the City’s most senior bankers welcomed growing recognition of the risk to the global financial system. “The industry and the regulatory community, and the political community, are fully aware of the importance of maintaining financial stability,” said Douglas Flint, chairman of HSBC, Europe’s largest bank.
“There are clearly negotiating positions that will evolve over the next several months and years but the importance of preserving the functionality of the markets that exist today … is seen by everybody,” he said, following similar warnings to the Treasury select committee.
Flint suggested a new special relationship with the City could be achieved with a treaty guaranteeing “mutual recognition” of regulations. City firms are able to do business across the EU by using a “passport”, which will disappear when the UK quits the EU.
Barnier, a former EU commissioner in charge of financial services who led the post-crisis crackdown on bankers’ bonuses, is well placed to understand the financial risks of Brexit.
Theresa May to deliver long-awaited Brexit speech on Tuesday Read more
According to TheCityUK, the lobby group representing the the City, London is Europe’s biggest financial centre: 75 EU banks have major branches in the capital, holding £1.2tn of assets, almost one fifth of all UK bank assets. Twice as many euros are traded in London than in the 19 countries of the single currency combined.
Carney is increasingly becoming embroiled in a war of words with his continental colleagues over who faces the biggest Brexit risks.
Earlier this week, Malta’s finance minister, Edward Scicluna, said that the UK would suffer greater damage, although the rest of the EU would also suffer.
Barnier, according to the minutes of the meeting with MEPs, described Brexit as a “unique and extraordinary negotiation” that had to result in a outcome that showed the best option was being an EU member. He stressed there would be “no aggressiveness, no revenge, no punishment” but also no naivety.
Both lines are consistent with his only public statement on Brexit, when he stressed the interests of the rest of the EU were his top priority.
The European parliament must give its consent to the final Brexit deal and Barnier, who briefly served as an MEP, promised to involve them throughout the process.
In a sign of ambivalence about a transition deal, he told MEPs it was not part of the remit of the EU exit talks and they were waiting to see what the UK would ask for. This is consistent with earlier remarks, when he said it was “difficult to imagine” a transition deal because the UK did not know where it was heading after Brexit.
He made clear that the UK would have to follow EU law if it wished to remain a member of the single market during the transition period. This reinforces comments by Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, who said this week that the European court of justice would be “dishing out judgements” to the UK during any transition period.
Some MEPs’ mistrust of the UK comes through in the minutes of Barnier’s meeting with the MEPs who chair the European parliament’s main committees, including foreign affairs, trade, single market and budget.
Elmar Brok, the German centre-right chair of the foreign affairs committee, reportedly voiced concern the UK would become “a Trojan horse of the US” – echoing fears that date back to the time of Charles de Gaulle.
Werner Langen, a German centre-right MEP who is leading the investigation into the Panama Papers, wants to ensure the UK accepts international rules to clamp down on tax avoidance. Some EU politicians are worried the UK will embark on “a race to the bottom”, by slashing corporate taxes, to compensate for Brexit.
Barnier, however, said he expected the UK to stick to existing commitments to enact more than three dozen laws to combat money laundering and tax avoidance.
Additional reporting by Dan RobertsOn the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, some of the most important places in American society remain stunningly segregated: Public schools.
PBS’s “Frontline” reports in its latest investigation, “Separate and Unequal,” that the fight to provide equal opportunity for children of all races is far from over. Long after the days of sit-ins and marches, some parents– dissatisfied with low-performing schools — are leading breakaway movements that would amount to more segregation.
Also read: World Cup Fever Still Contained Mostly to Coasts (Infographic)
And people in liberal New York and California, who may think of segregation as a Southern problem, are in for a shock.
Civil Rights leaders and President Lyndon Johnson fought for passage of the Civil Rights Act to stop rampant discrimination against African-Americans in the South. But an extensive study by UCLA’s Civil Rights Project — which you can read in its entirety here — found that today, the South is actually the least-segregated region for African-American students.
New York is the state with the highest percentage of African-Americans and Latinos attending public schools that are almost entirely African-American and Latino. California, meanwhile, has lowest percentage of African-Americans and second-lowest percentage of Latinos attending majority white schools. On other measures, California is the most segregated state for Latinos. (See charts, below.)
Also read: White Males Still Direct Most Primetime Shows, DGA Report Says
The numbers don’t take into account states with very small numbers of African-Americans and Latinos, like Hawaii and Alaska. But the numbers suggest that no region is in any position to point fingers.
“Frontline: Separate and Unequal,” airs July 15 on PBS. You can check local listings here.
Here are charts from the Civil Rights Project.
Most Segregated Schools for African-American Students as of 2011-12
Most Segregated Schools for Latino Students as of 2011-12Ben Affleck Admits He's Having A Hard Time Adapting Stephen King's The Stand By Katey Rich Random Article Blend Argo he's been forced to answer a ton of questions about his ignominious half-decade of dating J-Lo and starring in flops, but that's a pretty small price to pay to have made a universally beloved, financially successful movie that completely reinvents you as a director to be taken seriously. With Argo cruising its way toward a Best Picture Oscar nomination and an inevitable slew of other awards, Affleck is still riding high, and still giving interviews that give us a little insight into what he might do next.
Truth be told, Affleck could do just about anything, but he's been talking about a handful of projects specifically like the Whitey Bulger biopic to star Matt Damon that he claims is "not ready," an an adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand. As you might imagine, Affleck has admitted to
"Right now we're having a very hard time. But I like the idea—it's like The Lord of the Rings in America. And it's about how we would reinvent ourselves as a society. If we started all over again, what would we do?"
The "we" he's referring to is probably writer David Kajganich, who was brought on board Argo in the meantime. But it's encouraging to hear he's still at |
15:19 last night with no power play time.
It’s safe to say that all Hurricane defenseman fantasy value starts and ends with Justin Faulk, at least until the team improves.
*
The Flyers dusted off the statue that is Vinny Lecavalier and he even got an assist! He was on the ice for just 7:16.
Claude Giroux has avoided getting lumped in with Ryan Getzlaf, Sidney Crosby and all the other slumping superstars because he hasn’t yet had a scoring drought of longer than one game but overall he’s got just five points in nine games and seems to be fairly intently focused on being a playmaker rather than a scorer. We need to see more Giroux the scorer, because Jakub Voracek is more of a natural playmaker.
Giroux did have a stretch of three games in which he landed 18 SOG and it’s in that stretch that he scored all three of his goals. Not a coincidence.
Crosby is facing the same sort of issues, though he did notch a pair of assists last night. It seems as though these superstars get so used to teams ganging up on them and taking their shot away that they get tunnel vision and only look for the pass. Shooting should still be the number one option when the opportunity presents itself. These guys are among the best in the world, however, so you know that once the 82 games is up, they’ll have struck the right balance and found more points than just about anyone else.
*
Travis Zajac is on some kind of scoring streak with four goals and seven points in the last five games. I have him in one league and I’m enjoying the production but I’m also ready to dump him as soon as a sexier option comes along. I don’t even buy Zajac for 45 points this season and I’m in such disbelief about his current hot streak that I can’t even credibly peddle him to anyone in my league. He’s just there to give me a nice early-season boost while I wait for Pavel Datsyuk to return from injury.
*
Look at some cool infographics on what makes Cory Schneider an elite goalie. While Schneider is an elite goalie, it’s mostly smoke and mirrors from the team’s offense that has him as one of the best fantasy netminders so far. If you are an owner, are you prepared to sell high?
With Schneider, it’s less about the underwhelming goalie you get in return, because it’s unlikely that he’ll perform much better than Schneider from here on out – especially not in GAA or save percentage. Instead, it’s about upgrading yourself elsewhere while grabbing a netminder who should perform much better the rest of the way.
For instance, you try to turn Schneider and Kyle Turris into Sergei Bobrovsky (or Tuukka Rask) and Steven Stamkos. Something along those lines.
*
Patrick Roy finally made the obvious move of reuniting Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay. It’s no surprise that they, along with Nathan MacKinnon combined for both Avalanche goals and all six points on those goals. Move whatever other parts you need to but keep those two together, they make magic.
Check out the Avalanche lines from last night:
*
I made a conscious decision not to deride the Triplets for their incredibly high on-ice shooting percentage from last season because they were just so damn good I figured they could keep the good times rolling. So far, these guys can’t buy a break. Tyler Johnson is the only Lightning forward without a goal and both Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov aren’t doing much better. In most games, they are at least producing great chances and simply coming up short. They didn’t do diddly last night and it’s a bit concerning.
Their on-ice shooting percentages at even strength so far? 3.28, 3.33 and 2.99 respectively. That’s far too extreme a market correction. They may have stunk last night but the Triplets are coming people.
I recently made a pitch of my Jason Spezza for Kucherov. This is in a keeper league and I actually think I lose the deal short-term even though I’m trying to buy low on Kucherov. The idea is that were Kucherov rolling, I’d have no shot at acquiring him. Because he’s slumping I maybe take on some short-term pain for some long-term gain.
My team is loaded with veterans on the wrong side of 30 so if I can nail Kucherov here my mix becomes more palatable, if not Palat-able (shoot me, please.) And with the added bit of youth I might be more comfortable pushing some of my picks and prospects into the trade market to load up for a run this season.
If the bulk of my production continues to come from guys in their thirties plus Patrick Kane and PK Subban, I probably don’t have enough talent for two years from now to be anything but a bottom feeder. Kucherov makes a third cornerstone.
My potential trade partner might benefit from Spezza as well. He’s got an extremely young group and it’s one that could dominate if all his guys break out at the same time. Spezza gives him more credibility to win now. Here’s hoping the deal works out.
*
In other Lightning news, Jonathan Drouin sat out with a minor injury and is day-to-day. He is doubtful to play on Saturday.
*
Big comeback win for the Oilers against the Canadiens but let’s remember that the Oilers are still one of the league’s worst. Their offensive surge, keyed by Connor McDavid, Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl to name a few, is promising as hell for the future but there is still plenty to be improved upon.
Good start to the season for Draisaitl, however. In game one after getting called up scoring two goals alongside Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the way to make your mark and stick around. Draisaitl is not an asset in one-year settings though. He may have produced in this top-six role but the odds aren’t great that he’ll continue to see such an opportunity when Jordan Eberle returns.
Justin Schultz will miss 2-4 weeks with a back injury. That means an extended run of relevance for Andrej Sekera and Oscar Klefbom. So far it’s Klefbom taking advantage with assists in three straight games, including two on the power play.
*
Alexander Semin was a healthy scratch for the Canadiens after going scoreless in his previous three games. What do you think, is this where his season goes off the rails or does he respond with a strong performance against the Flames tonight?
I’m still optimistic that Semin will produce when healthy. Not huge numbers since he’s not getting time on the top power play unit but 40 or so points in 65 games still seems plausible. Chalk that up as a five-point deduction from my pre-season projection though. A slow start was never part of my projection.
*
Brilliant performance by Michael Hutchinson against the Blackhawks, turning aside 45 of 46 to move to 4-0 on the season. So far, he and Ondrej Pavelec have done more than enough to ward off any chance of Connor Hellebuyck jumping into the crease. It’s been Hutchinson finding the wins much easier so far but Pavelec is getting more starts.
The Jets’ next four games come in a pair of back-to-backs so there’s no chance for Hutchinson to run with his hot streak just yet. After November 5th, however, they don’t have another back-to-back until the end of the month so Hutchinson just needs to hang on for two more strong starts if he wants an extended run in goal.
Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers and Mathieu Perreault continue to fly in limited action. They skated just 12 or so minutes apiece but were dangerous throughout combining for one goal but creating several other chances. Having such a strong second line really pushes the Jets to another level.
*
The Blackhawks definitely had their chances last night as you can tell by their gaudy SOG total but they continue to struggle to find offense without Duncan Keith. They’ve scored just six goals in four games since Keith went down and all but one of those have come on the power play or during 3-on-3 overtime.
Brent Seabrook has points in all four of those games and six overall without Keith. But remember, Keith will be back before Christmas so now is the time to start shopping Seabrook.
Teuvo Teravainen was a healthy scratch last night but he’s been buried in the lineup once again so don’t look to him for much fantasy value just yet. Artemi Panarin and Viktor Tikhonov have grabbed the top-six spots that Teravainen would have used to vault himself into fantasy relevance. Panarin, who is basically a right-handed Patrick Kane won’t be giving up his spot any time soon. Tikhonov is on much feebler ground.
*
How much of a murderer’s row is the Central Division? Six of its seven teams were in action and they went 5-1 with the only loss coming in an intradivisional matchup. Currently the Blackhawks are sixth in the division, outside the playoffs. How unfair is that?
You can make a pretty compelling case for each of the Central’s best six teams to be in the NHL’s top 10 and yet one of them is going to miss the playoffs. No really, it’s going to happen. It’s why I projected the Blackhawks to miss the playoffs in our pre-season experts’ panel. But before we go any further, let’s also consider that I had the Flames winning the Pacific. Oops!
The takeaway is that the Central was always going to be death and the Pacific was always going to be shit. Someone had to be left out in the Central and someone had to win the Pacific. What’s incredibly ruinous about all of this is that the best thing a team from the Central can do might be to finish fifth and cross over to the Pacific playoff bracket for the easier path.
Oh, and I know that it’s only 10 or so games in and that a lot can change but I think it’s important we acknowledge how ridiculous things are shaping up to be so that we aren’t surprised come April.
*
It looks like Brandon Saad’s turn to sit out with illness as he won’t travel to Washington for tonight’s game. We may have to wait until this bug runs its way through the Blue Jacket dressing room before we can figure out exactly who John Tortorella is favouring in his lineup.
*
Rich Clune signed an NHL deal with the Leafs and will likely replace Mark Arcobello who was placed on waivers. Clune has some potential in deep leagues that score hits and PIM but Mike Babcock doesn’t necessarily have a history of using enforcers so Clune will have to prove he’s here to play hockey.
As far as Arcobello is concerned, would anyone be surprised if he was claimed by the Coyotes who are currently facing some injury woes at the center position? If they had a dense schedule over the next week I might even suggest taking a flyer on Arcobello but they only play once between now and next Thursday.
*
Slava Voynov officially signed with SKA of the KHL. It is a three-year deal and he signed his retirement papers so it is unlikely that we will see him back in the NHL any time soon.
*
Dobber’s latest for Yahoo! focuses on some newcomers worth your attention.
*
Check out Brendan Ross’ latest prospect ramblings.
*
Thanks for reading! You can follow me @SteveLaidlaw.Luther was the leader of a small nest of vampires and the female vampire Kate was his mate. He was later shot and killed with the Colt by John Winchester.
Contents show]
History Edit
Early Life Edit
Apparently born in the 1800s, as the Colt was made around the time when Luther was born. He has history with hunter Daniel Elkins who presumably killed his family.
Luther returned to the nest after the others made an acquisition of a traveling couple. Once he eyed them over and found the woman to be "interesting", he gave the order that she was to live and the man was to be locked up with other gathered prey. After a second thought, he decided the group could "treat themselves" to the man and laughed as his nest-mates devoured the man as the woman watched on helplessly, then started making out with Kate.
Later, as the rest of the nest were sleeping, he and Kate graduated from making out in front of the female hostage to stripping in front of the female hostage. When stripping began to include groping, he noticed the woman's terrified, fleeting glances and then watched as he had Kate feed the woman her blood, turning her into a vampire. In the day as the vampires slept, the Winchesters snuck into the nest to both free the hostages and to retrieve the Colt with as little collateral damage as possible. When the newly turned vampire (mistaken as still being human) alerted the nest to their intruders, Luther awoke and managed to prevent John from getting the Colt. The hunters fled, with the vampires reluctant to pursue due to it still being daylight.
That night, he sent Kate and another vampire after the Winchesters, only for Kate to be captured and the other vampire killed. When John lured him away from the nest by using Kate as bait (so Dean and Sam could go in for the hostages again), Luther agreed to exchange the Colt for his mate. When Kate broke free of her bonds prematurely, she and Luther got the upper hand on John by knocking him unconscious. As they were about to kill him, Dean and Sam arrived and a small scuffle ensued, resulting in a stalemate of Luther threatening to snap Sam's neck if Dean didn't disarm himself of his machete. As he begins to talk about what monster hunters were, a re-awakened John surprised the vampire and shot him the head with the Colt, killing him.
In The Raid, Luther and his nest appear in a flashback when the British Men of Letters explain their plan to wipe out the vampires to Sam.
Personality Edit
Luther was the leader of his group of vampires. Because head vampires are usually the eldest of the group, this may also apply to him, and he may or may not have turned all the members of his group into vampires as well, similar to way that Dixon and Boris built their nests. Like many nest leaders, Luther believed in enjoying eternal life, but also in keeping a low profile to avoid attracting hunters, as evidenced by the fact that he hadn't taken his own revenge against Daniel Elkins for what was done to his family and the way he became upset with Kate for doing so.
Powers and Abilities Edit
Luther possessed all the powers and attributes of a vampire, however as he was older than most, he was stronger than most vampires.
Super Strength - Luther knocked John Winchester through the air with a flick of his wrist.
- Luther knocked John Winchester through the air with a flick of his wrist. Super Senses - His senses were stronger than the younger vampires, was able to track Kate's scent, while the others couldn't.
- His senses were stronger than the younger vampires, was able to track Kate's scent, while the others couldn't. Super Speed - He could move faster than the human eye could follow.
- He could move faster than the human eye could follow. Invulnerability - Luther was resistant to physical pain and could not be killed by conventional means such as stab wounds or bullets. He was also impervious to human diseases. He could be poisoned by dead man's blood or vamptonite, and he could only be killed by the Colt, decapitation, or an angel's touch.
- Luther was resistant to physical pain and could not be killed by conventional means such as stab wounds or bullets. He was also impervious to human diseases. He could be poisoned by dead man's blood or vamptonite, and he could only be killed by the Colt, decapitation, or an angel's touch. Immortality - Luther was over 100 years old and retained the appearance and fitness of a healthy young man.
Death Edit
Killed By Edit
As Luther threatened the life of John's sons, John shot Luther through the head with the Colt, killing him.
Appearances Edit
Trivia EditThe other day, I overheard someone say that Steve McQueen's cinematography in 12 Years A Slave was brilliant. As a huge fan of Sean Bobbitt (the actual cinematographer of that film), I wanted to say something, but held my tongue because avoiding the argument that would have ensued seemed like a better option. Despite my inaction, this instance got me thinking about our shared cultural view of film directors, and about whether or not that view needs to change.
On film sets, the director is often the head honcho, the creative decision-maker, the be-all end-all in the creative process. As such, the director tends to get all of, or at least a vast majority of the credit. They're almost always viewed as the sole creative force behind a film, especially by people who aren't involved in (or have knowledge of) the filmmaking process.
However, filmmaking, by its very nature, is a collaborative medium. Creating a convincing and compelling narrative feature can take hundreds of dedicated individuals working towards a common goal. Many of those individuals -- the art directors, the makeup artists, the cinematographers, the VFX artists, the editors -- are true artists in their own right, and their contributions to any given film are substantial at the very least. This raises a question that I'd love to toss out to the No Film School community for discussion: Do directors get too much credit in the filmmaking process?
Before we get to the discussion, I'd like to elaborate on some of my thoughts regarding this complex question. I certainly don't claim to have any answers, but having thought about this a lot, I can at least point out a few different facets that might swing an answer in one way or another.
First up is the notion of the auteur, or the idea that a film is the sole creative vision of the director, as if he were the "author" of the film. This is the theory that permeates not only the vast majority of the filmmaking community, but also the entirety of our society. Nobody ever says, "Hey, let's go see a collective work of art made by a group of talented creative professionals." They say, "Let's go see that new Tarantino flick," or "I just loooooooove Steven Spielberg movies!" Film directors, at least the monetarily successful ones, are celebrities.
But let's talk for a moment about what directors actually do in the filmmaking process. In the most basic sense, the director is a creative manager. They work with department heads in order to create a unified vision throughout all of the various facets of filmmaking. So in that sense, the director is the glue that holds everything together. As such, it stands to reason that they deserve some serious credit for being the driving force behind the film's vision. There's no doubt in my mind that directors serve an absolutely essential function on a film set. Perhaps even the most essential function (although there's a strong case for producers).
Here's the catch. Not all directors manage to the same extent. On one hand, many of them try to micro-manage every single department in an effort to maintain their "artistic vision." On the other, some of them are primarily concerned with working with the actors in an effort to maximize performance. The issue here is that, without an in-depth knowledge of the director's involvement in the pre-production, production, and post-production processes, it's impossible to determine the extent to which a director's "personal vision" has actually been translated to the final product that makes it to the screen.
That's not to say that some directors aren't artists in the truest sense of the word, and that some films don't inherently portray the artistic vision of their director. Folks like Tarkovsky, Malick, Godard, Wenders, Fellini, etc. are (were) exceptional artists whose films are often deeply personal works of art. There's no doubt in my mind that auteurs exist, but the notion that every person who directs a film is the sole author of that film strikes me as absurd.
Then there's the issue of whether or not the director actually wrote the script that they're directing. There's a much greater case for directors being considered an auteur when they've also written the script. (It doesn't hurt when you also produce, act in, and edit your own content like Louis C.K. or Shane Carruth.) However, can a director who didn't write the script (or participate in the editing) be considered an auteur at all? Frankly, I don't think so.
So where does this leave us? It's obvious that directors play an absolutely crucial role in the filmmaking process. However, the notion that directors are the sole creative force behind any film seems like an outdated one, at least to me. Filmmaking is an amazing collaborative art form, but we continue to treat it as if it were personal art form like painting or sculpting. In my opinion, we, as a society, need to focus more on the fact that filmmaking is inherently collaborative and eschew the outdated theory of auteurism.
I'd love to hear everyone's opinions on this question. Do directors get too much credit in the filmmaking process? Is it important to shift societal focus towards the fact that filmmaking is purely collaborative? Let us know down in the comments!Hi All!Still not the "big one", but I decided to try and get back to incremental updates as much as possible, and figured out some ways to do so that will hopefully put updates out more frequently. In any case, I am pleased to announce v1.25.0 for your playing pleasures.- New "3D" catacombs map system implemented- Mini-map revamped to accommodate new map display- Maze controls have changed slightly to accommodate the new maze system (Up moves forward, Left/Right turn left or right)* Note that random fights can occur by simply turning directions.- Well placement in catacombs adjusted to appear part of the maze- A trapdoor is now visibly drawn on the ground when detected- Cooking has been adjusted so that you will still gain proficiency longer per tier. Example: You can get to rank 4 on tier 1 fish, rank 9 on tier 2, rank 14 for tier 3, etc.- High level characters (>127) will now show the correct level in View Ladders- Combat Proficiency gains have been tweaked slightly to allow for more gains overall- Added new objective: Bits and Pieces- Added new objective: Treasure Pest- Fixed a bug in Slash the Swarm- Settings keyboard bindings updated to reflect new catacombs key functionsNew Monster Abilities:Wind-o-shade now has a chance to use Blink attack (teleport)Electangle now has a chance to use Tangling tentacle evasion (position swap) and Call For Help when injured (random)Aqueous now has a chance to use Water condenser (shrink)Chargon now has a chance to use Multi-target Breath Attack (fire)Huntaguar now has a chance to use Wind Fist Attack (physical + wind)Monster abilities will be updated here when they are discovered by the community: http://ladderslasher.d2jsp.org/index.php?g=21 Remember, this is just an incremental update, there is tons more to come, as I'm sure your imaginations will run wild with.Have fun, and keep on slashin'!poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201707/410/1155968404_5511561280001_5511546349001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Trump says he plans to 'let Obamacare fail'
President Donald Trump on Tuesday declared that Republicans should “let Obamacare fail,” saying the collapse would force Democrats to work with the GOP as it regroups after support for the Senate’s healthcare bill fell apart Monday night.
“For seven years, I’ve been hearing repeal and replace from Congress. I’ve been hearing it loud and strong, and when we finally get a chance to repeal and replace, they don’t take advantage of it. So that’s disappointing,” Trump told reporters Tuesday afternoon in the White House.
Story Continued Below
“Let Obamacare fail," he continued. "It’ll be a lot easier, and I think we’re probably in that position where we’ll just let Obamacare fail. We’re not going to own it. I’m not going to own it. I can tell you the Republicans are not going to own it.”
Republicans have said Obamacare is in a "death spiral" and will collapse soon if left alone, though experts say the situation is not so dire. The president’s Tuesday proposal to let Obamacare collapse marked a shift from Monday night, when Trump wrote on Twitter that Republicans should quickly fulfill a seven-year promise to repeal his predecessor’s signature healthcare legislation even without a ready replacement.
Whether they repeal Obamacare immediately or not, Trump has said Democrats would be forced to come to the table to negotiate with Republicans on a path forward for the nation’s healthcare system.
The most reliable politics newsletter. Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every 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.
“As I have always said, let ObamaCare fail and then come together and do a great healthcare plan. Stay tuned!” Trump tweeted on Tuesday morning, after having written Monday night that “Republicans should just REPEAL failing ObamaCare now & work on a new Healthcare Plan that will start from a clean slate. Dems will join in!”
The president has been applying pressure to Republicans to move quickly on getting rid of Obamacare, so that he can move on to other priorities such as a tax reform package and an infrastructure plan. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has struggled to find a health care bill that will satisfy enough conservatives and moderates to secure the 50 votes needed for passage.
In his remarks to reporters on Tuesday, Trump expressed frustration that no Democrats had joined the GOP repeal-and-replace effort, telling the press that the Republican bill "should have had" some support from the minority party. The president also suggested that Republicans must work to grow their majority in the 2018 midterms and that even in falling short, the GOP had put forth an impressive effort at making good on their promise to undo Obamacare.
"We had no Democrat support. We had 52 people, we had 4 no's," Trump said, recalling the Senate whip count that emerged Monday night. "Now we might have had another one somewhere in there, but essentially the vote would have been pretty close to, if you look at it, 48 to 4. That’s a pretty impressive vote by any standard, and yet you have a vote of 48 to 4, or something like that, and you need more? That’s pretty tough."
On Monday night, as Trump was hosting a handful of Republican senators at the White House, news emerged that Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas were “no” votes, joining Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul in opposition, and sinking the current bill’s chances. Of the four Republican lawmakers who sank the Senate's repeal-and-replace proposal, Trump said "they were not disloyal" and that "they had their own reasons" for opposing the healthcare measure. He said he had been surprised by the defections of Lee and Moran because "we thought they were in fairly good shape."
In the wake of the Monday night announcements from Lee and Moran, McConnell said that the Senate will vote on a so-called “clean repeal” that undoes Obamacare without immediately putting into place legislation to replace it.
On Tuesday morning, Trump spread the blame while still complimenting many members of his party. “We were let down by all of the Democrats and a few Republicans. Most Republicans were loyal, terrific & worked really hard. We will return!” he tweeted.
Trump also expressed his frustration with the legislative process. "With only a very small majority, the Republicans in the House & Senate need more victories next year since Dems totally obstruct, no votes!" he tweeted, adding, "The Senate must go to a 51 vote majority instead of current 60 votes. Even parts of full Repeal need 60. 8 Dems control Senate. Crazy!"
As the realities of how difficult a simultaneous repeal-and-replace could be for Republicans, Trump has at times vacillated between the two backup strategies, sometimes pushing for a clean repeal and at other times suggesting that Obamacare would collapse on its own, leaving a vacuum for lawmakers to fill. The president has previously suggested that the latter option could force Democrats to the negotiating table, creating a window for a bipartisan solution.
But Democrats have been largely unified in their opposition to any healthcare reform package that repeals Obamacare, insisting instead that the current law be amended and changed instead of thrown out entirely.
The prospect of a repeal now, replace later approach began to surface in recent weeks as prospects for a compromise in the Senate grew increasingly dim. Republicans in both the House and Senate easily passed a clean repeal bill in 2015 that was vetoed by then-President Barack Obama, and a return to a similar bill has been suggested as a way for the GOP to make good on its long-held campaign promise to do away with Obamacare.
Such an approach has been advocated by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), one of the four lawmakers whose opposition sunk the current iteration of the GOP’s repeal and replace efforts. A clean repeal, Paul told Fox News last month, would unify the Republican Party by allowing conservative members to vote for a bill they can support. Then, Paul suggested, the GOP’s more moderate wing could work with Democrats on an Obamacare replacement package without needing conservative members’ votes.
Tuesday morning, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said he remained optimistic that he and his GOP colleagues would be able to move forward in one way or another on healthcare legislation, although he predicted that the Senate would “wind up with a skinnied down version of what we couldn't vote on this time.” The next legislation, the Oklahoma senator forecasted, will do away with whatever Republicans can compromise on while a larger strategy is formulated.
“I'm still optimistic that we can and because we must. This is kind of a no fail moment that you have to be able to resolve all these issues,” he said.The ballot, sent Wednesday to members of the AFL-CIO's Executive Committee, provided three options: to endorse Rep. Keith Ellison; to abstain; or to "make no endorsement at this time." | Getty Firefighters union chief calls AFL-CIO ballot for DNC chair 'totalitarian'
A top union leader lashed out at AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka for sending out an endorsement ballot for chair of the Democratic National Committee that listed the name of only one candidate.
"A single name on the ballot more resembles an attempt at a coronation in a totalitarian regime rather than an election within the House of Labor," Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, wrote in an email to Trumka sent late Wednesday.
Story Continued Below
The ballot, sent Wednesday to members of the AFL-CIO's Executive Committee, provided three options: to endorse Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.); to abstain; or to "make no endorsement at this time." Omitted were South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jaime Harrison; New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley; and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, all declared candidates.
Also absent were two prospective candidates reportedly favored by the White House: Labor Secretary Tom Perez and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
The voting began Nov. 30 and continues until Dec. 6. The DNC will choose its new chair at its winter meeting in Atlanta, Feb. 23-26.
Schaitberger, whose union lies at the more conservative end of the labor movement, wrote that Trumka's attempt to "pre-ordain the result by including only a single candidate on the ballot is contemptible."
Ellison has been endorsed by a number of top labor groups. In a memo to the Executive Board that POLITICO reported on Wednesday, Trumka signaled a clear preference for Ellison, citing those endorsements and noting that a "strong majority" favored Ellison in a previous straw poll of the board's Political Committee.
"Your memo notes that both New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley and South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Jaime Harrison took time out of their busy schedules on very short notice... to attend and address the Political Committee," Schaitberger wrote. "Yet, you failed to give either Mr. Buckley or Mr. Harrison the common courtesy of a place on the ballot because of your own personal bias for Representative Ellison."
Schaitberger also noted that Trumka acknowledged that other potential DNC candidates had contacted him and Executive Council members, including "our very good friend Secretary Tom Perez," to talk about the race. Perez has been mulling running for either DNC chair or Maryland governor.
"This causes me great concern that those who may call into question the integrity of our labor movement will now have more ammunition to use against us when we are in the trenches," Schaitberger wrote, "fighting to protect the hard won gains our members have earned through the years."
Marianne LeVine contributed to this report.
This article tagged under: AFL-CIOThe southern segment of the East Lake Sammamish Trail at 206th Avenue Southeast before construction began. Here the county wants to relocate these stop signs so trail users can have the right of way. Megan Campbell/staff photo
King County filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in federal court Monday, following the June 14 lawsuit it submitted regarding the East Lake Sammamish Trail against the city of Sammamish.
The new motion asks the court to expedite the legal process of ruling on the ownership issue between the city of Sammamish and the county and to lift the city’s stop work orders, which the city issued June 16 for work being done on two city streets where they intersect with the trail.
These two intersections, at 206th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 33rd Street, are at the crux of the June 14 lawsuit the county filed in the United State District Court. At these intersections the county wants to relocate stop signs, which currently stop trail users, so that they would instead stop vehicular traffic, citing safety reasons.
Both roads dead-end. Two-hundred-sixth Avenue Southeast serves 15 homes generating around 180 trips per day while Southeast 33rd Street is one of three access points for 46 homes generating around 552 trips per day, according to King County Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Brown.
“By contrast, original design estimates for the [East Lake Sammamish Trail] have projected between 2,500 and 4,000 trail users would cross these intersections on peak days and newer estimates are even higher,” court documents read.
The city is against moving the stop signs. But regardless of the city’s position, to perform any work in the city’s right of way, the county would have to file for a right of way permit, according to the city.
The county disagrees, contending that it does not need a right of way permit as the two intersections are within the trail corridor and therefore not under the city’s regulatory authority.
“With the City and King County at an impasse over the Intersections, this declaratory judgment action is necessary to resolve the dispute between these governments so that the [East Lake Sammamish Trail] can reopen for public use,” according to court documents.
The county claims that the city’s code is preempted by the National Trails Systems Act and the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act.
The ownership issue boils down to whether or not the East Lake Sammamish Trail should be treated like a railroad. The county believes it should.
“We believe we inherited all the rights the railroad had,” Brown said. “We want to make sure what we believe is our right is our right.”
Brown is calling the lawsuit a good thing for both parties, as it would clear up any other property issues in this and other trail corridors.
In an email sent to city staff and council members, Sammamish City Manager Lyman Howard said the county’s move to file for a preliminary injunction “isn’t entirely unexpected.”
“We are disappointed that the County has decided to make a federal case out of what appears to be nothing more than a genuine disagreement over engineering judgment,” Howard said in a statement. “The City will defend the lawsuit and looks forward to correcting the many factual inaccuracies and mischaracterizations in the County’s court papers.”
The 11-mile trail connecting Redmond to Issaquah is part of a larger regional trail system that connects Seattle to the Eastside and the Cascade Foothills. There are three segments in the city of Sammamish.Local African American pastors and activists held a press conference in response to actions by the Metro Nashville Police Department in the death investigation of Jocques Clemmons.
A group of pastors met with police officials Tuesday night to give an update in the investigations. Officials with the department said they were invited by they pastors to answer questions.
They said during that 3-hour meeting, officers shared pertinent information in the ongoing case, and led them frame-by-frame through all of the surveillance video from the case.
"The police department yesterday was requested by a group of ministers to give an update in regards to what we knew about the officer involved shooting. As part of the update, we gave to the ministers, we used still frames from the surveillance video which was released the same day as the shooting happened," said Don Aaron, spokesman for the department.
Yet, the group of pastors believed the department overstepped their bounds, since the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation took over the case.
"We find that that was improper and to coin his own phrase, it was'morally disingenuous'; where if there was information the police dept. felt that they were ready to give out, all of the stakeholders, including Clemmons' family should have been present," said Davie Tucker, pastor of Beech Creek Missionary Baptist Church.
He referenced comments Chief Anderson made Tuesday in response to a report by the activist group, Gideon's Army, accusing the department of racial profiling.
The group implied that the report, " Driving While Black," and Tuesday's meeting have impacted the department's ability to properly investigate Clemmons' death.
"We do not have confidence in the Metropolitan Police Department or its chief to do an adequate investigation," said a local pastor.
A leader of the Justice for Jocques Coalition, D.J. Hudson, said she and others did not said she and others did not appreciate the Chief's response to the report.
"Not only to not hear the core assertion which is that that there is a problem here in Nashville but to then assert that there is not problem and that the people identifying the problem are lying shows a severe breech in this narrative that he's trying to paint that all is cozy and all is well in Nashville," said Hudson.
The group at the press conference included pastors from local churches, Nashville Black Lives Matter leaders and members of the Justice for Jocques Coalition.2014 turns |
about this new Gunslinger class? This is the first new class for the game, correct? What does it bring to Skyforge?
AP: Loads of fun I hope! It’s a damage dealer which requires a very different mindset. It has very unique class mechanics and the Outlaw is really the first of more that are in development. We had requests from players for a fast paced ranged physical damage dealer and that role is exactly the role he will fill. It is very action driven class with abilities more grounded in non-fantasy; stay tuned for more information!
MMORPG: What have been the toughest lessons learned in the first several months or year of Skyforge's live service?
AP: This is not our first MMO and we were prepared for a lot of the expected difficulties. But there were no hard lessons to be learned from the usual technical difficulties and insufficient testing of new features. We already knew we needed to be prepared for those to the best of our abilities. Skyforge has been ambitious in trying to innovate certain MMO tropes and in that we found some hard lessons:
1) Every mundane task for players can be automated – should be. Giving the option to the 0.5% of players that wishes to control it themselves leaves 95.5% of your player base confused or not caring about it.
2) It was painful to learn that its near impossible to balance the amount of innovations you will introduce. Too many and you will lose quality on some of them without extensive testing, too few and you didn’t provide a new experience. It is hard to be happy with this balance as a developer as well as player.
MMORPG: Can you share some details on the political system being added to the game?
AP: We can’t go into too much detail at the moment, since we will disclose closer to the release of the Ascension Expansion. The Council of Gods is a completely new political system. From now on, players can elect who the world of Aelion will answer to for a few weeks. In their hands, the leaders will hold power, resources and the fate of the people.
MMORPG: There are a lot of systems that are unique to Skyforge, and they often felt under-explained (ie - followers and their tasks). Has anything been done recently or for this expansion to address that?
AP: Yes, by throwing the least used completely overboard and revamping the most confusing ones. We don’t think lengthy tutorials for all systems are eventually the solution. In general, it is not an efficient way of using our resources to create tutorial systems that eventually become obsolete. We will stay in contact with our community on web and forum and we will improve systems till we are in an ideal situation – where all of them are self-explanatory. Or we’ll die trying.
MMORPG: What are the new combat changes all about?
AP: We want to make it more dynamic, upping moment to moment gameplay and base it more on situational decisions. We’ll make sure you have the option to dodge or avoid more of the enemy’s attacks instead of making it a damage race. When you defeat monsters, you can take their weapons or even part of their bodies! Swing the axe of a huge Vird to chop up his own kind; arm yourself with the tentacle of a defeated Kraken; slice off a Hydra head and terrify your enemies with it — any of these actions will bestow your character with new abilities for a time.
MMORPG: In closing, is there anything we missed you wanted to make sure we touched on?
AP: Yes, I think it’s very essential to point out that we are working on making it the perfect time to rejoin or join the product, without the feeling you are trailing behind the existing players. The systems will change to facilitate bringing players more in range with each other faster. Through the new seasonal structure, we will be able to guarantee a better degree of competition. New players will be able to chart their future progression and see where their efforts lead them, in order to participate in relevant content together with veteran players.Foreclosure Crisis How Banks and Government Fail Homeowners
Buried in the massive financial regulation overhaul that President Barack Obama signed today, two provisions force the Treasury Department to increase the transparency of its loan modification program.
One measure takes aim at the secret formula the government developed to test homeowners’ eligibility for a modification. Treasury will now have to post its details online. The other measure requires that the government divulge far more data from the program.
Consumer advocates have long criticized the lack of transparency in the program and the loan modification process. That lack of transparency is particularly critical, they say, because the banks and other companies that service mortgages frequently make errors. As we’ve reported, in the worst cases those mistakes lead to foreclosure.
Many homeowners are wrongly denied modifications “because of the lack of transparency in the program,” said Alys Cohen, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center. The new measures will help homeowners and advocates challenge errors by mortgage servicers, she said.
At the center of the loan modification program is a complicated — and until now, secret — formula called a “net present value” (NPV) calculation. The formula, which was developed by the Treasury Department and other government agencies, determines whether modifying a homeowner’s loan under the program is likely to be more profitable than a foreclosure. The servicer is required to run the formula for each homeowner who applies for a modification.
“A homeowner’s fate hinges on the NPV score, so the American Dream is literally at stake here,” said Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., who sponsored the amendment to add the measure to the bill.
Servicers often run the formula incorrectly. Fifteen of the largest 20 servicers in the program have not followed “various aspects” of its rules concerning the formula, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Problems with servicers’ use of the formula have added to the serious delays that homeowners have experienced. Earlier this year, Treasury began requiring that servicers recheck denials based on the formula.
As we detailed last year, consumer advocates have criticized the Treasury for keeping the formula secret. The new rule requires the Treasury to open up its black box. Treasury must publish the “methodology and computer model” on the Internet, according to the new law.
Along with divulging the formula, the Treasury must provide a public “net present value” calculator so homeowners can run their own test to see if they qualify for a loan modification.
For homeowners who are denied based on the formula, the law also requires that servicers provide them with certain figures used in the calculation, such as the borrowers’ income, so they can make sure the information is correct.
Rep. Quigley said that, based on a recent meeting with Treasury officials, he is hopeful the new measures could be in place by the end of the summer.
The bill also beefs up the reporting requirements for the program. For the first time, the Treasury Department will be required to release individual data on homeowners involved in the program. Currently, servicers report around 150 different variables (PDF) for each homeowner, ranging from the credit score to the property valuation, but Treasury releases only a fraction of the information in its monthly reports.
Now, Treasury will be required to release this information, minus the parts it withholds to protect homeowner privacy. ProPublica has been waiting for over a year to get this data, which we requested under the Freedom of Information Act. Advocates and researchers have also been pressing for it, saying it’s necessary for independent review of the program, including a fair-lending analysis.
“By the time we get this data, which we have been asking for since the inception of the program, the program is already going to be set in stone,” said Julia Gordon, senior policy counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending. Gordon said the data will nonetheless be useful for a “historical” evaluation of the program and for policy makers looking to develop future foreclosure-relief efforts. (Disclosure: The center receives funding from the Sandler Foundation, the principal funder of ProPublica.)
Also, servicers will be required to submit monthly reports to Treasury detailing the number of modification applications they receive, process, approve and deny.
This month, Treasury began reporting the fate of the 539,000 homeowners who'd been rejected by the eight largest servicers, but the bill requires it to collect and share more information about applications to the program, such as how many homeowners have applied and are waiting for an answer.
Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., proposed the reporting requirements as an amendment to the House bill. She said her constituency in Sacramento has been struggling with foreclosures. “The Making Home Affordable Program holds the potential to greatly reduce these figures, but without accountability, the lenders have failed to do so,” Matsui told ProPublica.Illustration of Lysistrata by Aubrey Beardsley, 1896.
A civil rights group in Togo is urging women to participate in a weeklong sex strike to put pressure on the country’s men to urge the president to resign. Do sex strikes ever work?
L.V. Anderson L.V. Anderson is a former Slate associate editor.
Yes, but mostly as a means of garnering media attention. The Togolese group cites as its inspiration a strike organized in 2003 by a women’s peace group to encourage the end of the Second Liberian Civil War. (The effort was chronicled in the 2008 documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell.) Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace did force an end to the war, but their tactics were more complicated than a simple sex strike: They also staged sit-ins and mass demonstrations, which were arguably far more effective than the sex strike. Leymah Gbowee, the leader of the peace group, wrote in her memoir that the months-long sex strike
had little or no practical effect, but it was extremely valuable in getting us media attention. Until today, nearly 10 years later, whenever I talk about the Mass Action, “What about the sex strike?” is the first question everyone asks.
Advertisement
Generally, sex strikes—known in activist circles as “Lysistratic nonaction,” a nod to Aristophanes’ ancient Greek comedy—appear to be more successful when the women involved have little economic autonomy, when their demands are specific and realistic, and when they possess endurance and strength in numbers. In the tiny, rural Filipino town of Dado last year, women belonging to a sewing collective successfully brought an end to violence on a thoroughfare connecting Dado and a regional market center by withholding sex from their husbands for a week. And a four-month, 300-woman sex strike in the Colombian town of Barbacoas last year succeeded, with local authorities promising to improve conditions on the roads connecting Barbacoas to the nearest town. (Compare this to a highly publicized 2006 sex strike by the girlfriends of gangsters in a violent region of Colombia, which was called off after 10 days with no indication that their demand—an end to gang violence—had been met.)Art Robinson is the GOP candidate for Oregon’s Fourth Congressional District. Last night he bravely went on to The Rachel Maddow Show to discuss his background and some specifics of his campaign. Host Rachel Maddow calmly tried to get to know Robinson by asking specific questions about his previous writings, but was not very successful in getting past Robinson’s claims that the host was “smearing his reputation,” “throwing mud” and “sarcasm.” Oddly, this style of”opiniotainment” was really fun to watch.
The segment was initially set-up by Maddow with concerns that Robinson is benefiting from an anonymous campaign donor who has provided $150,000 to help his campaign. Right of the bat, Robinson got his back up in a way that seems almost like he decided to be incredibly combative before the interview even began. Either that, or he’s extremely thin-skinned about his previous writings. Or maybe he’s just a jerk.
To her great credit, Maddow never loses focus, nor patience, in her attempt to ask Robinson about some of his theories, both scientific and conspiratorial, but never really gets past Robinson’s rather aggressive push back. Perhaps the following rough transcript of the last bit of the interview best exemplifies the “discourse” evidenced in the interview (provided by MSNBC):
>> one of the things that happens in satellite is there’s about a 1 1/2-second delay between me asking a question and you hearing it. so you can interpret that as sarcasm and interruption, but it’s just the way the medium works. i’m sorry that’s been so awkward for you. >> no, no. that’s not the speed of the delay. it’s the speed of light. it’s much less on that. >> you asked one of me. >> if every time i try to clarify what i’m asking or what you’re saying you’re going to call me sarcastic, then no. let me try to get an answer to an earlier question. >> ask a question and i’ll answer it.
>> do you get the speed of light thing? not happening here. there was no editor, you weren’t taken out of context that aids was a government conspiracy, that it wasn’t real that the government wuss misclassifying — >> i never, ever in my life made a statement like that. you are lying. i never made a statement like that. i know it. the statement you made is an outright lie. >> quoting from mr. robinson’s newsletter. >> look, look, it’s on the screen. only government reclassification of more and more disease types as aids cases has kept the number of victims at politically necessary levels. you wrote it, i’m quoting it. do you no longer believe it? >> no, you — >> madam, i’m not going to discuss — what happened to hermeses. 15 years ago in a large discussion of many thing, you go right ahead. i can’t even check your quotes and i don’t trust trust you.
>> they’re your own quotes, but if you want me to send you your own newsletter back issues, i will. >> ma’am, no, no. why don’t you read everything that was written about it. >> oh, my god, i read so much of your stuff i can’t even tell you. there’s a reason i look glazed over today. it’s reading your conspiracy theorys. sads a government conspiracy, radiation at low levels is good for you and public education should be abolished. i have enjoyed learning about you. i’ve learned a lot about your temperament and also some interesting theories about the speed of light. a man who denies that his own words are his own and then accuses me of lying about them, republican congressional candidate art robinson, thank you for joining us tonight.
Ms. Maddow has been lauded for her sanity here on Mediaite, and she’s long been pretty vocal about how eager she is about have a Republican on her show (though with mixed results.) So while the following clip was fun to watch, it’s still rather disappointing that when she finally gets a chance for a reasoned discussion with a GOP candidate, it serves only to exemplify the bitter divide we are currently living in.
This is what it sounds like when doves cry.
Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.comA plan by internationally-renowned artist Christo to hang miles of fabric over the Arkansas River is moving forward.
United States District Judge William Martinez ruled Friday that the Bureau of Land Management did not violate federal law in its November 2011 approval of the artist’s Over The River project.
Opposition group Rags Over the Arkansas River (ROAR) claimed that the BLM’s decision violated the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
Over The River calls for large, luminous panels of silver fabric to be strung across a 42-mile stretch of the river at eight locations between Cañon City and Salida.
ROAR, along with the group Quiet Use Coalition, have contested the project for several years, filing legal actions with both state and federal courts claiming the project is environmentally destructive for the fish and wildlife along the Arkansas River and Bighorn Sheep Canyon.
In a statement released Saturday, ROAR said they are disappointed but plan to continue the battle against the “destructive and dangerous” OTR project.
“Ultimately, ROAR knew it would be an uphill battle to stop Christo’s behemoth OTR project. But ROAR’s members know firsthand the incomparable values of the Arkansas River and the sensitive Bighorn Sheep Canyon,” ROAR stated.
“ROAR is still reviewing the judicial opinion and considering other steps to prevent the OTR project from ever being allowed to happen, including the possibility of an appeal.”
Christo said Saturday he is pleased the court is upholding the BLM’s decision.
“I was always confident that the court would uphold the BLM’s actions because the Environmental Impact Statement conducted by the BLM was thorough and comprehensive,” the artist said. “We have one lawsuit in state court still outstanding, but today, we took a very significant and important step forward in realizing Over The River.”
A suit against the Colorado State Parks for allowing Christo to use a state recreation area is currently being appealed in Colorado state court.
OTR spokesman Miles Graham called the federal court’s ruling “careful, thorough, and exactly what one wants in a decision with the potential to be appealed.”
Graham said the OTR team plans to release more information Monday on how the ruling will affect the project’s progress.
Laura Keeney: 303-954-1337, lkeeney@denverpost.com or twitter.com/LauraKeeneyShare this...
Normally even the German conservative media have been supportive of Germany’s shift from fossil fuels over to green energies, and most leading conservative media outlets accept that climate change is mostly man-made and thus needs to be taken seriously.
Climate science skepticism is scorned in Germany.
So it’s all the more surprising that one of Germany’s leading center-right dailies, Die Welt, came out with an article seriously challenging Germany’s Energiewende (transition to green energies).
Citing a 20-page report by McKinsey, Die Welt writes that the Energiewende risks becoming “an economic disaster” (it in fact already has) and that the opinions on the Energiewende by McKinsey are totally opposite of those held by the German government. This shows two things: the growing chasm between the German government’s view and reality, and 2) the government’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge that their energy policy has become a dismal failure.
According to Die Welt, a team of McKinsey experts examined 15 criteria and concluded: “The costs will continue to rise“, and thus contradict the German government’s claim of “stable prices”.
In fact 11 of the 15 criteria that were examined had worsened. According to the report:
The current figures available show that the previous success of the Energiewende for the most part has come from expensive subsidies. At the same time goals whose fulfilment do not depend on direct financial support are becoming increasingly more unrealistic.”
Die Welt writes that McKinsey’s conclusion “must be really painful for the government“, which had hoped to see reductions in CO2 emissions. The bitter reality is that CO2 emissions have in fact risen over the past years and today they are more than 13% over the original target.
Green jobs eroding
The Energiewende has also failed on the jobs creation front, Die Welt writes. Proponents claimed earlier that renewable energies would lead to a jobs boom. But that too has not materialized in any way, shape or form. Jobs in the sector have fallen “for the 4th year in a row – falling from 355,400 to 330,000“. The leading German national daily adds that the biggest job losses came from the onshore wind and solar sectors where 15,000 jobs were lost.
McKinsey warns that the number employed in green energy could even fall below 2008 levels!
And not only “green energy” jobs are being slashed. McKinsey also found that for the first time in 2016 jobs in energy-intensive industries were lost. Die Welt reports:
In March 2016 there were in total 15,000 jobs less than a half year earlier.”
Cost of electricity production to jump 40%
The total cost of producing electricity for the country has also surged due to the Energiewende, McKinsey writes:
The cost of supplying electricity in Germany will rise from 63 billion euros today to 77 billion euros annually by 2015. In 2010 the cost was 55 billion euros.”
This means much higher prices for consumers, who have seen their electricity prices rise to 30.38 euro-cents per kilowatt-hour. For the average German household this will translate into 335 euros of more costs every year by 2025.
Meanwhile the average European electricity price has dropped.
47.3 percent more expensive than average European power
Currently German electricity prices are on average almost 3 times more than what consumers in the USA pay.
The McKinsey report found:
In the meantime the price level for German household power is 47.3 percent above the European average.“Examining the capabilities of malicious software allows your IT team to better assess the nature of a security incident, and may help prevent further infections. Here’s how to set up a controlled malware analysis lab—for free.
A large number of computer intrusions involve some form of malicious software (malware), which finds its way to the victim’s workstation or to a server. When investigating the incident, the IT responder typically seeks to answer questions such as: What actions can the malware specimen perform on the system? How does it spread? How, if at all, does it maintain contact with the attacker? These questions can all be answered by analyzing the offending malware in a controlled environment.
A simple analysis toolkit, built from free and readily available software, can help you and your IT team develop the skills critical to responding to today’s security incidents. The steps below will help get you started. We’ll focus on malware analysis in a Windows environment, since that platform is particularly popular among malware authors. If this topic interests you, take a look at the reverse-engineering malware course I teach at SANS Institute.
Step 1: Allocate physical or virtual systems for the analysis lab
A common approach to examining malicious software involves infecting a system with the malware specimen and then using the appropriate monitoring tools to observe how it behaves. This requires a laboratory system you can infect without affecting your production environment.
The most popular and flexible way to set up such a lab system involves virtualization software, which allows you to use a single physical computer for hosting multiple virtual systems, each running a potentially different operating system. Free virtualization software options include:
Running multiple virtual systems simultaneously on a single physical computer is useful for analyzing malware that seeks to interact with other systems, perhaps for leaking data, obtaining instructions from the attacker, or upgrading itself. Virtualization makes it easy to set up and use such systems without procuring numerous physical boxes.
Another useful feature of many virtualization tools is the ability to take instantaneous snapshots of the laboratory system. This way, you can record the state of the system before you infect it, and revert to the pristine environment with a click of a button at the end of your analysis.
If using virtualization software, install as much RAM into the physical system as you can, as the availability of memory is arguably the most important performance factor for virtualization tools. In addition, having a large hard drive will allow you to host many virtual machines, whose virtual file systems typically are stored as files on the physical system’s hard drive.
Because malware may detect that it’s running in a virtualized environment, some analysts prefer to rely on physical, rather than virtual, machines for implementing laboratory systems. Your old and unused PCs or servers can make excellent systems for your malware-analysis lab, which usually doesn’t need high-performing CPUs or highly redundant hardware components.
To allow malware to reach its full potential in the lab, laboratory systems typically are networked with each other. This helps you observe the malicious program’s network interactions. If using physical systems, you can connect them with each other using an inexpensive hub or a switch.
Step 2: Isolate laboratory systems from the production environment
You must take precautions to isolate the malware-analysis lab from the production network, to mitigate the risk that a malicious program will escape. You can separate the laboratory network from production using a firewall. Better yet, don’t connect laboratory and production networks at all, to avoid firewall configuration issues that might allow malware to bypass filtering restrictions.
If your laboratory network is strongly isolated, you can use removable media to bring tools and malware into the lab. Consider using write-once media, such as DVDs, to prevent malicious software from escaping the lab’s confines by writing itself to a writable removable disk. A more convenient option is a USB key that includes a physical write-protect switch.
Some malware-analysis scenarios benefit from the lab being connected to the internet. Avoid using the production network for such connectivity. If possible, provision a separate, and usually inexpensive, internet connection, perhaps by dedicating a DSL or Cable Modem line to this purpose. Avoid keeping the lab connected to the internet all the time to minimize the chance of malware in your lab attacking someone else’s system on the internet.
If virtualizing your lab, be sure to keep up with security patches released by the virtualization-software vendor. Such software may have vulnerabilities that could allow malware to escape from the virtual system you infected and onto the physical host. Furthermore, don’t use the physical machine that’s hosting your virtualized lab for any other purpose.
Step 3: Install behavioral analysis tools
Before you’re ready to infect your laboratory system with the malware specimen, you need to install and activate the appropriate monitoring tools. Free utilities that will let you observe how Windows malware interacts with its environment include:
File system and registry monitoring: Process Monitor with ProcDOT offer a powerful way to observe how local processes read, write, or delete registry entries and files. These tools can help you understand how malware attempts to embed into the system upon infection.
Process monitoring: Process Explorer and Process Hacker replace the built-in Windows Task Manager, helping you observe malicious processes, including local network ports they may attempt to open.
Network monitoring: Wireshark is a popular network sniffer, which can observe laboratory network traffic for malicious communication attempts, such as DNS resolution requests, bot traffic, or downloads.
Change detection: Regshot is a lightweight tool for comparing the system’s state before and after the infection, to highlight the key changes malware made to the file system and the registry.
Behavioral monitoring tools can give you a sense for the key capabilities of malicious software. For further details about its characteristics, you may need to roll up your sleeves and perform some code analysis.
Step 4: Install code-analysis tools
Examining the code that comprises the specimen helps uncover characteristics that may be difficult to obtain through behavioral analysis. In the case of a malicious executable, you rarely will have the luxury of access to the source code from which it was created. Fortunately, the following free tools can help you reverse compiled Windows executables:
Disassembler and debugger: OllyDbg and IDA Pro Freeware can parse compiled Windows executables and, acting as disassemblers, display their code as assembly instructions. These tools also have debugging capabilities, which allow you to execute the most interesting parts of the malicious program slowly and under highly controlled conditions, so you can better understand the purpose of the code.
Memory dumper: Scylla and OllyDumpEx help obtain protected code located in the lab system’s memory and dump it to a file. This technique is particularly useful when analyzing packed executables, which are difficult to disassemble because they encode or encrypt their instructions, extracting them into RAM only during run-time.
Step 5: Utilize online analysis tools
To round off your malware-analysis toolkit, add to it some freely available online tools that may assist with the reverse engineering process. One category of such tools performs automated behavioral analysis of the executables you supply. These applications look similar at first glance, but use different technologies on the back end. Consider submitting your malware specimen to several of these sites; depending on the specimen, some sites will be more effective than others. Such tools include:
You can see a longer list of free automated malware analysis services that can examine compiled Windows executables.
Another set of potentially useful online tools provides details about websites that are suspected of hosting malicious code. Some of these tools examine the sites you specify in real time; others provide historical information. Consider submitting a suspicious URL to several of these sites, because each may offer a slightly different perspective on the website in question:
Real-time threat assessment: WebInspector, and Wepawet
Historical reputation data: URLVoid and MxToolbox
You can see a longer list of free on-line tools for looking up a potentially malicious website.
Next Steps
With your initial toolkit assembled, start experimenting in the lab with malware you come across on the web, in your e-mail box, on your systems, and so on. There are several “cheat sheets” that can help you in this process, including:
Begin analysis with the tools and approaches most familiar to you. Then, as you become more familiar with the inner workings of the malware specimen, venture out of your comfort zone to try other tools and techniques. The tools I’ve listed within each step operate virtually identically. Since they’re all free, you should feel free to try them all. You’ll find that one tool will work better than another, depending on the situation. And with time, patience, and practice, you will learn to turn malware inside out.
For additional tips and resources, see my article How to Get Started With Malware Analysis and check out the Reverse-Engineering Malware course I teach at SANS Institute.It’s amazing how governments infiltrate terror cells time and again, but then fail to actually stop the attacks.
London
The Guardian noted on February 13th:
A remark from the sentencing judge that Babar “began co-operating even before his arrest”, has raised the possibility, supported by other circumstantial evidence obtained by the Guardian, that he may have been an informant for the US government before his detention by the FBI in April 2004. *** Having reviewed the court transcript himself, bereaved father Graham Foulkes said: “There’s a hint from one or two of the sentences [in the transcript] that do strongly suggest [Babar’s] co-operation was going well beyond his official arrest. And it looks as if the Americans may well have known in detail what Babar was up to in Pakistan [at the time] and that is a very, very serious matter.” When judge Marrero’s office was asked to clarify the remarks, his office declined to comment. The US attorney’s office declined to comment on whether Babar had been working with US agencies before his arrest. The law enforcement officer involved in Babar’s arrest and debriefing also refused to discuss the allegations.
Indeed, this short Fox news interview with terrorism expert and former prosecutor for the Justice Department shows that the bombing “mastermind” was a British intelligence agent (or read the transcript here). And see confirming story here.
An MSNBC translator confirms that claim of responsibility by Al-Qaeda was a fake. And see this regarding the unreliability of the translation.
This article from the Independent raises the question of whether attackers were “arrested and then released” while remaining under close observation by the government”.
Times Online reports that the police were “bugging” the car of the mastermind of the bombings.
And apparently Israel was warned ahead of the blasts (confirmed here).
Madrid
BBC reported in 2004:
The Spanish interior ministry says it is investigating reports that two suspects in the 11 March Madrid train bombings were police informants. The move came after Spain’s El Mundo newspaper said Moroccan Rafa Zuher and Spaniard Jose Emilio Suarez had been in contact with police before the attacks. The men are suspected of providing dynamite for the attacks, which killed 191 people and injured more than 2,000. The paper said they passed on details about drug deals and other crimes.
New York: 1993
The FBI had penetrated the cell which carried out the 1993 world trade center bombing, but had — at the last minute — canceled the plan to have its FBI infiltrator substitute fake powder for real explosives, against the infiltrator’s strong wishes (summary version is free; full version is pay-per-view)?
And see this TV news report:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F1Y6cGRXEs]
New York: 2001
The government had also infiltrated the 9/11 terror cell:
An FBI informant hosted and rented a room to two hijackers in 2000. Specifically, the Congressional Joint Inquiry discovered that an FBI informant had hosted and even rented a room to two hijackers in 2000. And see this Newsweek article and this New York Times report
According to the large French newspaper Le Monde, the intelligence services of America’s close ally France and of other governments had infiltrated the highest levels of Al-Qaeda’s camps, and actually listened to the hijackers’ debates about which airlines’ planes should be hijacked, and allied intelligence services also intercepted phone conversations between Al-Qaeda members regarding the attacks
According to journalist Christopher Ketcham, America’s close ally Israel tracked the hijackers’ every move prior to the attacks, and sent agents to film the attack on the World Trade Centers
The National Security Agency and the FBI were each independently listening in on the phone calls between the supposed mastermind of the attacks and the lead hijacker. Indeed, the FBI built its own antenna in Madagascar specifically to listen in on the mastermind’s phone calls
According to various sources, on the day before 9/11, the mastermind told the lead hijacker “tomorrow is zero hour” and gave final approval for the attacks. The NSA intercepted the message that day and the FBI was likely also monitoring the mastermind’s phone calls
The CIA and the NSA had been intercepting phone calls by the hijackers for years (see also this)
According to the Sunday Herald, two days before 9/11, Bin Laden called his stepmother and told her “In two days, you’re going to hear big news and you’re not going to hear from me for a while.” U.S. officials later told CNN that “in recent years they’ve been able to monitor some of bin Laden’s telephone communications with his [step]mother. Bin Laden at the time was using a satellite telephone, and the signals were intercepted and sometimes recorded.” Indeed, before 9/11, to impress important visitors, NSA analysts would occasionally play audio tapes of bin Laden talking to his stepmother.
And according to CBS News, at 9:53 a.m on 9/11, just 15 minutes after the hijacked plane had hit the Pentagon, “the National Security Agency, which monitors communications worldwide, intercepted a phone call from one of Osama bin Laden’s operatives in Afghanistan to a phone number in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia”, and secretary of Defense Rumsfeld learned about the intercepted phone call in real-time (if the NSA monitored and transcribed phone calls in real-time on 9/11, that implies that it did so in the months leading up to 9/11 as well)
What About the Terror Arrests?
But what about the arrests which have been made of would-be terrorists? Doesn’t that show that governments do sometimes catch the bad guys?
Maybe … but:
Former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke said:
A lot of the cases after 9/11 were manufactured or enormously exaggerated and were announced with great trumpets by the attorney general and the FBI director so that we felt that they were doing something when, in fact, what they were doing was not helpful, not relevant, not needed.
The Washington Post ran a story about one alleged threat entitled “Was it a terror sting or entrapment?“, showing that the U.S. government lent material support to the wanna-be terrorists, and put violent ideas in their heads
Raw Story reports that the alleged terrorist group that is alleged to have planned to blow up Chicago’s Sears Tower was non-violent before a government informant infiltrated the group and planted violent ideas in their heads
There are numerous other instances of entrapment of peaceful or mentally incompetent people who are then arrested as “terrorists”. For example, the “mastermind” of the terrorism plot was a self-confessed “pothead”, another was a crackhead, and that they were all semi-retarded. And see this, this and this
So while there are a lot of loud announcements about catching terrorists, most of the convictions are optics without substance.These results are according to the latest NBC News|SurveyMonkey Weekly Election Tracking poll conducted online from September 19 through September 25.
The debate Monday night at Hofstra University is the first time Clinton and Trump will be head-to-head on stage together, and the campaigns have stressed the importance of key groups like millennial voters.
Younger voters tend to support Democratic candidates, and they were an important group to President Obama’s victories in 2008 and 2012. Clinton had some trouble securing the support of millennials throughout the Democratic primaries. Third-party candidates Johnson and Stein have done well with young voters and many Democrats fear that millennials might support third-party candidates or not vote at all.
In the four-way general election match-up, 49 percent of those under age 30 support Clinton, and 26 percent support Trump; 16 percent of 18-29 year old likely voters support Johnson, and 7 percent support Stein. Millennial voters support the third-party candidates more than older voters—only 5 percent of those 65 and over support Johnson and only 1 percent support Stein.Roy Frank "RJ" Mitte III (born August 21, 1992) is an American actor, producer, and model. He is best known for his role as Walter "Flynn" White Jr. on the AMC series Breaking Bad (2008–13).[1] Like his character on the show, he has cerebral palsy. [1] After moving to Hollywood in 2006, he began training with personal talent manager Addison Witt.[2] They sought acting opportunities where his disability would serve to educate viewers, which led him to audition for the role in Breaking Bad.[3]
Early life [ edit ]
Mitte was born in Jackson, Mississippi.[4] He was delivered by emergency caesarian and was not breathing at the time of his birth, which resulted in permanent brain damage. He was adopted a few weeks later by Roy Frank Mitte Jr. and Dyna Mitte, who later separated. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of three, and doctors put his legs in casts for six months in an attempt to straighten his feet.[5]
Mitte was fitted with leg braces and used crutches throughout most of his childhood; however, over time, his body became stronger through sports and exercise; he no longer needed any walking devices by his teenage years.[6] In 2006, he moved with his family to Los Angeles, where his younger sister Lacianne Carriere had received an offer for a role in a film project.[7][8]
Mitte was raised by his mother following the separation of his parents, and from the age of 13 was financially responsible for the family, which by then also included his sister who was born when Mitte was 11 |
, courtesy of Florida State. A week after LSU’s 13-spot drop to No. 25, the Seminoles one-upped the Tigers, taking a dive from No. 12 to unranked. Of teams that remained ranked, Oklahoma State fell the furthest, dropping nine spots after coming up short against No. 16 TCU, 44-31.
BIGGEST WINNERS
7 — The biggest leap in the rankings this week, made by the Horned Frogs, of course. A week after jumping four spots to No. 16, TCU shot up the charts again, this time to No. 9 after their shootout win on the road against Oklahoma State. Last year, TCU started off the season at No. 13, but fell off the map in Week 2, surfaced at No. 21 briefly for Week 5, and then disappeared from the Top 25 for good for the season. Can they stay on the chart this year?
TOP DAWGS FOR LONG?
1 — The number of weeks Georgia stayed in the Top 10 last year. After winning last week’s Battle of the Bulldogs 31-3 over Mississippi State, Georgia entered the Top 10 this week for the first time since Week 2 of last year. That week, they would barely beat FCS-foe Nicholls State 26-24 at home and drop to No. 16 for Week 3. After going 1-2 the next three weeks, the Bulldogs would sit at No. 25 by Week 5, and then fall out of the rankings for the year by Week 6. Will this season be different?
GONERS
2 — Number of teams that fell out of the rankings. Florida State took a dive out of the Top 25 after losing to NC State, while Oregon’s brief appearance at No. 24 ended with its loss to unranked Arizona State."Richard Nixon, when he lost to [John F.] Kennedy thought that the election had been stolen in Chicago, which was very likely true with the system at the time," Justice Antonin Scalia told The Telegraph.
"But he did not even think about bringing a court challenge. That was his prerogative. So you know if you don't like it, don't blame it on me.
"I didn't bring it into the courts. Mr Gore brought it into the courts.
"So if you don't like the courts getting involved talk to Mr Gore."
Justice Scalia insisted that his controversial decision, along with four other justices, to stop votes being recounted in Florida because the method was unconstitutional and it was too late to consider other options was "absolutely right".
He was speaking during an interview about his book Making the Case: The Art of Persuading Judges.
A strict "textualist", he rejects the notion of a "living constitution", arguing instead that the original intentions of its framers should be closely adhered to.
Once a voice in the wilderness, Justice Scalia now often finds himself in a narrow majority on the Supreme Court, such as in a landmark gun control case in which he wrote for the 5-4 majority that the framers of the constitution believed in individual gun rights.
In December 2000, seven of the nine Supreme Court justices ruled that the recount method was unfair but only five, including Justice Scalia, decided that another recount was impractical and George W. Bush should therefore become president.
The 2000 election, in which Mr Bush eventually prevailed in pivotal Florida by just 537 votes, remains a potent source of discontent for Democrats. Last month, Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said that the election had been stolen by "five intellectually bankrupt judges".
In 1960, Mr Kennedy won Illinois by just 8,858 votes and there were also allegations of voter fraud in Texas, where he won by 46,257 votes. If Mr Nixon had won both states he would have reached the White House eight years before he beat Hubert Humphrey in 1968.
Mr Kennedy's Illinois victory came from Chicago's Cook County, where he won by a stunning 450,000 votes.
There have long been allegations that Mayor Richard Daley, a Kennedy ally, and his Chicago Democratic "machine" engaged in large-scale electoral fraud.
Mr Nixon conceded the election to Mr Kennedy rather than going to the courts.
Justice Scalia, a conservative justice who was appointed to America's highest court by President Ronald Reagan in 1986, said he and the other justices had no option but to intervene once Mr Gore sought to overcome Mr Bush via the lower courts.
He said that he "of course" regretted that the Supreme Court had become involved. "But I don't know how we could have avoided it. Could we have declined to accept the case on the basis that it wasn't important enough?
"And you know bear in mind that the issue wasn't whether or not the election was going to be decided by a court or not. It was whether it was going to be decided by the Florida court or by the United States Supreme Court, for a federal election.
"So I have no regrets about taking the case and I think our decision in the case was absolutely right. But if you ask me 'Am I sorry it all happened?' Of course I am sorry it happened there was no way that we were going to come out of it smelling like a rose.
"I mean, one side or the other was going to feel that was a politicised decision but that goes with the territory."
He flatly denied there was any "partisan prejudice" involved in the 5-4 ruling, adding that "if you want to look for partisan decisions" then they could be found in the Florida supreme court's rulings.
Justice Scalia said he thought that the United States was "over-lawed", leading to too many lawyers in the country.
"I don't think our legal system should be that complex. I think that any system that requires that many of the country's best minds, and they are the best minds, is too complex.
"If you look at the figures, where does the top of the class in college go to? It goes into law. They don't go into teaching. Now I love the law, there is nothing I would rather do but it doesn't produce anything."
Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges by Antonin Scalia and Bryan A. Garner is published by Thomson/West price $29.95WHICH TEAMS WERE THE MOST EFFECTIVE AT GENERATING AND PREVENTING BIG PLAYS LAST YEAR?
As a college football fan, you don’t have to read too far into Danny Kelly’s Ringer article on advanced statistics and the NFL before you can’t help but wonder how some of the stats mentioned would apply to the amateur version of America’s most popular sport. A quick Google search for NCAA football advanced stats proved fruitless, and ProFootballFocus.com and FootballOutsiders.com, the two main sites referenced in the article, are both primarily focused on the NFL and don’t yet offer comprehensive NCAA data. The realization that not many people out there are tracking this kind of stuff for the NCAA led to a second question: Why? The differences in play style are even more exaggerated in college than they are in the pros; you’d think that would make percentage stats that try to account for those differences even more popular among teams and fans, but it’s actually almost impossible to find anything outside of your standard counting stats, and even those leave something to be desired.
Of the 5 stats mentioned in Kelly’s article (Big Play Percentage, Toxic Differential, Accuracy Percentage, Running Back Success Rate, and Pass Rush Productivity), only 2 (BP% and Toxic Differential) can be calculated using resources readily available online.
Accuracy Percentage, which calculates a QB’s true passing accuracy by excluding spikes and throwaways and counting drops as catches would be extremely informative in college where drops are exceedingly prevalent, but you can’t even find comprehensive stats on dropped passes, let alone spikes/throwaways.
Running Back Success Rate adds context when analyzing running games by dividing successful running plays by total running plays, and is arguably a better metric than yards per carry. RBSR defines a successful play as gaining 40% of the yards to go on 1st down, 60% on 2nd down, and 100% on 3rd down, so even though that 2-yard carry on 3rd and 1 would lower your yards per carry, it would still be considered a successful play. This would be useful in analyzing the effectiveness of both individuals and teams, but unfortunately it’s either not tracked or not found easily anywhere on the internet.
Pass Rush Productivity does a better job of capturing pass rush disruptive than sacks alone because it also factors in things like QB hurries and knockdowns. This is one that I know coaches track internally, but with nowhere online reliably tracking knockdowns you can’t get all the way there without charting everything yourself.
That leaves us with Big Play Percentage and Toxic Differential, which both look at how effective a team is at both generating and preventing big plays. I think we can all agree that in general, both of these concepts are crucial to being a good football team, but I wanted to use these stats to analyze the 2015 season so that we can see who did it the best.
Big Play Percentage measures how effective an offense is at being aggressive by counting the total number of big plays and dividing by total plays. According to the article, a Big Play is defined as a run of 10+ yards or a pass of 25+ yards, and some teams have found that if you can just hit one of those in a given drive you have up to a 75% chance to come away with points. This makes sense logically; it’s much easier to score if you can gain yards in big chunks than it is to try and nickel-and-dime because it reduces the amount of opportunities for things to go wrong. Toxic Differential expands on this idea and applies it to both sides of the ball, adding Big Play Differential (Big Plays For minus Big Plays Against) to Turnover Margin to find out how effective teams are overall at generating and preventing big plays.
I used data captured on CFBstats.com to calculate both metrics. Due to the nature of the data they provide, I adjusted Big Play Percentage slightly to include passes of 20+ yards as big plays (instead of 25+), but otherwise left everything else the same. Here’s the spreadsheet:
Big Play Percentage and Toxic Differential Raw Data
First, some quick national observations:
As is tradition, the Big 12 sported the nation’s most explosive offenses with a League Big Play Percentage of 13.52%, while the Big 10 had the least explosive offenses in the country with an average of just 11.36%.
When it comes to stopping the big play, it probably comes as no surprise that the best defenses reside in the SEC, where teams gave up explosive plays only 10.79% of the time. On the other end of the spectrum, Big 12 defenses surrendered big plays 12.65% of the time.
The SEC had the best average Toxic Differential by an almost 2:1 margin, which lends credence to the idea that they are the nation’s best conference. In fact, the P5 rolls out as follows:
SEC (18.21) ACC (11.36) Big 12 (11.20) Pac 12 (10.92) Big 10 (5.71)
That’s probably pretty close to how you would’ve ranked them last year, right? Also, while this isn’t any definitive proof that the Big 10 is the worst Power 5 conference, it does suggest that they’re by far the most boring. No big plays, no turnovers. Just 3 yards and a cloud of dust. Sounds fun.
BIG XII
Since I’m a West Virginia fan, I figured I might as well take a closer look at the Big 12, as well. The interactive table can be found here, but here’s a pic:
Baylor had by far the most explosive offense in the conference last year and were actually the second most explosive unit in the country, with their 17.79% BPP second only to Oregon’s 18.93%. The majority of their 196 explosive plays came on the ground (131), but what’s crazy is that if you look at their month to month splits, they got the majority of those big running plays in 3 months. They averaged 12.4 explosive runs per game in September, October, and December, but only 4.75 per over 4 games in November, and if you think about it, this follows their season narrative: dominant early, uncertainty following Russell’s injury as they tried to figure out their new identity, then dominance again once they decided they were just going to grind teams into dust. What’s even crazier is that they return almost of all of that production on the ground. Baylor will have to figure out who’s going to step up and replace Corey Coleman and Jay Lee’s big play production in the passing game (they accounted for 55% of explosive receptions), but they do have KD Cannon back (15 big play catches) and should be able to lean on that ridiculous ground game while the new receivers find their feet.
Iowa State generated big plays 12.54% of the time, which is close to the national average rate of 12.21%, but had a tough time dealing with Big 12 offenses, allowing explosive plays at a rate 1.5% above the national average. The good news for the Cyclones is that they return the majority of the parties that were most responsible for their big plays. Mike Warren and Joel Lanning accounted for 75% of their big plays on the ground last year and should only get better, and the tandem of Lazard (14 explosive receptions) and Wesley (5) should improve on the outside, as well. The bad news is that it’s not going to get any easier to stop anybody. ISU’s Toxic Differential was poor, as well, and even though they return a nice amount of talent, a bit of improvement in the turnover department will be necessary for a more successful 2016.
Kansas had by far the least explosive offense in the league with a BPP of just 8.47%, and if not for Texas’ anemic passing attack, they would have had the lowest totals in both explosive runs and passes. Their defense wasn’t any better, surrendering big plays on 15.93% of snaps. The impact of this combination is made apparent in their -85 Toxic Differential, which was spared from being the worst in the country by UCF’s -93. Kansas had a bad-but-not-awful -7 TO margin, so we can deduce that they gave up 78 more big plays than they generated. The Jayhawks have some decent guys on offense who should improve, but idk how you find the bodies to make up for a disparity that big.
Kansas State was only slightly better than their in-state rivals on both offense and defense, hitting big plays on 10.84% of snaps and allowing them 13.93% of the time. Their -3 TO margin is uncharacteristically bad for a Bill Snyder team, but it’s the -39 Toxic Differential that most illustrates that disparity between their offensive and defensive BPP. The good news though is that they return a lot of production on both sides of the ball. Both Joe Hubener and Jesse Ertz are capable QBs, running backs Jones, Simon, and Dimel accounted for 31 explosive runs last year and should figure to be improved, and Burton and Heath should be better on the outside. If the Wildcats return to form in the turnover department and make it harder for teams on defense, they should be much better this year.
Oklahoma predictably performed well across the board last season, with their offensive BPP of 14.71% and defensive BPP of 10.11% good for 2nd and 1st in the conference, respectively. Their +58 Toxic Differential was very impressive as well, and good for 13th nationally. Overall the Sooners look in good shape going forward as well. Offensively, Mayfield, Perine, and Mixon accounted for 88% of their explosive running plays last year and were all top 20 in the league. They’ll need somebody besides Dede Westbrook (12 explosive catches) to step up and replace Sterling Shepard in the passing game, but considering their running game and Mayfield’s playmaking ability I think they should be fine. Defensively the Sooners return 2 great safeties and a good chunk of the front 7, but they did lose Zack Sanchez to the NFL so they may need some new playmakers to step up on the outside. All things considered, Oklahoma should again be the class of the conference.
Oklahoma State was actually fairy average in both offensive (13.41%) and defensive (12.05%) BPP when considering the season they had last year, which I guess is where the “I can’t believe people think Ok State is the conference dark horse” crowd comes from. The Cowboys also had a respectable but unimpressive Toxic Differential of 23, which like their defense was good for only 5th in the league. However, they do return a bunch of production on both sides of the ball. 81% of their big plays on the ground return, with the only notable loss being JW Walsh, and Washington and Ateman (18 and 11 explosive catches, respectively) are arguably the best 1-2 combo in the conference on the outside. If the Cowboys want to have a truly special season though they’ll need to find some balance, both offensively and as a team. The passing game should be fine, but they need to figure out how to inject some life into a running game that only managed 59 explosive plays last year (same number as Wendell Smallwood by himself), as well as figure out who’s going to fill Emmanuel Ogbah’s considerable shoes on D.
TCU was another one like Baylor where you wonder what could’ve been if they could’ve just stayed healthy. Attrition took its toll though, and by the end of the year they were bang average both offensively and defensively, with an offensive BPP of 13.45% and defensive BPP of 11.85%, good for 6th and 4th, respectively. A 4th place Toxic Differential of 26 would only serve to add to the mystery of how they were so good, until you remember that they had Trevone Boykin and Josh Doctson. Looking ahead to 2016, the Frogs lost by far the most production in the conference. Not only do they have to replace the aforementioned Boykin and Doctson (20 explosive catches), they also lost the wildly underrated Aaron Green (32 explosive runs) and Kolby Listenbee (13 explosive receptions). The biggest shoes to fill are unquestionably Boykin’s though. He did everything for them, and was not only the league’s most explosive passer in terms of big plays per game, but was its 12th most explosive runner, as well. TCU is returning a ton of talent on defense and Johnson and Hicks are both capable running backs, but it remains to be seen if Kenny Hill and those young receivers are capable of picking up all that Boykin/Doctson/Listenbee slack.
Texas had the least explosive passing offense in the league last year, but thanks to a strong ground game its 14.21% offensive BPP was actually 4th best in the conference. The problem was on defense. The 12.95% defensive BPP isn’t terrible in and of itself (not good either), but they gave up enough big plays (125) that even a +11 TO margin wasn’t enough to push their Toxic Differential into the positives. This was probably to be expected though with so many youngsters and first-year starters, and you’d expect that group to be much better this year. You have think their offense should improve, as well. Jarrod Heard (25 big runs), Tyrone Slopes (17), D’Onta Foreman (16), and Chris Warren (12) are all back to anchor the ground game, and if new QB Shane Buechele can provide a little balance through the air the Longhorns will be in much better shape offensively. They might still be a year away from being a real threat to contend again, but I expect them to be very competitive.
Texas Tech’s 158 explosive plays (91 run, 67 pass) were good for 2nd most in the conference, but unfortunately, and as I’m sure you can guess, the 153 big plays that they gave up were the 2nd most as well, and just 1 shy of Kansas’ 154. The biggest problem was the run defense, which allowed 106 runs of 10+ yards. I think about 13 of those came courtesy of WVU, so you’re welcome for that. Jokes aside, this is an issue that needs solving if Tech is going to be competitive this year. There are simply too many good running attacks in the top tier of the league, and you can’t break into that group if you can’t stop any of them. There are some question marks offensively, as well. Mahomes returns and figures to be a Boykin-like figure (1st in total big passes, 10th in runs), but gone are DeAndre Washington (49 explosive runs) and Jakeem Grant (18 explosive catches). Justin Stockton (13 explosive runs) will be asked to carry the load in the backfield, Davis (9 explosive catches), Lauderdale (8), and Sadler (7) return on the outside, and reinforcements are on the way in the form of a pair of high profile recruits, but it remains to be seen if any of them can provide the same sort of every down excellence and reliability that they’re losing in Grant and Washington. Overall, it looks like the status quo will be maintained in Lubbock; the offense will be good enough to win them a couple games they probably shouldn’t, and the defense will be bad enough to lose them a couple that they probably shouldn’t.
Finally, we get to West Virginia. Last but not least West Virginia. Best fucking Virginia. The Mountaineers had the second most explosive running attack in the league last year, but only the 6th most explosive passing attack, placing their overall offensive BPP of 13.89% right in the middle of the road. The defense was all-around excellent, allowing big plays on only 10.94% of snaps (3rd in Big 12) and leading the conference in takeaways with 31. This led to a very clean Toxic Differential of +49, good for 3rd best in the conference by a wide margin. For those wondering wtf happened for us to go 7-5, like with TCU, we can again look at the QB. It’s not the first time I’ve made it, but comparing our two rosters and performances from last year, I think you can make a strong case that the difference between Boykin and Howard was the difference between 10-2 and 7-5.
I’ll also use that Toxic Differential number to make the case that we should’ve finished 3rd in the conference last year. The Oklahoma State game at home (won the explosive play battle 7-4) and the Kansas State game on the road (9-4) stand out as two in particular where we played better than our opponents but failed to win because we made enough crucial mistakes that the other teams didn’t need to make big plays to win. I’m obviously bitter as hell and understand that shit happens, but you can’t argue that people would be taking our roster much more seriously if we win both of those and are coming off 10-3 instead of 8-5.
As it is, we’re looking at a lot of potential, but also a lot of uncertainty heading into this year. The running game was strong last year, but lost the biggest piece (Smallwood and his NCAA-leading 59 explosive runs). Rushel Shell had less explosive runs (17) than Skyler Howard (19) last year; will he be able to pick up the slack, or will we have to turn to Kennedy McKoy and Justin Crawford to give the running game some juice?
Conversely, the passing game was suspect but returns almost everyone. Shelton Gibson (14 explosive receptions), Jovon Durante (6), KaRaun White (5), and Gary Jennings can all make big plays, but can Skyler be consistent enough for our downfield passing attack to take the collective step forward from sometimes nuisance to full-time problem?
There’s even more uncertainy on the other side of the ball. Tony Gibson preaches takeaways and limiting big plays, so while he’ll be thrilled with our performance last year, I’m sure he’ll be worried about how we’re going to look with a unit that’s breaking in 7 new starters. We were the best team in the conference at limiting big running plays; can we replicate that performance with 3 new linebackers? Adding to those concerns, we return only 4 of our league-leading 23 interceptions on the back end; will the new group be able to produce at a level close to that if the front 6 isn’t consistently putting teams in bad situations again?
The good news in those first two cases is that we return 4 starters and 5 contributors from one of the best offensive lines in the conference last year, so if nothing else there should be room to run and time to throw. I’ll back our skill players to TCB in those situations. Defensively though, there’s less to feel warm and fuzzy about. I like our talent and the depth, but we desperately need some people to step up and make plays. Turnovers were our lifeblood last year, and it will be interesting to see how aggressive Gibby is able to be with all those new faces.While a corner outfielder is the logical target following the trade of Michael Saunders for Happ, Zduriencik isn't limiting his options.
SEATTLE -- The Mariners have already landed their desired right-handed slugger in free-agent signee Nelson Cruz, and they flushed out their rotation by trading for veteran lefty J.A. Happ, but general manager Jack Zduriencik isn't done dealing as the club prepares for the Winter Meetings in San Diego.
SEATTLE -- The Mariners have already landed their desired right-handed slugger in free-agent signee Nelson Cruz, and they flushed out their rotation by trading for veteran lefty J.A. Happ, but general manager Jack Zduriencik isn't done dealing as the club prepares for the Winter Meetings in San Diego.
While a corner outfielder is the logical target following the trade of Michael Saunders for Happ, Zduriencik isn't limiting his options.
"It'd be nice to add offense, that's the best way to say it," he said. "Another piece would be very nice. We've added a pitcher, a big bat. Another nice offensive piece would help us."
The Mariners appear flush with starting candidates now with Happ -- whom manager Lloyd McClendon said should slot in as the No. 3 or 4 starter -- joining a staff that already has five returners from a 2014 club that led the American League in ERA. But Zduriencik said depth is critical there, noting the youngsters in that group haven't thrown a lot of innings and injuries always threaten any rotation.
He reiterated that Hisashi Iwakuma isn't being shopped, despite recent reports to the contrary as he enters the final year of his contract.
"He's not going anywhere," Zduriencik said. "You've got Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma and all these other nice arms. Why would you break that up right now? Any general manager will tell you to never say never, but it's about as close to never as I would say. It's not going to happen this year. It's just not going to happen."
McClendon indicated a preference for adding one more right-handed-hitting outfielder, noting James Jones provides a left-handed option. But Zduriencik said the biggest push is to improve the club by whatever means available.
"You're not going to walk away from a good hitter," he said. "Right-handed would be good, but if you get a chance to get a good hitter, you do it."
Here is a quick glance at the Mariners' situation heading into the Winter Meetings, which will take place Monday through Thursday in San Diego.
Club needs
Offense: Zduriencik made a big move to bolster one of the AL's least productive lineups by signing Cruz to a four-year, $58 million deal. Cruz gives McClendon a much-needed right-handed thumper to hit cleanup behind Robinson Cano and fills Seattle's gaping hole at designated hitter. But the Mariners would like to add another bat, and will have their ears open on both the free-agent and trade fronts for more potential upgrades.
Starting pitcher: Zduriencik checked off that box with the Happ trade on Wednesday. With Hernandez and Iwakuma and some outstanding young arms in James Paxton, Taijuan Walker and Roenis Elias, Seattle appears set in the rotation. However, if Zduriencik uses one of his young arms as a trade chip, he'll want to replenish the rotation with another arm.
Bullpen: Seattle had the lowest bullpen ERA in the Majors last season and returns that group almost completely intact. The only potential departure is veteran southpaw Joe Beimel, and he's a strong candidate to return. If Beimel goes elsewhere in free agency, the club likely will pursue another situational lefty, or look to add another veteran presence to the mix.
Who can be traded if necessary
Right-hander Taijuan Walker: The Mariners' top young pitcher has been talked about frequently as the club's biggest trade piece if Zduriencik pushes for a blockbuster deal. He was included two years ago in a deal with the D-backs for Justin Upton, though Upton nixed the swap with a no-trade clause in his contract and ended up in Atlanta. The Mariners love Walker's potential, however, and would only trade him if they felt that was the only way to add more-needed offensive firepower, a pressure that was lessened by this week's Cruz signing.
Shortstop Brad Miller: Miller split time last year with fellow rookie Chris Taylor, who is regarded as a better defender. The Mariners have some organizational depth at shortstop and are high on young Ketel Marte, so if Miller isn't deemed the likely starter, he could be available. Miller hit very well in the Minors and has surprising pop for a middle infielder, so he could be attractive to other teams, or to the Mariners as a utility player or even an outfield prospect.
Young relievers: The Mariners have some outstanding young power arms in their bullpen and could potentially deal any of them to add a bat. Brandon Maurer was extremely impressive after moving from the rotation to the bullpen last season, Carson Smith opened eyes as a September callup and Dominic Leone, Yoervis Medina and Danny Farquhar are also valuable right-handers who are not yet arbitration eligible.
Top prospects
The Mariners' top 10 prospects, per MLB.com, are outfielder Alex Jackson, third baseman D.J. Peterson, outfielders Gabriel Guerrero and Austin Wilson, right-hander Edwin Diaz, third baseman/first baseman Patrick Kivlehan, outfielder Gareth Morgan, Marte, left-hander Luiz Gohara and catcher Tyler Marlette.
Seattle has had some of baseball's top prospects in recent years, but many of those are now on the Major League roster. The new group is led by the last two first-round Draft picks in Jackson and Peterson, and the Mariners are hoping that pipeline yields some offensive firepower in coming seasons. Prospects can always be dealt, but the Mariners take pride in the development of their farm system under Zduriencik's guidance and would like to continue using their pipeline to build for the long haul.
Rule 5 Draft
Infielder Carlos Rivero was non-tendered last week in order to open a spot on their 40-man roster, which is at 39 after Cruz's signing. That leaves a potential spot open if the Mariners do want to add someone in the Rule 5 Draft that concludes the Winter Meetings on Thursday, though it's difficult to keep a young player on the 25-man roster for the full season on a contending club.
Big contracts they might unload
Seattle's highest-paid players -- Cano, Hernandez, Kyle Seager, Cruz, Iwakuma and Fernando Rodney -- aren't going anywhere. Austin Jackson figures to make about $8 million in his final season of arbitration eligibility, but he's expected to fill a key role in center field. None of the highest paid Mariners is in any danger of being dealt as the club continues building.
Payroll summary
The Mariners say they closed out 2014 with a $106.7 million player payroll after some midseason additions like Jackson and Kendrys Morales and they'll have more budget available this year. They've backed that up already with a seven-year, $100 million extension for Seager and a four-year, $58 million agreement with Cruz. Cano and Hernandez will earn a combined $48 million just this coming season and the rest of the Mariners already under contract -- including newcomer Happ's $6.7 million -- put Seattle's payroll already at $94.5 million for nine players.
Seattle has five remaining arbitration-eligible players who are expected to combine for about another $16.5 million. With another $12 million or so owed just to minimum-wage youngsters, the Mariners clearly are pushing well past last year's budget.
Asked Thursday if the club still has payroll flexibility to keep adding, even after the Cruz signing, Zduriencik simply said, "Yes."
In terms of spending, the Mariners will never be the Yankees or Dodgers, but they do have two of the highest-paid players in MLB in Hernandez and Cano and sound willing to supplement those stars in increasing fashion as their young core matures.
Greg Johns is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregJohnsMLB as well as his Mariners Musings blog.With a leased-for-the-hour child actor from central casting and a trunk full of Dollar Tree props in hand, international supermodel and Hot Slut of Every Year Phoebe Price returned to the Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch in West Hollywood yesterday to show children of all ages that with zero shame and even less dignity they too can grow up to be the shiniest petal on the famewhore flower that brings all the paps to the yard.
As some families gourded their eyes out from not being able to stand seeing her stunning freckled beauty in the flesh, PP brought out her best Pirates of the Caribbeinbeautiful (Curse of the Freckled Oyster?) moves and comedian Patton Oswalt was one of the lucky few who got a front row seat. To say that Patton’s eyes were captivated by her scarecrow chichis and his heart was captured by her strong work ethic is an understatement greater than saying that PP’s complexion looks like chicken lasagna.
Patton narrated Chicken Cutlet’s borderline child abuse photo shoot at the pumpkin patch so I don’t have to:
Only PP can show the junior famewhores like Courtney Stodden how to really set fire to the pumpkin patch! And in doing so, PP just earned some quotes for her resume from a TV, movie and comedy star!
“…..star” – Patton Oswalt
“…dew-ey….treat” – Patton Oswalt
“‘sexy’ pirate…” – Patton Oswalt
“I DO want to….. pet…. her” – Patton OswaltMUNICH, October 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
- Aim of the initiative: to establish a banking platform for virtual currencies
- Various providers of crypto-currencies are to be aggregated as an independent company
- Open initiative intended to integrate several partners
- Interested partners are invited to inform and register at http://www.cryptocurrency-bank.com
Munich-based Fidor Bank AG (http://www.fidor.de), Germany's first Web 2.0 Bank, and Kraken are launching an initiative to establish a "specialised bank for crypto-currencies". The initiative aims to set up the world's first fully regulated and licensed financial services entity in this sector. The intention is to pool products and services from various providers of digital assets and to offer a wide range of financial products and other services related to crypto-currencies. Kraken, the leading bitcoin exchange for professionals and institutions, based in San Francisco, acts as co-creator of this initiative.
Fidor Bank is a banking expert in crypto-currencies
Partnerships with Kraken, Ripple Labs, and Bitcoin.de have enabled Fidor Bank to establish itself as the innovative banking partner within the environment of crypto-currencies. These cooperations have helped Fidor Bank to develop a strong global expertise and a wide-ranging network in the community over the past few years. "As a bank regulated in Germany we are pleased to be the first point of call for this significant international initiative. Conversations with existing and potential new partners have strengthened our conviction in enabling a more focused handling of alternative currency initiatives, like bitcoin," says Matthias Kröner, CEO of Fidor Bank AG. "The aim of this initiative is to establish a specialized banking platform for crypto-currencies. Products and services from various providers of virtual assets like bitcoin (e.g. exchanges, payment, trading) are to be bundled in a kind of "crypto-currency-marketplace," continued Kröner. "We want to build a regulated and specialized banking home for entrepreneurs and retail customers who are intrigued by the idea and vision of a virtual currency system. But this, we cannot and we will not do on our own."
Built with purpose
Fidor Bank will provide the regulatory expertise, core banking platform, and licenses as well as the technical basis via its IT-service subsidiary Fidor TecS AG which provides the innovative modular banking, payment and community software program fidorOS. This platform is specially developed to provide optimal support to digital customer groups, which allows the integration of third-party offerings within the framework of an open API-based infrastructure. Kraken contributes its technological know-how in safe storage of crypto-currencies, exchange and trading capabilities as well as its broad experience and network in the crypto-currency community.
Partner onboarding has started
Companies that want to join the initiative should have the necessary expertise, a professional set-up (incl. funding) and must be accepting of regulatory rules, as well as restrictions (e.g., anti-money-laundering processes, full customer authentication etc.). Interested parties can learn more about the vision, the principle idea, general conditions, partnering criteria and aims of this initiative via http://www.cryptocurrency-bank.com. All future partners are asked and very welcome to contribute by providing technical solutions, financing, and/or market know-how to this crypto-banking platform.
By December 2014, Kraken, Fidor Bank and selected partners should be taking first steps in setting up the future platform. "Due to the fact, that this is an open platform, competitive partners are invited to collaborate on this platform. It should be in the interest of all of us to create a network which is as wide as possible," summarizes Matthias Kröner, CEO |
men from the women and girls.
"They lined up the men and shot them in the head in front of their families," Dolmi said. He said 200 men were killed, though most Kurdish officials put the number at about 80.
He said the women and girls were imprisoned. The militants, who belong to the Islamic State, consider anyone who doesn't share their extreme view of Islam as infidels.
The Yazidis, scattered in small villages in northern Iraq, have suffered at the hands of militants who now control large swaths of territory in Iraq.
The alleged massacre at Kocho suggests the plight of the religious minority is not over despite a U.S. humanitarian effort to save thousands of Yazidis who fled the village of Sinjar and escaped to a mountain.
U.S. aircraft dropped food and water to the refugees and airstrikes kept militants from attacking them. President Obama on Thursday said the U.S. effort broke the siege of Mount Sinjar and saved lives.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1oDfgRTThis article is about the 2001 video game. For the 2010 video game, see Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon (2010 video game)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon is a tactical shooter video game developed by Red Storm Entertainment and published by Ubi Soft in 2001 for Microsoft Windows. It was ported to Mac OS, PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2002 and to the GameCube in 2003. Ports for N-Gage and Game Boy Advance were planned, but later canceled.[6] On May 30, 2012, the PlayStation 2 version of the game was released for the PlayStation 3 through the PlayStation 2 Classics feature, exclusively in Europe. Unlike Clancy's other tactical shooter series, Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon is not based on any of his books.
Together with Rainbow Six, SWAT 3, and Operation Flashpoint, game industry experts generally credit Ghost Recon with defining and refining the tactical shooter genre.[7] Ghost Recon's success has spawned 2 expansion packs, Desert Siege and Island Thunder, as well as numerous sequels for video game consoles and the PC.[6]
Gameplay [ edit ]
Ghost Recon puts the player in charge of the eponymous Ghosts, a fictional squad of United States Special Operations Forces soldiers from Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group. They are organized into three fireteams named using the NATO phonetic alphabet: Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie, with space for three soldiers per team (the Xbox and PlayStation 2 versions do not have a Charlie team available). However, only six soldiers can be selected per mission. The player enjoys limited tactical control on the battlefield by issuing maneuver commands and rules of engagement for each fireteam through a command map.
The soldiers themselves are organized into four different character classes. Every class can carry a primary and secondary weapon, which are organized into "kits". Even though the primary weapon remains the same in all the kits (being defined by the soldier class — see below), there is a variety of equipment to be chosen as the secondary weapon.
For every completed mission in the single-player campaign, each soldier that survives gains one Combat Point to upgrade their attributes. There are four basic categories of skill:
Weapon: affects the accuracy and aiming of the weapon; the reticule will close faster and tighter as more points are added.
affects the accuracy and aiming of the weapon; the reticule will close faster and tighter as more points are added. Stealth: enhances the ability of the soldier to remain undetected and reduces noise generated by the soldier moving.
enhances the ability of the soldier to remain undetected and reduces noise generated by the soldier moving. Endurance: improves recovery time when taking hits, increases the soldier's ability to survive a wound and reduces the effect of heavy equipment on speed.
improves recovery time when taking hits, increases the soldier's ability to survive a wound and reduces the effect of heavy equipment on speed. Leadership: for every three points of skill, all other soldiers in the same fireteam gain an extra point to each of their statistics. The bonus can only apply if the soldier with the high leadership skill is the fireteam's point man.
The player also unlocks "specialists" from NATO or allied countries by completing extra mission objectives.[8] The specialists are more experienced than the Ghosts and have more Combat Points, making them an essential part of the team. They are also equipped with weapons not available to standard soldiers. Two specialists are armed with the Objective Individual Combat Weapon, as part of field tests and implementation of the U.S. Army's Land Warrior program. The specialist corps includes three women, who are the only female combatants in the game.
The game is played entirely from the first-person perspective. A heads-up display relays information such as the name of the soldier the player is controlling, the soldier's assigned fireteam, weapon and ammo counter, a threat indicator, the targeting reticule, health status, and a stance indicator (to show whether the character is standing, crouched, or prone).
Bullets will not penetrate most objects, but they will break glass. Explosives or heavy gunfire can be used to destroy wooden doors, and (in the case of explosives) potentially kill anyone within the blast radius on the other side. Depending on a target's armor, it is generally possible to neutralize a threat with one or two well-placed shots.
If a soldier is rendered "out of action" during a mission, he or she is considered to be dead, and not available for the rest of the campaign. Wounded soldiers who survive a mission will remain wounded unless they are replaced with a healthy soldier for the next mission.
Ghost Recon has both single player and multiplayer modes of play. Up to 36 players are supported in the PC version's multiplayer over an internet (TCP/IP) connection or LAN.
Plot [ edit ]
An ultranationalist regime takes control of the Russian government in Moscow, installing its leader Dmitri Arbatov as president. Russia then takes control over Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, forming the Russian Democratic Union (RDU), a political and military alliance dedicated to recreating the former Soviet Union.
In April 2008, the U.S. Army's elite "Ghost" soldiers battle South Ossetian separatist rebels who are harassing the Georgian government and their allies. Their presence forces the RDU to complain to the United Nations that the U.S. has interfered in their internal affairs. The Russian army invades Georgia to assist the rebels. The Ghosts slow down the Russian advance while foreign civilians are evacuated from the country. Eventually, the Ghosts are all that's left of U.S. forces in Georgia and take the last helicopter out of the U.S. embassy in Tbilisi just as Russian forces arrive. The Georgian government sets up a government-in-exile in Geneva, Switzerland while the RDU annexes Georgia, an act publicly condemned by the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany.
The Ghosts are soon sent to the Baltic states in response to a Russian invasion launched three days ahead of NATO intelligence estimates. The Ghosts attempt to slow down the attack to buy time for NATO units to arrive in force, with the closest of them coming from Germany. The Ghosts fight alongside U.S. Army elements to push the Russians out of the Baltics, with victories in Rēzekne, Latvia, and Utena and Vilnius, Lithuania. The defeat takes its toll on the RDU government with President Arbatov largely blamed for the disaster and put under house arrest.
The Ghosts enter Russia with their first mission being to free U.S. POWs and Russian political prisoners opposed to the RDU. The Russian military executes President Arbatov, which sparks a nationwide rebellion bordering on civil war. The ultranationalists quickly lose public support and many members of the RDU government quit the alliance. The Ghosts later attack several Russian bases such as a naval base at Murmansk and an airbase at Arkhangel'sk, weakening the ultranationalists' combat power. The RDU attracts strong international condemnation and practically dissolve after they detonate a nuclear weapon during a battle north of Moscow between the ultranationalists and a joint force of U.S. and rebelling Russian combat units.
Acting Russian Prime Minister Karpin privately requests additional NATO aid in the fighting, prompting the entire 1st Armored Division to be sent over the Russian border. The Ghosts spearhead a NATO assault on Moscow by cutting through a strong ultranationalist defensive line in the woods outside the capital. On November 10, 2008, NATO forces finally reach a deserted Moscow, with the last ultranationalist defenders holed up inside the Kremlin. After a final assault by the Ghosts in Red Square, the ultranationalists surrender and both the Americans and the newly liberated Russians celebrate their victory.
Development [ edit ]
The game was in development as early as November 2000.[9] Motion capture was used for character animation.[10] The lead designer was Brian Upton and the soundtrack was composed by Bill Brown.[11]
Expansion packs and related games [ edit ]
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Desert Siege is a 2002 expansion pack, released for Microsoft Windows as a separate purchase and can be unlocked as a new campaign in the PS2 version of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon. It is also bundled with the Mac port. The expansion pack adds 2 new multiplayer game types (Domination and Siege), 5 new multiplayer maps, new weapons for use in multiplayer, and an eight-mission single player campaign, which also unlocks a new specialist soldier (Jodit Haile). In the PS2 version, players who start Desert Siege by finishing the Ghost Recon campaign first will also retain the soldiers they used in the campaign, including their statistics.
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder was released in late 2002 as an expansion pack for Microsoft Windows, and as a standalone game for Xbox. It contains eight new single player missions, 12 new weapons, 5 new dedicated multiplayer maps, 3 new multiplayer modes (Cat and Mouse, Defend, and Behemoth). On the Xbox, Island Thunder features five additional missions and twelve multiplayer maps.
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder was never released for the PlayStation 2, but its content was combined with eight new single-player missions set in Colombia and additional multiplayer maps and released under the title Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm in 2004.
In addition to the official expansion packs, the very active Ghost Recon modding scene (over 1,000 mods have been published as of January 2013) has produced a large number of unofficial expansions packs for PC. Free expansions like Frostbite, CENTCOM, Heroes Unleashed, and Year of the Monkey (among others) have gained huge popularity, with download counts in the hundreds of thousands.[12][13]
Reception [ edit ]
Ghost Recon was a commercial success. By the end of 2001, sales of its computer version had reached 430,000 units.[14] The series' sales surpassed 760,000 copies by the end of March 2002.[15] In the United States, the computer version of Ghost Recon sold 240,000 copies and earned $10.1 million by August 2006. Edge named it the country's 83rd best-selling computer game between January 2000 and August 2006. Combined sales of all Ghost Recon series computer games released between those dates had reached 620,000 in the United States by August 2006.[16] The computer version of Ghost Recon also received a "Silver" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[17] indicating sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[18]
Sales of the game's PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions surpassed 2 million copies by the end of June 2003, and helped to drive Ubisoft's Q1 2003/2004 revenues to a record high for the company.[19] By July 2006, the PlayStation 2 version of Ghost Recon had sold 1.1 million copies and earned $39 million in the United States alone. Next Generation ranked it as the 46th highest-selling game launched for the PlayStation 2, Xbox or GameCube between January 2000 and July 2006 in that country.[20]
Critical reception [ edit ]
Reviews of the game ranged from positive to very mixed. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 85.35% and 84 out of 100 for the Xbox version;[21][25] 82.15% and 80 out of 100 for the PC version;[22][26] 67.03% and 63 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version;[23][27] and 63.25% and 59 out of 100 for the GameCube version.[24][28]
Awards [ edit ]
The editors of PC Gamer US presented Ghost Recon with their 2001 "Best Sound" and overall "Game of the Year" awards, and wrote that "few games have made us cringe in shock, roar with aggression, or exult in victory the way Ghost Recon has."[62] Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon was also named Best Game of the Year in 2001 by IGN.[63] Ghost Recon was a runner-up in IGN's "Best Action Game 2001" and "Best Use Of Sound" ("Reader's Choice").[citation needed] Wargamer gave it three bronze awards in "Game of the Year", awarded Red Storm with "Game Developer of the Year", and gave "Game Publisher of the Year" to Ubisoft.[citation needed]
Legacy [ edit ]
Plot coincidence [ edit ]
In 2008 the Russia-Georgia war began, with a number of commentators noting on the coincidence, that this real world event was somewhat similar to the plot of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon.[64][65][66][67]Xenoblade Chronicles X Director On The Concept Behind The Game’s Mechs
By Ishaan. December 2, 2014. 8:27am
Tetsuya Takahashi tweeted a few more tidbits about Xenoblade Chronicles X today, this time speaking a little more about Takayuki Yanase and Kouichi Mugitani, two of the art designers working on the game.
“Mr. Yanase is a well-known designer that has worked on Gundam 00 among other things,” Takahashi tweeted. “The concept for the Dolls in this project was that one single convertible frame be able to transform into several vehicles, so I asked for his help, knowing that he would be able to realize that [concept]. If I recall correctly, I asked for his help around the time that Kotobukiya announced its new plastic model ‘Frame Arms Series’.”
The bit about a single frame being able to transform into multiple vehicles is interesting. It would suggest that a single mech in Xenoblade X might be capable of transforming into more than one kind of vehicle, but so far this has not been confirmed, so don’t get overly excited just yet.
As an aside, the image you see to the right is one of the Frame Arms models designed by Yanase. You can check out Kotobukiya’s line-up of Frame Arms mech models at their online store.
Takahashi then moved on to discussing Kouichi Mugitani, an artist that has worked on previous Xeno titles as well. Takahashi stated that, the design line of a “certain power” within the game could only be realized by Mugitani, which is why Takahashi wanted his assistance by any means possible. By “certain power,” Takahashi presumably means one of the various factions in the game.
“I remember when the [Xenoblade Chronicles X] project was launched, the first meeting [with Mugitani] took place at a café in Tachikawa,” Takahashi said. “With each meeting, he would present extremely detailed designs, and was a great help. And as an important employee for sexy-type battle suits as well. (lol) Look forward to those, too!”
Xenoblade Chronicles X is in development for the Wii U, and is planned for release in Japan this Spring.Every week, this site does its best to point you in the direction of movies worth your time that are streaming on Netflix, Hulu Plus, and the like. But what about those who aren’t ponying up the ten or 20 bucks a month for those services? Well, there’s an overabundance of free movies streaming at this very moment as well — many of them legally (it seems!), thanks our old friend “the public domain,” whereby films whose copyright has lapsed (or never existed in the first place) can be made available for public consumption. Others are hosted gratis by services that simply want to share the wealth of great cinema. Whatever the case, with an awareness of how much everyone loves free stuff, here are 50 free movies that are well worth a watch. Clear your schedule accordingly.
Rashomon
Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 masterpiece isn’t just a spellbinding tale of crime, truth, and honor; it also rewrote the rules for narrative, its innovative use of multiple points of view making its title a go-to reference called up by everyone from Roger Ebert to Homer Simpson.George Andrew Romero (; February 4, 1940 – July 16, 2017) was an American-Canadian filmmaker, writer and editor. He is best known for his series of gruesome and satirical horror films about an imagined zombie apocalypse, beginning with Night of the Living Dead (1968). This film is often considered a progenitor of the fictional zombie of modern culture. Other films in the series include Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Day of the Dead (1985).[1] Aside from this series, his works include The Crazies (1973), Martin (1978), Creepshow (1982), Monkey Shines (1988), The Dark Half (1993) and Bruiser (2000). He also created and executive-produced the 1983–88 television series Tales from the Darkside.
Romero is often noted as an influential pioneer of the horror-film genre and has been called an "icon"[2] and the "Father of the Zombie Film".[3]
Early life [ edit ]
Romero was born in the New York City borough of the Bronx. He is the son of Ann (Dvorsky) and George Romero, a commercial artist.[4] His mother was Lithuanian and his father moved from Spain to Cuba as a child.[5][6] His father has been reported as born in A Coruña, with his family coming from the Galician town of Neda,[7][8] although Romero once described his father as of Castilian descent.[9]
Raised in the Bronx, he would frequently ride the subway into Manhattan to rent film reels to view at his house.[10] He was one of only two people who repeatedly rented the opera-based film The Tales of Hoffmann; the other was future director Martin Scorsese.[11] Romero attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.[12]
Career [ edit ]
1960s [ edit ]
Night of the Living Dead (full film) (full film)
After graduating from college in 1960,[13][14] Romero began his career shooting short films and TV commercials.[15][16] One of his early commercial films was a segment for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in which Fred Rogers underwent a tonsillectomy.[17] With nine friends, including screenwriter John A. Russo, Romero formed, Image Ten Productions in the late 1960s.[18] This is the production company that produced Night of the Living Dead (1968). Directed by Romero and co-written with John A. Russo,[19] the movie became a cult classic and a defining moment for modern horror cinema.[20]
Among the inspiration for Romero's filmmaking, as told to Robert K. Elder in an interview for The Film That Changed My Life,[21] was the British film, The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) from the Powell and Pressburger team.
“ It was the filmmaking, the fantasy, the fact that it was a fantasy and it had a few frightening, sort of bizarre things in it. It was everything. It was really a movie for me, and it gave me an early appreciation for the power of visual media—the fact that you could experiment with it. He was doing all his tricks in-camera, and they were sort of obvious. That made me feel that, gee, maybe I could figure this medium out. It was transparent, but it worked.[22] ”
1970s and 1980s [ edit ]
The three films that Romero created that followed Night of the Living Dead: There's Always Vanilla (1971), Jack's Wife / Season of the Witch (1972) and The Crazies (1973) were not as well received as Night of the Living Dead or some of his later work.[23] The Crazies, dealing with a bio spill that induces an epidemic of homicidal madness, and the critically acclaimed arthouse success Martin (1978), a film that deals with the vampire myth, were the two well-known films from this period.[24][25]
Romero returned to the zombie genre in 1978 with Dawn of the Dead. Shot on a budget of $1.5 million the film earned over $55 million internationally and was later named one of the top cult films by Entertainment Weekly in 2003.[26] Romero made the third entry in his "Dead Series" with Day of the Dead in 1985.
Between these two films, Romero shot Knightriders (1981), another festival favorite about a group of modern-day jousters who reenact tournaments on motorcycles;[27] and Creepshow (1982), written by Stephen King, an anthology of tongue-in-cheek tales modeled after 1950s horror comics.[28] The cult-classic success of Creepshow led to the creation of Romero's Tales from the Darkside, a horror anthology television series that aired from 1983 to 1988.[29]
1990s [ edit ]
From the latter half of the 1980s and into the 1990s came Monkey Shines (1988), about a killer helper monkey; Two Evil Eyes (a.k.a. "Due occhi Diabolici", 1990), an Edgar Allan Poe adaptation in collaboration with Dario Argento; The Dark Half (1993) from a novel written by Stephen King; and Bruiser (2000), about a man whose face becomes a blank mask.[30]
Romero updated his original screenplay and executive-produced the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead directed by Tom Savini for Columbia/TriStar. Savini is also responsible for the makeup and special effects in many of Romero's films including Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Creepshow, and Monkey Shines. Romero had a cameo appearance in Jonathan Demme's Academy Award-winning The Silence of the Lambs (1991) as one of Hannibal Lecter's jailers.[30]
In 1998, he directed a live-action commercial promoting the videogame Resident Evil 2 in Tokyo. The 30-second advertisement featured the game's two main characters, Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, fighting a horde of zombies while in Raccoon City's police station.[31] The project was obvious territory for Romero; the Resident Evil series has been heavily influenced by the "Dead Series". The commercial was popular and was shown in the weeks before the game's actual release, although a contract dispute prevented it from being shown outside Japan. Capcom was so impressed with Romero's work, it was strongly indicated that Romero would direct the first Resident Evil film. He declined at first — "I don't wanna make another film with zombies in it, and I couldn't make a movie based on something that ain't mine"[32] — although in later years, he reconsidered and wrote a script for the first movie. It was eventually rejected in favor of Paul W. S. Anderson's version.[31]
2000s [ edit ]
Universal Studios produced and released a 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, with which Romero was not involved. Later that year, Romero kicked off the DC Comics title Toe Tags with a six-issue miniseries titled The Death of Death. Based on an unused script that Romero had previously written for his "Dead Series", the comic miniseries concerns Damien, an intelligent zombie who remembers his former life, struggling to find his identity as he battles armies of both the living and the dead. Typical of a Romero zombie tale, the miniseries includes ample supply of both gore and social commentary (dealing particularly here with corporate greed and terrorism — ideas he would also explore in his next film in the series, Land of the Dead). Romero has stated that the miniseries is set in the same kind of world as his Dead films, but featured other locales besides Pittsburgh, where the majority of his films take place.[33]
Romero, who lived in Toronto, directed a fourth Dead movie in that city, Land of the Dead, released in 2005. The movie's working title was "Dead Reckoning". Actors Simon Baker, Dennis Hopper, Asia Argento, and John Leguizamo starred, and the film was released by Universal Pictures (who released the Dawn of the Dead remake the year before). The film received generally positive reviews.[34]
Some critics have seen social commentary in much of Romero's work. They view Night of the Living Dead as a film made in reaction to the turbulent 1960s, Dawn of the Dead as a satire on consumerism, Day of the Dead as a study of the conflict between science and the military, and Land of the Dead as an examination of class conflict.[35]
Romero collaborated with the game company Hip Interactive to create a game called City of the Dead, but the project was canceled midway due to the company's financial problems.[36][37]
In June 2006, Romero began his next project, called Zombisodes. Broadcast on the Internet, it is a combination of a series of "Making of" shorts and story expansion detailing the work behind the 2007 film George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead. Shooting began in Toronto in July 2006.[citation needed]
In August 2006, The Hollywood Reporter made two announcements about Romero, the first being that he would write and direct a film based on a short story by Koji Suzuki, author of Ring and Dark Water, called Solitary Isle[38][39] and the second announcement pertaining to his signing on to write and direct George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead, which follows a group of college students filming a horror movie who proceed to film the events that follow when the dead rise.[40][41]
After a limited theatrical release, Diary of the Dead was released on DVD by Dimension Extreme on May 20, 2008, and later to Blu-ray on October 21, 2008.[42] Shooting began in Toronto in September 2008 on Romero's Survival of the Dead (2009). The film was initially reported to be a direct sequel to Diary of the Dead, but the film features only Alan van Sprang, who appeared briefly as a rogue National Guard officer, reprising his role from the previous film, and did not retain the first-person camerawork of Diary of the Dead.[43] The film centers on two feuding families taking very different approaches in dealing with the living dead on a small coastal island. The film premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. Prior to the May 28, 2010, theatrical release in the United States, Survival of the Dead was made available to video on demand and was aired as a special one-night showing on May 26, 2010, on HDNet.[44]
Romero made an appearance in the second downloadable map pack called "Escalation" for the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops. He appears as himself in the zombies map "Call of the Dead" as a non-playable enemy character.[45] Romero is featured alongside actors Sarah Michelle Gellar, Danny Trejo, Michael Rooker, and Robert Englund, all of the four being playable characters. He is portrayed as a powerful "boss" zombie armed with a movie studio light.
2010s [ edit ]
Romero in May 2016
In 2010, Romero was contacted by Claudio Argento to direct a 3D remake of his younger brother Dario Argento's film, Deep Red (1975). Claudio was expected to write the screenplay and told Romero that his brother would also be involved. Romero, who showed interest in the project, decided to contact his longtime friend Dario only to find out that Dario was unaware of a remake and Romero ended up declining Claudio's offer. Romero stated that he had plans for two more "Dead" movies which would be connected to Diary of the Dead and they would be made depending on how successful Survival of the Dead was. Romero, however, said that his next project would not involve zombies and he was going for the scare factor, but offered no further details.[46]
In 2012, Romero returned to video games recording his voice for "Zombie Squash" as the lead villain, Dr. B. E. Vil. "Zombie Squash HD Free" game was released by ACW Games for the iPad in November 2012.[47]
In 2014, Marvel Comics began releasing Empire of the Dead, a 15-issue miniseries written by Romero. The series, which is broken up into three five-issues acts, features not only zombies but also vampires.[48] In May 2015, it was announced at Cannes that the production company Demarest was developing the comic series into a TV series. The series will be written and executive-produced by Romero and Peter Grunwald.[49]
In May 2017, Romero announced plans for George A. Romero Presents: Road of the Dead, a film that he co-wrote with Matt Birman, who would direct the film making it Romero's first zombie-themed film that he did not direct himself. Romero and Birman along with Matt Manjourides and Justin Martell will produce the film. Birman was the second unit director on Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead and Survival of the Dead. Birman pitched the idea to Romero ten years earlier, saying the movie is like The Road Warrior meets Rollerball at a NASCAR race, with significant inspiration from Ben-Hur and that "the story is set on an island where zombie prisoners race cars in a modern-day Coliseum for the entertainment of wealthy humans".[50]
On July 13, 2017, Romero released the first poster for Road of the Dead and discussed the plot for the movie saying "it's set in a sanctuary city where this fat cat runs a haven for rich folks, and one of the things that he does is stage drag races to entertain them," Romero told Rue Morgue. "There's a scientist there doing genetic experiments, trying to make the zombies stop eating us, and he has discovered that with a little tampering, they can recall certain memory skills that enable them to drive in these races. It's really The Fast and the Furious with zombies". Romero died three days later, and the status of the film is currently unknown.[51]
Personal life [ edit ]
Romero was married three times. He married his first wife, Nancy, in 1971. They divorced in 1978. They had one child together, Cameron. Romero met his second wife, actress Christine Forrest, on the set of Season of the Witch (1973), and they married in 1980. She had bit parts in most of his films. They had two children together, Andrew and Tina Romero. The couple divorced in 2010 after three decades of marriage. Romero met Suzanne Desrocher while filming Land of the Dead (2005), and they married in September 2011 at Martha's Vineyard[52] and lived in Toronto. He acquired Canadian citizenship in 2009, becoming a dual Canada-U.S. citizen.[53] His son Cameron is a filmmaker,[54] responsible for the film Origins (2015),[55] which is the prequel to Night of the Living Dead.
Death [ edit ]
On July 16, 2017, Romero died in his sleep following a "brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer", according to a statement by his longtime producing partner, Peter Grunwald. Romero died while listening to the score of one of his favorite films, The Quiet Man, with his wife, Suzanne Desrocher Romero, and daughter from his second marriage, Tina Romero, at his side.[56]
The premiere episode of season 8 of The Walking Dead, "Mercy", was dedicated to the memory of Romero and stuntman John Bernecker.[57]
Influences [ edit ]
Romero ranked his top ten films of all time for the 2002 Sight & Sound Greatest Films Poll. They are The Brothers Karamazov, Casablanca, Dr. Strangelove, High Noon, King Solomon's Mines, North by Northwest (a film on which a teenaged Romero worked as a gofer), The Quiet Man, Repulsion, Touch of Evil and The Tales of Hoffmann. Romero listed the films in alphabetical order, with special placement given to Michael Powell's The Tales of Hoffmann, which he cites as "my favourite film of all time; the movie that made me want to make movies".[58]
Romero has also cited Herk Harvey's Carnival of Souls (1962) as an influence on his work.[59]
Filmography [ edit ]
Awards and nominations [ edit ]
On October 27, 2009, Romero was honored with the Mastermind Award at Spike TV's Scream 2009. The tribute was presented by longtime Romero fan Quentin Tarantino, who stated in his speech that the "A" in George A. Romero stood for "A fucking genius."[60][better source needed]
Legacy [ edit ]
In 2010, writer and actor Mark Gatiss interviewed Romero for his BBC documentary series A History of Horror, in which he appears in the third episode.[61]
Regarded as the "Godfather of the Dead"[62] and the "father of the modern movie zombie",[63] Romero's influence, and that of Night of the Living Dead, is widely seen among numerous filmmakers and artists, in particular those who have worked in the zombie subgenre,[64] including comics writer Robert Kirkman,[63] novelist Seth Grahame-Smith,[65] and filmmakers John Carpenter,[66][67][68] Edgar Wright[69] and Jack Thomas Smith.[70]
The season eight premiere episode "Mercy" of the zombie-based show The Walking Dead, the first to air after Romero's death, dedicated the episode to Romero; showrunner Scott M. Gimple said that the show "owes a great debt" to Romero for his impact on popular culture.[71]
Books [ edit ]
Forewords written by Romero [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Further reading [ edit ]
Dupuis, Joachim Daniel (2014), George A. Romero and the zombies, Autopsy of a living-dead. Paris: L'Harmattan (in French).
Gagne, Paul R. (1987). The Zombies That Ate Pittsburgh: the Films of George A. Romero. New York: Dodd, Mead.
Newman, Kim (1988). Nightmare Movies: A Critical History of the Horror Film 1968–1988.
Williams, Tony (2003). Knight of the Living Dead: The Cinema of George A. Romero. London: Wallflower Press.
Moreman, Christopher M. (2008). "A modern meditation on death: identifying buddhist teachings in George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead". Contemporary Buddhism. 9 (2): 151–165. doi:10.1080/14639940802556461.
InterviewsBorn in 1942 in Chicago, Illinois, Harrison Ford struggled for years as an actor before George Lucas cast him in 1973's American Graffiti. Ford then hit superstardom as Han Solo in the first three Star Wars films and as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequels, which were all monster successes. He has enjoyed leading roles in numerous Hollywood films such as Blade Runner, Witness, Working Girl, Patriot Games, The Fugitive and 42, among many others. In 2015 Ford returned to his famed Han Solo role in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens.
Around this time, Ford brought another of his legendary film characters to the big screen. He played resourceful, swashbuckling archaeologist Indiana Jones in 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark, directed by Steven Spielberg. The action adventure tale, written in part by Lucas, proved to be a huge hit. It spawned several sequels, including Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Around the time of the first Indiana Jones installment, Ford also starred as the title character in Blade Runner (1982), a shadowy science-fiction outing directed by Ridley Scott that would become a cult classic.
In 1977 Ford collaborated with Lucas again for his breakthrough role as Han Solo in Star Wars. His portrayal of the brash but likable rogue in this science-fiction classic helped raise his profile in Hollywood. The film's two sequels, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), helped make him a star.
Frustrated with his lack of success as an actor, Ford became a carpenter to supplement his income. George Lucas gave him his first important film role in his 1973 drama American Graffiti, but his career failed to progress much. He worked for Francis Ford Coppola as both a carpenter and an actor with small roles in The Conversation (1974) and Apocalypse Now (1979).
After years of blockbuster success, Ford stumbled through a few missteps in the mid-to-late 1990s. He starred in the disappointing remake of the 1954 dramatic comedy Sabrina with Julia Ormand and Greg Kinnear. Co-starring with Brad Pitt, Ford saw his 1997 crime thriller The Devil's Own fall flat. But he proved that his box office prowess had not faded with his turn as president of the United States in the hit action thriller Air Force One that same year. Other dramas he starred in around this time include Presumed Innocent (1990), Regarding Henry (1991) and the horror film What Lies Beneath (2000) with Michelle Pfeiffer.
Returning to the role of action hero, Ford starred in 1992's Patriot Games as CIA agent Jack Ryan, the protagonist from the bestselling novels by Tom Clancy. Audiences loved him in the role, which he reprised in 1994's Clear and Present Danger. By this time, Ford had become one of Hollywood's most bankable stars. He earned $20 million per film with 15 percent of the film's gross take at the box office at his peak.
Ford enhanced his |
's only hobby was his car - a super-charged, 4.5 liter Bentley convertible - which Bond drove "hard and well and with an almost sensual pleasure." Later novels continue with newer Bentley models (the film versions changing the car to various Aston Martins).
And for Popov? His cars of choice - all expensive and fast - were BMWs, a Jaguar (which played an incredible "only in Hollywood" role while Popov was in Lisbon; see Into the Lion's Mouth), and this beautiful Allard K-1 convertible.
The Women
Perhaps more than anything else, the "Bond lifestyle" involves beautiful women. Through his knowledge of Popov while working in Naval Intelligence, and later from watching Dusko in Estoril, Ian Fleming was well-aware of the dashing MI6 agent's sexual magnetism. In almost every city where he worked, Popov had two or three girlfriends, including: Friedl Gaertner (his MI5 sub-agent), Gwennie, Nani, Martha Castello, Maria Elera, Ilena Fodor (enemy spy), Terry Richardson (suspected enemy spy), Margot, Louise (enemy spy), Ljiljana Bailoni, and perhaps the first real Bond girl, Hollywood star Simone Simon. These are the ones we know about.
Clockwise from top left: With two unknown companions, Janine Ducasse (first wife), Simone Simon, Janine Ducasse, Maria Elera, and Jill Jonsson, aka, Mrs. Jill Popov.
Casinos
Yes, the Bond lifestyle isn't complete without a casino. After all, that's really where it all began. But that's another story (see the article Casino Estoril, His Majesty's Money, and the Birth of Bond). For now, let's just tip our hats to John le Carré and say that Dusko Popov was... The Spy Who Came in from the Casino.
Want to know more about Dusko Popov?
Author Larry Loftis details the entire true story of this secret agent in his new book, INTO THE LION'S MOUTH: The True Story of Dusko Popov—World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond (Berkley, June 14, 2016).
Available on Amazon.com ($16.20)
Available on Amazon.co.uk (£20)
Article by Larry LoftisFisheries and Aquaculture Fact Sheet
The world fish catch is a measure of the productivity and health of the oceanic ecosystem that covers 70 percent of the earth's surface. The extent to which world demand for seafood is outrunning the sustainable yield of fisheries can be seen in shrinking fish stocks, declining catches, and collapsing fisheries.
Seafood plays a vital role in world food security. Roughly 3 billion people get about 20 percent of their animal protein from fishery products.
The world fish catch has hovered around 90 million tons over the last 20 years.
The wild fish catch per person has dropped dramatically, from 17 kilograms (37.5 pounds) per person at its height in 1988 to 13 kilograms in 2012—a 37-year low.
Over four fifths of the world’s fisheries are either considered fully exploited, with no room for safely increasing the catch, or they are already overfished and in need of rebuilding.
Small forage fish account for over half the supply of food fish in 36 countries, including the Maldives, the Philippines, and Ghana.
In 2012, world farmed fish production topped beef production for the first time in modern history.
China accounts for 60 percent of world farmed fish production.
Wild fish play a large role in the production of meat, milk, eggs, and farmed fish. Some 6 million tons of fishmeal and 1 million tons of fish oil are produced each year. Nearly all of the fishmeal is fed to farmed fish, pigs, and poultry; 74 percent of fish oil goes to fish farms.
Some aquacultural producers are scaling back. Between 1995 and 2007, the fishmeal content in shrimp feed dropped from 28 percent to 18 percent. The drop was even more dramatic for salmon, from 45 percent to 24 percent.
People will likely eat more fish from farms than from the wild in 2014, a historical milestone. As the world’s oceans are fished to their limits, any increase in world fish consumption will come from farms. Fish farming output is expected to increase 33 percent by 2021.
Well-managed marine reserves, where fishing is off-limits, help protect biodiversity and rebuild fish stocks. Fish catch and tourism revenue outside reserve boundaries often increase.
(PDF version)
Data and additional resources available at www.earth-policy.org.
Research Contacts: J. Matthew Roney (202) 496-9290 x. 17 or jmroney (at) earth-policy.org
Janet Larsen (202) 496-9290 x. 14 or jlarsen (at) earth-policy.org
Updated March 2014I have seen some absolutely GENIUS craft ideas floating around the web. One of my favorites involves taking Paint Chips (the little sample paint color cards you can get at Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walmart…anywhere that sells paint) and using them in lieu of your traditional cardstock or craft paper…such an amazing idea!!! I have tinkered a bit with these paint chips (on a very small scale.)
I am a big weenie and am too afraid to take more than one of a color at a time. While I realize that there is no “paint chip gestapo” waiting to count my cards to make sure I’m taking a “reasonable amount” for a “reasonable purpose”…I am a confrontation avoider by nature and can’t bring myself to risk it!!!). I actually worry about these things!!! I usually have to rely on my husband to do any “secret missions” for me…even BOOing our neighbors for Halloween, I made him ring the doorbell and run (I hid in the car). The irony is my secret ambition is to be Sydney Bristow from the show Alias (do you remember that one with Jennifer Garner?). Alas, there is no way I could handle being a secret double agent for the CIA, but a girl can dream right?!?
The paint chips are awesome to work with…I actually really love the texture and the colors pop!!! Here I assembled some of my favorite examples on this pinterest board.
Pinterest (for those of you who aren’t familiar with it) is AMAZING. It a virtual pin board of stuff you like, want to remember, or want to share!!! I’m a saver and an organizer, so its perfect for me and my overloaded websight bookmarks. It also means that cool finds are shareable…LOVE to SHARE!!! I also love getting ideas and inspiration from clients and fans…The word "meme" has annoyingly come to mean "any crappy stolen photo with some wacky text on it," but sometimes (see: "That's The Joke") memes can actually be extremely useful; I find myself attempting to respond to things with Simpsons references about 10 times a day, so in the hopes of getting us all on the same page, and as a service to fellow Simpsons nerds, I've put together a list of 19 new Simpsons memes for any situation:
1.
Context: After new principal Ned Flanders tells the students he wants to "Put the 'Pal' back in 'Principal'", Superintendent Chalmers interrupts that he also wants to put the "Super" back in "Superintendent." This is met with dead silence.
Useful When: Someone posts a follow-up joke to something that's just the first joke again but slightly re-arranged.
2.
Context: The catchy refrain to Paul Anka's song about defeating giant monster advertising billboards by not paying attention to them.
Useful When: When someone online is obviously trolling and should be ignored at all costs.
3.
Context: To prove to Lisa that he isn't dumb, Bart confidently starts reading a newspaper and immediately gets painfully bored in the middle of the first headline.
Useful When: You're trying and failing to concentrate on something that's extremely boring or 'adulty', like trying to make sense of personal finance or sitting through a business meeting like some grownup who's actually capable of that.
4.
Context: After winning the Springfield Film Festival for his powerful anti-alcoholism movie, Barney declares that he's gonna start a new clean and sober life, then is rewarded with "a lifetime supply of Duff Beer" and psychotically declares this request (and the Duff employees immediately comply).
Useful When: You see something online that you're instantly way too excited for.
5.
Context: When a comet is about to obliterate Springfield, the U.S. Congress votes to approve a bill to rescue them, and a rep tacks on a last-minute rider to the bill to use taxpayer money to support the "perverted arts," leading to the bill instantly being voted down.
Useful When: The government does something stupid. (That's RARE, AMIRIGHT??? Up top.)
6.
Context: One of the lines of pre-recorded 'inane chatter' spouted randomly by the DJ-3000, an automated disc jockey replacing machine.
Useful When: Basically an alternate version of the previous entry, but this one also works whenever someone makes a super obvious/lame "the government is dumb" joke. Like the one in the previous "Useful When" section.http://youtu.be/t_jZ8DlTk2A Video can’t be loaded: Controll traktor remix decks with every controller with one program (http://youtu.be/t_jZ8DlTk2A)
This year’s Next Big Thing™®© was Native Instrument’s Kontrol F1 and corresponding Remix Decks. Along with it came a lot of words (mostly written by me) about their decision to lock the Remix Decks to the F1 and not allow anything more than the most basic of mappings. Fortunately for the DJ community at large, “can’t” is not an acceptable rule.
While DJTechTools went one direction, hacking the backend of Traktor to make the MIDI Fighter work natively with the Remix Decks, that had its own limitations (as one needs the MIDI Fighter for it to work), other people went in a different direction. Vincent Cox, aka DJVC, had initially created a MIDI Translator file to allow any controller to map to the remix decks via emulating mouse movements. This wasn’t perfect either, as many people don’t have MT and have very little interest in another $90 purchase for something that (this writer feels) should be open regardless.
So Vincent took that to heart and wrote a program (Windows only at this time – Ed) to allow any controller to work with the Remix Decks. In his own words:
The main feature of the program is to control the remix decks ( all the 64 pads like the F1) in Traktor Pro. It lets you map the pads of every controller to the samples in Traktor, and you can also change the sample-page via buttons on a controller. The software can let you do almost the same as with the F1 (except “punch-mode” which is not possible, we come back later on that) Other features (like volume control/filter-control) are map-able in Traktor, so they’ve been left our of the program. To get an overview of what the program can do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_jZ8DlTk2A HOW IT WORKS When you press a pad on your controller, your controller sends a midi-command to the computer. This program recognizes the MIDI command and simulates the right mouse-click in Traktor. Inside the program are a lot of features to make it easier to use. FEATURES So it basically can do: Launch the samples of the remix deck
Change the sample page, so you can control all 64 samples And the program Works with every controller
Works with every screen resolution
Guided setup of your controller (there is also a setup-video for the users who cant get trough the setup. So even unexperienced users can setup their controller.)
Visual interface to map the pads of your controller
Autosave/autoload function. So you have to do the setup only 1 time. The next time it will load the settings so you can start immediately. THee’s a tutorial on how to setup your controller with the program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pooqseUvsiY TIP Most users don’t need this trick. It’s for users who don’t have 4 free buttons to map in traktor. Those 4 buttons are mapped to the play/pause button of each slot. I recommend users to let the last sample of a slot empty. So when you want to let the sample of that slot stop playing (and let the other slots keep playing), you launch the empty sample. The program is free to download. http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?xtcxa55tzohuoc3 For more information, and to be informed when a new version comes out, you can check out this page on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/djvc93 Latest versions will always be posted there. In a few days, a shift button will be added. This let you delete samples from the remix decks.
This is not the perfect solution, but if you don’t want to buy a MIDI Fighter, Bome MT or the CNTRL:R from Livid, this is the best we got. There is no MIDI Output, but for those few of us fortunate to have Bome MT Pro it can easily be coded in for any controller on the market. All it does is map your MIDI signals to mouse movements to trigger any of the remix cells.
Setting it up is not complicated, you don’t even have to set anything in the Controller Manager. The instructions are pretty straight forward and it’s as simple as pointing your mouse at the cells and hitting a bunch of buttons with your keyboard. From there you tell the program which pads or buttons you want to trigger which features. Anything that gives self-feedback like the Maschine, PadKontrol, or QuNeo is easily mapped and will give adequate press-and-release feedback. If you want anything more complicated, however, that is just not an option.
Vincent has, however, expressed interest in adding features if/when demand increases (just contact him on his Facebook). If nothing else, download the app, hook your controller up to it and see how it runs. It gives just enough control to make the Remix Decks really useful for someone who doesn’t want to buy a new controller.When you blend the run down environments of District 9 with the survivalist elements of Falling Skies and the wasteland trek of Gareth Edwards' Monsters, you get the cool new science fiction action set piece, Revolt. Featuring many derivative moments and scenarios, this little gem of sci-fi goodness is a good enough entry in a world lacking the genre flicks we crave.
As a robotic alien species takes over the globe and attempts to wipe the slate clean of humanity using advanced weaponized technology, one lonesome military warrior must overcome a barren world riddled with death and soulless mechanical killers. While it's not going to win any awards for high art, this thriller features just enough great scenery to make it interesting.
Starring Lee Pace of Halt and Catch Fire and the visionary cult film The Fall, this Revolt handily borrows plot elements from numerous features but definitely has heart. Using Pace's penchant for delivering believable performances, he strides through the armageddon with ease and great dramatic chops. Offering up a stellar breakout as an action star, Pace transcends the normal roles he takes, giving audiences a believable soldier with a chip on his shoulder. Berenice Marlohe plays his female counterpart. She also does a great job with the little bit of material that's fed to her.
Stop it. You're scaring me.
Using a meager budget of only $4 million, Revolt has some excellent CGI based visuals that are remarkable for a more independent style feature. The mechanics of the invaders are unique with a metallic but highly organic feel. They relate a true threat to the humans they seek to destroy. Set mostly in deserted areas that have been vanquished by the robots, many scenes call back to the battle scenarios of Terminator Salvation, yet even a bit better. The choreography of the war between the remnants of mankind and their aggressors has a gritty feel that's often times missing from these types of films. Pace helps sell the fiction on this one.
If you have some time to kill over the weekend and have been let down by many big budget films this past year, Revolt may satiate your hunger for a little classic man versus robot fun. This is nowhere near a perfect movie, but it's a hard notch above most we've seen this last few months.
Score
-CGA driver who was rear-ended at a traffic light in China said she slammed on her brakes when she mistook an escaped circus monkey's red buttocks for a stop light. Screenshot: iqiyi.com
Dec. 28 (UPI) -- A woman was rear-ended at an intersection in China when she stopped for an unusual reason -- she mistook an escaped circus monkey's butt for a red light.
The woman was quoted by Sin Chew Daily as saying she glanced at the pole over the intersection in Zunyi City, Guizhou Province, and slammed on her brakes when she saw a flash of red that she mistook for a red stop light.
The abrupt stop led the woman's car to be rear-ended by the car behind her.
The woman said she looked back at the pole after the crash and realized the red she had seen was actually the rear end of a golden monkey perched next to the light.
Police discovered the monkey had escaped from a nearby circus. A circus manager agreed to pay for the cost of the damage to the vehicles involved in the minor crash.Blue Star Capital PLC (LON:BLU) Chief Executive Officer Tony Fabrizi and SatoshiPay Founder Meinhard Benn caught up with DirectorsTalk for an exclusive interview to discuss SatoshiPay’s new partner Stellar Development Foundation (SDF)
Q1: We saw this morning an update from Blue Star Capital, the announcement sounds very positive. Meinhard, can you explain for us in simple terms what this achieves for SatoshiPay?
A1: Yes, so at the very core we have ledger technologies and we used Bitcoin so far, Bitcoin isn’t really usable for our use case anymore, so we are now happy to have a stable, mature technology in Stellar that allows us to do fast settlements, it only takes about 5 seconds now for us to settle a payment.
Also, we got a marketing support grant of about £1 million, depending on the current exchange rate to the Stellar currency because the Stellar Foundation paid us in the Stellar currency, Lumens, which is going to be a great great help for us to focus on sales and reach out to publishers.
Q2: The announcement doesn’t mention your relationship with IOTA, does this mean that you’re no longer working with them?
A2: Yes, we wanted to make this announcement all about Stellar because they gave us this big grant and we’ve focussed on what we would do with them in the announcement but also in a blog post that we published at the weekend we laid out what the future corporation with IOTA would be like.
So, we have successfully finished the stage 2 of the PoC with IOTA and we will work with them in the future, of course, we’re not quitting the partnership, some people talked about it on Twitter but that’s not the case at all. So, for the web widget project that we have we chose Stellar, but we will have other products in the future and we will continue to evaluate IOTA for these products i.e. in the IoT space.
Q3: So, when can we expect to see some larger customers deploying the system?
A3: So, as you can imagine, the whole ledger change has distracted a little bit from the sales efforts, we had to delay them a little bit but on December 7th in Berlin and December 11th in London we will have launch events where we’ll introduce some content partnerships.
Throughout 2018, we expect big brands to sign up with ongoing conversation but with bigger news organisations it always has long lead times. The Stellar grant will help a lot actually in convincing customers because they’re sort of a guaranteed income for them because with Stellar lumens that our users have need to be spent on something.
Q4: Tony, what does this mean for Blue Star Capital?
A4: Well, I think the feed from today’s share price reaction that the market has seen is very good news and obviously, we’re delighted with the news from the company today.
Blue Star Capital remain highly committed to our investment in SatoshiPay, it’s a significant part of our portfolio, in fact the team from an early stage and everything they’ve done in the last 6 months has been highly credible.
It’s obviously a rapidly-changing market and the guys have responded really well to what’s been going on, the IOTA initial development with those guys and now moving onto Stellar I think has been a sensible reaction.
I’d also like to thank Meinhard and his team, they’re doing a great job and also just to put on record, our thanks to Smaller Company Capital who actually introduced the deal to us in the first place, the investment in SatoshiPay, and have been extremely supportive ever since then so we’re really grateful to those guys.WASHINGTON — Defense giant Lockheed Martin will buy American helicopter maker Sikorsky Aircraft from United Technologies for $9 billion in cash, UTC announced Monday.
The announcement ends months of speculation over the fate of Sikorsky, which had been subject to sales and spinoff rumors fueled by the emergence of multiple bidders during the Paris Air Show in June.
"We are very pleased to announce this transaction," said UTC President and Chief Executive Officer Gregory Hayes. "Exiting the helicopter business will allow UTC to better focus on providing high-technology systems and services to the aerospace and building industries and to deliver improved and sustained value to our customers and shareowners.
"Sikorsky's acquisition by Lockheed Martin, one of the world's leading aerospace and defense companies, will ensure it remains a technology leader at the forefront of vertical lift," Hayes added. "We are committed to working closely with Lockheed Martin to execute a seamless transition for customers and employees."
UTC indicated that it will use the bulk of the proceeds — $8.3 billion — to buy back 75 million shares.
Wall Street analysts were not surprised by the deal — Lockheed Martin had been singled out as the most likely buyer in multiple press accounts — and indicated
LM will group Sikorsky with its Mission Systems and Training (MST) business, noted Byron Callan, an analyst with Capital Alpha Partners.
× Fear of missing out? Fear no longer. Be the first to hear about breaking news, as it happens. You'll get alerts delivered directly to your inbox each time something noteworthy happens in the Military community. Thanks for signing up. By giving us your email, you are opting in to our Newsletter: Sign up for our Early Bird Brief
"MST has worked closely with Sikorsky but Aeronautics should know more about building platforms," Callan wrote in a note for investors.
Lockheed Martin is a major supplier of parts for Sikorsky's systems, including the popular UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter and CH-53K heavy-lift vehicle.
Robert Stallard of RBC Capital Markets said for Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky is a "nice to have" business, not a "need to have."
"We view Sikorsky as a quality asset which is going through some challenges at the moment, particularly with oil & gas hitting civil helicopter demand," Stallard wrote in an analyst's note. "However, its long term outlook is solid with the CH-53K, the Presidential Helicopter, the CRH and continued export demand. For Lockheed, it has plenty of positive growth drivers already in the portfolio, notably the F-35, and it does not need Sikorsky - but it could be a business that is nice to have. Whatever happens, we don't see Lockheed changing its commitment to return 100% of free cashflow to shareholders."
The deal is expected to be completed in the final quarter of 2015 or the first quarter of 2016.AMMAN: A bloody, inter-rebel civil war is paralyzing movement within the encircled, rebel-held east Damascus suburbs as residents navigate the crossfire of shelling and snipers in order to reach medical facilities, separated relatives and places of employment.
The outcome of the internal battles is a near-total shutdown of all transportation—commercial, humanitarian and medical—across East Ghouta as the power struggle between rival rebel factions enters its third week, with hundreds of fighters and civilians dead on both sides.
Central to the dispute is one of East Ghouta’s largest roads, the primary artery that runs the length of the opposition pocket.
Today, dozens of checkpoints, berms and unpredictable gunfire are preventing civilians from traversing East Ghouta’s once-busy, central highway, five local residents tell Syria Direct. The result, they say, has been “devastating": Teachers are separated from their schools, doctors from their hospitals, family members from each other and an entire region split at the seams.
“No one makes the trip [between the two sides] unless they are absolutely forced to,” says Hakim a-Dimashqi, an East Ghouta photographer and video producer. “The road has become long and dangerous, and at any moment there could be renewed clashes with civilians caught in the shooting.”
East Ghouta, comprising roughly a dozen bombed-out towns and villages immediately east of Damascus, is home to an estimated 400,000 people. The Assad regime has encircled the opposition stronghold since 2012, tightly controlling the entry and exit of all food, medicine and people. Although regime artillery continues to hit East Ghouta, the opposition-controlled pocket has been largely spared from regime and Russian airstrikes in recent days following a May 6 international plan to create de-escalation zones in certain rebel-held areas.
In the north of the divided rebel enclave, East Ghouta’s strongest military and political faction, Jaish al-Islam, controls the pocket’s de facto capital of Douma city. To the south, also referred to by residents as East Ghouta’s “Central Section,” are Failaq a-Rahman and Hay’at Tahrir a-Sham (HTS), an Islamist coalition that includes Al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat Fatah a-Sham as a leading member.
Inter-rebel clashes broke out in April when Jaish al-Islam attacked HTS headquarters in what the former later called a campaign to eliminate “Jabhat a-Nusra,” the former name of Jabhat Fatah a-Sham, from East Ghouta.
East Ghouta residents protest rebel infighting on April with signs that read: “Shame…No to infighting between factions." Photo courtesy of the Ghouta Media Center.
In order to move between the two sides of East Ghouta, residents must take a circuitous and dangerous detour, one that winds through active rebel battlefronts and passes just meters from a commonly used regime sniping position. With fuel in East Ghouta in such short supply, the path is most often traveled on foot, turning what should be a 10-minute trip into a deadly, hours-long journey.
At least three people, including two children, have been killed due to rebel gunfire on this route since rebel factions turned their heavy weapons on each other and fighting first erupted in late April. More than 400 fighters and civilians have died in clashes since then, said local activist a-Dimashqi.
The ongoing rebel row is not the first for East Ghouta. Exactly one year before the current outbreak of violence, rebel factions took up arms against one other for two weeks in April and May 2016, culminating in the loss of large swathes of agricultural area to regime forces, Syria Direct reported at the time.
But this round, a-Dimashqi tells Syria Direct, is “far more intense and far more dangerous than last time.”
Unlike in 2016, ambulances are reportedly being prevented from crossing between areas held by the warring sides via the disputed central road. Failaq a-Rahman accuses Jaish al-Islam of using ambulances to move snipers across checkpoints, “which forced us to stop allowing ambulances into the Central Section,” Failaq spokesman Wael Alwan told Syria Direct.
Jaish al-Islam refuted the accusation, calling into a “baseless claim that is far removed from the truth,” Hamzah Beriqdar, the group’s spokesman, told Syria Direct.
'We're blockading ourselves'
The latest rebel infighting is exacerbating East Ghouta’s already understaffed and ill-equipped healthcare system.
Douma, for example, is the only East Ghouta city with dialysis machines. Patients in kidney failure must navigate active battlefronts in order to receive medical care. The southern East Ghouta town of Kafr Batna, meanwhile, hosts the area’s only infectious disease center, now dealing with a months-long measles epidemic.
The rebel infighting is “depriving people of medical services that are not available on the other side” of Ghouta, Yaser Abu Nazir, a spokesman for the Hakim Medical Center in East Ghouta’s south, told Syria Direct. While Abu Nazir’s workplace is in Failaq a-Rahman-controlled territory, he lives in the Jaish al-Islam stronghold of Douma, meaning that he must travel for more than an hour by bicycle every day to work.
An East Ghouta resident inspects a hospital after a May 1 airstrike. Photo courtesy of Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP/Getty Images.
“Just look, the regime is blockading us, and on top of that, we’re blockading ourselves,” says East Ghouta photographer and video producer Hakim a-Dimashqi, referring to the rebel factions’ blocking the free flow of food and medical supplies. “It’s a siege within a siege.”
Since the outbreak of fighting in April, East Ghouta medical organizations have accused local rebel factions on multiple occasions of violating neutral hospitals and medical centers for their own political advancement.
One employee at Jaish al-Islam-affiliated medical organization in East Ghouta’s Central Section says he was detained when Jabhat Fatah a-Sham raided his workplace earlier this month.
“The center was shut down, all of its staff were detained for a number of hours, and we were forced to go to Douma on the basis that we were working for a Jaish al-Islam medical center,” the employee, Mahmoud, tells Syria Direct. “Now, I’m stuck in Douma and unable to return to my home without facing arrest even though I don’t belong to one side or the other. I’m just an employee.”
“This situation defies logic,” Mahmoud said. “The factions have plunged civilians into their infighting; they’ve torn families in half, and they’ve sown hatred among residents.”
On May 13, a team of doctors affiliated with the Ghouta Medical Office “came under attack from a local armed group” and were “forcibly detained as they were traveling to a nearby hospital,” the Syrian American Medical Society announced in a press release that same day. It is not clear which faction made the arrests.
“When other health workers came to the location to stand in solidarity with their colleagues, the armed fighters began shooting at their vehicles,” the statement added.
In yet another instance, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced earlier this month a suspension of medical activities in East Ghouta “following recent violations of medical facilities” by armed opposition factions. MSF’s statement alleged that dozens of "masked and armed men" stormed East Ghouta's Hazzeh Hospital on April 29 in search of certain wounded patients, and of stealing the hospital’s ambulance while gunfire from the infighting struck a separate medical point a few kilometers south.
The suspension of activities is a decision “made under extreme circumstances," the statement read, adding that "such attacks on health care facilities and workers will not be tolerated by MSF or the medical staff it supports.”The Celtics are perfectly capable of pulling off one or more trades that would make them a more interesting regular-season rival for Cleveland, and even give themselves a puncher’s chance in any postseason series.
But those kind of moves would essentially be a fast-food fix and leave them undernourished for the long-term stay at the top that they seek. And president of basketball operations Danny Ainge seems profoundly unwilling to risk the latter for the former.
Multiple league sources continue to tell the Herald that while the Celts are actively seeking a top-tier player by tomorrow’s trade deadline (Jimmy Butler, Paul George, etc.), they would be satisfied using the first-round picks from the Nets this year and next in a longer-term (but potentially more lasting) build.
And there has been continued word that Ainge doesn’t want to give up his chance in the high-level free agent market unless the president of basketball operations can secure a franchise cornerstone player now or at the June draft.
In addition, as we’ll get to later here, they might already have a solution to one of their problems, which is influencing how the club acts now.
“I think a lot of teams have gone after Danny hoping to throw good veterans at him and hope that he’ll give up some of those big assets, but from everything I’ve seen and heard, he’s not doing that unless he gets a real star back,” one league exec said. “If Chicago or Indiana opens up for business, then I wouldn’t be surprised if Boston gets involved big. But I also wouldn’t be surprised if they sit tight or make a small move and wait for the draft if no one they really want is available.”
The word yesterday is that the Bulls and Pacers are not going to part with Butler or George, respectively. That could change at some point before the deadline, and if so, the Celtics would jump into the bidding. But those possibilities have not been looking good of late.
The same is the case with Detroit and center Andre Drummond. Most general managers believe the Pistons expressed a willingness to discuss him simply to gauge the marketplace. And his price tag would have been extremely high.
Drummond is second in the NBA in rebounding at 13.8, which makes him very attractive to the carom-deficient Celtics (28th on the boards). But as Ainge tries to piece together a roster for now and the future, and do so while managing each player’s fit within the salary cap, it’s important to remember what’s already under his control.
In other words, does it make sense to spend a lot now and tie up cap space for the future on an inside player when he might have such a big waiting in the wings?
There is every expectation that Ante Zizic, the No. 23 overall pick last June, will be a part of next season’s Celts. That he’ll be on a rookie contract is a bonus. There were questions whether the 6-foot-11 20-year-old could handle the move from Croatia to tougher competition in Turkey, but reports are more than encouraging.
We checked in with former Celtics player Gigi Datome, who is playing for another Turkish club, and, while there obviously is work still to be done, he believes Zizic will be ready to contribute in the NBA.
“He is a big body who moves well for his size,” Gigi said. “Not very quick lateral movements, but he runs the floor well, and he’s pretty quick on post moves. He has feeling for the game.”
Datome noted that Zizic’s new club, Darussafaka, is a solid Euroleague club coached by former Cavaliers leader David Blatt, and that Zizic “didn’t take too long to impact the team and to get into a new system. He plays hard and shows desire to compete. He has good feeling and position for offensive rebounds.
“I like him,” Gigi added. “He is very young, and usually big men develop later. He plays like an experienced player despite his young age. He is also reliable on the free throw line.”
Datome took into account the clear step up in class from the European game to the NBA but said, “I think he can be in the rotation. He can definitely play.”
The larger point here as it relates to the Celtics and what they might be willing to do this week and before the draft is that, while many have grown impatient and would like to see them cash in some of the assets for more immediate help, Ainge is evidently playing a different game.
So unless a trade this week makes sense for multiple seasons, or could set up another move that would, the Celtics seem fine with letting Thursday pass quietly, if necessary.NRA News Goes To Bat For Activists Who Intimidated Gun Violence Prevention Group November 13, 2013 3:20 PM EST ››› Blog ›››››› TIMOTHY JOHNSON
National Rifle Association News defended the conduct of fringe gun group Open Carry Texas (OCT) after it intimidated four members of the gun violence prevention group Moms Demand Action (MDA) by displaying assault weapons as the four members met at a Dallas-area restaurant. While MDA founder Shannon Watts said the MDA members and other restaurant patrons were "terrified" by the sight of a group of about 40 OCT members milling around the restaurant parking lot, NRA News host Cam Edwards said there was "no evidence" OCT engaged in intimidation. Edwards' comments on the controversy came during a November 12 segment on Cam & Company that featured National Review Online writer Charles C.W. Cooke, who wrote a series of articles about the OCT protest that attempted to call into doubt MDA's claims that they felt intimidated by the armed protesters.
Cooke claimed on NRA News that OCT "didn't interact at all, at least offensively, with Moms Demand Action" and later added that OCT had "absolutely every right to do what they did" even if "it's not always helpful to walk around with rifles when you have somebody who's going to go on NBC and lie and lie and lie about you" -- apparently referring to Watts.
According to Edwards, members of OCT "were there in a group, they were posing in pictures. Clearly, they were there to make a political point, and I don't know how you can see that otherwise, I really don't."
He also suggested that coverage of the protest was colored by media bias against gun owners, stating, "We as gun owners, who are activists, have to understand that anything you do will likely be portrayed in the worst light possible by, you know, any media outlets. There is a great desire to make gun owners look as bad as possible."
While right-wing media and the NRA have attempted to excuse OCT's actions -- it is apparently stupefying to them that a group that openly displays guns at political protests could not be intimidating in its own right -- the group has an ugly history of anti-law enforcement animus and flirtation with calls for |
towards their exam successes. “Despite austerity cuts, soaring levels of workload and the pressure of substantial upheaval in the qualifications system, teachers have again gone the extra mile to ensure that pupils receive the support they require in preparing for their exams.
“These strong results are a credit to Scotland’s pupils, teachers and to Scotland’s comprehensive education system.”
A spokesperson for education secretary John Swinney said: “Nationally the Tories never cease to paint the most negative picture possible of Scottish education, ignoring the simple truth that we have a good education system, albeit one that we think can be better.
“Now, Michelle Ballantyne has let the cat out of the Tory bag. It’s a shame she doesn’t acknowledge the hard work of teachers but at least she recognises the results are a real success for pupils and reveal the strength of Scottish education.
“Yet if you listened to her Tory colleagues, you would never know it.
“Her motion makes it obvious that Tory attacks on education are politically driven. We can only hope this outbreak of truthfulness will spread to her colleagues.”
A retired Borders teacher told The National: “Anyone would think the pupils passed the exams all by themselves. Not a mention of teachers, not a word about parents, nothing about all the staff that make schools able to get pupils passing exams. Teachers are the first to be criticised and the last to be congratulated.
“Of course the system is not perfect, but it would be nice to hear teachers being praised as well as the pupils. Attitudes like Michelle Ballantyne’s are the reason why so many teachers are quitting the profession.”
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “As soon as exam results were received the Scottish Conservatives congratulated pupils for achieving these passes in spite of the SNP’s stewardship of education, not because of it. Those sentiments are echoed in this motion.”Thank you for supporting the journalism that our community needs!
For unlimited access to the best local, national, and international news and much more, try an All Access Digital subscription:
We hope you have enjoyed your trial! To continue reading, we recommend our Read Now Pay Later membership. Simply add a form of payment and pay only 27¢ per article.
*Introductory pricing schedule for 12 month: $0.99/month plus tax for first 3 months, $5.99/month for months 4 - 6, $10.99/month for months 7 - 9, $13.99/month for months 10 - 12. Standard All Access Digital rate of $16.99/month begins after first year.
*Introductory pricing schedule for 12 month: $0.99/month plus tax for first 3 months, $5.99/month for months 4 - 6, $10.99/month for months 7 - 9, $13.99/month for months 10 - 12. Standard All Access Digital rate of $16.99/month begins after first year.
*Introductory pricing schedule for 12 month: $0.99/month plus tax for first 3 months, $5.99/month for months 4 - 6, $10.99/month for months 7 - 9, $13.99/month for months 10 - 12. Standard All Access Digital rate of $16.99/month begins after first year.
*Introductory pricing schedule for 12 month: $0.99/month plus tax for first 3 months, $5.99/month for months 4 - 6, $10.99/month for months 7 - 9, $13.99/month for months 10 - 12. Standard All Access Digital rate of $16.99/month begins after first year.
Thank you for supporting the journalism that our community needs!
For unlimited access to the best local, national, and international news and much more, try an All Access Digital subscription:
We hope you have enjoyed your trial! To continue reading, we recommend our Read Now Pay Later membership. Simply add a form of payment and pay only 27¢ per article.
Thank you for supporting the journalism that our community needs!
For unlimited access to the best local, national, and international news and much more, try an All Access Digital subscription:
We hope you have enjoyed your trial! To continue reading, we recommend our Read Now Pay Later membership. Simply add a form of payment and pay only 27¢ per article.
"We thought, 'Man, this could really fly if we took this idea of opening a veggie burger restaurant in the city.' That's how the idea for Boon started."
"That was our first go at a vegetarian restaurant," Sohlberg, 38, said. "We had a full menu but people went crazy over a couple of our veggie burgers. They were addicted to them.
Quadra Island, to be precise, between Vancouver Island and the mainland, where Tomas Sohlberg and his wife, Anneen DuPlessis, owners of the soon-to-be-open Boon Burger Café, first ventured into the vegetarian restaurant business with a place called Khameleon a couple years back.
The buzz on Winnipeg's newest burger joint first originated in B.C.
Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 24/4/2010 (3229 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/4/2010 (3229 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Tomas Sohlberg, with his wife Anneen DuPlessis, is oening the Boon Burger Cafe at 79 Sherbrook St. in June. It will be the city's first vegetarian burger joint.
The buzz on Winnipeg's newest burger joint first originated in B.C.
Quadra Island, to be precise, between Vancouver Island and the mainland, where Tomas Sohlberg and his wife, Anneen DuPlessis, owners of the soon-to-be-open Boon Burger Café, first ventured into the vegetarian restaurant business with a place called Khameleon a couple years back.
"That was our first go at a vegetarian restaurant," Sohlberg, 38, said. "We had a full menu but people went crazy over a couple of our veggie burgers. They were addicted to them.
"We thought, 'Man, this could really fly if we took this idea of opening a veggie burger restaurant in the city.' That's how the idea for Boon started."
After looking into locations in and around Vancouver and Victoria, the couple decided to come back to the cheaper start-up options in Winnipeg, where they lived a decade ago. Securing a location on the eastern edge of Wolseley (at 79 Sherbrook St., formally the Common Ground Café), Sohlberg is in the process of remodelling the space into what's believed to be Winnipeg's first vegetarian burger joint.
The plan for Boon is simple: The menu will consist of eight to 10 unique burgers — each themed in a special way. Among Sohlberg's ideas are a Mexican salsa burger and a Thanksgiving burger, a treat that will offer all the flavours of the fall holiday. Burger patties will vary between mushroom, chick pea, lentil, and tofu options.
"Everything is made from scratch," he said. "We're going to be gluten-free. And rather than just have a bunch of vegan items on the menu, we'll offer a choice. Everything can be vegan-ized."
Translation: If you'd rather pass on the mayo, no problem. Substitute homemade hummus instead.
Baked fries will be on the menu, as will various soups and salads. Thirsts can be quenched with fresh smoothies, homemade iced tea and loose-leaf teas.
And, of course, good coffee.
"Really good fair trade coffee," Sohlberg promised. "European-style, brewed per cup. Hot, fresh and strong."
Sohlberg is planning for some casual seating in the front of the space, but insists the spot will be more of a to-go place, complete with a walk-up window on the south side of the building. He expects to manage an initial staff of six or seven employees.
Want to get a head start on your day? Get the day’s breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every morning.
"We've learned that we don't want to bite off more than we can chew," he said. "We're going to be a small operation at first."
Until then, the word on the street about the place continues to grow.
"It's really unbelievable," laughed Sohlberg, who is originally from Norway. "We put the signs up and started a Facebook group, and it's been off the wall. People are stopping by and asking us when we're opening all the time. One person asked when we're planning on opening in Montreal.
"We haven't even opened here yet!"
Sohlberg expects to have Boon up and running in June.
adam.wazny@freepress.mb.ca(CNN) -- Seven members of a joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping patrol have been killed by a heavily armed militia group in Sudan's Darfur region, the U.N. said.
Peacekeepers drive into a Sudanese refugee camp near Farchana, east of Chad.
Five of those killed were Rwandan, a U.N. peacekeeping official said, and the other two were a Ugandan and a Ghanaian.
Twenty-two others were wounded in the attack, which was immediately condemned by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
"The attackers used heavy weapons and engaged the UNAMID convoy in an exchange of fire for more than two hours," according to the statement released by Ban's spokesman.
UNAMID is the acronym for the U.N.-AU mission in Darfur. The peacekeepers are allowed to used force when fired upon directly.
"The secretary-general condemns in the strongest possible terms this unacceptable act of extreme violence against AU-U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur and calls on the government of Sudan to do its utmost to ensure that the perpetrators are swiftly identified and brought to justice," the statement said.
"The secretary-general expresses his deepest condolences to the families of the peacekeepers who lost their lives, and reiterates his appreciation for their service, valor and commitment to the search for peace in Darfur."
The ambush happened around 2:45 p.m. (1145 GMT) in northern Darfur. The rescue mission did not take place until after dark, she said.
The peacekeepers who were attacked operated out of Shangil Tobayi -- a base to the west of El Fasher.
In five years of war the U.N. says more than four million people have been affected: Two-and-a-half million people forced from their homes and more than 300,000 killed.
Sudanese officials dispute those numbers claiming only 10,000 have died -- a number they say is normal for five years of war.
U.S. President George W. Bush calls the killings genocide and has put sanctions on Sudan. The U.N. says Sudan's government is guilty of crimes against humanity and of violating international human rights laws every bit as heinous and serious they say as genocide.
In February 2008, a fresh wave of killing forced 58,000 people to flee their homes as government troops and Janjaweed militiamen retaliated against rebels.
A U.N. report said Sudan broke international law as 115 innocent civilians were killed using tactics similar to those employed in 2003, 2004, the worst years of the war.
Peacekeepers are frequently targeted by militias in Darfur, where they are trying to protect civilians from "janjaweed" militias -- nomadic Arab militias, supported by Sudan's government, which target pastoral black Africans.
Ten African Union peacekeepers were killed in October in an ambush on their peacekeeping base -- the deadliest single attack on AU peacekeepers since they began their mission in late 2004.
Don't Miss Rape is a way of life for Darfur's women
Rape is a way of life for Darfur's women Sudan cuts ties with Chad after attack
A U.N. commission concluded in 2005 that the Sudanese government and militias "conducted indiscriminate attacks, including killing of civilians, torture, enforced disappearances, destruction of villages, rape and other forms of sexual violence, pillaging and forced displacement" in Darfur.
In 2006, the U.N. Security Council authorized the creation of the joint AU/U.N. hybrid force of peacekeepers to protect civilians in Darfur. That hybrid force formally took over peacekeeping duties late last year from the force composed solely of members of the African Union.
Yet the force is under-manned as a result of the Sudanese government's opposition to a U.N. presence, with just over 9,500 troops of an authorized strength of 26,000.
All About Darfur • Sudan • UNICEFAlaska state officials confirmed Wednesday that an oily mist sprung from a compromised oil pipeline and sprayed into the wind without stopping for at least two hours, covering 33 acres of the frozen snow field in the oil well's vicinity.
The discovery was at the BP-owned Prudhoe oil field on Alaska’s North Slope, the northernmost region of the state where a number of profitable oil fields sit beneath the tundra. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) revealed that BP officials found the mist during a routine inspection on Monday.
Initial reports said that 27 acres had been covered, although that figure was updated later on Wednesday. The cause is still under investigation, according to the Associated Press, but officials know that the mist was made up of a mixture of gas, crude oil, and water. They also reported that while the noxious mist was distributed over such a wide area by 30 mph winds, no wildlife was impacted.
BP spokeswoman Dawn Patience said the company is “still assessing repairs” and will soon know what, if any, long-term effects the spill could have.
The Prudhoe Bay region, like elsewhere in the North Slope, is home to a great number of migratory birds and caribou, as well as other animals, such as a massive porcupine herd. Clean-up efforts are expected to be complete before birds pass through the region again in the coming weeks.
The company was at fault in at least two oil spills in the same region since 2006. That year, an estimated 267,000 gallons of oil seeped through a quarter-inch sized hole in a corroded BP pipeline. That accident went unnoticed for five days, until an oil worker smelled the aroma of crude when driving through the area, according to Think Progress.
The company spent $500 million on upgrading 16 miles of pipeline that transported oil into a processing facility dubbed Gathering Center 2.
Instead of acting as a warning to the company, though, the 2006 spill only served as a preview for a 2009 spill that sent approximately 14,000 gallons from a pipeline into the tundra and wetlands of Prudhoe Bay.
“The 2009 spill vividly demonstrates that BP has not adequately addressed the management and environmental compliance problems that have plagued it for many years,” US government lawyers said in a court filing that sought to levy steep fines onto BP, as quoted by Bloomberg.
“This rupture was the result of a predictable and preventable freezing of produced water within the pipeline that caused the pipe to over-pressurize and burst. Eerily similar to the 2006 spill, BP ignored alarms that warned of the pipe’s eventual rupture and leak.”
Officials made the most recent finding less than a week after a report from the US National Research Council (NRC) announced that regulators are not prepared to effectively respond to an Arctic oil spill. The 198-page assessment authored by scientists at the request of the American Petroleum Institute and the Coast Guard found that while more research still needs to be done, the current situation is bleak.
“The lack of infrastructure in the Arctic would be a significant liability in the event of a large oil spill,” the report stated, as quoted by the Associated Press. “It is unlikely that responders could quickly react to an oil spill unless there were improved port and air access, stronger supply chains and increased capacity to handle equipment, supplies and personnel.”
Most of the information regulators have gathered on how to respond to oil spills comes from warmer areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico – the site of another massive BP oil spill in April 2010. Yet the drilling areas far to the north remain largely isolated from the resources in the Gulf, with the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas located more than 1,000 miles from the nearest deep water port.
As such, the NRC recommended the US quickly institute “a comprehensive, collaborative, long-term Arctic oil spill research and development program.”President Donald Trump has set a deadline of July 4 for a shakeup of the White House that could include removing Reince Priebus as his chief of staff, according to two administration officials and three outside advisers familiar with the matter.
Although Trump has set deadlines for staff changes before, only to let them pass without pulling the trigger, the president is under more scrutiny than ever regarding the sprawling Russia investigation, which is intensifying the pressure on his White House team.
Story Continued Below
Days after his return from his first foreign trip late last month, Trump berated Priebus in the Oval Office in front of his former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and deputy campaign manager David Bossie for the dysfunction in the White House, according to multiple sources familiar with the conversation.
Trump had been mulling bringing on Bossie as his deputy White House chief of staff and Lewandowski as a White House senior adviser with a portfolio that includes Russia, but he told the two at that meeting that they would not be joining the White House until Priebus had a fair chance to clean up shop, according to the sources.
“I’m giving you until July 4,” Trump said, according to a person with knowledge of the conversation.
“I don’t want them to come into this mess. If I’m going to clean house, they will come in as fresh blood.”
The most reliable politics newsletter. Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every 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.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer, in a statement on Sunday, disputed the idea that Priebus is facing a July 4 deadline. “Whoever is saying that is either a liar or out of the loop,” Spicer said.
The Independence Day deadline is timed with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s deadline for passage of the health care bill through the chamber, which is also the start of the July 4th recess. Priebus took the brunt of the blame for the first failure to get a vote on the bill through the House, though the White House and Speaker Paul Ryan were ultimately able to secure its passage on a second try.
Talk of Trump’s July 4 deadline has made the rounds in the White House, but insiders and those close to the president are not holding their breath, given the perpetual talk that Priebus and other senior staffers are on the way out.
Trump’s first deadline for the firing of Priebus — and many staffers he brought on from the Republican National Committee — was the 100-day mark.
The president then considered the idea of a Memorial Day shakeup when he returned from the foreign trip.
“It’s become comical that every holiday becomes a referendum on Reince,” said one adviser to the president.
Sensing his impending doom even before he was criticized for fallout related to the firing of FBI Director James Comey, Priebus had joked, “I’ve got one foot on a banana peel and another out the door,” according to a person with knowledge of the conversation.
Deadlines haven’t been Trump’s only tactic for warning Priebus about his possible dismissal from the top of the administration.
Trump has openly floated the idea of other potential chiefs of staff, including former campaign aide David Urban and Wayne Berman, an executive at private equity giant Blackstone and adviser to Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman. Shortly after national security adviser Michael Flynn was fired in February, Trump invited New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to the White House to help brainstorm about a new chief of staff, according to a White House official and outside adviser with knowledge of the situation.
But those who have known Trump for years, such as his former campaign adviser Sam Nunberg, say the “You’re fired” persona associated with his “Apprentice” fame doesn’t match up with the man away from the cameras.
“I don’t think he likes to gratuitously fire people,” said Nunberg, who was himself fired by Trump. “He wants to give people chances.”
Another outside adviser who regularly speaks to the president said Trump often threatens employees with the prospect of being fired to motivate them to do better, prompt them to resign or use them as an example for other staffers of what it can be like to be on his bad side.
“Trump will literally ask anyone who will listen, ‘Do you think Reince is doing a good job?’ or ‘Do you think that I should get rid of him?’” said that adviser, who has been asked that question by Trump.
Trump has yet to allow Priebus to choose a deputy to replace his former deputy chief of staff, Katie Walsh. Walsh, a Priebus ally who worked with him at the RNC, was moved to an outside political group supporting Trump’s presidency after the failure to pass the first Obamacare repeal bill in March.
Former communications director Mike Dubke is a recent example of a White House staffer who was likely on the way out but decided to get ahead of it by offering his resignation, according to two White House officials. Dubke is now also helping with the outside political group.
But a former campaign official said Priebus has been more effective in recent weeks in bringing order to the White House, despite the chaos outside, including Comey’s dramatic testimony before the Senate last week and Trump’s subsequent accusations against him.
“For the first time in the White House, there’s true structure and discipline and order instilled, despite other distractions that might be out there,” the former official said.
“They are getting down to the work of governing and moving the ball forward.”
The White House just wrapped up “Infrastructure Week,” which provided a more focused message about Trump’s legislative agenda — even if it was largely drowned out by Comey’s testimony. And Trump is about to launch “Workforce Development Week,” during which he’ll travel to Wisconsin with his daughter Ivanka on Tuesday before delivering a “major policy speech” at the Department of Labor on Wednesday.
Roger Stone, a longtime confidant of Trump, cited the firings of former Trump Organization CEO Edward Tracy and Nicholas Ribis, CEO of Trump Atlantic City Associates, as examples of times that Trump made drastic personnel decisions. He likened the firings to Richard Nixon’s “Saturday Night Massacre” and called them “sudden.”
He suggested that if and when Trump removes Priebus, it will be at an opportune time and with a landing pad.
“I think it would be fair to say, that with the entire Comey controversy, that’s a pretty good reason not to make a change at this exact moment,” Stone said.
“Even when he lets him go, he’s not going to fire him. He’ll just give him another meaningless post. Because it’s politics and it looks better that way. There’s no reason to offend [Priebus’] friends in the party, so they’ll find a much more important job for him.”
Priebus was brought on to the White House as a broker between Trump and the Republican establishment, specifically because of his close relationship with Ryan, with whom Trump has reportedly been disenchanted in recent weeks.
Trump has blamed Priebus for leaks out of the White House that he believes have come from disgruntled RNC staffers whom Preibus brought into the West Wing, two administration officials and three outside advisers said. He also blamed Spicer, who was brought on at Priebus’ behest, for the lack of a full-throated defense for his firing of Comey.
Many say Trump is unfairly placing the blame on Priebus, who faces an almost impossible task in trying to clean up a White House that has been laden with scandals relating to the Russia probe and the recent firing of Comey. But some point to disorganization even earlier than that, like the botched rollout of the health care bill and travel ban.
Trump has weighed the idea of moving Priebus to the role of ambassador to Greece, because of his Greek heritage.
Trump told Bossie that Priebus “will enjoy Greece,” according to two people with knowledge of the comment.
Another source close to the administration said Trump is aware of the optics of having a chief of staff leaving after only a few months, and does not want Priebus to leave with a shorter tenure than any other White House chief of staff in history.
Harry S. Truman was the first president to have a chief of staff. The shortest-serving chief of staff since then was James Baker, who served the last five months of the George H.W. Bush administration. Priebus has yet to reach his fifth month.
Nunberg argued that Trump may feel less comfortable shaking up the West Wing than he did making major changes to the Trump Organization.
“The White House is different. You can’t make quick changes; it’s an institution. Once someone is gone from there, they’re gone,” Nunberg said.
“With that said, I think Reince will be there for the long haul.”Europe One Nation (Under Germany)
For this week's Outside the Box I want to share with you a singularly interesting conversation between Niall Ferguson and Ben Laurance, in the Sunday Times of London. What really grabbed me about it was the way Niall goes right out on a limb and yet makes such a convincing case that, when push really comes to shove, Germany will bite the federalist bullet, because it's overwhelmingly in their interest to maintain a united eurozone.
"I am not a federalist," says Ferguson. "But the costs of the single currency disintegrating are really so high and would impact so many people, that the only responsible thing for me to do is to argue urgently for the next step to a federal Europe. I see no alternative at the moment that isn't a great deal worse."
And the other option? "On the other hand — and this is the message to Angela Merkel — to use George Bush's phrase: this sucker's going down. We've reached that point."
Niall has never shied away from addressing the big questions. His latest tour de force, Civilization: The West and the Rest (just released in paperback in the UK, as Civilization: The Six Killer Apps of Western Power), demonstrates how Europe went from being a fractious, disease-ridden fourteenth-century backwater to global dominance, through the development of six "killer applications": competition, science, democracy, medicine, consumerism and the work ethic — and is now experiencing a precipitious decline (along with the rest of the West).
Are the stakes really that high? You bet. Everywhere I go, people are talking about and working hard on solutions to the issues that will make or break us in the coming decade.
I was part of a great conversation like that just a couple weeks ago, at the Casey Research conference I mentioned, down in Florida. When I'm at one of these things, I keep thinking, "I just wish a couple million of my best friends could be here, too." Well, the Casey people just told me that the CDs of the conference are shipping out this week, and so if you want the next best thing to being there, you can pick up a copy here.
There was a real whirlwind of press and media interviews last week while I was in New York. You can go to www.johnmauldin.com and look on the left side for the interviews I did with the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Yahoo Finance. I am off to Atlanta tomorrow for two nights and a few speeches and meetings, plus a lot of time to read and think (I hope!) about some of the speeches I have heard the past few weeks. It really has been a lot to try and absorb.
Your looking for answers to the big questions analyst,
John Mauldin, Editor
Outside the Box
JohnMauldin@2000wave.com
One Nation (under Germany)
Historian Niall Ferguson tells Ben Laurance the single currency will survive and the crisis will leave Berlin heading a federal Europe
Ben Laurance
Published: 20 May 2012
Where does it all end? What will be the outcome of the financial storm battering Europe and its single currency? Can the euro be saved? And if so, what will be the longterm consequences?
The financial historian Niall Ferguson, visiting London from his selfimposed exile in America to promote the paperback version of his most recent book, is typically confident that he has the answers to these difficult questions — and they are not what you might expect from this tireless proponent of free markets.
As he begins his energetic deconstruction of the euro's prospects, he wants to remind us that he was deeply and publicly sceptical of its creation in the first place. "I was a staunch opponent of the single currency in the Nineties," he insists. "I wrote a piece predicting that in 10 years the single currency would suffer a crisis a bit like this because of the lack of fiscal integration."
Such prescience is now a bit of a problem for the Scot, who holds posts at Harvard, Stanford and Oxford universities and is never self effacing at the best of times. "My impulse is to gloat," he admits. "My impulse is to dance with the glee at having been right."
However, he is not dancing, because he predicts only one way out of the present crisis — for the euro countries to go the full federalist hog and adopt a single fiscal system. This is not the outcome he would have chosen.
"I am not a federalist," he says. "But the costs of the single currency disintegrating are really so high and would impact so many people, that the only responsible thing for me to do is to argue urgently for the next step to a federal Europe. I see no alternative at the moment that isn't a great deal worse."
He has no truck with the increasing number of people, both commentators and politicians, who entertain the possibility of an orderly exit from the euro for Greece. "It's too late to unravel the single currency," he says. "People talk about that as if that option existed, and it simply doesn't. It's an illusion to think you can just kick Greece out without unleashing a real nightmare of contagion through the banking systems of the peripheral countries."
When you remember that the "peripheral" countries being discussed include Spain and Italy, the 12th and eighth biggest economies in the world, the true size of the problem becomes apparent.
Ferguson's broad view, then, is clear: disintegration is what should be feared and what should be avoided. But look where we stand at the moment. On the one side is a seemingly immovable Germany sticking resolutely to the austerity script. Those countries who borrowed and spent with cheerful southern European abandon when the times were good must now pay the price, Berlin says.
On the other is a Greek population that is feeling unloved, underemployed, resentful and increasingly inclined to spit out the austerity medicine. It sounds like an impasse. It sounds like a disaster waiting to happen — and happen very soon.
"It is still possible that the game of chicken between Athens and Berlin ends with the two cars colliding," Ferguson says. "But my sense is that both will swerve at the last minute — the Greeks because they see the costs of exit would be catastrophic for them, and the Germans because — if they don't realise it already, they pretty soon will —the banking crisis that this would unleash as deposits fled the periphery would be highly destabilising for the whole eurozone, Germany included.
"The Greeks say, 'We're not going to comply with our commitments'. The Germans say, 'Then you're out'. They're both bluffing." And so, he argues, Germany — through gritted teeth — will have to concede that Europe as a whole must stand behind the debts of individual nations. Welcome to the era of the eurobond.
But surely this is just the sort of notion to which Germany has hitherto shown such resistance? "The Germans have the biggest interest in preserving the euro," Ferguson says. "It has been highly advantageous to German business not to have a superstrong Deutschmark, and I think that's one of the reasons Germans will swerve in this game of chicken, because anything that threatens monetary union is pretty threatening to German business... Germans are going to have to make some kind of concession to the periphery. It's not enough just to say 'austerity, austerity'."
There is, of course, the small matter of having to sell this to the German people. After all, it is likely that there would have to be a referendum to allow the country to commit its considerable economic muscle to a rescue of the European financial project — in other words, to pick up the bill. And would Germans really be prepared to swallow the idea that the strong countries at the European core would be giving regular dollops of funds to the periphery rather than adhoc bailouts?
"That's the hard bit," Ferguson admits. "But here's the choice, Mein Herr. You accept the logic of the Mitterrand/Kohl era, which always was 'we're having monetary union in order to get to a federal Europe'... The logic of the 1990s was that'monetary union will force us to evercloser fiscal union, which is hard to sell politically, but we'll make it happen — we'll back into it through a monetary union'.
That always was the model — which was one reason for being against it as a British Eurosceptic. Now we're at the moment of truth when you can no longer maintain the fiction that a monetary union can exist independently of a fiscal union."
And the other option? "On the other hand — and this is the message to Angela Merkel — to use George Bush's phrase: this sucker's going down. We've reached that point."
Of course, Frau Merkel, as she discovered in last weekend's regional elections, isn't Frau Popular at the moment. But, insists Ferguson, that scarcely matters: her main political rivals, the Social Democrats, are more federalist than Merkel's CDU.
"The CDU, the Social Democrats, the Greens — they're all essentially proEuropean. When the question is put — 'Europa, ja oder nein?' — they won't vote against Europe. Europe has been their alibi, their way to redemption since the war.
"Also, corporate Germany is rich and powerful and benefits massively from Europe. There isn't a major corporation from Deutsche Bank to Siemens that will do anything but support the ja campaign."
Elsewhere, other countries will fall into line, he insists: "Now you have [President François] Hollande in France and the likelihood of the SPD [Social Democrats] in government in Germany next year, which makes it more likely that we will end up with tax harmonisation and eurobonds, which bails everyone out."
Tax harmonisation? Surely, that won't be appealing to Ireland, which has pursued a policy of rockbottom rates of corporate tax to attract companies. Ferguson is dismissive: "The Irish will squeak, but they have no leverage."
There is a further, more general point, and here he uses his historian's wider view. Ferguson maintains that across large parts of Europe, support for federalism is being bolstered by disillusionment with domestic politics.
"The complete descent into disrepute of national political elites helps make the case for federalism. The Italians despise their politicians; they have had to bring in [Mario] Monti as a nonpolitician [prime minister]. The Greeks basically voted against the established parties. All over Europe, national politics has been discredited. Look at the Netherlands, at Belgium.
"The national politics of continental Europe is collapsing and that's paving the way towards a federal solution in ways that aren't fully understood in Britain."
There is a further layer to this story. "Time and again, you see politicians fail at the national level like Jacques Delors, Roy Jenkins and Peter Mandelson and then they are reincarnated at the European level. Once you are a European commissioner, you are reincarnated as a Eurocrat and, curiously, your credibility is increased. In due course, these Eurocrats win because the business of governing a European national state — usually with PR — is absolutely hopeless.
"It is such a thankless task. You have to forge a coalition that ultimately is going to disappoint the majority of the electorate. That's why power is shifting inexorably to Brussels. I think it would be odd if that trend, which has been going on since the Treaty of Rome, were to be broken.
"There has got to be a possibility that this will all go horribly wrong with a Greek exit, but it has got to be in the 10% to 20% range [of probability] because this would be so costly to everybody. It would be a massive act of selfimmolation and I don't think they're that crazy."
Established national political elites may indeed be out of favour, but does that not, then, open the way for extremist firebrands to take the lead? Just look at the gains made by Marine Le Pen's National Front in France and Golden Dawn in Greece.
Ferguson is unconcerned. "This is the dilemma. Europe is essentially an antipopulist, if not antidemocratic phenomenon. European integration has always been a project of the elite that has been foisted on national electorates. There is a latent populism in almost every European country that flares up periodically, as it did, for example, in Austria under Jörg Haider, but at each stage in the process the populists lose. They're never in power for very long because they can't deliver what they say they're going to do and the European centre gains step by step in its power.
"Fascism is discredited in Europe. When people play the fascist card, they come to grief. No one should worry too much about these goons in Greece. They don't account for that big a percentage of the electorate and so they're never going to be part of the government."
And, Ferguson maintains, the ageing of Europe's population helps: "Remember, by 2050 a third of Italians will be 65 or over. The elderly don't make good stormtroopers. They want to retire early and be bone idle at the state's expense."
So, according to his thesis, a breakup of the eurozone is possible but unlikely. And we shouldn't fret too much about the threat of right wing xenophobes coming into power across the Channel or around the Mediterranean.
But isn't this all a bit optimistic? On paper, Greece is just weeks away from the point where it simply doesn't have money to pay the wages of state employees. And corralling eurozone member states together to agree a full fiscal union would take an age.
"As a Scotsman, I'm not a congenitally optimistic person," Ferguson says. "I'm just telling you from a historian's vantage point which seems the more |
the worst UK atrocity since 2005, when a nail bomber murdered 22 concert-goers as young as eight at an Ariana Grande concert.
Abedi, a Mancunian of Libyan descent, was the son of an airport security worker, MailOnline can reveal.
Police yesterday carried out a controlled explosion at the doorstep of his home during raids around the city. Forensics officers were seen emerging from the killer's property carrying a booklet called Know Your Chemicals.
Police also raided a house where Abedi's brother Ismail, lived and the 23-year-old was arrested outside a Morrison's in the Chorlton area of Manchester.
Eight of the 22 victims have been named as college student Georgina Callander, eight-year-old schoolgirl Saffie Roussos, 26-year-old John Atkinson, Kelly Brewster, 32, Megan Hurley, Alison Howe, 45, Lisa Lees, 43, and Olivia Campbell, 15.
Theresa May has said the terror threat level has been raised to 'critical' for the first time since 2007
This graphic shows the timeline of the horrifying night at the Manchester Arena which left 22 people dead
TERROR THREAT LEVEL RAISED TO 'CRITICAL' Just one week after its launch, the levels were raised to critical when police uncovered a plot to smuggle explosives on passenger jets travelling between the UK and US. There was a fresh state of heightened alert in June 2007 when a blazing car loaded with propane cannisters was driven into Glasgow Airport. Critical is the highest threat level under the system which is 'designed to give a broad indication of the likelihood of a terrorist attack'. Low means an attack is unlikely while moderate means an attack is possible, but not likely. Moving up the scale, substantial means an attack is a strong possibility while severe means an attack is highly likely. The highest level - critical - means an attack is expected imminently. The threat level for the UK from international terrorism is set by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC). MI5 is responsible for setting the threat levels from Irish and other domestic terrorism both in Northern Ireland and in Great Britain. In reaching a judgement on the appropriate threat level in any given circumstance several factors need to be taken into account. These include judgements about the threat 'based on a wide range of information' including the nature of current terrorist activity and events in other countries.
Security services are trying to establish whether Salman worked alone or was part of a wider network that helped him with the bomb.
A school friend told The Times that Abedi had returned to Libya in the past week.
The friend said: 'He went to Libya three weeks ago and came back recently, like days ago.'
On Monday evening he placed a suitcase on the ground in the foyer of the Manchester Arena moments before it detonated, according to CCTV footage recovered by detectives.
The Daily Mirror have also claimed an investigation is under way on his ties with fellow Mancunian Raphael Hostey, also known as Abu Qaqa al-Britani, a known Islamic State recruiter from the city.
Speaking inside Downing Street following a meeting of the emergency committee Cobra, Mrs May said: 'Earlier today I said the security services needed to investigate whether Abedi was working alone and these investigations continue.
'It is a possibility we cannot ignore that there is a wider group of individuals linked to this attack.
'The joint terrorist analysis centre has concluded that the threat level should be increased for the time being from severe to critical.
'This means that their assessment is not only that an attack remains highly likely but a further attack is imminent.'
It means armed soldiers will patrol key sites across the country, at sporting fixtures and musical events.
Undercover SAS troopers will join regular soldiers in Operation Temperer.
She added: 'We don't want the public to feel unduly alarmed. We've faced a serious terrorist threat in this country for many years.'
She said the response was 'proportionate and sensible'.
The Prime Minister said: 'The liberal pluralistic values of Britain will always prevail over the hateful ideology of the terrorists. They proved that cowardice will always be defeated by bravery.'
This picture shows where police carried out a series of raids across Manchester, including at the house of Salman Abedi and his 23-year-old brother Ismail who was arrested outside a Morrison's on Carlton Road
Mrs May closed her statement saying the spirit of Manchester and Britain as a whole showed the terrorists would not win, and branded atrocities such as last night's'sick plots'.
She said: 'That's why the terrorists will never win, and we will prevail.'
Tonight's announcement comes after ISIS claimed responsibility for the worst terror attack Britain has seen since the 7/7 London bombings.
The suicide bomber, Salmon Abedi, was known to the security services but was not part of any active investigation or regarded as a high risk.
He died at the scene and police today carried out a controlled explosion at his home as chemical experts were seen outside with specialist instruments to check the property for traces of chemicals or explosives.
Casualties are stretchered out of the concert on Monday evening after a terror attack in the Ariana Grande concert
A girl is consoled after escaping the terror inside the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on Monday night
A girl, wrapped in a blanket, is led away from the arena following the terror attack in Manchester last night
This was the scene inside the Manchester Arena last night after the terror attack at the teen concert
This photo shows the aftermath of the suicide bomb which ripped through the foyer of the venue killing parents and children
The ambulance service warned people only to call 'for life-threatening emergencies' and said a 'large number of resources' were at the incident
Two women support each other as they walk away from the concert venue. The pink balloon being carried is a reminder of the huge number of children who attended the performance
Heavily-armed officers watch on as a colleague with a dog walks along the pavement following last night's attack
Born in Manchester on New Year's Eve 1994, the third of four children, his parents were Libyan refugees who came to the UK to escape the Gaddafi regime and his father is a suspected fighter who left the UK in 2011 to try to overthrow the Libyan leader.
His father, Ramadan Abedi, is a former airport security worker, MailOnline can reveal.
He emigrated to London with his wife Samia Tabbal, 50, before moving to the Fallowfield area of south Manchester where they settled in a housing association-owned home about two miles from the scene of Monday night's terror attack.
Footage emerged today of the moment armed anti-terror police raided Abedi's home in the Fallowfield area of Manchester
A forensics expert leaving Abedi's house this afternoon was seen holding a police issue book called 'Know Your Chemicals'
This was the 'Know Your Chemicals' book a police forensic investigator carried from Abedi's address in Elsmore Road
Security service personnel in camouflage were seen entering the property after police burst through the door today
A huge number of police - including armed officers - carried out a raid on a house in the Fallowfield area of the city today
Armed officers guard a second property raided by the police today in Carlton Road, Manchester. Police were last night also quizzing his brother Ismail, 23, on suspicion of involvement in the bombing
Friends and neighbour said Abedi appeared to be a normal football-mad teenager who was massive Manchester United fan and spent hours playing computer games on the PS4. He is said to have attended multiple schools including Manchester Claremont Primary School, Burnage Academy, William Hulme and Stretford Grammar School.
But everything changed in 2011 when his father abruptly left his job and home in the anonymous suburb to fight in Libya, leaving his family to fend for themselves, according to a local imam.
Abedi and his brothers appear to have followed in his footsteps by sharing stories of British jihadis fighting in Syria on social networks and even praying in the street.
The suicide bomber was heard chanting Islamic prayers in Arabic just weeks before the attack, a neighbour has revealed.
Lina Ahmed, 21, told MailOnline: 'They were a Libyan family. A couple of months ago he [Salman] was chanting the first kalma [Islamic prayer] really loudly in the street. He was chanting in Arabic. He was saying 'There is only one God and the prophet Mohammed is his messenger.'
A bloodied man with a bandage around his head stands outside the venue. He is covered with a foil blanket for warmth
Armed police officers stand next to a cordon outside Manchester Arena. There is a heavy police presence around the city
WHAT IS OPERATION TEMPERER? Documents uncovered by The Mail on Sunday in July 2015 revealed that the operation, codenamed Operation Temperer, would see 5,000 heavily armed troops deployed. The unprecedented operation would see troops guard key targets alongside armed police officers, providing 'protective security' against further attacks, while counter-terror experts and MI5 officers hunted down the plotters, it reported at the time. In measures announced by Mrs May last night, armed police officers responsible for duties such as guarding key sites will be replaced by members of the armed forces. This, she said, will allow the police to significantly increase the number of armed officers on patrol in key locations. At the time the documents emerged, Baroness Jones, who sits on London's Police and Crime Committee, said she was'shocked' at the plans, saying: 'This would be unprecedented on mainland Britain.' And she expressed concern that the troops would not be sufficiently trained to protect civil liberties. The paper says up to 5,100 military personnel could be deployed 'based upon force assessments of how many military officers could augment armed police officers engaged in protective security duties'.
Salman and his brother Ismail worshipped at Didsbury mosque, where their father is a well-known figure.
Ramadan is thought to be in Tripoli. His wife, Samia, is undestood to be in Manchester.
Some were shocked by Salman's involvement in the terror attack. One member of Manchester's Libyan community told The Guardian: 'Salman? I'm astonished by this. He was such a quiet boy, always very respectful towards me. His brother Ismail is outgoing, but Salman was very quiet. He is such an unlikely person to have done this.'
However others had a different recollection of the 22-year-old. Mohammed Saeed, the imam of Didsbury Mosque and Islamic Centre, said Salman Abedi had looked at him 'with hate' after he gave a sermon attacking ISIS and Ansar al-Sharia in Libya.
He said a friend was so concerned that he got his adult children to sit beside Salman Amedi in case he attacked the imam.
Police were last night also quizzing his brother Ismail, 23, on suspicion of involvement in the bombing.
The IT manager, who is married to a maths teacher, worked for Park Cake Bakeries in Oldham until January. It is believed that Ismail, who worked as a teaching assistant giving Arabic classes and IT support at Didsbury mosque Quran school, was once reported to a counter- terrorism unit after concerns were raised by members of the Muslim community.
Paramedics carrying rucksacks full of medical equipment walk along the pavement towards the Arena. Politicians were quick to praise the reaction of the emergency services
Witnesses described seeing crowds of people outside the concert hall on their phones trying to contact their parents
Leon Hall, who went to school with Abedi, told MailOnline he saw the killer last year and said he had grown a beard. He also said the jihadist was a keen Manchester United fan.
Mr Hall said: 'I saw him last year and he had a beard thing going on. We didn't speak but just nodded to each other. I don't remember seeing him with beard before.'
'He always had a bit of an attitude problem. I can't say I really liked the man.'
Mr Hall said Abedi lived in a housing association owned home about two miles from the scene of Monday night's terror attack.
Abedi's younger brother Hashim, now 20, has posted comments on ISIS-supporting sites. He showed an interest in Reyaad Khan, the Welsh jihadi killed in a drone strike, and commented on a newspaper article when Khan's mother appealed for her son to come home in 2014 before he was killed.
Hisham wrote: 'Inshallah we go together, man.'
Abedi's sister Jomana, 18, attended the school in Whalley Range that hit the headlines in 2015 when twin pupils, aspiring medical students Zahra and Salma Halane, left their homes and moved to IS-controlled Syria.
Armed police carrying assault rifles were quick to arrive at the scene at Manchester Arena last night
SAS TROOPS DRAFTED INTO MANCHESTER AS PM CONSIDERS PUTTING ARMED SOLDIERS ON STREETS SAS troops were drafted into Manchester yesterday to support the police as counter terror officers launched a major operation to find friends and relatives of the suicide bomber. The 20 strong heavily armed team were flown north as part of a contingency plan to counter any surge in extremist violence - such as a hostage situation - that will require military intervention. Under the direction of the Counter Terrorist Command the soldiers, many of who have worked with specialist police unit in the past few years, were on standby to join undercover teams and armed response units deployed in the city. The move came as Air Marshall Sir Stuart Peach, the head of the UK's armed forces, told a Cobra meeting that the military was ready to put armed soldiers on the streets if directed by the Prime Minister. As part of an ongoing high readiness response, codenamed Op Temperer, Army commanders have three infantry battalions of armed soldiers ready to deploy anywhere across the country to support the police. The Prime Minister is understood to be reviewing a wider intelligence assessment from officers at the Joint Terrorist Analysis Cell, before making any decision on the deployment of armed soldiers on mainland Britain. The rotation of available soldiers changes on a regular basis with paratroopers from 16 Air Assault Brigade currently listed as the 'in role' force ready to provide additional public security.
Eight of the 22 victims have been named as college student Georgina Callander, eight-year-old schoolgirl Saffie Roussos, 26-year-old John Atkinson, Kelly Brewster, 32, and Megan Hurley.
Ms Brewster, an office worker from Sheffield, was said to have shielded her niece, Hollie, 11, when the bomb went off.
Alison Howe, 45, and Lisa Lees, 43, from Royton, in Oldham, were named among the dead tonight. They had been waiting in the foyer for their 15-year-old daughters Darcia Howe and India Lees.
Olivia Campbell, 15, who twice entered Britain's Got Talent, was confirmed dead by her mother Charlotte, 36, on Facebook.
She wrote: 'RIP my darling precious gorgeous girl...taken far far too soon, go sing with the angels and keep smiling mummy loves you so much.'
Saffie Rose Roussos, 8, is the youngest known victim of last night's atrocity. Her mother, Lisa, was criticially injured and neighbours say she does know her daughter had died
Kelly Brewster died as a result of her injuries, her family has confirmed. She had been missing since the atrocity last night
The first victim of the Manchester terror attack has been named locally as 18-year-old Georgina Callander. She is pictured with Ariana Grande two years ago
This image, believed to be of victim John Atkinson (pictured left), 26, from Bury, has been posted on Facebook by a friend
The headteacher of the school of the youngest victim named so far, Saffie Roussos, said she was'simply a beautiful little girl in every aspect of the word'.
Tracey Radcliffe, a leader at 1st Tarleton Brownies, added: 'Saffie was an adorable and lovable little girl - she really was.
'I didn't know her parents, but she was just lovely. No one should go to a gig and not return.'
A close friend of victim Georgina Callander said she died in hospital with her mother at her bedside in hospital.
Another friend tweeted: 'A beautiful girl with the kindest heart & soul, I'll miss you forever, may you rest in a better place than here. I love you.'
Victim Mr Atkinson, from Radcliffe, was leaving the concert at the venue when it was targeted by the suicide bomber.
Friends and family have paid their respects online, describing him as an 'amazing young man'.
Lee Paul posted on Facebook: 'Sleep tight John Atkinson. Thoughts and prayers with all your family and the other 21 people who lost there lives last night.'
Tracey Crolla wrote: 'Thinking of all the Atkinsons at this very sad time John Atkinson you turned into an amazing young man so kind and thoughtful you will be missed by everyone x x.'
Megan died in last night's attack after watching singer Ariana Grande at the MEN Arena, while her brother Bradley was injured, a fundraising page has revealed.
Friends have posted heartfelt tributes to the youngster.
The page was set up by friend Helen McDermott to give Megan 'a beautiful send off' and has already raised more than £1,800.
Ms Brewster died as a result of injuries suffered when she'shielded' her young niece from the deadly blast.
Officers confirmed to family members that she had died at 10.30pm last night.Jeremy Corbyn win could threaten Northern Ireland peace, says rival Liz Kendall BelfastTelegraph.co.uk The Northern Ireland peace process will be threatened if Jeremy Corbyn becomes Labour leader, according to rival candidate Liz Kendall. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/jeremy-corbyn-win-could-threaten-northern-ireland-peace-says-rival-liz-kendall-31452605.html https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/news-analysis/article31450220.ece/35a4b/AUTOCROP/h342/2015-08-14_opi_11963837_I2.JPG
Email
The Northern Ireland peace process will be threatened if Jeremy Corbyn becomes Labour leader, according to rival candidate Liz Kendall.
Mr Corbyn has a long track record of interest in Northern Ireland affairs.
In 1984 the hard-left MP invited Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams to the House of Commons just weeks after the IRA had bombed Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her Cabinet at their Brighton party conference.
The north London MP also observed a minute's silence for eight IRA members who died at Loughgall in 1987 when they were ambushed by the SAS.
Mr Corbyn (66) took part in a panel discussion at this year's Feile an Phobail during which he pledged, if he becomes Prime Minister, to extend same-sex marriage and the 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland, and to reverse the DUP-backed gay blood ban.
Ms Kendall (44), who is MP for Leicester West, made her controversial remarks in an interview with the Birmingham Mail.
She told the newspaper she was concerned at what she called the "fragility" of the peace process.
"There are still huge issues and concerns, and we always need to have a leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister who are absolutely even-handed in the way that they deal with the situation, who people feel they can trust," she said.
"And I know there are many people who have concerns about where Jeremy Corbyn has stood in the past on that.
"And things remain fragile. Difficult issues come up all the time.
"I want to make sure we have a Labour leader who is trusted in this process, and understands the difficult issues that remain." Ms Kendall said. The Labour Party organisation in Northern Ireland has declared its support for Andy Burnham's bid to become party leader.
A spokeswoman said that local Labour Party members had written to all four candidates posing questions about their views, but that only Mr Burnham had replied.
It's believed that more than 800 people in Northern Ireland have registered to vote in the Labour leadership election.
Ballots were being sent out yesterday, and must be returned by September 10.
Ms Kendall is also on record as supporting the introduction of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland.
"I want to see equal marriage in Northern Ireland," she said.
"I do hope politicians in Northern Ireland go with the views of the public and listen to the really strong campaigners on this issue," she told Pink News, a leading gay news outlet.
Belfast TelegraphNo bathrooms on Caltrain? That’s the recommendation of Caltrain’s staff as they prepare to issue the official Request for Proposals to supply the new electric train cars which are slated to go into service in 2020 (or more likely 2021).
By eliminating bathrooms, Caltrain estimates it can add an additional 32 seats, or room for 64 standees, to each train and save on both capital and ongoing maintenance costs.
In addition, and despite the fact that the use of bikes has been growing faster than overall ridership (which has increased nearly 150 percent over the past decade), staff is recommending that the electric train cars maintain the current capacity ratio of one bike per every nine seats.
The Bicycle Coalition is asking for an increase in on-board bike capacity to one bike per every six seats. Caltrain staff is countering with a recommendation for $3 million in funding for wayside bike facilities to increase secure off-board bike storage at stations.
The final specs and RFP for Caltrain’s electric cars are scheduled to be finalized and released by the end of July. A delay in issuing the RFP could further delay the roll out of Caltrain’s electrification.RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Dozens of protesters with banners, bullhorns and drums chanted and shouted at Republican gubernatorial hopeful Corey Stewart during a campaign event in Richmond.
Stewart held a rally Saturday afternoon where he railed against sanctuary cities that don't cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Protesters turned out in roughly the same number as supporters. They hurled expletives and chanted phrases like, "Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here," while Stewart was speaking.
More than a dozen police officers formed a line separating protesters and Stewart supporters, and they stepped in during a few confrontations.
Stewart, a one-time chairman of President Donald Trump's campaign in Virginia, is one of four people seeking the Republican nomination.
Last month he was confronted by angry demonstrators during a visit to Charlottesville to defend the city's statue of Robert E. Lee in a downtown park.While the start of the 2015-2016 NBA season may be months away, one thing is already for sure: the Miami Heat are coming back with a vengeance. Finishing last year with a 37-45 record and falling short of the playoffs, Heat Nation was left with a sour taste in it’s mouth. However, things are going to be very different this time around.
Team president Pat Riley and the rest of the Miami organization may not be done making moves this summer and yet, the roster is already looking pretty darn good.
From drafting a hot new rookie, to bringing a few key players back, this summer has done the Heat a world of good. And while other teams have been busy rebuilding as well, I can say this with confidence: Miami will once again be a championship contender.
Here are 5 reasons why.
1. LeBron James Said So
James may have found his way back home to Cleveland, but that does not mean he cannot still praise his former team. As far as I am concerned his nickname of “King James” is there for a reason, so if he says that the Miami Heat are going to be “a contender,” then it must be true.
2. Dwyane Wade and Goran (plus Zoran?) Dragic Are Back
Wade has officially re-signed with the Heat after months of supposed contract negations. From the New York Knicks to the Los Angeles Lakers, the veteran guard was rumored to end his career away from South Beach. However, he was finally able to reach an 1-year, $20 million agreement with Riley, and will return for yet another season. This is obviously good news for the organization in terms of holding onto talent, but the victory goes beyond that. Losing Wade, who desired to be a Heat-lifer, would have been a huge blow to Miami’s ego. It would have continued to demoralize the current squad, and certainly deter interested parties in joining the team. By having Wade come back, the Heat proved that they really are a family, even through the toughest of times. Wade may not be used to losing, but by this time next year, 2014 will be a mere distant memory.
Acquiring Goran Dragic was pretty much the only positive thing to happen to Miami last season. And unfortunately by the time he came around, the team was too far gone. However, an abysmal season was not enough to dissuade the Dragon from sticking around. The guard officially re-signed with the Heat last week, taking less money than many expected ($86 million), on a 5-year deal. Whether his agreement helped better reel Wade back in or not, Dragic certainly continued the trend of Miami players signing smaller contracts in order to win championships. Throughout his years in the NBA he has already proven to be a force to be reckoned with on the court, but also clearly has a winning mentality off of it as well.
3. Chris Bosh Is On The Road To Recovery
Losing Bosh to a blood clot on his lung last season was devastating. Not only did the Heat lose one of the best players on the their team statistically, but they had to mentally and emotionally cope with watching a loved one go through something serious. Fortunately however, Bosh is on the mend and set to be back by October. And as if his return was not exciting enough, keep in mind that he has yet to play alongside Dragic.
4. Justise Winslow Has Arrived
The Heat scored big during the 2015 NBA Draft. With the No. 10 pick in the first round, Miami already had their eye on a couple of promising prospects. But this list, of course, was made under the presumption that the “bigger names” would already be off of the table. When it became clear that Winslow was still undrafted, the organization pounced; they selected the former Duke small forward and never looked back. The rookie has already made quite an impression at the Summer League, and the best is only yet to come.
5. Pat Riley Is Flawless
When one looks up the word “boss” in a dictionary, Riley’s face should appear. He is truly one-of-a-kind, and there is good reason for him being so successful in this league. He is never afraid to speak his mind, and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. There is no better boss than Riley. Even when looking back at least year, not a single thing can be blamed on him. Some have tried to say that he should have been able to persuade James into staying, but as far as I know, he was as blindsided as the rest of us. And he has certainly done one heck of a job saving the team this summer. Aside from Wade/Goran/Winslow, he has made some extremely intelligent pickups; the Heat recently acquired both Gerald Green and Amar’e Stoudemire, and are said to still be searching for another guard.55 Cancri ( or ) (abbreviated 55 Cnc) is a binary star approximately 41 light-years away from the Sun in the constellation of Cancer. The system consists of a G-type star (designated 55 Cancri A, also named Copernicus[6]) and a smaller red dwarf (55 Cancri B).
As of 2015, five extrasolar planets (designated 55 Cancri b, c, d, e and f; named Galileo, Brahe, Lipperhey, Janssen and Harriot, respectively) are believed to orbit 55 Cancri A.
Nomenclature [ edit ]
55 Cancri is the system's Flamsteed designation. It also bears the Bayer designation ρ¹ Cancri (Latinised to Rho¹ Cancri) and the Bright Star Catalogue designation HR 3522. The two components are designated A and B,[7] though A is itself sometimes referred to as 55 Cancri.[4] The first planet discovered orbiting 55 Cancri A was designated HR 3522b by its discoverers,[8] though it is more commonly referred to as 55 Cancri b.[9] Under the rules for naming objects in binary star systems it should be named 55 Cancri Ab[10] and this more formal form is occasionally used to avoid confusion with the secondary star 55 Cancri B. The other planets discovered were designated 55 Cancri c, d, e and f, in order of their discovery.
In July 2014 the International Astronomical Union launched a process for giving proper names to certain exoplanets and their host stars.[11] The process involved public nomination and voting for the new names.[12] In December 2015, the IAU announced the winning names were Copernicus for 55 Cancri A and Galileo, Brahe, Lipperhey, Janssen and Harriot for its planets (b, c, d, e and f, respectively).[13]
The winning names were those submitted by the Royal Netherlands Association for Meteorology and Astronomy of the Netherlands. They honor the astronomers Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Tycho Brahe and Thomas Harriot and the spectacle makers and telescope pioneers Hans Lipperhey and Jacharias Janssen.[14] (The IAU originally announced the winning name was Lippershey for 55 Cancri d. In January 2016, in recognition that his actual name was Lipperhey (with Lippershey an error introduced in the 19th century), the exoplanet name was corrected to Lipperhey by the IAU and that name was submitted to the official sites that keep track of astronomical information.[13][14])
In 2016, the IAU organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)[15] to catalog and standardize proper names for stars. In its first bulletin of July 2016,[16] the WGSN explicitly recognized the names of exoplanets and their host stars approved by the Executive Committee Working Group Public Naming of Planets and Planetary Satellites, including the names of stars adopted during the 2015 NameExoWorlds campaign. This star is now so entered in the IAU Catalog of Star Names.[6]
Stellar system [ edit ]
The 55 Cancri system is located fairly close to the Solar System: the Gaia astrometry satellite measured the parallax of 55 Cancri A as 79.4274 milliarcseconds, corresponding to a distance of 12.59 parsecs (41.06 light years).[1] 55 Cancri A has an apparent magnitude of 5.95, making it just visible to the naked eye under very dark skies. The red dwarf 55 Cancri B is of the 13th magnitude and only visible through a telescope. The two components are separated by an estimated distance of 1065 AU[17] (one thousand times the distance from the Earth to the Sun). Despite their wide separation, the two stars appear to be gravitationally bound, as they share a common proper motion.[4]
The primary star, 55 Cancri A, is a yellow dwarf star of main sequence spectral type G8V. It is smaller in radius and slightly less massive than the Sun, and so is cooler and less luminous. The star has only low emission from its chromosphere, and is not variable in the visible spectrum;[4] but it is variable in X-rays.[18] It is more enriched than the Sun in elements heavier than helium, with 186% the solar abundance of iron; it is therefore classified as a rare "super metal-rich" (SMR) star.[4] This abundance of metal makes estimating the star's age and mass difficult, as evolutionary models are less well defined for such stars.[citation needed] Age estimates for 55 Cancri A include 7.4–8.7 billion years[5] and 10.2 ± 2.5 billion years.[19]
A hypothesis for the high metal content in SMR dwarf stars is that material enriched in heavy elements fell into the atmosphere from a protoplanetary disk. This would pollute the star's external layers, resulting in a higher than normal metallicity. The lack of a deep convection zone would mean that the outer layers would retain higher abundance ratios of these heavy elements.[20]
Observations of 55 Cancri A in the submillimeter region of the spectrum have thus far failed to detect any associated dust. The upper limit on emissions within 100 AU of this star is about 850 mJy, at a wavelength of 850 μm. This limits the total mass of fine dust around the star to less than 0.01% of the Earth's mass. However, this does not exclude the presence of an asteroid belt or a Kuiper belt equivalent.[21]
The secondary, 55 Cancri B, is a red dwarf star much less massive and luminous than the Sun. There are indications that component B may itself be a double star, though this is uncertain.[7]
Planetary system [ edit ]
Comparison of the orbits of the inner planets of 55 Cancri A (black) with the planets of the Solar System.
The 55 Cancri system was the first known to have four, and later five planets, and may possibly have more. The innermost planet, e, transits 55 Cancri A as viewed from Earth.[22] The next planet, b, is non-transiting but there is tentative evidence that it is surrounded by an extended atmosphere that does transit the star.[18]
In 1997, the discovery of a 51 Pegasi-like planet orbiting 55 Cancri A was announced, together with the planet of Tau Boötis and the inner planet of Upsilon Andromedae.[8] The planet was discovered by measuring the star's radial velocity, which showed a periodicity of around 14.7 days corresponding to a planet at least 78% of the mass of Jupiter. These radial velocity measurements still showed a drift unaccounted-for by this planet, which could be explained by the gravitational influence of a more distant object.
In 1998 the discovery of a possible dust disk around 55 Cancri A was announced.[23] Calculations gave the disk radius at least 40 AU, similar to the Kuiper belt in the Solar System, with an inclination of 25° with respect to the plane of the sky. However, the discovery could not be verified and was later deemed to be spurious, caused instead by background galaxies.[24]
The Solar system compared with the planetary system of 55 Cancri. (Note: this depiction was made before planets e and f were discovered.)
After making further radial velocity measurements, a planet orbiting at a distance of around 5 AU was announced in 2002.[4] This planet received the designation 55 Cancri d. At the time of discovery, the planet was thought to be in an orbit of mild eccentricity (close to 0.1), but this value was increased by later measurements. Even after accounting for these two planets, a periodicity at 43 days remained, possibly due to a third planet. Measurements of the star suggested that this was close to the star's rotation period, which raised the possibility that the 43-day signal was caused by stellar activity. This possible planet received the designation 55 Cancri c.
Artist's Rendition of 55 Cnc's planets
55 Cancri e was announced in 2004.[25] With 8.3 Earth masses, it is a large super-Earth which was originally thought to have an orbital period of 2.8 days, though it was later found that this was an alias of its true period of 0.74 days by observations of e transiting in 2011.[22] This planet was the first instance of a fourth extrasolar planet in one system, and was the shortest-period planet until the discovery of PSR J1719-1438 b. The measurements that led to the discovery of this planet also confirmed the existence of 55 Cancri c.
In 2005, Jack Wisdom combined three data sets and drew two distinct conclusions: that the 2.8 day planet was an alias and that there was a Neptune-scale planet with a period near 261 days. Fischer et al. (2008)[26] reported new observations that they said confirmed the existence of the 2.8 day planet, as first reported by McArthur et al. (2004), and a 260 day Neptune-sized planet, as first reported by Wisdom (2005).[27] However, Dawson and Fabrycky (2010)[28] concluded that the 2.8 day planet was indeed an alias, as suggested by Wisdom (2005), and that the correct period was 0.7365 days.
In 2007, Fisher et al. confirmed the existence of the 260 day planet proposed in 2005 by Wisdom. This planet, 55 Cancer f, was the first occurrence of a fifth extrasolar planet in one system. With a similar mass to c, it has a 260-day orbit, towards the inner edge of 55 Cancri A's habitable zone.[29][30] The planet itself is not thought to be conducive to life, but hypothetical moons in principle could maintain at least microbial life.
The planet e's eccentricity is poorly defined; varying values between 0 and 0.4 does not significantly improve the fit, so an eccentricity of 0.2 was assumed. Taking interactions between the planets into account results in a near-zero orbital eccentricity.
Astrometric observations with the Hubble Space Telescope measured an inclination of 53° of the outer planet d,[25] though this result relies on the precise orbital parameters which have been substantially revised since this was published.[31] The observed transits of e suggest an orbit normal inclined within 9° to the line-of-sight, and a possible detection of the transit of an extended atmosphere around 55 Cancri b would, if confirmed, imply that it too is in an orbit that is close to edge-on.[18] Between them, no measurement of c's nor f's inclination has been made. It had been thought that with five planets, the system cannot deviate far from coplanar in order to maintain stability.[30] An attempt to measure the spin-orbit misalignment of the innermost planet reported that it was in a nearly polar orbit,[32] but this interpretation of the data has since been challenged by a subsequent study, with noted inconsistencies between the implied and measured stellar rotation.[33]
The approximate ratios of periods of adjacent orbits are (proceeding outward): 1:20, 1:3, 1:6, 1: |
Israel during the Six Day War in 1967. Meanwhile, Israel claims that it has historic links to the land.
The ongoing expansion of the settlement program has been widely criticized by the international community. US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that his country does not approve of Israel’s settlement policies.
“Let me emphasize that the position of the United States is that we consider now, and have always considered, the settlements to be illegitimate,” Kerry said after meeting with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in Bethlehem at the beginning of November.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for his government to reconsider long-term construction plans. The move came after Abbas warned Israel that peace talks brokered by the US will be hindered unless the program is canceled.Humidifiers are useful devices that are criminally underrated.
The benefits of humidifiers range from helping with cold and flu symptoms to making your skin more healthy.
This article gives you a few reasons why you should take the benefits of a humidifier seriously.
Why Should I Care About Humidity In My Home?
You have probably noticed how your nose or throat gets dry when your turn on the heat. During the winter, this can be a problem since you have the heat on for longer periods of time. Having a humidifier restores moisture to the air and alleviates your skin and sinuses from being dry.
You can avoid problems such as dry skin, an irritated throat and even nosebleeds by using a humidifier to restore moisture to your environment.
What Are The Useful Benefits Of A Humidifier?
Relieves sinus issues
Dry air is a common cause of sinus problems. Dry air causes your nasal passages difficulty with draining and functioning properly. Adding more humidity to the air lubricates your nasal passages and gets rid of issues such itchiness or a plugged nose.
Another benefit of having a humidifier is that it reduces nosebleeds. You are less susceptible to irritation when the air is moist and your passages lubricated. Dry air is notorious for causing the membranes in your nose to bleed.
Hydrates your skin
With more moisture in the air, your skin will be much healthier. You will start to notice your skin will feel more supple and hydrated. Remember, your skin is still an organ, and it needs taking care of. You’ll notice you will need less moisturizer the more often you use a humidifier.
You’ll also notice when you wake up in the morning, your mouth and lips won’t feel as dry. Keeping the air in your room hydrated has many small benefits that you’ll notice over time.
Humidifiers help you heal faster
Whether it’s the flu, a cold or an asthma attack, your body will benefit from having your nasal and lung passages well hydrated.
Keeping your nasal passages clear and hydrated will help to speed up the healing process. Humidifiers even have benefit in the summer: if you suffer from allergies humidifiers serve to purify the air and give your sinuses relief. You can also add specific essential oil recipes to your humidifier to make the healing process faster.
Tips For Using A Humidifier:
Keep It Clean
Always remember to keep all filters and surfaces of your humidifier clean. Perform maintenance on them on a regular basis. Because of the moisture involved, humidifiers can be prime places for life to grow. To maximize the benefits of a humidifier make sure you keep it consistently clean. Dirty humidifiers expel bacteria into the air which is counter productive!
There are two main types of humidifiers: warm and cool mist. Warm mist humidifiers are more traditional and bring water to the boiling point to release steam. Warm mist humidifiers are excellent for cold weather.
Cool mist humidifiers operate with ultrasonic technology to spread an invisible mist throughout your room. Cool mist humidifiers are considered safer for children since there’s no heat or chance for accident involved in the operation.
Try Essential Oils
A few drops of essential oils in your humidifier can make a huge difference. Eucalyptus oil, for example, is fantastic for faster recovery from having a cold. There are many different essential oils available, each with their own purpose. Some oils have a medical use and others people enjoy just because they smell nice. Most new humidifiers double as essential oil diffusers which makes it easy to get the natural benefits of the oils.
The ideal humidity range for your home is within 30%- 50%. If you’re really curious, you can measure this with a Hygrometer. Having too much humidity reduces the benefits of a humidifier.
Share this page with your friends and family suffering from colds or seasonal allergies!“Ted” actress Jessica Barth went to the LAPD Thursday to revive accusations she first made in 2012 that her then-manager, David Guillod, drugged her at a dinner and sexually assaulted her.
Barth said Guillod, an executive producer on “Atomic Blonde,” threatened her with a lawsuit to keep her from pursuing the case in 2012, but that she wants to press charges now because another woman emailed her to say Guillod drugged and assaulted her, too.
“This allegation was initially made five years ago and was fully investigated by LAPD at that time,” Guillod’s attorney, Thomas M. Ferlauto, told TheWrap. “Witnesses were interviewed whose version of events belied and completely contradicted Ms. Barth’s and LAPD determined the charges to be unfounded. No criminal or civil case was ever brought against Mr. Guillod.” (Update: Guillod has taken a leave of absence from his company while it investigates Jessica Barth’s accusations.)
Also Read: Jessica Barth Wants to Bring Survivors Together With #WhoIsYourHarvey (Guest Blog)
Police declined to comment, citing confidentiality.
In addition, insiders told TheWrap that Guillod left his two previous jobs, as the co-head of the motion picture department at UTA and as an agent at Paradigm, after sexual harassment complaints. Guillod did not respond to repeated questions about his employment history, or about Barth’s contention that he threatened to sue her in 2012.
(Update: A month after this article was initially published, a rep for Guillod told TheWrap that he was not asked to leave UTA over a sexual harassment issue, and that he was dismissed from Paradigm over verbal harassment, not sexual harassment.)
Barth further said that she knows of no witnesses who contradicted her 2012 statement to police, and that one corroborated her version of events. That was her boyfriend and now-husband, Danny Cusumano, who also confirmed her account in a detailed interview with TheWrap on Thursday.
Another woman who attended the May 2012 dinner with Barth and Guillod, “Survivor’s Remorse” actress Felisha Terrell, remains a client of Guillod, and said she believed there were “some inaccuracies” in Barth’s account. Terrell added that she would not have remained a client “if I felt these accusations were 100 percent true.”
Barth told TheWrap: “Nothing was found to be unfounded. I just stopped pursuing it because he threatened to sue me,” Barth said. “I wasn’t in a place emotionally or financially to take him on legally.”
Now she is.
Also Read: Lana Del Rey Retires Harvey Weinstein-Inspired Song 'Cola'
“I want to prosecute him,” she said. “I want to do whatever is in my power to make sure this never happens to another woman.”
Barth detailed the dinner in a post for TheWrap last week in which she announced a new campaign, “Who Is Your Harvey.” She asked assault survivors to send the names of their assailants to WhoIsYourHarvey@gmail.com so that she could offer to introduce any survivors who had an attacker in common. That would allow them to come forward together.
She did not name Guillod in her post — but one woman recognized him anyway, Barth said.
“She titled the email with his name. I immediately had shivers from head to toe,” Barth said. “The woman said that she had a similar experience, which was horrific. … She said it was about three years ago.” The woman has declined to be identified.
Guillod, who is now co-CEO of Primary Wave Entertainment, exited UTA in 2009. An individual with knowledge of his employment history said he was asked to leave because of a sexual harassment issue — which his rep later denied.
He was dismissed from Paradigm in 2011 after he was accused of sexual harassment of a female assistant there, according to another individual familiar with the situation. (His rep said he left after accusations of verbal harassment, not sexual harassment.)
Also Read: 'Atomic Blonde' Producer David Guillod Under 'Active Investigation' for 2014 Rape Accusation (Exclusive)
His clients include “Jane the Virgin” Golden Globe winner Gina Rodriguez, Nia Long and Emilio Estevez. He also has an executive producer credit on last summer’s Charlize Theron hit, “Atomic Blonde,” and the television shows “Loudermilk” and “Hit the Road.”
Barth has previously come forward with an account of Harvey Weinstein propositioning her. Barth’s “Ted” and “Ted 2” director and co-star, Seth MacFarlane, has said his 2013 Oscars joke about Harvey Weinstein was inspired by Barth telling him about the encounter.
In her blog post for TheWrap, Barth wrote that she went to dinner with her manager one other time before the night of the incident. She said that at the first meeting, the restaurant staff were “refilling our wine glasses at a furious pace,” adding that she had to politely decline more than a few times because she was driving.
Outside the restaurant after dinner, he put his arms around her and implored her to come back to his house, which she turned down, she said.
He invited her to other dinners, which she passed on, trying to meet for coffee or lunch instead, she said. Finally, against her gut instinct, she agreed to go to dinner one night because Terrell would be there as well. They agreed to meet at the La Loggia restaurant in Studio City, she said.
She wrote: “Just like last time, the wine glasses kept magically refilling. I remember feeling very drowsy at the table.”
Also Read: How Actress Jessica Barth Forced Out the Ex-Manager She Accuses of Assault (Exclusive)
After that, she said, she has no memories of the night. She wrote:
The next thing I remember is waking up at home with six hickeys on my neck. I was horrified. I was completely and utterly confused and I was sick to my stomach. Through email, he tried to play it off as a silly make-out session between friends. He sent me message after message begging that we talk and letting me know how upset he was and that he couldn’t sleep because of the pit in his stomach.
Barth said she dropped him as her manager immediately, even though “Ted,” which quickly became a comedy hit, was about to be released.
Barth’s husband, Danny Cusumano, told TheWrap he remembered her apprehension about going to the dinner because of Guillod’s past behavior, and her feeling more secure because another woman would be there. Cusumano went to sleep around 10 p.m. on the night of the dinner, and woke up the next morning to find her asleep in the other room.
“Her neck is just one side to the other covered in hickeys,” he said. “She had no idea what had happened.”
Terrell provided her statement through reps for Guillod’s company, Primary Wave.
“There were some inaccuracies in the story as I recall it,” she said. “If I felt these accusations were 100 percent true I would not have remained a client. As a woman in this business, I am both supportive and inspired by women speaking their truth.”
Sharon Waxman contributed to this story.Two promotions in two seasons!
Frosinone Calcio booked their place in Serie A for the first time in club history on Saturday after defeating Crotone 3-1 at the Stadio Matusa, a remarkable achievement given that they had only been promoted to Serie B one year ago.
Il #Frosinone raggiunge la promozione in #SerieATIM per la prima volta nella sua storia. Benvenuto @Frosinone1928! pic.twitter.com/KSVxseQYSa — Serie A TIM (@SerieA_TIM) May 16, 2015
The promotion means that next season's Serie A will feature two newcomers, as Carpi FC 1909 secured a spot in the top flight of Italian football in April.
Frosinone have back-to-back promotions and will play Serie A next season for first time, like Carpi (65th and 66th team to play in Serie A). — Infostrada Sports (@InfostradaLive) May 16, 2015
Following a goal from Daniel Ciofani and a brace from Federico Dionisi, supporters flooded the pitch to celebrate Frosinone's promotion. The tiny club hail from a town with a population of under 50,000 and have a Twitter following of less than 5,000, a footballing minnow in every sense of the word.The debate over the Redskins moniker seems to have been exacerbated recently, even though it has always bubbled up over the course of the team’s history.
Even with the team under the microscope more these days, it seems that the name has irked even those who are close to the game for longer.
Former NFL referee Mike Carey, who after 19 years on the field will this year be the CBS in-studio rules analyst, spoke to the Washington Post about why he asked the league not to assign him to Redskins games following 2006.
Article continues below...
Here are some choice quotes from Carey:
Carey, the first African American to referee a Super Bowl, explained that to him the backlash against the name is warranted.
“I know that if a team had a derogatory name for African Americans, I would help those who helped extinguish that name,” Carey told the Post. “I have quite a few friends who are Native Americans. And even if I didn’t have Native American friends, the name of the team is disrespectful.”
Some newspapers have embargoed the use of the Redskins moniker, and the University of Minnesota wants to ban the use of the name and have Washington wear alternate uniforms when they visit the Vikings there on Nov. 2.
As for Carey, it seems like he wouldn’t be opposed to that.
“I’ve called them Washington all my life,” he said. “And I will continue to call them Washington.”
(H/T to Deadspin)A couple of weeks ago, I received a very interesting email from Jeff Moriarty, the founder of Ignite Phoenix, inviting me to submit a talk to this year’s event. Ignite is an annual event showcasing 18 passionate speakers giving snapshots of brilliance, creativity, and inspiration from their lives. It’s a lot like TED, only the talks are 5 minutes long instead of 18. Previous speakers have included Bogi Lateiner of 180-degree auto, Jonathan McNamara who builds giant robots, and Sean Tierney, who “falls up” in his love for paragliding.
This year, I will be joining the ranks of passionate presenters! I will one of the 18 speakers at Ignite Phoenix!!!
On October 18th, 2013, I will be on stage at The Scottsdale Center of the Performing Arts sharing my passion of learning with my daughter in front of almost 1,000 people. I’ll be talking about how learning with our kids can bring you some of the most amazing experiences of our lives. One of my absolute favorite experiences was when a single question led us in our yard, through our city, and into the apiary of a real beekeeper, where we suited up and became beekeepers for a day!
This year has been incredible for throwing ourselves into new experiences and embracing the opportunities that come our way. I am absolutely THRILLED to share the stage with some of the most passionate and adventurous people here in Phoenix. I’m quite nervous too, but I am buzzing with excitement! I’m going to be speaking at Ignite Phoenix!
UPDATE: Ignite Phoenix sold out within a few hours after tickets went on sale! If you would still like to tune in, you can watch the live stream on the front page of Ignite Phoenix’s website (right here!). The show starts at 6:30 pm (MST) TODAY (Friday Ocbtober 18th)! Videos of each speaker’s presentation will be uploaded in the weeks after Ignite.In autumn 1956, as Soviet troops suppressed the Hungarian uprising against the country’s communist regime, three-year-old Erzsebet Seibriger and her family headed underground to one of Budapest’s many natural caves where they were safe from tanks, bombs and gunfire.
But their location – an underground hospital where Seibriger’s surgeon father treated both Hungarian revolutionaries and Soviet soldiers – would haunt them for years.
After Soviet troops crushed the rebellion, tens of thousands of Hungarians were imprisoned or executed for participating, including doctors who treated injured freedom fighters. Due to a heart condition, Seibriger’s father was not jailed – but he did lose his medical license.
“He was one of the lucky ones,” Seibriger recalled. “But there was a constant fear at home that maybe he would, eventually, be arrested.”
Many Hungarians still don’t know about this place.
Even though the government declassified the hospital’s existence in 2002, and this year it will celebrate its 10th year as the Hospital in the Rock Nuclear Bunker Museum, the space remains frozen in time, full of mysteries and untold stories. The Seibrigers’ story is one of only hundreds that have emerged since the museum opened.
“Many Hungarians still don’t know about this place,” said Fruzsina Polacska, marketing coordinator for the museum.
Today, the beds in one ward are filled with lifelike wax figures of Hungarian, German and Russian soldiers to depict scenes from when the hospital was first used during World War II. Another room includes a figure of a young Dr Seibriger standing among beds of patients injured during the 1956 uprising.
The natural caves under Budapest’s Buda district on the western bank of the Danube River that runs through the middle of the city have had many purposes throughout history, from storing food to housing prisoners to hosting a harem when Ottoman forces ruled the city in the 16th Century. When World War II broke out, a municipal air-raid siren control room was built in one of the caves, and as the fighting intensified, city officials drew up plans to build emergency medical facilities here.
The Hospital in the Rock, which opened in 1944, was connected by passageway to the nearby, above-ground St John’s hospital, which could provide fresh food and supplies. “It was very modern for its time,” Polacska said. “They had everything they needed.”
Or, so it seemed.
Treated patients did not want to leave for fear of the war outside.
As World War II persisted and the Russians continued to hold Budapest under siege, the Hospital in the Rock became the only place in the heavily-bombed city where people could get an x-ray or an operation. The facility quickly became overwhelmed, housing up to 700 patients ‒ nearly 10 times its capacity. Treated patients did not want to leave for fear of the war outside, and often family members and friends of those injured stayed as well, using the hospital as a shelter.
“Every inch was occupied,” Countess Ilona Szechenyi, a volunteer at the hospital with the Red Cross at this time, told the museum’s historian in a 2008 interview. She recalled sleeping on a stretcher that became free when a patient died. “The drying blood pouring on me and its overwhelming odour was not really a pleasant experience,” she said.
With so many patients and inadequate supplies, infection was rampant, and each day, bodies were taken outside and quickly given temporary burial in bomb craters. Bandages were taken off dead bodies and used to treat new patients.
“The hygiene was at its worst. It was unbearably stinky all over the place.” recalled Gyula Steinert, a volunteer doctor whose story was recorded in a book written by his daughter, Agota Steinert.
Bandages were taken off dead bodies and used to treat new patients.
Eventually, damage from bombing disrupted the underground hospital’s water supply, and destroyed the tunnel connecting it to St John’s.
When the siege finally ended in February 1945, with Hungary coming under the control of the Soviet Union, many of the doctors and nurses who worked at the hospital fled the country to avoid living under Soviet rule, taking advantage of certificates of international protection they were issued by the Red Cross during the war. But Dr Seibriger chose to stay, returning to his home in the nearby Castle District.
When fighting broke out between the Hungarians and the Russians in 1956, Dr Seibriger again reported for duty at the hospital ‒ this time with his wife and two small children in tow.
“My memories are running around and playing hide and seek,” Seibriger said. “I remember people coming in on stretchers, but as a child that was interesting and fun to see. It was like a playground.”
After the uprising was crushed, Dr Seibriger was given another opportunity to leave the country, as many escaped through temporarily open borders.
“We left the house but my father turned back and said that he could not leave the country, because the hospital would need him anytime,” Seibriger recalled. “My mother did not want to go without him. So we stayed here.”
The revolution proved to be the last time the facility functioned as a hospital. As the Cold War and threats of nuclear attack intensified, the hospital was transformed into a nuclear bunker kept secret by the ruling Hungarian Communist Party. A water storage system was added that could hold a three-week reserve of clean water. The air supply system was outfitted with active carbon filters that would clean any contaminated air.
Much of this equipment still works today.
The role Dr Seibriger played at the hospital continued to affect his daughter long after the last patient was released. Not only was he without work for many years and living in fear of potential arrest, but he also banned her from participating in communist-related activities at school, such as May Day celebrations.
“This was hard for me as a teenager, to be the one doing something different,” she recalled.
Seibriger was also rejected several times from medical school despite her high grades. With all universities under control of the communist regime, she suspects these rejections were due to the activities of her father, who passed away in 1977.
The people who worked here were risking their lives.
It was only with the final falling of communism in Hungary in 1989 and the passing of time that Seibriger has come to appreciate how brave her father – the only doctor to serve at the hospital during both World War II and the Hungarian uprising – was.
Now a grandmother of six, Seibriger still lives in Budapest near the Hospital in the Rock. She returned to the facility for the first time since the uprising, when it opened as a museum in 2007. The tour guides back then didn’t realise that the hospital functioned in 1956, and only talked about its role during World War II. Since then, Seibriger has helped the staff piece together stories about the hospital’s role in the uprising, and has donated her father’s medical tools and official documents to the museum.
“This place is very important to me, and it’s a very important thing that it brings the history alive and closer to people today,” Seibriger said. “It’s authentic, and it shows how the people who worked here were risking their lives.”
“I realise now that I can’t complain about what he did,” she added. “My father was very brave, and I am very happy that I can tell his story, and my story.”
Join over three million BBC Travel fans by liking us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter called "If You Only Read 6 Things This Week". A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Earth, Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.Trump fails to deliver on another promise 11:30 AM ET Thu, 20 April 2017 | 00:45
President Donald Trump apparently will miss another deadline for another goal he once confidently touted for his administration.
In January, Trump promised to "appoint a team to give me a plan" to combat cyberattacks, and to do so within 90 days of taking office. Thursday marks the 90th day of his administration, and so far, Trump has appointed no team.
Trump has already missed other deadlines he personally set, such as a plan to defeat the so-called Islamic State that he said his generals would have within his first 30 days in office. Instead, the United States does not appear to have substantively altered the strategy that was put into effect against ISIS by the Obama administration.
Trump's promise to assemble the cybersecurity team came after he was briefed on cyberattacks from abroad, including those that the U.S. intelligence community has concluded were part of a Russian effort to influence the 2016 election. In a Jan. 13 tweet, Trump repeated his pledge to "have a full report on hacking within 90 days."
He has not announced a team, and it does not appear the effort is on the White House's agenda Thursday.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request to comment.GETTY
The controversial TV star said she plans to work alongside Nigel Farage in the run up to the EU referendum in 2017. The 40-year-old, who is best known for a series of controversial remarks about migrants, will argue in favour of Britain leaving the European Union. She has consistently courted controversy over Britain's migrant crisis and was recently quizzed by police after writing in a newspaper column that would-be refugees in Calais are "cockroaches" and "feral humans"
Today the reality TV star told the Daily Star Sunday: “I’d like to be useful for UKIP during the referendum campaign, yes. We should leave the union, definitely. And I’d like to help them with that. “My only issue with UKIP is in a general election they shouldn’t split the Tory vote. But for the referendum they’re going to be brilliant. That will be their moment.” “As a party UKIP is not small minded, that’s just how they were portrayed on the BBC.”
GETTY Hopkins has said she would like to campaign with Nigel Farage
The former Apprentice star's comments come after Mr Farage publicly defended her outbursts on migration. The UKIP leader called on detectives to ignore calls to launch a probe over her comments about Ebola, claiming it would be “a waste of time”. It is not a first foray into politics for the mother-of-three, who stood as an independent candidate in the 2009 European elections, attracting almost 9,000 votes. However, she is now looking to get into mainstream politics after issuing a speculative "come and get me" plea to the Conservatives.
Revealing that she would like to become an MP for the party, Miss Hopkins said: “I’d love to get into politics. But I appreciate no political party would ever have me. I’m a Conservative at heart. But would they have me? “I see myself as a conviction politician. I see myself as coming from the old school where it wasn’t about being liked and having the right answer on Question Time. “It was about having the courage of your conviction and withstanding miners’ strikes and all that good stuff. “But I also recognise I’d never do what I was told to do or say what I was told to say. So I’d be really rubbish. But I’d really like to do it.”
GETTY Hopkins has said she would like to become a Tory MPOk, the 25th is officially over, we've emerged from the turkey induced coma and now the dissection of this year's Christmas can commence!
While you may now suspect that your Aunt Mary's special 'gift' of 23 pairs of socks may qualify you as being the recipient of this year's worst Christmas present, take heart, there are people so much worse off than you....
1. The gift card holder....
One Reddit user confessed that their grandmother, unintentionally, presented them with the worst gift ever. User name: ShekhMaShierakiAnni said: "I unwrapped it and it was a little tin box. I opened the box and there was a fake gift card there, like an indication of this is where you put the gift card. And I just looked at her like... what is it or whats going on? And she goes "It's a gift card holder. You can put all your gift cards in there." And I just started laughing saying noooo, you are supposed to put a gift card in here to give to someone! It was really cute though. Bless her heart."
2. Expired discount vouchers
It really was the thought that counted for Sammie-Chu, who detailed how a "fairly distant relative once gave me three promotional (freebie) vouchers for a clothes shop I didn't really like. Each gave £5 off a purchase, per £50 spent. 15 year old me didn't have enough money to be spending £50 on clothes in one go, and the vouchers had actually expired on December the 23rd."
3. A bit of a thoughtless one from mum
It's not great when you're own mother doesn't put a lot of thought into your gift. Reddit user Starringbecca's mum bought her a 3D poster, despite the fact she was visually impaired in one eye and couldn't see the 3D effect.
4. Missing the point
In something that only be described as unecessarily cruel GildedFire's parents not only ignored their child's Christmas list, they rubbed salt into the wounds.
"One year when I was a kid, my parents bought me a computer mouse," said GildedFire. What makes it bad is that I didn't have a computer, and had been asking for one for years. My parents just really didn't want me to have my own computer. Still not sure why they got me the mouse though. Just seems like a, "f*** you".
5. Nothing says 'I Love You' like a rock
Feel sorry for gennieb7, her aunt decided that she deserved an actual rock for Christmas....
"She gave presents to me and my two older cousins and said its time for the big girls to open their gifts. She made my cousins go first and they got scarves and I opened my present and pulled a rock out of the package and looked up waiting for her to laugh and she said "isn't it wonderful??" So I had to be like yeah, I loooove it!! She then told me that she had dug it out of her garden the previous summer and she knew that I would think it is sooo cool," explained gennieb7.
But the joy didn't stop that year for gennieb7.
"The following year (my aunt) gave me acorn tops because "some people know how to use them to whistle and I don't know how to show you or explain, but I'm sure you can figure it out." She is a tad eccentric. Both were pretty terrible presents."17th Street Closure Will Be First NYC-style Plaza in San Francisco
The future site of a pedestrian plaza at 17th and Market Streets
Don’t look now, but NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan’s magic
may have rubbed off on DPW Director Ed Reiskin, to San Francisco’s
benefit. Reiskin has been leading a multi-agency effort to close a
small portion of 17th Street where it meets Market Street to vehicle
traffic and convert the space into a trial pedestrian plaza, which
he hopes to see operational by May.
The historic trolley
that loads at the proposed location will still operate in the area, but
the DPW will put out planters and other moderately heavy stone elements
that will serve as seating and tables, much like Gansevoort Plaza in
New York City.
"As we’ve seen what folks in New York City have done in
terms of taking excess asphalt and returning it to people, to more
diverse uses, we’re inspired," said Reiskin. "The approach we’re
taking here is to try it. If it’s great, it will be great. If
not, we’ll take it out."
Reiskin has been coordinating the effort with the MTA, the Planning Department, Supervisor Bevan Dufty,
the Castro Street Community Betterment District (CBD), and the
Mayor’s Director of Greening, Astrid Haryati. Public Architecture, a
private firm, is working pro bono to create the design
for the new public space.
MTA Executive Director Nat Ford was very upbeat. "We’re really excited about this. We’ve been trying to identify locations
around the city to make these quick improvements that help us to green
the city and make it more pleasurable for pedestrians or workers who
want to have their lunch outside in public space."
The boarding island for historic trolleys on 17th
Ford
acknowledged the trial
nature of the project, without burdensome planning and sometimes
lengthy delays, was unusual for the collaborating agencies, but said it would provide San Francisco with a testable scenario that
planning and modeling alone could not.
"I think the
citizens of the city want to see these improvements and going through
the lengthy process of planning doesn’t always get the
project in the ground," said Ford. "What we’re seeing from other
municipalities like NYC is very successful and we want to do similar
trials here."
David Alumbaugh, acting Director of Citywide Planning at the Planning Department, was hopeful it would enliven the public realm. "While cities all over the country and the world are
re-imagining their neglected public realms, for some reason doing so has been hard for San
Francisco. This exciting temporary installation in the heart of the Castro will inexpensively and quickly
demonstrate one small way San Francisco might begin to rethink its public realm."
Reiskin stressed several times the project is temporary, that they are using
using salvaged, recycled, or re-purposed materials from city salvage
yards, and that it will be easily reversible if it doesn’t succeed at
activating the space and providing a valued community amenity.
Acknowledging the impact of meeting Sadik-Khan last November at
a luncheon held for various agency directors, Reiskin called her a
personal hero. "She’s a rockstar to me in this realm of effectively
and quickly accomplishing things."
John
Peterson, founder of Public Architecture, said there
were significant obstacles to success in the trial plaza and that they would need
to adjust their effort in a fluid and ongoing way when those problems arise.
"Part of the reason this is an interesting project is that we expect to
remain active as we see how people will use it. The challenge is to
knit something together that is cohesive, a proper outdoor space and
not a collection of bits and pieces. New York City is doing a great
work, but we’re trying to one-up the expectations on what is
possible for this type of urban space."
Peterson
said they are searching for a partner to help draft a "deep evaluation"
of the success of the trial. "We expect this kind of thing to be
useful not just for this project but for many other urban projects."
Castro
Street CBD Executive Director Andrea Aiello said they had been
discussing ways to improve the public space there for nearly
a decade and that it was part of both the Castro Street CBD strategic
planning and the Upper Market Area Plan done by the Planning Department
at Superviser Dufty’s behest. She added the CBD was working on
ways to create dynamic programming for the space, including music and
other types of performances.
"The
CBD is very conscious of the need to keep this active so that it
doesn’t fail. We’re very excited to work with the agencies to create
this very cool
gathering space for the neighborhood. It has been a great
collaborative relationship with DPW, the Planning Departent and
Supervisor
Dufty. It really feels like all the different agencies have come
together to make this experience work."
Two businesses on the street have been particularly involved with the planning, the 24-hour restaurant Orphan Andy’s and the Chevron gas station. Orphan Andy’s anticipates setting out tables and movable seating, which it would maintain, possibly in conjunction with the CBD. Chevron agreed to have one of its curb cuts removed and Peterson believes they will be important partners in the late-night hours, when the plaza might not be otherwise active.
For
his part, Supervisor Dufty was hopeful that a trial would be a great
success. "Temporarily closing 17th and Market will allow us to test a
number of streetscape improvements while monitoring the changes to
traffic flow," he said. "This is a major step towards creating a new
Castro public realm."
"I appreciate the ingenuity and leadership
of DPW Director Ed Reiskin, the Castro Community Benefit District and
Planning Department. I’m excited to begin this process," he added.
Peterson said the leadership from Reiskin and other agencies is refreshing. The only reluctance he’s heard has been from community stakeholders who are worried about the homeless and vagrants making the plaza less desirable.
Some people are very skeptical and people don’t want to see change. We’re talking to people who are dedicated to urban life and there is real reluctance to even try it. They are talking about homelessness. There’s the idea that we don’t want nicer things in our public realm because people may misuse it. That shouldn’t stop us from having a healthy street life and public realm. If that’s the case in San Francisco, then we’re done.”
Though the 17th Street trial will be temporary pending its success, the DPW and MTA are already looking for other areas that might be ripe for pilots (in case they’re reading, we’d like to offer up this short film about a street in North Beach).
"The Mayor is interested in doing more than this one, but this one was
teed up," Reiskin said. "We’ve seen it work elsewhere and it’s consistent
with many themes the Mayor has put forward as goals."
Said Ford: "We’re making very quick improvements and making them reversible…. and if [the process] works, we’ll try it in other areas. We have a short list of other areas that we’d like to try, so stay tuned, there are more out there."Ronald Weinberg, the co-founder of children's animation house Cinar Corp., has been sentenced to eight years and 11 months in prison for what the judge said was "a leading role" in the massive fraud that resulted in the collapse of the celebrated company and the destruction of the retirement savings of thousands of investors.
The sentence handed down |
.”
These are interesting statements. The remarkable thing about Stoker Bruenig’s point of view, in comparison to her mentor’s, is its lack of radicalism or orthodoxy, more akin to a social gospeler than Moses Coady. There’s practically nothing about it that wouldn’t be at home in the Democratic National Committee. There is no sense of scale or subsidiarity in Bruenig’s political thinking, as if the government that can supposedly end poverty isn’t the same one that aspired to make the world safe for democracy or established an unlimited right to abortion. This also gives short shrift to the Church itself as a force of social transformation.
This program has a kulak to go with it; the conservatives and traditionalists she gestures at in the piece while quoting Sean Hannity. In the Episcopal Church, this scapegoating has taken the form of a program of state-sponsored confiscation by lawsuit — right up Stoker Bruenig’s alley — of parish buildings belonging to conservative congregations that voted, sometimes overwhelmingly, to depart from the ever-more-battily-progressive Episcopal Church.
There’s a lesson here, that the left doesn’t extend the same latitude it asks for when out of power. The legal standard privileging congregational self-determination with respect to church buildings was established in the famous King’s Chapel case in 1787, when the first American Anglican bishop Samuel Seabury — consecrated by non-juring Scottish bishops — refused to ordain the new rector of a Boston church, a Harvard man (of course) because of his turn to Unitarian theology. So they went their own way. Today, the Episcopal Church still fights for nearly every church building, but the dissenters are on the right, not the left.
This is an Episcopalian dispute — not that it matters to the New Republic — but the Catholic parallel is a kind of liberal clericalism that has arguably been emboldened under Francis’s papacy, of which Bruenig’s piece is a good representative. Just recently, the CEO of the Toronto-based Salt and Light Media Foundation and Television Network, Rev. Thomas Rosica, threatened to sue a traditionalist Catholic blogger. After becoming something of a cause célèbre in the blogosphere Rosica called it off, evidently unable to “dialogue” his way out of St. Paul’s admonition about suing other Christians in secular courts.
One could say the Church of England was built on an alliance between liberal theology and a secular state, and that’s worked out relatively well for them, to be honest. But it was maintained with substantial violence, and today it is not much healthier than its trans-priest-inclusive American offshoot. That’s why I’m not as enthusiastic as Stoker Bruenig about this:
Consider … [Pope Francis’s] remarks on financial inequality, in which he called for a “legitimate redistribution of economic benefits by the state, as well as indispensable cooperation between the private sector and civil society.” Pundits like Fox News host Sean Hannity erupted into paroxysms of anxiety, speculating that the Pope had some newfangled socialist schema in mind. Meanwhile, conservative leaders such as Catholic League President Bill Donohue offered only a lukewarm defense of their pontiff, deflecting outrage by arguing that Francis’s remarks were not really as radical as they seemed.
Pope Francis made the comments in question to the United Nations last May, and the phrase “called for” does a little too much work here; he just said it had a role to play in “equitable development.” But it wasn’t just Hannity and Bill Donohue who were concerned by them. Legendary blogger Fr. John Zuhlsdorf wondered, “When has any ‘State’ done this effectively? And what does ‘legitimate’ mean? According to laws that are passed? And if the laws are bad laws? And who will administrate it?”
It’s a sure bet that someone who doesn’t take these questions seriously is concerned with power, not justice. Pope Francis’s use of the word “legitimate” certainly suggests questions about where authority lies and how it is exercised can’t be passed over. Unless you happen to know a godly king languishing in crownless obscurity whom we ought to restore, these are exigencies we just have to deal with in our nominally republican system, but Stoker Bruenig acts like it’s just a matter of bigger budgets for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
For the record, I’d be more comfortable knowing my money was well spent on a tax for the relief of the poor levied by a Catholic monarch than one passed by Congress in a secular nation-state and enforced by the IRS. Is that so insane? That a king’s sense of social justice might in some instances be better than the choices expressed by a hundred million meaningless votes, mediated through a duopoly, a zillion special interests, and what’s left of a constitutional process? This arrangement makes villains out of Republicans too, with even Reagan and especially Bush the Younger busting budgets and leaving it for the Democrats to clean up, a strategy Irving Kristol endorsed.
It’s not like the conservatives who stick in Bruenig’s craw don’t have a leg to stand on. The social teaching of the Catholic Church presents significant obstacles for a Christian socialist, chiefly its condemnations of socialism. Reconciling those issues seems like it ought to be an important task for someone who describes herself that way, but so far Stoker Bruenig seems more interested in reminding the world that Ayn Rand is in hell than tackling these more interesting things. Indeed, bashing nasty conservatives and harmless libertarians is all she seems interested in doing. Whether you’re Michael Novak or a Tridentine Mass goer, you’re all not only wicked reactionaries, but worst of all, modern ones, just symptoms of a benighted country “full of crypto-fascists,” clearly more loyal to Goldman Sachs and the GOP than the pope.
When the dictatorship of the proletariat is established, if the socialists behave toward their enemies the way self-styled Christian socialists behave toward theirs now that they’ve got a pope they think agrees with them, the rest of us will be in for a rough time.ST. GEORGE — Saturday night, police officers were notified that at dusk a 17-year-old boy had run from a youth wilderness program’s campsite in a rugged, uninhabited area of desert backcountry close to an area known as Jackson Springs near the Gunlock Reservoir. On the way to search for the boy, a member of the Washington County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team lost control of his Jeep on the unpaved Motaqua Road, causing the vehicle to roll. The SAR member was hospitalized and later found to have a concussion, while the search resumed for the boy.
In the dark, rescue teams, some in all-terrain vehicles others on-foot, dispersed throughout the backcountry near Jackson Springs and Pachoon Flats. The boy was said to not have a flashlight or food, and only a small amount of water.
About 15 of the 70 SAR members in Washington County helped search for the boy, Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy Darell Cashin, who manages the SAR team, said. All of the SAR members on Cashin’s team are nonpaid volunteers, and the majority of them use their own equipment, vehicles, and in this case, tracking dogs during rescues.
In this instance, the Jeep that rolled was a personal vehicle of the SAR member who was driving it toward the lost boy. The visibility on the dirt road was poor because of dust from the convoy of SAR vehicles, Cashin said. Cashin was following two cars behind the Jeep on a dirt road and saw the Jeep roll.
“He came around this corner and just washboarded and turned his Jeep,” Cashin said, “flipped onto his side and knocked him out.”
He had no broken bones and there was no bleeding, but the SAR member sustained a concussion and was transported by ambulance to the Dixie Regional Medical Center, Cashin said. He was checked out at the hospital and later cleared to leave.
While their team member was hospitalized, the rest of the SAR team arrived at the campsite from where the boy ran and began the search. Most of the team spread out in Jeeps or ATVs, looking for the boy.
One team that was on foot caught the boy’s scent with help from a tracking dog. With help from the K-9, they followed the boy’s scent and found his footsteps for a time but lost both his steps and his scent once they came upon a road. For the next five-six hours the SAR teams continued looking for the boy as the night turned to early morning.
At approximately 2 a.m. the teams were notified that the boy had been located. “He ran out of what little water he had and was wandering around in the desert,” Cashin said.
The boy had walked into a nearby camp, cold, hungry and thirsty and the person who was camping there drove to an area with cell phone service and let the police know that he had the boy. The camper then turned the boy over to a Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy who turned him back over to the wilderness program. The boy was checked out by medical personnel and, although cold and thirsty, he had no other reported medical problems. The boy’s mother, who lives in Maryland, was also notified, Cashin said.
As far as the SAR member with the concussion, he shouldn’t have to pay for any medical bills, Cashin said. Although the rescuers are unpaid, they are covered by the Worker’s Compensation Fund.
“These guys risk themselves every time we go out,” Cashin said. “I don’t want to place blame … it was just a bad situation last night.”
This late night search capped a significantly busy three days for Washington County’s Search and Rescue teams. It’s fairly typical for SAR to have only one rescue every week or two, Cashin said. But the last three days, SAR has had four searches.
Thursday afternoon, SAR assisted in rescuing a mountain biker who ended up Life Flighted to the hospital; Friday, for about five hours, 25 SAR members searched the Arizona Strip for a suicidal man, and Saturday, not only did they search for the runaway teen, SAR also assisted 10 mountain bikers who were lost in the dark in the Red Cliffs Reserve.
Out of all these incidents, everybody returned safely and no one else got hurt, Cashin said. “And that’s all that matters … things can be fixed but people can’t.
“I cannot say enough about these (Search and Rescue) guys.”
The SAR members work for free and many of them take time off from work to go search, Cashin said. They pay for their own training, and they use mostly their own equipment that they pay for themselves.
“With as many people as we have using all these beautiful recreational areas … they save the citizens of the county so much,” Cashin said. “For these guys to take time off of work and come out there, I’m just so thankful for them.”
That being said, Cashin does everything he can to help the team with the resources he has. Although SAR does get an operational budget each year from Washington County, SAR relies mostly on donations and charity from the community. The operational budget pays for things like fuel, food, water, and sometimes repairs on equipment.
Anyone interested in donating funds or support can do so at the Washington County Sheriff’s office. A donation fund is available and money can be designated to the Search and Rescue.
Related Posts:
Email: dallred@stgnews.com
Twitter: @STGnews
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.Harry and Leia and the BBC Proms (Picture: Getty Images)
Harry Potter, Princess Leia, E.T. and Indiana Jones will be joining the BBC Proms for the first time in 2017 as part of a celebration of John Williams’ 85th birthday.
Netflix has changed The Notebook’s ending and people are really, really angry
The BBC Concert Orchestra will pay tribute to the award-winning and iconic film composer John Williams with a selection of his most famous film scores, including Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Jaws.
‘Will people come dressed as Star Wars characters? I’d be really disappointed if they don’t,’ said Proms director David Pickard after the news was revealed.
Luke, Leia, and Han (Picture: Disney)
Performances during the annual classical music festival will also for the first time take place outside of London, with three performances planned in Hull, the 2017 City Of Culture.
‘I thought it was important, most specifically this year, to mark Hull as a City of Culture,’ said David.
Advertisement
Advertisement
‘I was also looking to expand the initiative we took last year of taking some Proms out of the Albert Hall.’
The BBC Proms (Picture: BBC/: Mark Allan)
Elsewhere the festival will 100 years since the births of Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie with a concert starring vocalist Dianne Reeves and trumpeter James Morrison.
Ella Fitzgerland (Picture: BBC)
The music of jazz giant Charles Mingus will be celebrated by conductor Jules Buckley, while BBC Radio 2 presenter Clare Teal returns with bandleaders Guy Barker and Winston Rollins for a concert celebrating big band legends including Duke Ellington, and Jools Holland and His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra pay tribute to the legendary Stax/Volt Revue, credited for its championing of Southern and Memphis soul music.
MORE: BBC Proms presenter Katie Derham is Strictly Come Dancing’s fifth contestant
MORE: Expect thunderous applause for Joseph Calleja at the BBC PromsBest Operas Ever is a new podcast from Saturday Afternoon at the Opera on CBC Radio 2. In each instalment, host Ben Heppner talks to one of the major opera figures of our time about a particular opera recording that they especially love. You'll find each episode here on cbcmusic.ca, and you can tune in to CBC Radio 2 at 1 p.m. any Saturday from now until the end of November to hear these classic recordings in their entirety — along with extended conversations with our esteemed guests.
Best Operas Ever No. 5 - Barbara Hannigan Ben Heppner talks to the contemporary music maverick about a 20th-century opera she adores. Audio
Contemporary music has an estimable champion in Barbara Hannigan. There aren't a lot of musicians in the world who have cemented international singing careers, defined themselves with new repertoire, and still felt like that wasn't quite enough. And yet, Hannigan has taken to the conductor's podium with as much relish as the operatic stage. And the opera recording she chose as her favourite ever is as ambitious, smart and iconoclastic as Hannigan herself.
Olivier Messiaen's Saint François d'Assise is nearly five hours long in its entirety, requires as many as 300 musicians, and has virtually no story. It's a work of intense religious devotion, expressed through bursts of musical colour and texture, with nary a Verdian melody in sight. But for Hannigan, seeing it performed at the Salzburg Festival as a young singer was a life-altering experience. The singers in that production wore modern dress, as per the wishes of director Peter Sellars. Baritone José van Dam sang the title role, and soprano Dawn Upshaw was the angel who appears to him periodically. Kent Nagano conducted the vast ensemble.
"Peter Sellars opened up the rehearsals in Salzburg to anyone who wanted to come, as long as we were quiet and didn't disrupt," Hannigan told Ben Heppner. "In a way, it was kind of like going to church, because the rehearsal space that Sellars created with Nagano was.... it was sacred." Hannigan was singing in another production at the festival, but she spent nearly every spare minute at Sellars' rehearsals for Saint François — hours on end, watching the immense production come together.
The recording that Hannigan has chosen to feature on Best Operas Ever is from that very production at the Salzburg Festival, with those same singers. Hit the play button above to hear Heppner talk to Hannigan about why that Salzburg Saint François was so formative to her. You can tune in to Saturday Afternoon at the Opera on Oct. 8 to hear more from this conversation, plus Kent Nagano's recording of Saint François d'Assise in its (near) entirety.
Subscribe to Best Operas Ever on iTunes!
Explore more:
Best opera ever? Jonathan Darlington chooses Weber's Der Freischütz
Best opera ever? Sondra Radvanovsky chooses Puccini's ToscaNew Jersey Governor Chris Christie was called a 'liar' today by thousands of police officers and firefighters at a rally in Trenton today. New Jersey reporter Brian Thompson tells us about the battle between public employee unions and politicians over budget cuts and pension changes. (Published Thursday, March 3, 2011)
Three union workers who called out sick to attend a labor rally at the New Jersey Statehouse last week have been suspended.
The move comes a day after Gov. Christie told NBC New York in an interview that "people who call in sick better be sick." Christie issued his warning ahead of another labor rally that drew thousands on Thursday.
Monmouth County officials said the three employees suspended without pay Thursday work for the county's Senior Citizen Area Transportation service and are members of CWA Local 1038.
The county said the workers were among 14 in the department who called out sick; officials alleged that 174 developmentally disabled adults who depend on the county's services ended up "waiting for buses that never came."
"These employees are being suspended without pay based on the fact that we have evidence to prove that they were not home sick as they had claimed," said Lillian Burry, a county official.
The union representing the workers, the Communications Workers of America(CWA) put out a statement through its District One calling this a "politically-motivated attack on public workers who perform vital services."
Top New York News Photos of 2011
The CWA statement added "When all the facts come out, it will be clear that whatever errors in judgement were made, no one served by the county missed a medical appointment and no one should be fired."
State Sen. Joe Kyrillos (R-Monmouth), who first complained of a "sick-out," applauded officials for the suspension, noting some workers were "caught on camera" at last week's rally.
He wants officials to keep reviewing video to see "if others were absent without proper excuse."
Weird News Photos: Holiday Edition
Meanwhile, thousands more rallied again at the Statehouse -- this time a gathering of police and firefighters protesting job cuts and changes to first responder benefits and pensions.
Labor unions have been riding a wave of national attention on labor contracts and collective bargaining, sparked in part by disputes between Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and public employees there.
Bruce Chester, a Woodbridge police office attending the rally, held up a campaign letter from Christie promising not to touch police officer pensions. When that same letter was shown on a big screen TV, officers and firefighters broke out in the chants of “liar.”
“Enough is enough,” said Tony Weiners, president of the NJ State Policemen’s Benevolent Association.
Irvington Police Officer Jerry Ramos and Irvington firefighter Kevin Franz said they voted for Christie and were experiencing ”buyers remorse.”
At a separate news conference Thursday, Christie called the latest demonstration a "me-first rally" but admitted he made campaign promises he could not keep.
“The situation has gotten significantly worse since I took office,” Christie said “The system could be bankrupt by 2020….I’m not going to let that happen.”
Christie said he tried to meet with the state PBA president and that “the numbers are the numbers.”
Follow Brian Thompson on Twitter @brian4NY and us @NBCNewYork,and on Facebook/NBCNewYork, and sign up for breaking news SMS alerts on your phone by texting “NYBREAKING” to 639710.If Telstra wins the company will get between $100 million and $200 million more than what NBN Co expects to pay over a 10-year period.
It is understood the problem was caused by the lack of a specific year in the contract despite legal teams working on the deal for over two years.
Arguments heard by judge
The problem was discovered after the deal was signed and both sides attempted to plan the timing of the payments. Both sides have already had arguments heard by former Federal Court judge Kevin Lindgren in 2012.
Mr Lindgren found in favour of NBN Co in December 2012 and provided an 11-page explanation as part of the judgement. “I have come to the conclusion that NBN Co is correct," he said. “Telstra’s arguments are akin to the tail wagging the dog."
Telstra has chosen not to accept Mr Lindgren’s judgement and will contest the issue in the NSW Supreme Court. A preliminary hearing is due to begin on November 8 in Sydney.
Telstra spokeswoman Nicole McKechnie said the legal proceedings and their impact would be significant but not material from a investor perspective. “We have commenced legal proceedings with NBN Co over when CPI adjustments should start to apply under the NBN Definitive Agreements," she said. “We have one take on the contract and NBN Co has another." The case has the potential to cause problems for both companies as they enter fresh negotiations over the $11.2 billion contract.
Timing of lawsuit
Where Labor’s $37.4 billion NBN would have replaced Telstra’s copper network, the new Coalition government prefers a fibre-to-the-node approach that will use the copper connections. The Coalition government will now have to buy and use Telstra’s copper network, once valued at up to $17 billion, to build its fibre-to-the-node system which is expected to be cheaper and slower than Labor’s version.
Ms McKechnie said that resolving the issue before negotiations began would “help provide greater certainty and as such may assist future policy discussions." She also insisted the renegotiations of the contract had nothing to do with the timing of the lawsuit.
Telstra’s lead NBN negotiator Tony Warren last week told investors in Sydney that any negotiation would need to add value to the telco’s existing deal. But he also said that positive statements by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull had helped assure the company a renegotiation could be successful for both sides.Ten years ago, Jules Urbach had an insight.
Back then, film companies would spend hundreds of millions of dollars on rendering, which turns 2-D or 3-D models into photorealistic scenes and is used in CGI (computer-generated imagery) animation, for just a few thousand frames. At 24 frames a second, that adds up just to a few minutes of an entire movie.
He realized that the way they were doing it — using a type of processor called a CPU that is commonly used in computers — it was never going to get faster or cheaper.
Instead, he realized it could be done 40 times faster on a type of processor known as a GPU, which is a graphics cards designed for gaming devices such as Playstations and Xboxes.
That is now the most common method of rendering video games. And to accommodate demand, his company, OTOY, founded in 2009, and its main software, OctaneRender, have been using GPUs in the cloud with services such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft Azure.
Even back then, he could see that the appetite for such work might grow to the point it would be difficult for his company to keep up. So he dreamed up — and patented — the idea of a peer-to-peer network where anyone with some GPUs could contribute work to render scenes and pay out each of these contributors. Back then, the Bitcoin network had just started running and no more than a few academics and tech hobbyists knew about it. But now, as the cryptocurrency market has exploded and options like Ethereum are available to build new blockchain-based networks, Urbach’s vision is now possible — and OTOY is launching a token for it: Render.
“The demand for this work is so high that we have no other choice but to have another solution,” he says. “A lot of people are familiar with rendering in terms of computer graphics in films but it’s seeping into all parts of our lives. People don’t realize it’s in advertising, in billboards, in your Zillow real estate Matterport capture.”
[Ed note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.]
OTOY is just one of a number of existing non-blockchain-focused companies that are issuing tokens to launch decentralized networks in their industry. The first to announce such an initiative was Kik messenger app, which recently raised $98 million but fell short of its goal of $125 million. Despite having 15 million monthly active users a month, only 10,000 people purchased tokens for its proposed token-based network for digital communication. While OTOY has an impressive roster of advisors, including Eric Schmidt, the chairman and former CEO of Google, and Brendan Eich, the cofounder and former CEO of Mozilla and CEO of Brave software, which launched the Basic Attention Token, plus big-name clients such as Facebook and Unity, it remains to be proven that an established company can successfully create a token-based network that also attracts its competitors and users outside its base and is therefore truly decentralized.
OTOY’s Render token could be well-positioned to do so. This year, it secured a deal to provide the entire rendering pipeline for Facebook — the social network’s virtual reality camera data uses OTOY. “OTOY has long been on the cutting edge of rendering technology. Their products were a natural fit for our efforts in pushing media to a new level of immersion,” said Eric Cheng, Facebook’s head of immersive media, by email. OTOY has also partnered with Unity, software akin to a Photoshop, but for mobile games such as Pokemon Go. Unity claims its software is used to make a third of top games. And the VR/augmented reality industry could be on the cusp of taking off. A July 2016 Goldman Sachs report projected that VR/AR will see $95 billion in revenue by 2025 — comparable to the $111 billion hardware market for laptops and $63 billion for desktops. Goldman and Deutsche Bank anticipate VR/AR will become a bigger part of a variety of sectors including gaming, live events, virtual shopping experiences or “v-commerce,” healthcare and fitness, communication such as Skype or FaceTime, trainings and education, tourism, and social experience apps such as watching movies with others through VR.
OTOY estimates that what is called the OctaneRender Cloud Network could bring on seven million users (mostly game developers on Unity). Advisor Eich also sees potential for Ethereum miners to switch to Render. “As Ethereum evolves toward proof of stake or other future technologies that don’t require GPU power, that become more power efficient, the GPUs that were for mining Ethereum could be used on Render,” he says. Urbach even imagines iPhones and iPads doing rendering as they recharge overnight, though he calls that an “ambitious” goal.
However, according to a Markets and Markets report, rendering is now only a $1 billion industry and is expected to grow only to $2.9 billion by 2022, so that may limit the potential market cap for the Render token, especially since the network wouldn’t constitute the entire industry. OTOY, using other projections, projects that revenue in 2021 would be $10-$20 billion even if RNDR took just 2% of the industry.
While some crypto players like Eich are excited about the Render token, others are more skeptical. Brian Kelly of digital asset hedge fund Brian Kelly Capital Management says, “There’s nothing terribly unique about it. It’s a model that could be replicated fairly easily. There’s not a big moat around it from what I can tell.”
However, Urbach countered in an email, “The centralized iteration of our rendering model hasn’t been replicated anywhere near our scale, and it’s a good indicator of how hard it is to scale to millions of GPUs in a decentralized way as we plan to do now with RNDR.”
Lucas Ryan of cypto hedge fund Metastable Capital wasn’t convinced the token was necessary and felt such rendering work could be paid for in, say, Ether. Also, Golem network, a decentralized computing platform, might work just as well. Urbach says payment in other tokens doesn’t scale and notes that with Render (unlike Golem Network Tokens), a hash of the assets used behind the render source enables the tokens to be easily distributed to the contributors, putting IP rights on the blockchain.
Render is aiming to raise $134 million from its token sale, which starts October 5. As with the other existing companies launching tokens, it will be interesting to see how well OTOY can redirect its success so far with its company toward a decentralized network.
Be sure to get Forbes' twice-weekly all things blockchain email newsletter, Crypto Confidential! Sign up here.If it can happen in show business, it's happened to Jon Cryer. Now he's opening up for the first time and sharing his behind-the-scenes stories in a warmly endearing, sharply observed, and frankly funny look at life in Hollywood.
In 1986 Jon Cryer won over America as Molly Ringwald's loyal and lovable best friend, Duckie, in the cult classic Pretty in Pink, in a role that set the tone for his three-decade-long career in Hollywood. He went on to establish himself as one of the most talented comedic actors in the business, ultimately culminating in his current turn as Alan Harper on the massively popular sitcom Two and a Half Men.
With the instincts of a natural storyteller, Cryer charts his extraordinary journey in show business, illuminating his many triumphs and some missteps along the way. Filled with exclusive behind-the-scenes anecdotes, Cryer offers his own endearing perspective on Hollywood, the business at large, and the art of acting.
Cryer has worked with some of the biggest and most provocative names in the business, and here, for the first time, he details his experiences with Charlie Sheen, John Hughes, Robert Altman, Molly Ringwald, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, and Christopher Reeve, among many others. He shares the intimate details of his friendships and relationships, pays tribute to his mentors, and explores the peculiar combination of heart, talent, and wisdom it takes to survive not just the bad times in a notoriously fickle industry but even the good times.
In this revealing, humorous, and introspective memoir, Cryer offers listeners a front-row seat as he reminisces about his life and experiences in showbiz over the past 30 years.In addition to Nintendo 2DS announcement, Nintendo of America announced a $50 dollar price drop for the struggling Wii U console. We've just gotten word from Nintendo Australia will not be following suit. As of this point there are no current plans for a Wii U price drop in Australia or New Zealand.
This also follows news that Nintendo will not be bringing the Wind Waker HD Limited Edition to our shores, or the Wii U Wind Waker HD bundle.
The limited edition for Wind Waker HD was rather snazzy, featuring a Ganondorf figurine, so I find this news rather disappointing.
As for the price drop, the statement coming from Nintendo Australia didn't necessarily rule out any future price drops. I suspect we'll definitely see one, but probably not before Christmas.Less than a week after CBS let the cat out of the bag on its own iPad HTML5 tests, more media companies appear to boarding the HTML5 video train. Video services company Brightcove announced Monday morning that it will support HTML5 for its customers, offering "high quality, interactive, and advertising-supported Web video experiences for HTML5-compatible devices." Two major Brightcove clients, the New York Times and Time Inc., are participating launch partners, meaning that these two sources will have the option of ditching Flash in some cases in order to be more iPad compatible.
Brightcove's announcement comes just days before the iPad launch, and the company makes no attempt to hide the fact that this is a major reason for the HTML5 support. More than 1,000 Brightcove customers will be able to "easily expand the reach of their online video initiatives to popular consumer devices including the Apple iPad, iPhone and iPod touch," wrote the company. Brightcove currently provides support for device detection, playlist rendering, and playback of H.264 content, but plans to add support for customization, advertising, analytics, social sharing, and other features over the next year.
With such major names as the New York Times and Time on board, it's pretty clear that media companies aren't holding out hope that Apple and Adobe will kiss and make up. Like CBS, it's likely that they'll keep using Flash on their normal websites while allowing iPhone OS devices to access the HTML5 versions of the videos—at least for a while. The remaining questions are when can we expect Hulu to hop on the HTML5 train, and will Netflix reconsider its stance on bringing its own streaming videos (via Silverlight) to the iPad?Oceans are the cradle of life on Earth. Giving life a birth date, though, is complicated as we’re still discovering traces of bacteria older than all those we found so far. For now, we think that the oldest one lived at least 3.5 billion years ago, so around one billion years after Earth’s formation. This theory is based on prints that bacteria left on soft mud that turned into rock with time. It is nearly impossible to preserve a bacterium as a “fossil” since they are extremely fragile.
Image: Anomalocaris painting. Reconstruction of what this early predator must have looked like. Image by UNE photos (Creative Commons).
Bacteria are unicellular organisms (their bodies are constituted of only one cell, while the human body is formed by thousands of billions of cells…) and for long, we didn’t find anything between the old bacteria prints and the oldest fossils with shells and skeletons that lived 540 million years ago.
A fossil is the remains of a long dead organism that was buried in mud which transformed into rock (or sediment) over time. Soon, by physical destruction by the mud and the water flow or by decomposition by bacteria, only the skeleton or the shell of the original animal remains. That’s what you can see at the museum, once they’ve been discovered and extracted from the rock.
We know from these fossils that a large amount of species have lived on Earth in the last 600 million years, in the ocean and later (since around 400 million years ago) on the continents, and that their sizes and shapes were very different to one another. In the last few decades, we even discovered a new type of fossils…
In some rare environments, the mud that buries dead organisms can be so fine and the water flow so weak that they don’t harm the remains, and the shape of the skin of the organism can print on the mud and be preserved that way. This is how we could find the Ediacaran fauna in Australia.
In this sort of environment we made an extraordinary discovery: fossils of animals (not bacteria) so old (around 560 million years ago) that they didn’t have any hard parts in their bodies. No shells, no teeth, not a single bone. But these were not the most disturbing characteristic of their anatomy. Their perfect state of preservation allowed palaeontologists to notice another component of modern animals missing: the mouth. Not a single specimen of this strange zoo had any orifice, and we suppose they were able to absorb nutrients from the seawater directly through their skin.
Palaeontologists discovered organisms with the strangest shapes, frozen in time and preserved in this extremely smooth mud turned into rock. Dozens of new fossil species were described and a new extreme limit of the appearance of multicellular organisms (in opposition to unicellular organisms like bacteria) was defined.
But it was just the start of a new series of astonishing discoveries. At Burgess (Canada), new and slightly younger species were found that lived around 540 million years ago, during the Cambrian era. Unlike Ediacara, all species from this fauna had shells (or “exoskeletons”; skeletons outside the organism, unlike humans or other vertebrates but just like molluscs and arthropods). Amongst them, an impressive specimen of the species Anomalocaris presented another major difference with older organisms: it had teeth, and those of a predator. Overall, the Burgess fauna presented a huge amount of different species compared to Ediacara, and we call this rapid increase in the biodiversity the “Cambrian Explosion“. 20 or 30 million years may seem a lot of time, but when dealing with evolution, it’s really not a lot. But for some reason, at this time, life on Earth had rapidly evolved.
Ediacara was important because it was the first time we found multicellular organisms ageing before skeletogenesis (creation of skeleton and other hard parts). Burgess was also important because it was the oldest fauna we found with hard parts. But these two faunas combined made another major discovery: the start of predation. During the Ediacaran era, no organisms had teeth or even mouth, so they were clearly not carnivorous. Anomalocaris was an obvious proof of predation during the time the Burgess rocks were deposited. Because of this, we talk about the “Ediacaran paradise“, when Nature was at peace, without fight for survival.
When we look at other species of Burgess fauna, several produced spines on their back, probably as a defence mechanism against predators like Anomalocaris. This led to the conclusion that hard parts were initially synthesized in order to protect the organism against aggressive species.
Another possible explanation of skeletogenesis is also proposed and focuses on chemistry mechanisms. As the seawater chemistry changed, maintaining an appropriate level of acidity in the organisms became more problematic. Synthesizing shells would have allowed the organism to store acidic molecules from their soft tissues to reach the proper equilibrium. But this doesn’t explain by itself the presence of spines and teeth…
The truth is probably somewhere between the two theories. But anyway, something major happened to living species between 560 and 540 million years ago. Something that changed the shape and the behaviour of all life on Earth, forever.
Vincent Mouchi
Ph.D. student, Department of Geology, Trinity College Dublin
If you want to know more about this topic and have more details on these extraordinary organisms, I would suggest you to read the book “Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History” by the palaeontologist Stephen Jay Gould.
0.000000 0.000000
Advertisements'Twitter is a playground and the website is the office," says Reverend Stuart Campbell, when asked whether he is a wind-up merchant.
Campbell is the founder of Wings Over Scotland, a controversial pro-independence site that gets an astonishing 4.5 million page views a month.
Born in Stirling, he moved to Bath in 1991 for a job at a computer magazine and became a notorious reviewer of video games. He has lived in Somerset ever since.
The |
, recently discovered the post and left a comment and his reaction. As for everyone else, please keep it civil. I will delete any flame comments, so far I’ve had to delete multiple comments. Ryan, thanks for your comment and for clarifying the story.
Here’s Ryan’s comment reprinted from below:
Wow… I stumbled across this thread today and am amazed that 2 years after the incident there is still discussion about it. I’ll try to be brief:
– Spearfishing is the most ethical and sustainable way to provide seafood for oneself. We were there to take tuna and wahoo.
– We were also there to capture video and images of a new product line for a company. Businesses need promotional material of their gear in action.
– There was a combined 100 years of ocean experience in the water at the time this happened. 2 of us are from North Carolina where sharks are present on EVERY dive. I personally have spent hours outside a cage with big great whites. In other words, we know sharks.
– Our boat was over 50 yards away when this happened, getting out of the water would have been the first option of course. But this event happened faster than the boat could get to us, and swimming away from an aggressive sharks is the last option.
– Once the decision had been made and the first shot fired (which was a mortal shot), there was no other choice but to finish the fish. They are tough and yes it took many more shots to end the struggle. We took pictures and video because the initial danger was over.
– The mood was more than somber and the event cast a dark shadow on what was otherwise a great trip. Killing a shark is an awful thing, and this was the first time in all of our years that it had been necessary.
– One of us was working on a story with Outside Magazine, they ran a photo as ‘what you hope never happens’… then the national media caught it (10 months later) and before we knew it wild rumors and lies about the event began to spread.
And here I am today, still trying to explain why this happened. What got lost in all of this is that I was nearly attacked by a fish twice my size and my buddy came to my rescue. It’s no different than a grizzly bear in Alaska being shot for charging a hiker. It’s terrible but it’s part of sharing the outdoors with the natural residents.
We don’t hate sharks but we do love spearfishing. We did not benefit from this event at all, quite the opposite.
RM, underwater videographer
Check out all the latest shark news on Surftherenow.com here.We're pleased to announce an extra show for Muse in Brazil. The band will play the Grand Metropole in Sao Paulo on Thursday 3rd April. Tickets go on general sale this Friday (21 February) but there is an exclusive Muse pre-sale starting on Thursday (20 February) at 10am local time. For full details CLICK HERE.
The band are headlining Lollapalooza Brazil on Saturday 5 April. For more information CLICK HERE.
******************************************
Muse se apresenta em show especial em São Paulo
É nosso prazer anunciar um show extra do Muse no Brasil. A banda vai se apresentar no Grand Metropole, em São Paulo, dia 03/04. Ingressos serão colocados a venda para o público geral na Sexta feira (21 de fevereiro) mas haverá uma pré-venda exclusiva na quinta (20 de fevereiro) a partir das 10h (horário local). Para todos os detalhes CLIQUE AQUI.
A banda é headliner do Lollapalooza Brasil no dia 05 de abril. Para mais informações CLIQUE AQUIYasuhisa Tokugawa is a descendant of the Tokugawa family consisting of the legendary Shoguns such Ieyasu Tokugawa. Yasuhisa, now 64, had a successful career in the oil business from which he retired.
Now he’s doing what you’d probably expect a retired business man to do: he became the head priest of the most controversial shrine in Japan.
On 19 January, Yasuhisa Tokugawa was appointed the head priest of Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. He was chosen for this position after serving as a priest at Shiba Toshogu Shrine in nearby Minato where he presided over the funeral of Princess Kikuko Takamatsu, the aunt of the current emperor of Japan.
Yasukuni Shrine has long been a source of controversy in Asia. The purpose of this shrine is to honor and protect the souls of people who died serving the emperor of Japan. This mostly consists of soldiers who died in battle.
However, a number of convicted and executed war criminals are also listed among the war dead. This move has outraged countries such as China and Korea, and has divided opinions in Japan.
For Japanese politicians, a visit to Yasukuni Shrine tends to send a bold message about their militaristic leanings. Current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had paid a visit shortly after winning the general election last year, a move which understandably ruffled a few feather both in and outside Japan.
Yasuhisa Tokugawa is the great grandson of Yoshinobu Tokugawa who was the last Tokugawa Shogun shortly before the end of the shogunate in Japan.
Source: Asahi Shinbun (Japanese)
Image: Wiiii – WikipediaNew hotfix for GWENT: The Witcher Card Game is now available on PC, Xbox One and PS4.
With this update, our main focus was to fix all major issues experienced by the players, as well as to implement balance changes to the gameplay.
Restore was significantly changed and will have increased milling value for 3 days following the release of the hotfix. When milled, it will create an amount of scraps and powder equal to the amount of scraps and powder needed to craft a card of the same value.
Full list of changes can be found here:
Skellige
Restore will now set base Power of a Unit returned from the Graveyard to 8, instead of 10.
Light Longship will now properly regress to 5 Power instead of 6.
Wilmar's Revenge ability will now properly trigger on Destroy abilities.
Moving Wilmar to the Graveyard will no longer affect newly drawn cards to block player's vision of their hand.
Monsters
Fixed an issue whereby Harpy's ability would sometimes not trigger properly. Scoia’tael Scoia’tael
Farseer will no longer trigger his ability when an Ally or Unit in your Hand is boosted unless he is already on the board.
Game FixesEugenics was a powerful movement in England, the United States and Nazi Germany from the late nineteenth century until 1945. The basic belief was that bad, ‘degenerate’ genes were the cause of problems in society, and the solution was to cleanse the gene pool. Eugenics receded from the world stage after Germany lost World War II. In its most extreme form, in Germany, it was the rationale for the Holocaust – the killing of Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, and schizophrenics. We’re talking 6 million murders. In the United States there were massive programs of forced sterilization. Traits that were seen as infecting the gene pool were poverty, feeble-mindedness, alcoholism, rebelliousness, criminality, prostitution, manic-depression, and schizophrenia. 60,000 forced sterilizations took place.
In 1913, twenty-nine states had laws preventing marriage between the races. It wasn’t until 1967 that most of these laws were changed. Hitler quoted the Eugenic Societies of the United States when he concluded that the creation of progeny should be based on what would be injurious to the racial stock. After 5000 sterilizations a month, the Nazis moved on to gas 80,000 schizophrenics, 20,000 manic-depressives, the deaf, the blind, the so-called feeble-minded, people with epilepsy, etc. American eugenic organizations were publicly jealous of their effectiveness. As is the norm, amnesia then set in and eugenics has disappeared from our consciousness. History, unremembered, repeats itself.
All of this took place with minimal understanding of genetics. During the rise of the eugenics movement there was no knowledge of what a gene actually was, nor DNA, RNA and protein genetic functions. There was no double helix, and the genome was a total mystery. In today’s world, armed with amazing genetic knowledge, we have once again returned to the myth of genetic determinism – with potentially dangerous implications.
In psychiatry, there has always been a swing between the two poles of nature and nurture (see “The Nature-Nurture Question”). Unfortunately, psychiatry is firmly back in the nature camp. Lip service is paid to the emotional environment and trauma. But that is as far as it goes. The accepted (and dangerous) belief is that psychiatry deals with brain diseases – inherited brain diseases. We are back to absolute genetic determinism. Today’s extremely bad science is employed to validate not only the idea that schizophrenia and manic-depression are genetic brain diseases, but that depression, anxiety, phobias, psychopathy, and alcoholism are caused by bad genes (see “Bad Science creates False and Dangerous Beliefs”).
Here’s the thing. Underlying these ideas is an accepted misconception as to how genes operate in the first place. The false belief is that genes operate in such a fashion that they determine our behavior directly. This is an inane fallacy. The very idea is an insult to the complexity of the human condition, yet it is accepted as unquestioned fact. The real way human personality operates is that our brain maps our experience of nurture – either responsiveness or deprivation and/or abuse, i.e. trauma. Our nature operates through our genetic temperament which digests our nurture experience. Temperament does not have a direct effect. The interplay of the two forms our personality, constructing the play of consciousness.
The temperamental digestion of trauma into our personalities is the source of psychiatric conditions. Different temperaments experiencing similar traumas generate different psychiatric symptoms – you might have depression and I might have anxiety, or hyperactivity, phobias, or compulsions. There is no gene that determines psychiatric symptoms. We are not set up that way. Trauma is the source, while temperament determines the form.
How does this point toward the potential horrors of eugenics? It all follows from the delusional belief that psychiatry is about genetic brain diseases. At this stage, the PR battle has already been won and the false belief has taken root. The human race has been diluted by bad genes – this is not taken as a metaphor, but accepted as literally true. 13% of American adults take antidepressants, for ‘biological’ depression; five percent of children are diagnosed with ADHD; one in sixty-eight children have autism; 18% of Americans have anxiety disorder; 1% with schizophrenia; 2.6% with manic-depression; 2.3% with so-called OCD; 4-5% with phobias.
The second stage has been to put all these brain-damaged people on drugs. But psychiatry and the pharmaceutical companies claim that not enough people are being ‘treated’ and that we need more drugs. Not only are almost 50% of adults on psychiatric drugs, we also have adolescents on drugs, children on drugs, even toddlers (see “Enough is Enough, Two Year Olds on Antipsychotics”). You may notice that we are working our way younger and younger, starting earlier and earlier, as we address our diseased brains.
What does the future bring? The likely next steps are even more scary. Let’s go even younger, all the way back to the embryo. It’s only a matter of time until science will conclude that they know definitively which babies have genes for depression or OCD or schizophrenia. (This will never happen, but the PR will be believed.) Those babies should be aborted to fix the gene pool, so we can have ‘healthy’ babies instead of diseased ones.
Even more scary, with today’s genetic technologies we can already delete bad genes and substitute new ones. Not only will we create designer babies, we will have a method of rooting out diseased and mutated psychiatric genes and replacing them with corrected ones in utero. Finally we will have a purified race with no psychiatric symptoms. Life will be a dream.
There certainly are a few genetic conditions that come from one mutated gene – Huntington’s chorea, Down’s syndrome (trisomy 21), Tay-Sacks etc. These single gene mutations are clear and definitively proven. But somatic psychiatry and the geneticists conclude that all psychiatric conditions come from mutations of multiple genes and extra repetitions on the chromosome. And that they have a direct effect on behavior, as opposed to the play of consciousness affected by trauma. Of course, this is all fantasy. Nothing is ever proved regarding the multiple gene theories. It’s a house of cards, built on a false foundation of specious correlations with no causation, yet currently accepted as fact. “It’s very complex and we can’t be definitively conclusive yet, but the proof is right around the corner.” A corner that never comes. And the myth continues to grow.
This genetic belief system is consonant with the beliefs of somatic psychiatry throughout the last seventy-five years. The theory has always been, and is today, that human struggle is caused by the brain, not the interplay of personality with experience. Insulin shock therapy, ECT and lobotomies have been the treatment of choice. Each incarnation of somatic psychiatry has led to inhumane and barbaric practices. How did the sordid practice of reaming out the brain with an ice pick ever capture the psychiatric imagination? In case there is any confusion about the science at that time, the inventor of lobotomies, Antonio Egas Moniz, actually won the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1949.
Pharmaceutical psychiatry is the latest incarnation of this practice, now in the service of fixing genetic brain diseases. As always, amnesia has set in and we are repeating the devastation. History is repeating itself.Carly Fuhrer will be making her rookie debut this year at the CrossFit Games in Carson, California. The two-time Regional athlete is known for her trademark side ponytail. She took fourth place at the West Regional this year after an incredible finish in Event 7 — with a sprained ankle!
If you thought preparing for the Games was intense, imagine getting married the weekend before. That’s exactly what Carly and her fiancé, Sean, will be doing. Check out her story and how she’s combining training and wedding planning below.
RELATED: Carleen Mathews Dominates West Regionals
FHQ: Okay, so first things first. You just placed fourth in the West Regionals. This was your second Regionals appearance you came into the last event in seventh place. How you were feeling before and during that workout?
Carly Fuhrer: Going into this workout, in all honesty, I had no thoughts or expectations of qualifying for the Games. I thought event 7 was my worst workout, perhaps because I am not a huge fan of rope climbs. I was relaxed, and felt no pressure at all, because I figured I was out of it points-wise. My goal was to try and go faster than I had practiced and to push myself to rest a little less between climbs, thinking I had nothing to lose, might as well go out with everything I had.
As the workout started I felt good, everyone finished within seconds of each other on the first set of thrusters, and on to the rope we went. When I finished my third climb you could say I was shocked to see just Margaux and Carleen ahead of me. As we continued on I felt something inside me change, I know that might sound cheesy but it is how I felt. I walked up to my rope determined; I had no doubts, just the thought of: “get up the rope faster, that I was strong I didn’t need to rest.”
As I finished my second climb I slid down the rope, landing on the rope and rolling my ankle…ouch. At that point there is only one thing to do, GO. So I completed my work, with some tears and hopping along, but thank goodness you don’t need legs to legless rope climb right? 😉 As I ran to the finish mat, I’m not sure how to explain how I felt, as there were so many emotions going through me, but I was proud knowing that I had done everything I could on that workout.
FHQ: You had an explosive finish on Event 7, but we couldn’t help notice your limp. Is everything okay?
Carly Fuhrer: Yes, my ankle is healing up well. I was lucky to have my chiropractor, Dr. Jim Thornburg of Central Sport and Spine, on site to work on me right after this event and the days following to make sure it is healing.
I have been focused on recovery/treatment for the ankle and am happy to say the bruising was minimal and swelling is almost entirely gone, with range of motion basically back to normal.
FHQ: What was the big difference for you between this year (4th place finish) and last year (33rd place finish)?
Carly Fuhrer: I had a full year of training without injuries and I followed the program and believed in what I was doing 100 percent. A huge part of my training involves accessory work and I believe a lot of my success and progress is due to all those accessory/assistance exercises.
The experience of last year was also pretty helpful; I was exposed to a high level of competition and only grew mentally from that. Last year made me want to become better and make a name for myself. The realization that training isn’t always sunshine and rainbows was huge — we’re all human right? — we all have good and bad days, but I would say learning to mentally handle those bad days has been extremely beneficial to me.
FHQ: You’re getting married the week before your first Games appearance. That’s a lot of big stuff happening in a short period of time! How are you balancing wedding planning and training? And most importantly, are you going to eat cake at your wedding?
Carly Fuhrer: I like to think I am pretty laid back when it comes to my wedding so luckily I’m not worried too much about those small little details or having an extravagant wedding. It’s going to be outdoors at a family friend’s farm in a small town, so it’s beautiful itself and requires minimal decorations.
Training and the wedding planning has gone smooth so far, so I’m hoping I can keep that up. I spend nearly all day in the gym, so I have made this huge calendar with all my important dates which seems to be helpful. Of course, I have family and friends helping with the wedding details and keeping me in check. I plan to train up until the day of my wedding, take the wedding day off then right back to the grind the next day. I plan to FULLY enjoy my special day though — I will have champagne while getting ready, wine with our dinner, and since I don’t like cake I will be enjoying pie! 🙂
FHQ: Your fiancé is also your coach — what are you guys going to be doing differently in the next two months to prepare for the Games?
Carly Fuhrer: We will increase the amount I am swimming to multiple times a week instead of just one, and include open water swims. We will add more training outside in the heat, sprints at the track, odd object training and also continue with my usual programming.
I am headed to Boston for the Reebok Training Grounds for a few days and then to Ohio to train with Shane Sweatt (he does my programming) for a week. I always learn tons when I am there so I’m looking forward to that and I expect him to have additional input and ideas for games preparation.
FHQ: Did you meet your fiancé through CrossFit or is this something you guys have gotten into together?
Carly Fuhrer: Sean was very much already into CrossFit, as he owns Oregon CrossFit and got started doing it in 2009. I met Sean when I was first introduced into CrossFit at his local event (previously the Oregon Winter Games, now called the Oregon CrossFit Best of the West events) nearly 3 years ago now.
I was volunteering to help at the event and I’m so glad I went as that is what initially fired me up, making me want to compete. Now if you were to ask me if it was love at first sight or anything of the nature, it was complete opposite, because I wanted to punch him. If you all knew Sean a little more, you’d know he is maybe not the most “welcoming/friendly” at first meeting…he had been rude to us, and all I could think was, ‘Really who IS THIS GUY?’ Through the rest of the weekend, we warmed up to each other and made jokes back and forth…months later (I lived in McMinnville at the time, and he lived in Bend) I decided I would go hang out with him, after that I guess things just fell together and now we are getting married in a few short weeks.
FHQ: Is it true you’ve only been training for CrossFit for two years? Did you have an athletic background before that?
Carly Fuhrer: I first started CrossFit about 3 years ago and I loved how different it was from what I was doing, but like too many women I just wanted to be skinny originally…man has that changed.
Now I’m healthy, strong and loving life. I would consider my move to Bend (little over 2 years now) was when I truly started to train, and get healthy. When I first moved I was injured (low back was very weak) so I took nearly three months of just accessory work programmed by Sean before I started into training, and this is when we started following Conjugate, as well as when I first qualified for Regionals.
Everything came together much better once I was healthy and relearning movements. Before CrossFit, I played high school sports: volleyball, basketball and track and I chose not to continue basketball in college. I was always actively involved in showing horses as well. In between high school and finding CrossFit, I stayed active, mostly with running.
FHQ: We’re a big fan of Dan the dog. Will he be making an appearance at the Games with you?
Flipped some Tires today with Danner. #crossfitgames#igotalittledirty#dirteverywhere#mybrotherthinksifliptireseveryday#rokfit#conjugate • • • • •? @scoutgalash A photo posted by Carly Fuhrer (@carlyfuhrer) on Jun 12, 2016 at 7:44pm PDT
Carly Fuhrer: I wish he could come along, sadly he’ll have to stay home this time.
FHQ: Speaking of Carson, what events are you hoping to see once you get to the Games?
Carly Fuhrer: Gosh, this is actually a difficult question. I would love to see a deadlift ladder and I love workouts like Fran and Diane, so a short sprint is always exciting and appealing to me.
FHQ: On the other hand, are there any movements you’re praying don’t show up?
Carly Fuhrer: I can hope we are not going to run a half marathon…or anything with backflips, definitely can’t do those.
You can follow Carly on Instagram at @carlyfuhrer.In this article Benjamin Curry goes to the roots of the revolutionary history of the Iraqi people which is far from the barbarism which it is often labelled with by the bourgeois media today.
<< part two |
Pan-Arabism, the Communist Party and Dual Power
Like any nationalism, Pan-Arabism was by its very nature capable of encompassing not only divergent but outright antagonistic social forces. The first "Pan-Arab" ideas to emerge under the Ottoman Empire were of a distinctly reactionary character. They were the reserve of semi-feudal, semi-tribal elements and asserted the autonomy of the relatively more backward Arab regions from the Turkish metropolis with its liberal ideas. The leaders of the "Arab Revolt" against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, which included the future king of Iraq, Faisal I, were of this character, and proved to be little more than pawns in the calculations of British imperialism.
However with the growth of capitalism across the post-partition Arab nations in the 20's, 30's and 40's, Pan-Arab nationalism took on a changed class content. The old social classes continued to clothe themselves in the garb of Pan-Arabism: we see for instance the attempts of King Ghazi to "unify" Iraq and Kuwait in the 1930's; the "union" between the Jordanian and Iraqi monarchies in 1958, prior to the July Revolution; and the anti-Zionist demagoguery of the semi-feudal classes across the entire region. This became increasingly difficult to take seriously as the masses saw past the facade to the imperialist masters pulling the strings in the background.
The new social classes instead began to give "Pan-Arab" ideas their own content. For certain layers of the poorest and most oppressed classes of the Arab countries, Pan-Arabism meant taking a stand against imperialist partition. The unification of the Arab nations represented an initial step towards genuine socialist internationalism for the working masses and it is for this reason that Abdul Gammal Nasser was so well loved among the Egyptian poor. In the first hand bills produced by the Iraqi Communist Party we also see a strong strand of Pan-Arabism and there is no reason to assume that these expressed anything other than the genuine feelings, unguided and as yet immature, of Iraq's first communists.
The loose idealist notion of a singular Arab people rising above class distinctions however tended to fit in best with the interests and outlook of the urban petty bourgeoisie. The Free Officers, drawn as they were for the most part from the Sunni Arab layers of the middle class, took a natural affinity to these ideas; as did the Ba'ath Party, which drew its first cadres from the students and middle class intelligentsia. Caught between the struggle of the bourgeoisie and international imperialism on the one hand and the proletariat on the other, the appeal to a super-historical "Arab spirit" and the utopian idea of unifying the whole "Arab people" in the interests of all (i.e. in the interests of the petty bourgeoisie) resonated powerfully.
When tested in power however, the idea of Pan-Arab unity on the basis of capitalism proved to be a utopia and the Free Officer regime proved weak and riven with tensions. On the one hand the urban petty bourgeoisie as a class is unable to play an independent class role and must eventually find itself being dragged in the trail of the capitalist class or else must look towards the working class. In conditions of intense class struggle such as those unleashed post-July 1958, the possibility of any middle course was even further reduced. Furthermore, on the basis of imperialism we see how the national capitalist classes of each nation (and their bosses, the major imperialist powers) have antagonistic interests that rule out their union.
When we add to this the intense personal rivalries that existed among the Free Officers, with many officers feeling that they had been cheated of positions of power by Qaseem and Aref who had thrust themselves to the forefront as the events of the July Revolution unfolded, a crisis and a split became inevitable. It was under these circumstances that Aref, the junior of the two leading Free Officers, began touring the country, powerfully agitating for immediate union with the UAR in speeches that took on a fiery, quasi-socialist character that reflected and resonated with the genuine sympathies of the masses:
"Henceforth there shall be no feudalism, no rich and no poor, no disparities and no classes. You are all God's creatures!"... "This republic is your republic, a popular, patriotic, socialist republic... Rejoice, therefore O peasant, rejoice O worker, rejoice O son of the country!"(19)
Qaseem meanwhile increasingly became the focus of the "Iraqist" wing within the regime and began posing as a moderate defender of private property. Viewing with increasing anxiety the rising challenge posed by Aref, Qaseem began looking around for other social forces on which to rest, and in typical Bonapartist fashion was inclined to rest on the support of the ICP to bring to heel the nationalist officers around Aref.
The Communist Party for its part had reason to hold the pan-Arab "socialism" of Aref, and the Ba'ath Party which swung behind him, in deep suspicion. The example of Syria’s “unification” with Egypt had shown how socialist and pan-Arab rhetoric could be used as a cover for the brutal repression of Communists and Aref's language by no means precluded his becoming an unwitting tool of the counter-revolution. However, this by no means implied that Qaseem was any less reactionary.
Shaken by the threat posed by Aref, Qaseem gave his support to the arming of ICP members into People’s Resistance units and gave license to an open demonstration of force by the Communist Party. The ICP took the opportunity and on 6th August 1958 500,000 people flooded the streets of Baghdad behind the banner of the ICP.
Qaseem, politically moderate and known for his personal modesty, might have seemed an unlikely candidate for a political strongman in whose hands all the power of state would now concentrate itself. Aref meanwhile was a pious yet fiery and passionate individual with genuine sympathy for the poor - perhaps an unlikely figure behind whom the forces of counter-revolution might attempt to unify. And yet events were taking on a logic that was beyond the control of either man and gave the clash between the two a far deeper significance.
For the ruling class the most important task was now one of crushing the revolutionary movement and in particular of breaking the ICP. The tendency of Qaseem to seek protection from his rivals in support from the ICP was thus completely intolerable. The ruling class was inclined to throw its lot in with any party or group of officers which now came into opposition to his rule - including the “socialist” Aref and, of course, the Ba’ath Party.
Towards the end of 1958 and the beginning of 1959 the Communist Party and its affiliated organisations underwent an explosive growth. Communist led trade unions, women’s organisations, student unions, Peace Partisan committees, peasant committees and Communist militia units now drew around them hundreds of thousands of supporters. A situation of dual power – where the old state persists through inertia alongside the growth of a new power, in this case around the working class and the Communist Party – now became an established fact. Batatu relates how in late 1958 an ambassador of the UAR complained he could not travel more than 3 km in Baghdad without being stopped nine times by patrolling units of the People’s Resistance(20). In workplaces and government ministries too, “Committees for the Defence of the Republic” were springing up and establishing de facto workers’ control(21).
Rather than use the splits now developing in the state and their burgeoning influence among the poor and working classes to prepare the seizure of power, the ICP continued along the path that flowed logically from its stageist theoretical outlook. On the understanding that the initial tasks of the July Revolution were national democratic in character, and the false conclusion that it must therefore be lead by the national bourgeoisie, the ICP declared Qaseem to be the representative of the “progressive” wing of the bourgeois and raised the slogan of full support for the "sole leader" Qaseem. Meanwhile Aref was denounced as a dangerous ultra-leftist whose position threatened to split the "progressive" forces in Iraq(22).
In reality however, there was no “progressive bourgeoisie” in Iraq for Qaseem to rest on. Qaseem's power represented a careful balancing act between the classes. Such a tightrope act was only made possible on account of the temporary stalemate that the revolution had established.
On the one hand the forces of counter-revolution now arraying behind the nationalist officers (the sheikhs, landlords, merchants and capitalists) were unable to deal a decisive blow against the revolution on account of the overwhelming strength of the ICP. On the other hand the working class and poor peasants were unable to seize power as they were being held back from the task by their leadership.
By temporarily leaning on the ICP, Qaseem easily dealt heavy blows against Aref and the nationalist officers. In November Aref was arrested and in December an attempted nationalist coup unraveled. In March 1959 a more serious attempt to seize power was carried out by officers in Mosul. The lines of division brought out in sharp relief how the nationalist officers had fallen to the position of an open tool of counter-revolution. All the forces interested in the defeat of the revolution gathered behind the coup: local merchants, landlords and sheikhs found themselves on the same side as the middle class officers; the Ba'ath Party found an ally in the Muslim Brotherhood; and internationally Anglo-American imperialism and the UAR both pinned their hopes on the conspirators. On the other side of the barricades stood the workers, peasants, rank and file soldiers, and the Communist Party.
Once more, the plot was smashed by the revolutionary mass of peasants, workers and urban poor. Having got wind of the plot, the Communist Party organised a mass demonstration of 200,000 Peace Partisans through the city in the days prior to the coup. As the plot began to unfold it found itself checked at every turn by the bitter resistance of the masses. Ultimately the coup collapsed amid a violent scramble between revolution and counter-revolution.
In his classic, "The Old Social Classes of Iraq", Batatu describes the scenes thus: "no matter how one apportions the responsibility [for the violence], one cannot help feeling [...] that at the root of much of the aggressiveness in the days of March at Mosul was a common fear to which all the sides of the conflict seem to have succumbed: the fear that failure at that crucial historical point might well entail destruction at the hands of their adversaries." That is to say, despite the ICP's attempts to smooth over the contradictions between the possessing classes and the working classes, each were now locked in a mortal struggle and civil war loomed. Mosul gave a foretaste of the orgy of violence that the ruling class would unleash were they to gain the upper hand.
May Day 1959 - The High Tide of the Revolution
1958 revolution in Iraq - Photo: Public domainWith the counter-revolution now badly beaten, the initiative lay wholly with the ICP with May Day 1959 marking the high point of their power. One million people (out of a total population of just 5 million) now marched behind the banner of the Communist Party. Alongside a huge presence from the People's Resistance militia, the Peace Partisans and numerous Communist-led mass organisations, the demonstration also revealed the extent of the party's infiltration into the army. No fewer than 15 blocs on the demonstration were made of delegations from the army, the air force and even the police. In the air force support for the Communists ran particularly high, with almost every pilot being either an ICP member or else a sympathiser. Even by comparison with other revolutions in history, the degree of ICP penetration into the state ran exceptionally deep.
On few occasions have revolutionary parties succeeded in not only winning a large part of the ranks of the armed forces but of also capturing significant officer positions. Communist sympathisers now occupied commanding positions in the 1st Division, the 2nd Division, the 20th Brigade of the 3rd Division, the 6th Armoured Brigade and four tank regiments, among others and the total number of senior Communist officers now outnumbered the number of officers aligned to the Free Officer movement at its decisive moment in July 1958(23). With such crushing strength not only could a transfer of power been effected, but the overwhelming balance of forces in favour of the revolution meant that it could have been achieved in a relatively peaceful manner.
The conquest of power was far from the horizons of the ICP leaders however who limited themselves to petitioning Qaseem for ministerial portfolios in the government. Qaseem though refused and the ICP was now faced with a stark choice. Despite trying to dodge the question of power, it now posed itself point blank: either the party must acquiesce to Qaseem's refusal or else it must seize power on its own initiative. The whole past policy of the ICP now stood as an obstacle to bold action: if it chose to seize power into its own hands now it would have to contend with the illusions that the party itself had sown in Qaseem among the masses.
Such a sharp turn would doubtless have involved risks, but with a bold agitation in favour of an Iraqi October, the huge reserves of support that the ICP enjoyed would surely have guaranteed its victory. A Socialist Workers' and Peasants' Republic of Iraq based upon collective ownership of the land and the big businesses would have shone like a beacon across the Middle East and the world. The Soviet bureaucracy however saw such an outcome as a nightmare scenario, and in the debate that took place it was the Moscow bureaucracy which swung the decision.
Arguing from the point of view of their own narrow geopolitical interests, the Stalinists were more concerned with preserving friendly relations with other regimes in the region which they understood would be implacably hostile to a Socialist Republic of Iraq. The USSR made explicit that in the case of such a seizure of power there would be no attempt to come to the assistance of the Iraqi Communists by Russian forces. All history has shown however – and particularly the history of the Arab world – that a revolution in Iraq would not remain confined within the limits of that country but would have found points of support across the entire region. The Arab Spring of 2011 showed how revolutions have no respect for national boundaries – much less artificially imposed colonial boundaries – and in practice tend to spread like wildfire.
The Reaction and the Ba'ath Party
Aref and Qasim - Photo: Public DomainIndecision and weakness at key historical junctures almost invariably bears a heavy cost for any revolutionary party. Having let slip a key opportunity to seize power, each new event now rebounded against the ICP. In July 1959, on the event of the anniversary of the July Revolution a deadly clash occurred between Kurds and Turkmen in the city of Kirkuk. Blame was cast on the ICP in psychological preparation for an onslaught against the party. After a period of hesitation the party eventually condemned the violence but then went one further and subjected itself to public humiliation.
In the name of conducting an "orderly retreat" the party now publicly recanted its previously stringent demand for a role in the government. Qaseem, moving with the prevailing wind, took the opportunity to lean from the left foot to the right |
2 kg. A dolphin weighing 120 kg (280 pounds) has a 1.7 kg (4 pounds) brain; compared to its size, this is almost thrice than a chimp.
10. Amongst vertebrates, the smallest brain in relation with the body size seems to have belonged to a dinosaur: Stegosaurus was 6 m (20 ft) long and weighed 2 tons. Its brain was just the size of a walnut! To compensate this, the spine presented a second "brain" in the pelvic area.A guest post from some guy on the internet…he can be found on twitter, @Allawallakoala. He’s famous for the Muschamp Intensity Meter.
Florida Season Preview
I’ve been reading all of the preseason publications this summer and the general narrative of every single one of them is that Florida went 4-8 last year and no one knows what to expect this coming season. Also, Florida went 4-8 in case you hadn’t heard. 4-8. Did you see this? Did you hear about this? Yeah, turns out, Florida went 4-8. HIYOOOO! 4-8.
Well, I’m sick and tired of reading about it! It’s a new year! It’s time to kick some ass! WHO’S WITH ME?? Hold on. Is Muschamp still the head coach? Oh goddammit. You guys still want to do this? Really? OK. Well, here are the best and worst case scenarios for every position.
Quarterbacks
Best Case: The silver lining in Jeff Driskel’s season ending injury last season is that it gave him the redshirt year he needed, but didn’t receive as a freshman to develop mentally. The time off allows him to clear his mind, become a better leader, gain confidence, watch film, and get a better understanding of what defenses are doing. He stays healthy in 2014 and proves to be a perfect fit for Kurt Roper’s offense. We see a more confident, calm, decisive Driskel on the field as he plays his way into becoming an All-SEC QB. Will Grier or Treon Harris emerges as the backup and gains valuable experience in mop-up duty and package plays, keeping Driskel fresh while the other freshman redshirts.
Worst Case: Driskel sees his reflection in the mirror one day and becomes frightened that a doppelganger from another dimension has found its way to Earth and is here to exterminate him. Fearing his inevitable demise, he hides in a panic room for the next three decades. Will Grier is named the starter, but is immediately eaten by bees. Not even stung. They just straight up eat his ass. Treon Harris falls into the very same portal that Ozzie Smith fell into in that episode of The Simpsons where Mr. Burns hires a team of Major League Baseball players to play for his company softball team. This leaves Skyler Mornhinweg as the starting quarterback once again.
Running Backs
Best Case: Matt Jones comes back healthy and he and Kelvin Taylor form one of the best RB tandems in the SEC, if not the country, alongside T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry at Alabama. Mack Brown continues to be a solid third option and Adam Lane impresses when he is called upon.
Worst Case: Jones is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel for reasons unknown. Brown, Lane, and freshman Brandon Powell fly into Mexico to rescue him, but are also captured. This leaves Kelvin Taylor to carry the ball a record 511 times. At the end of the season, he is forced to retire from football after playing through nine concussions, a broken clavicle, a broken ulna, four broken ribs, a punctured lung, a severed finger, a ruptured spleen, a herniated disc, a strained oblique, a torn pec, a torn groin, a torn hamstring, a torn ACL, a broken kneecap, a torn Achilles tendon, several broken bones in each foot, and turf toe. Taylor only gains 510 yards.
Wide Receivers
Best Case: Chris Leak proves to be a competent position coach. Quinton Dunbar continues to be a reliable target while making more big plays. Demarcus Robinson becomes the player we all think he can be and becomes a stud. Ahmad Fullwood also breaks out and becomes a well-rounded receiver while using his 6’5” frame to dominate in the red zone. Latroy Pittman builds off his strong spring and finds a role in Roper’s offense in the slot. Andre Debose is finally healthy and is the deep threat Florida needs. One or two of the young guys step up and become another reliable option.
Worst Case: Chris Leak removes his mask to reveal he is Bush Hamdan. One day, the receivers all decide to go on a field trip to Chuck E. Cheese and board a bus. The bus swerves to avoid hitting a clown masturbating in the road and plunges over one of the many cliffs in Gainesville. Debose is the lone survivor and is granted a seventh year of eligibility, which he accepts. He plays 2015 under his seventh different position coach.
Offensive Line
Best Case: The line stays healthy. That’s it. Just stay healthy. This is the only position on the offense I’m honestly worried about. I’m not worried about Driskel or the quarterbacks. I’m not worried about Chris Leak taking over a group of talented, but unproven receivers. I’m not worried about the tight ends or running backs. I’m terrified about the line. It hasn’t been good for years and not coincidentally, neither has the offense. If the starting five doesn’t stay healthy, the team will have to rely on freshmen and that’s not the position you want to be in. They have bodies, but no one behind the starting line has played a down in college outside of Trip Thurman and JUCO transfer Drew Sarvary.
Worst Case: They don’t stay healthy. If they don’t stay healthy and the freshman don’t grow up in a hurry, it will be more of the same from the offense and we’ll all continue to be sad and miserable and angry and we’ll throw things. It will start with a soda, then a hot dog, then a rock, then a baby, then you’ll go to jail for that last one, but I’ll bust you out and we’ll go on the lam. We’ll head down to South America and lay low. I’ll find a beautiful Brazilian woman and fall in love, but you’ll fall in love with her too. A fight will ensue and in the heat of the moment I will smash your head with a rock killing you. Once again, I will be on the lam, but this time alone. I will leave a letter to my Brazilian love, Sophia, explaining why I can never see her again, but she will never see it because she will have run off with another man. I will never learn of this other man or that she never loved me to begin with and that I was just an American fling for her. I will spend the rest of my life pining for her wondering what could have been as I drink myself to death alone in a cabin in the unforgiving cold of northern Saskatchewan.
Tight Ends
Best Case: Virginia transfer Jake McGee is the much needed tight end target for Driskel. Tevin Westbrook and Clay Burton never ever have a pass thrown to them again and are asked only to do what they do well, which is block and get yelled at by Muschamp. Freshman Deandre Goolsby is good enough to earn playing time and gives Florida a second target with McGee.
Worst Case: McGee needs to write a paper on Babylonian king, Hammurabi. Instead of going to Wikipedia, he builds a functional time machine with the help of the three freshmen tight ends, Goolsby, C’yontai Lewis, and Moral Stephens. The four of them travel back to 1770 BC Babylon. While there, they become hungry, but with no local currency on them, they resort to each stealing a loaf of bread. They are caught and have their hands cut off. They return to the present day handless. Roper tells Driskel not to throw to Westbrook or Burton, but the two remaining hand-having tight ends hire a hypnotist to hypnotize Driskel, Roper, and Muschamp into thinking they are both Jimmy Graham. Driskel targets each tight end fifteen times a game. At season’s end, the tight ends are targeted a total of 365 times, but only catch one pass. That one catch was a ball that got stuck in Burton’s facemask and as he turned up field was immediately blasted by a linebacker that jarred the ball free resulting in a fumble that was returned for a touchdown.
Defensive Line
Best Case: Dante Fowler becomes Dominique Easley 2.0 and annihilates opposing offensive tackles and quarterbacks. Another defensive tackle or two steps up to man the interior alongside Leon Orr keeping Jonathan Bullard at end where he’s best suited and more comfortable. The incoming freshmen of Gerald Willis, Khari Clark, and Thomas Holley are as advertised and are too good to keep off the field.
Worst Case: Easley’s — now Fowler’s — Chucky doll is really possessed causing all sorts of havoc and murder among the defensive linemen. Every time they think they’ve killed it, it just keeps coming back. This continues for five more seasons when everyone is like, “Really? The formula was stale after the second one. How many more times can this possessed doll be revived? Who the hell keeps reviving it? Doesn’t anyone know how to properly dispose of a soul these days? These people are idiots. This is stupid. I’ve lost interest.”
Linebacker
Best Case: The unit bounces back after a sub-par year that saw their share of injuries. Antonio Morrison plays more disciplined and improves in pass coverage. Jarrad Davis forces himself into the starting lineup with his play. Neiron Ball provides a pass rush from the position. The other three linebackers from last year’s freshmen class, Daniel McMillan, Alex Anzalone, and Matt Rolin are fully healthy and ready to contribute.
Worst Case: All the linebackers read this season preview and take offense to me cracking jokes about their teammates and show up to my house and proceed to whoop my ass, which isn’t hard to do because I’m 5’7” 150 lbs. and I don’t like to fight or engage in any physical contact, which is why my football career only lasted a week in 8th grade after I hopped in the Oklahoma drill on the first day in full pads of JV practice. Squirrely little me, a 5’6” 125 lbs. wide receiver, was about to tangle with the hardest hitter on the team, a 6’0” 175 lbs. linebacker/safety. It ended as you would expect, with me taking three steps before I found myself on my back looking up at a very beautiful, clear blue, Florida sky. As my teammates mobbed the guy who just smeared me across the grass, my only thought in that moment was “Baseball. Yeah, I think I’ll stick to baseball if I want to live.” Anyway, enough about what a pussy I am and back to that ass whooping I’ve had coming for years. After the entire linebacker corps is done thoroughly caving my skull in, they are all arrested and kicked off the team. Florida plays the season with no linebackers and gives up an NCAA single season record of 5,122 rushing yards.
Secondary
Best Case: Vernon Hargreaves III locks down everything. I mean everything – receivers, running backs, tight ends, lockers, gates, doors, windows, cars, safes, even the internet. Instead of seeing “https” and an image of a padlock in your address bar for secure sites, you’ll see “VHIII” and an image of Vernon’s face. In addition to Hargreaves, freshman Jalen Tabor continues Florida’s recent success with starting true freshmen cornerbacks. Duke Dawson and Brian Poole provide excellent depth and make each other better competing for the starting nickel spot. The safeties, namely Marcus Maye and Jabari Gorman, are finally ready to assume the duties of being starters and are steady as the last line of defense.
Worst Case: Hargreaves goes to see Michael Bay’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and it’s so bad his head explodes. The rest of the secondary sues Bay for Hargreaves’ death. Locked in a lengthy legal battle throughout the season, the secondary is distracted and unfocused during games resulting in an incalculable number of blown assignments and missed tackles. Adding insult to injury, the judge rules in favor of Bay.
Special Teams
Best Case: Like Caleb Sturgis, Austin Hardin figures it out after a couple of years and becomes a reliable, strong legged kicker. Kyle Christy returns to his sophomore form and does a remarkable job of flipping the field for the defense.
Worst Case: Desperate to become better, Hardin and Christy are approached by a man who claims he can make them each one of the greatest kickers and punters of all-time. The man promises Hardin the ability to drill an 80-yard field goal and Christy the ability to knock a ball out at the opponent’s 1-yard line. They both agree without thinking. In the first game of the season against Idaho, Hardin hits an 80-yarder on the first drive and Christy booms a beautiful punt that goes out at Idaho’s 1 on the second drive. On the sideline, the mysterious man appears. It turns out he’s the Devil and has returned to claim their souls and takes them with him back to Hell.
Season Outlook
Best Case: I think this team’s ceiling is ten wins and a trip to the SEC Championship Game. There are a lot of “if’s” involved in that, but the biggest key to the success of the season comes down to health, specifically Driskel and the offensive line. If they stay healthy, I think Kurt Roper will make a big difference with the offense. As long as Muschamp’s been at Florida, we’ve never had to worry about the defense, so the pressure is on the offense to score for the fourth consecutive year. The schedule is ruthless as always, but a lot of those teams are breaking in new quarterbacks and/or have question marks in other areas and Florida has enough talent on both sides of the ball to get to Atlanta. After last season, I have no idea how this season will play out. That’s not to say I know how any season will play out because I don’t, nor does anyone, but no one saw 4-8 coming last August. I think, realistically, they win nine and maybe slip into the SEC Championship Game by beating South Carolina in their final conference game. I’m being optimistic with that guess because if I don’t I will cry tears of pure acid. I don’t know how that’s possible, but it will happen. Four years of watching an inept offense will cause drastic physiological changes in a person.
Worst Case: Going into the Kentucky game, Florida only has six healthy scholarship players available. The Wildcats end their losing streak to Florida in a 41-10 blowout. Fans revolt and set everything on fire. The state of Florida descends into anarchy (more so than usual). Muschamp is captured and burned at the steak. Yes, I said steak because again, this state isn’t very bright. President Obama declares a state of emergency in Florida. Military personnel are sent in, but are no match for an army of angry Floridians on bath salts and meth. Nuclear weapons are drawn and a tweaker from Polk County hits the button sending the United States and the rest of the world back into the stone age. The numerous seismic explosions upset the Earth and volcanoes begin erupting, spewing ash into the sky that envelopes the planet like the candy around the gum of a Blow Pop. Earthquakes rip open the ground. The planet becomes unstable and slowly starts spinning off its axis. The core heats up before a massive explosion that sends chunks of Earth streaking through the solar system. The only thing that survives is #FSUTwitter who collectively tweets, “LOL, Gators! You suck!”The members of the Internet Association, which bills itself as the "unified voice of the internet economy," are apparently pretty unified against the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017 (SESTA), saying the bill could lead to less monitoring of sex trafficking, embolden foreign powers looking to suppress speech, and have unintended consequences that could affect social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.
That's according to the testimony of association general counsel Abigail Slater for a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the bill Tuesday (Sept. 19), a bill that was prompted in part by an investigation of backpage.com.
Related: Senate Vets Online Speech Liability Bill
The association's 40-plus members include Amazon, Facebook, Google, Twitter and Netflix.
Slater took pains to point out that the IA's members believe sex trafficking is a "horrific" crime that must be stopped, and those perpetrating it should be held accountable.
The IA also said it supports targeted changes to the Communications Decency Act to allow victims of sex trafficking to seek legal recourse. Those could include, for example, an amendment that allows civil suits against online actors with demonstrated "knowledge and intent" to facilitate sex trafficking.
Related: CCIA Warns About New Online Liability Law
The association said its members are already key and "committed" actors in the fight against sex trafficking.
"The internet industry stands ready to work with you on legislative approaches that ensure justice and contribute to the fight against trafficking," she said.
But, as well intentioned as SESTA might be, she said, it would make IA's member companies "liable for all their ongoing work with law enforcement." The bill would harm good actors, while undermining the goal of combatting trafficking, the IA said.
Slater said the bill, as written, does not require knowledge of the illegal activity or a means to stop it for a site's protection from liability to be eliminated. The bill does require "knowing conduct," but that is not a legally defined term and could be interpreted as the fact that a platform knows its users communicate, which would encompass all social media sites. The term "facilitate" is also extremely broad, she said.
Not only would the bill create new legal risks for websites, it would also create contributory liability risks for a host of innocent businesses, Slater added. And allowing for civil liability would result in "playing whack-a-mole" with URLS/domains in courts, which is unlikely to stop bad actors, who can simply move overseas or change their URLs.
Removing civil liability protections would create a disincentive for providers to look for evidence of trafficking since it could implicate them in civil and criminal causes of action.
She also told the Senators the bill would "send a dangerous signal to other countries that are seeking to require U.S. internet services to filter dissenting political speech and allegations of corruption."Scores of Saudi-led coalition’s troops killed in attack day before government and Houthi representatives due to meet in Switzerland
Hopes for progress at UN talks on ending the war in Yemen have been overshadowed by an attack by Houthi rebels that killed scores of troops of the Saudi-led coalition, including two senior commanders, just hours before a planned ceasefire.
Representatives of the Yemeni government and the Houthis are scheduled to meet in Switzerland on Tuesday in what has been billed as a serious and perhaps a last-ditch effort to end a conflict that has claimed nearly 6,000 lives and represents a massive humanitarian disaster in the Arab world’s poorest country.
But confidence about a truce to mark the negotiations was dented on Monday by an attack on the headquarters of the Arab forces backing the Yemeni president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, whose Houthi enemies are fighting alongside forces loyal to the former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The Houthis released video footage of a missile strike they claimed had killed 152 enemy troops in the Bāb al-Mandab area of south-west Yemen. Confirmed fatalities included the Saudi Col Abdullah al-Sahyan, and Sultan al-Kitbi, a senior Emirati officer. Sahyan was hailed on Saudi social media as a national hero.
The rebels said they had caused heavy losses in lives and equipment, including Apache helicopters. Yemeni media later reported Saudi missiles being fired in the Taiz area while the Saudis announced the deployment of forces on the border with Yemen.
The UN envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, had called for an open-ended ceasefire from Monday night – though it was unclear whether it would now come into force.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Yemen’s president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Photograph: Stringer/Reuters
The Mauritanian diplomat is looking for other confidence-building measures including releasing prisoners and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian supplies. Previous attempts to agree ceasefires have been preceded by attacks by both sides.
The negotiations are being held at an undisclosed Swiss location and under a news blackout that the UN says is designed to maximise the chances of success. A previous round of talks last June collapsed.
Hadi, backed by the Saudis, is demanding the strict implementation of a UN resolution calling on the Houthis to return weapons seized from the state and withdraw from territory captured over the past year, including the capital Sana’a. The Houthis want broader negotiations on the country’s political future.
The Houthis, who adhere to a branch of Shia Islam known as Zaidism, and Saleh’s forces have separate delegations, giving rise to hopes that they can be prised apart to help secure a deal.
But the Saudis and Emiratis, the leading members of the coalition, are not at the table – a potential weakness. Another is Hadi’s ability to deliver on an agreement, diplomats say.
“I don’t see see the serious possibility of an agreement,” said Ibrahim Freihat of the Brookings Doha centre. “The two parties are not on the same page and there is little common ground as a starting point. There is still a stalemate on the ground.”
Saudi Arabia has faced mounting criticism of the civilian casualties caused by its air strikes, as have its backers and arms suppliers – the US and Britain. The Saudis portray the Houthis as allies of Iran, their bitter regional rival, and insist their only goal is to restore Hadi’s government.
Focus on the more familiar crisis in Syria, and difficulties of access for journalists have meant that coverage of the Yemen conflict has been limited in western media.
But aid agencies warn that Yemen is one of the world’s worst crises and has deteriorated rapidly. Yemen after five months looks like Syria after five years, according to the International Red Cross.
Much of the country on the brink of famine, with 84% of the population – more than 21 million people – in need of aid. More than 20 million people cannot find clean water to drink.
Saudi Arabia is insisting on strict implementation of UN resolution 2216 and deeply mistrusts the Houthis. “Houthi forces must adhere to to the ceasefire,” said the Saudi analyst Mohammed al-Yayha. “Unfortunately, they have a track record of dishonouring their commitments.”
Critics counter that demands for disarmament and withdrawal will have to be interpreted flexibly if a deal is to be done since the original resolution was too favourable to Riyadh. Another complication is the Saudis’ fear of Iran’s influence, though that seems exaggerated to independent observers.
Peter Salisbury, a Yemen expert at Chatham House, said: “These talks turn the light on. Last time they were in Geneva the Yemeni parties wouldn’t even sit in the same room. It’s the very first step in a long series of events.”
Another alarming issue is the growth of al-Qaida and more recently of Isis.
“Everything in this situation that could have got worse has got worse,” said Adam Baron of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
“The humanitarian crisis is worse than ever. These talks are a tremendous opportunity, but it remains to be seen whether the parties will take it. It may be the last opportunity to save Yemen from heading into a downward spiral of the kind we’ve seen in Syria, Iraq and Libya.”Orlando City rookie Richie Laryea took a beating on Wednesday during a preseason win over the NASL's Fort Lauderdale Strikers.
Playing in the No. 10 role, Laryea was kicked, shoved, knocked over and beat up. He kept going and, in fact, started to look for the contact that continually drew fouls in dangerous places for Orlando City. The first-round draft pick showed a quality that wouldn't be immediately obvious about a 5-foot-9, 150-pound midfielder — a toughness and willingness to play a physical game.
"It's something I've had to deal with my whole life," Laryea said. "Playing a couple years up and being a smaller guy, so contact is always going to be there. I'm sure when the season starts for both teams [on the field,] it's going to be the exact same. So it's nothing that I shy away from, you just get used to it."
There was no player who drew more scrutiny from Orlando City coach Adrian Heath during the game. Heath was often on his feet shouting direction at Laryea, imploring him to find the pockets of space that are so important in that midfield role.
The directions were similar to those received by rookie Cyle Larin last year. Larin, one of Laryea's closest friends from childhood growing up in the Toronto area, picked up on Heath's coaching early and turned in a Rookie of the Year season. Now, Laryea has become the focus of Heath's constant harping.
"At college, sometimes your natural ability is enough," Heath said. "At this level, it's not going to be enough. The one thing that's very apparent is that Richie has great natural ability. What we've got to do now and what he's got to start to do is find the right holes to be in at the right time. And that's why you probably heard me shouting a little more than I wanted to do [Wednesday,] because at times he's too high and at times he's too deep."
Heath's comments sounded eerily familiar to what he said last year about Larin, and Laryea said he recognized the coaching for what it was: a desire to see him thrive in his new team and at the professional level.
"It's good," Laryea said. "I appreciate all the stuff he's been helping me out with. This is obviously a couple steps ahead of college, so you can't get away with the stuff you do there. So he's been on me telling me what I need to do. It's good when you have a coach like that, right, he shows that he believes in you and he wants you to keep progressing as the days go forward."
Lions ready for Bahia
Orlando City will play its final tuneup of the preseason on Saturday night against Brazilian side Bahia, and Heath said he has been pleased with what he has gotten out of his team in the lead-up to the MLS regular season.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Citrus Bowl, and the friendly is open to the public. Tickets are included in season-ticket holders packages and start at $26.63 for general admission.
"We're really pleased about where we are," Heath said. "Now it's a case of working down and working towards what the opening lineup will be next week."
The lineup will likely include new signee Antonio Nocerino, who had his visa paperwork finalized on Wednesday and is in the process of getting to the U.S. and joining up with his teammates ahead of the opener.
"We'll have to see how he is when he gets here," Heath said. "Obviously the sooner the better for us. He's training every day at Milan so he should be in reasonable condition when he gets here and then we'll just see when we see him."
ptenorio@orlandosentinel.comThe neutral powers were countries that remained neutral during World War II. Some of these countries had large colonies abroad or had great economic power. Spain had just been through its civil war, which ended on 1 April 1939 (five months prior to the Invasion of Poland)—a war that involved several countries that subsequently participated in World War II.
During World War II, the neutral powers took no official side, hoping to avoid attack. However, Portugal, Sweden, Colombia, and Switzerland all helped the Allies by supplying "voluntary" brigades[citation needed] to the United Kingdom, while Spain avoided the Allies in favor of the Axis. Ireland generally favoured the Allied side, as with the United States. The United States remained neutral until December 8, 1941, a day following the sneak attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor.
The Lateran Treaty between Italy and the Vatican, signed in 1929, required that the Pope maintain "perpetual neutrality in international relations"—making the Vatican City a neutral state.
Several countries suffered invasions in spite of their efforts to be neutral. These included Nazi Germany's invasion of Denmark and Norway on 9 April 1940—then Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg on 10 May 1940. On the same day, 10 May 1940, the British invaded Iceland and established an occupying force (subsequently replaced by the then-neutral United States). In the Baltic states, the Soviet Union invaded Lithuania on 15 June 1940 and Latvia and Estonia on 17 June. In the Balkans, the Italo-Greek War began on 28 October 1940 and Yugoslavia was invaded in April 1941. Iran was also attacked and occupied by Britain and the Soviet Union in August 1941.
See also the histories of Afghanistan, Andorra, Guatemala, Liechtenstein, Saudi Arabia and Yemen during this period.
Continent [ edit ]
Europe [ edit ]
Ireland [ edit ]
Portugal [ edit ]
Portugal – Portugal was officially neutral during the World War II. However, it maintained a close relationship with the UK, due to the alliance it had for the last six hundred years, which is the longest lasting military alliance in history. The Estado Novo sought neutrality as a strategy to keep Spain neutral and prevent it from joining the Axis. Portugal continued trading with countries from both sides of the conflict throughout the war. In the second half of the war, it let the Allies use bases in the Azores to fight German submarines, because Prime Minister Salazar feared an Allied invasion of the Azores.
Colonies of Portugal:
Spain [ edit ]
Spain – Franco sent the Blue Division to fight for the Axis on the Eastern Front.
Sweden [ edit ]
Switzerland [ edit ]
Switzerland – Switzerland maintained its neutrality so as to protect its own banking interests from plunder by the Axis. It also depended on German coal, with 10 million tons imported during the war, making up 41% of Swiss energy supplies. Often, Swiss soldiers opened fire on Axis bombers invading their airspace. On several occasions, Switzerland also shot down Allied planes. Throughout the war, cities in Switzerland were "accidentally" bombed by both Axis and Allied airplanes. Adolf Hitler did indeed plan to invade Switzerland, but Switzerland had formed complex fortifications and amassed hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the mountains to thwart any Axis invasion. Because of the extreme mountainous conditions in Switzerland, Hitler decided to bombard the United Kingdom rather than engage in a costly war with Switzerland.
Lithuania [ edit ]
Latvia [ edit ]
Estonia [ edit ]
Microstates [ edit ]
Andorra [ edit ]
Liechtenstein [ edit ]
Monaco [ edit ]
Monaco (occupied by Italy and later Germany)
San Marino [ edit ]
San Marino (briefly occupied by Germany, 17–20 September 1944; declared war on Germany, 21 September 1944)
Vatican City [ edit ]
Asia [ edit ]
Afghanistan [ edit ]
Afghanistan remained neutral throughout World War II.
Iran [ edit ]
Iran was neutral but occupied by the Allies (see Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran).
Saudi Arabia [ edit ]
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic contacts with Germany on 11 September 1939, and with Japan in October 1941. Although officially neutral, the Saudis provided the Allies with large supplies of oil. Diplomatic relations with the United States were established in 1943. King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud was a personal friend of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Americans were then allowed to build an air force base near Dhahran.[4] Saudi Arabia declared war on Germany on 28 February 1945 and Japan on 1 April 1945, but no military actions resulted from the declaration.
Tibet [ edit ]
Tibet (unrecognised; claimed by China but de facto independent), remained neutral throughout World War II
Turkey [ edit ]
Turkey was neutral until several months before the end of the war, at which point it joined the Allies. Prior to the outbreak of war, Turkey signed a Mutual Aid Pact with France and Britain in 1939. After the German invasion of France, however, Turkey remained neutral, relying on a clause excusing them if military action might bring conflict with the USSR, which, after the division of Poland, Turkey feared. Then, in June 1941, after neighbouring Bulgaria joined the Axis and allowed Germany to move troops through to invade Yugoslavia and Greece, Turkey signed a treaty of friendship with Germany. Turkey was an important producer of chromite — a key ingredient in the manufacture of stainless steel and refractory brick — to which the Germans had limited access. Sale of chromite to Germany or to the Allies (who had access to other sources, and mainly bought Turkish chromite in order to preclude its sale to Germany) was the key issue in Turkey's negotiations with both sides. Turkey halted its sales to Germany in April 1944 and broke off relations in August. In February 1945, after the Allies made its invitation to the inaugural meeting of the United Nations (along with the invitations of several other nations) conditional on full belligerency, Turkey declared war on the Axis powers, but no Turkish troops ever saw combat.
Yemen [ edit ]
Yemen remained neutral throughout World War II
Americas [ edit ]
Haiti [ edit ]
Haiti remained neutral throughout World War II.
Haiti remained neutral throughout World War II. Nicaragua remained neutral throughout World War II.
Conclusion [ edit ]
Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland held to the concept of armed neutrality, and continuously amassed soldiers to defend their nation's sovereignty from potential invasion. Thus, they maintained the right to become belligerent if attacked while in a state of neutrality. The concept of neutrality in war is narrowly defined and puts specific constraints on the neutral party in return for the internationally recognized right to remain neutral. A wider concept is that of non-belligerence. The basic treaty covering Neutral states is Convention V of The Hague Respecting the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers and Persons in Case of War on Land (1907). It is important to note that a neutral country takes no side in a war between other parties, and in return hopes to avoid being attacked by either of them. A neutralist policy aims at neutrality in case of an armed conflict that could involve the party in question. A neutralist is an advocate of neutrality in international affairs. The concept of neutrality in conflicts is distinct from non-alignment, i.e., the willful desistance from military alliances in order to preserve neutrality in case of war, and perhaps with the hope of preventing a war altogether.
In a study of Spain, Switzerland and Sweden during WWII, Eric Golson found that they engaged in economic realpolitik, as they traded with both the Axis and the Allied Powers.[5]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]WEST COVINA (CBSLA.com) — Authorities say a death investigation is underway in West Covina after a woman’s body was found inside a vehicle.
West Covina police say around noon Tuesday, officers received a call by a person who noticed a body hunched over in the backseat of a gray Volkswagen sedan.
The discovery was made in a Stater Bros. parking lot in the 300 block of North Azusa Avenue.
Although investigators haven’t released the woman’s identity, DMV records show the car is registered to an Orange County woman and the coroner’s office confirms they’re working her case. The cause of death was not immediately known.
On the windshield of a vehicle, an Uber sticker turned sideways was visible, reported CBS2’s Rachel Kim. Police, however, say they cannot confirm whether the woman was a driver for the company.
“Detectives are going to do their investigation and maybe find out how long it had been here,” Sgt. Brian Daniels of the West Covina Police Department said.
It remains unclear how long the body had been inside the vehicle.
“They are thinking she might have been there a day or two because the smell was really bad already, so it’s just really sad. It’s really shocking,” said Celine Portillo, a shopper.
The body has since been removed from the scene by the coroner’s office.
Off-camera, Kim spoke with a man who says the woman is his aunt. He confirmed that the vehicle was in fact hers and that she had just become an Uber driver.
Police said they are looking through security footage from the shopping plaza for any clues.The Council of Nine: True Change Starts From Within Self
Channeler: Tazjima Amariah Kumara
Greetings, we are the Pleiadian Council of Nine. We come to you today to speak of developments in your world and within yourselves.
There are many among the light workers who are presently undergoing various stages of waking up to whom and what they truly are. And then there is the greater population of the planet that has existed for numerous centuries, locked into an endless karmic wheel, unable to get off the unmerry-go-round.
So, what is the difference between these two groups of people and why should we bring it to your attention?
First, the light workers volunteered or were sent here by their home worlds as emissaries of light to embody upon GAIA, in order to imbue the planet with the benefit of the light that their souls carry within. Since millions of light workers have arrived in various waves through the last 40 to 70 years, with each increasing wave the light frequency of the planet has subtly but steadily increased. Pioneer souls have also long visited this world and have left teachings that have been interwoven into the fabric of your world religions.
However, millions of light workers have embodied and are still coming in as babies leading to a huge upsurge in the light quotient of the planet, as each succeeding wave of light makes it easier for souls of great light to even embody here. In fact, the Light has increased so much that now the general population is slowly beginning to wake up, and start through stages of spiritual development much like those of earlier generations of light workers. Yet many of these newly awakened do not have the language or understanding of the process which they are currently experiencing.
Even many of the younger light workers, depending on their own |
(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) NASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 23: Kyle Vanden Bosch #93 of the Tennessee Titans confronts D'Brickashaw Ferguson #60 of the New York Jets at LP Field on November 23, 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) LOS ANGELES - FEBRUARY 12: New York Jet football player D' Brickashaw Ferguson (L) and host Drew Carey speak during \"The Price is Right\" Million Dollar spectacular taping at CBS Television City February 12, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) HEMPSTEAD, NY - JANUARY 24: D'Brickashaw Ferguson of the New York Jets poses for a portrait on January 24, 2008 in Hempstead, New York. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney tries to get around the block of New York Jets tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, October 1, 2006. The Colts defeated the Jets 31-28. (Photo by Brian Killian/NFLPhotoLibrary) LANDOVER, MD - AUGUST 19: Tackle D'Brickshaw Ferguson #60 of the New York Jets looks on during the NFL preseason game against the Washington Redskins August 19, 2006 at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) HEMPSTEAD, NY - JUNE 15: D' Brickashaw Ferguson #60 (R) of the New York Jets blocks against Kimo von Oelhoffen #67 during Mini Camp practice on June 15, 2006 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) NEW YORK - APRIL 29: D'Brickashaw Ferguson with his family after being selected fourth oveall by the New York Jets in the 2006 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall on April 29, 2006 in New York City. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) NEW YORK - APRIL 29: D'Brickashaw Ferguson was selected fourth overall by the New York Jets at the 2006 NFL Draft on April 29, 2006 at Radio City in New York City. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) NEW YORK - APRIL 28: D'Brickashaw Ferguson stands at the top the Radio City Music Hall Marquee during a NFL Draft Photo Op in Manhattan April 28, 2006 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Brown/Getty Images) NEW YORK - APRIL 28: D'Brickashaw Ferguson (L) and Mario Williams joke around during the NFL Draft Preview on April 28, 2006 at Winter Garden in the World Financial Center in New York City. (Photo by Michael Brown/Getty Images) NEW YORK - APRIL 27: Offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson of the University of Virginia is interviewed by the media during the NFL Draft Luncheon at Chelsea Piers on April 27, 2006 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) CORAL GABLES, FL - NOVEMBER 26: Offensive lineman Ferguson D'Brickashaw #66 of the Virginia Cavaliers blocks against the Miami Hurricanes at the Orange Bowl on November 26, 2005 in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images) EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - SEPTEMBER 07: Geno Smith #7 of the New York Jets is helped up from the turf by D'Brickashaw Ferguson #60 during the fourth quarter of a game against the Oakland Raiders at MetLife Stadium on September 7, 2014 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - AUGUST 07: Tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson #60 of the New York Jets looks on against the Indianapolis Colts during a preseason game at MetLife Stadium on August 7, 2014 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/Getty Images) EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - AUGUST 07: Tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson #60 of the New York Jets looks on against the Indianapolis Colts during a preseason game at MetLife Stadium on August 7, 2014 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/Getty Images) EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 13: Linebacker Jason Worilds #93 of the Pittsburgh Steelers rushes the quarterback and tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson of the New York Jets blocks on October 13, 2013 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - SEPTEMBER 11: D'Brickashaw Ferguson #60 of the New York Jets runs with an American Flag on to the field during pregame festivities against the Dallas Cowboys during their NFL Season Opening Game at MetLife Stadium on September 11, 2011 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 23: Jerricho Cotchery #89, Santonio Holmes #10 and D'Brickashaw Ferguson #60 of the New York Jets celebrate after Cotchery scored a fourth quarter touchdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2011 AFC Championship game at Heinz Field on January 23, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - AUGUST 27: Albert Haynesworth #92 of the Washington Redskins battles D'Brickashaw Ferguson #60 of the New York Jets during their preseason game on August 27, 2010 at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)Please enable Javascript to watch this video
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio -- Hundreds and hundreds of masks occupied the Steubenville courthouse steps Saturday.
They were there for a protest organized by the online activist group Anonymous to voice their opposition to a shocking teen rape case.
"I couldn't even imagine what that mom is going through. And I'm just thankful that Anonymous brought attention because for months, there was nothing out there," said Donna from Canton.
Two 16-year-old football players, Trent Mays and Ma'lik Richmond, are charged with raping a 16-year-old girl at series of back to school parties in August.
Police say they documented the night through pictures, video, and tweets online.
"This is for justice for the victim, nobody else. This is not a race thing," said an anonymous protestor.
Many bloggers and hacktivists believe the alleged crimes were covered up because the teens are star football players in town.
"We need to draw more attention to date rape, teen rape, and kids posting video to YouTube," said another protestor.
"There are a lot of great students at Big Red. It's a shame that no one is calling out the few that did this," added another protestor.
This protest comes one week after another protest, also organized by Anonymous.
Last time there was a counter-protest across this street. This time, those numbers dwindled.
"Anywhere Steubenville goes, we're labeled now. Come on now, you can't call us rapists if you don't know what is going on. That courthouse right there. Whatever happens, let it happen in there. Not out here," said Simon Feaster, of Steubenville.
*Click here for extended coverage on this story...A mother has filed a lawsuit against Fulton County Schools and four of its employees related to incidents that occurred in 2015 that she says led her son to attempt suicide.
The suit claims that a teacher at Mimosa Elementary School mistreated her son — who was in third grade at the time — to the point where he tried to kill himself in the teacher’s classroom. The suit also alleges that school and district leaders ignored her allegations about the teacher.
Fulton County Schools spokeswoman Susan Hale said the school system is “not able to provide comment” on the pending litigation.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is not naming the mother to protect the identity of the student.
The boy survived the suicide attempt, but the suit claims he said he “wanted to die” because the teacher had been “verbally and physically abusing and bullying him.”
According to the suit, which was filed Tuesday, the boy needed medical treatment for his trauma and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The filing does not specify details of the child's suicide attempt, or whether he remained enrolled in the teacher's class.
The eight-page lawsuit details incidents beginning Feb. 2, 2015, when the boy was transferred into the teacher’s classroom at the Roswell school. The student told his mother during this month that he was “upset” because the teacher questioned him daily about “what bad things were going on at home.”
The mother then went to the assistant principal and asked that the teacher be investigated and monitored, the suit says. The administrator “assured” her he would “monitor” the teacher’s conduct.
But, the suit claims that the assistant principal did not investigate or report the mother’s allegations about the teacher.
The boy attempted his suicide in May 2015, and the mother again went to the assistant principal. Then, in a letter dated Aug. 6, 2015 addressed to the principal and the district superintendent, the mother reported the teacher’s conduct, claiming the teacher had verbally and physically abused her son.
She claims that letter and her allegations were ignored.
The mother is seeking damages totaling $550,000 from school administrators, the teacher and the school system for counts of negligence and is requesting a trial by jury. She is represented by Courtney B. Newman and Fred Joseph Rushing Jr., of the Rushing Firm in East Point, who were unavailable for comment Thursday.
Like North Fulton County News Now on Facebook | Follow on Twitter and Instagram
MORE NORTH FULTON NEWS...Enlarge Image James Martin/CNET
Five Reasons You Should Care Facebook Is Changing Again
The Inside Scoop On The Latest Change To Facebook
You'll Never Guess What Facebook Is Doing This Time!
So much for headlines like that. The world's largest social network is going up against internet journalism's biggest scourge: click bait.
You know what I'm talking about. They're the type of headlines that overpromise and underdeliver, that lure you into reading something without substance.
In recent years, these headlines have followed a predictable format, written with drama and pizzazz but far less informative than The New York Post's famous "Headless Body In Topless Bar."
If that were rewritten as click bait, it'd probably be: "You'll Never Guess What They Found In THIS Bar!"
Facebook is weeding these headlines out by -- no surprise -- training an algorithm on the problem. The company has already identified and punished people who post click bait headlines by watching how much time lapses between someone clicking on a link and then returning back to Facebook. Too short, and it's probably click bait.
Now the company's going even further.
Facebook categorized tens of thousands of headlines as click bait, then taught a computer to identify new, similarly useless examples.
Click bait headlines tend to be similar, the company said. They typically withhold information or exaggerate what the story is actually about.
A Facebook spokeswoman declined to say which publications the company had identified as the worst offenders, though I've got my eye on a few. None of them apparently has been warned about this change.
"We anticipate that most Pages won't see any significant changes to their distribution in News Feed as a result of this change," Facebook data scientist Alex Peysakhovich and company researcher Kristin Hendrix said in a statement. "Websites and Pages who rely on click-bait-style headlines should expect their distribution to decrease."
We'll see. Or should I say: You Wouldn't Believe What's About To Happen To Click Bait Headlines!Think you can pick all the winners in the NCAA tournament? Probably not. There over nine quintillion different bracket combinations — that’s a nine, followed by 18 zeros, which, if filled out by hand and stacked on top of each other, would be enough paper to reach Pluto and back 60 times. You could trim that down to 128 billion-to-1 odds by factoring in ratings and seedings. Or, you can just copy this perfect NCAA tournament bracket that is guaranteed* to win your pool.
(* As we note every year, this might be more like a Patrick Ewing guarantee than a Joe Namath guarantee.)
[The Post’s interactive bracket: Make your picks!]
Let’s start with the most important pick you will make in the bracket: the national champion.
In most scoring systems, choosing the correct national champion is worth the same number of points as going 32-for-32 in the first round, and, according to data from the past six years of the official bracket game of the NCAA tournament, every one of the last six winners had the participants and winner of the national championship game right. Luckily, there is a blueprint we can follow to find out who the last team standing will be.
The Washington Post's Neil Greenberg and Dan Steinberg reveal their picks for this year's biggest upsets in the NCAA tournament. (McKenna Ewen/The Washington Post)
Over the past 15 years, every national champion except one, Connecticut, a No. 7 seed in 2014, was a No. 1, 2 or 3 seed. Winners have also played in one of the top five strongest conferences per the Simple Rating System, a schedule-adjusted margin of victory rating that is expressed in points per game, with an SRS of zero indicating an average team. And all but three of the past 15 winners have had their own, individual SRS rank in the top 4 nationally.
[NCAA tournament cheat sheet – All the top tips and tricks]
The qualifying conferences this year include the Big 12, ACC, Big East, Big Ten and SEC, leaving No. 1 North Carolina (25.1 SRS, second-highest) and No. 1 Villanova (24.8 SRS, fourth highest) as our potential national champions. No. 1 Gonzaga, which has the highest SRS in the nation (25.8), is discounted due to playing in the West Coast Conference (3.5 conference SRS, 10th in the nation). West Virginia (24.8 SRS, third highest) is a No. 4 seed.
Top-seeded Kansas, the No. 1 team in the final AP poll, doesn’t qualify, but don’t let that worry you. Since the NCAA expanded the tournament field to 64 in 1985, only four teams ranked No. 1 in the final AP poll ended the season as the national champion. The most recent, Kentucky, was five years ago. Duke (1992 and 2001) and UCLA (1995) are the others. It is not even a lock the top-rated team makes it to the Final Four — since the bracket’s format changed to 68 teams in 2011, only Florida (2014) and Kentucky (2012 and 2015) have made it that far.
[Most vulnerable top seeds for March Madness include Kansas, UCLA]
You also want to shy away from teams that rely too heavily on the three-point shot. According to Ed Feng, creator of the sports analytics site ThePowerRank.com, teams that rely on three-point shooting tend to have a wider variance in their point outcomes. Feng’s research shows that since 2002 only one eventual champion, Villanova in 2016, took a significantly higher percentage of field goals from beyond the three-point line than the collegiate average. However, Coach Jay Wright changed his strategy considerably in the tournament and had his team take an average rate of shots from behind the arc.
Villanova is taking 44.1 percent of their field goals from behind the arc this year (average is 36.4 percent) and could change its offensive mix again, but give your title vote to the Tar Heels, who are the best offensive rebounding team in the nation (42 percent), creating extra possessions for an offense that scores 122.1 points per 100 possessions (fourth-highest).
Plus, North Carolina has terrific spot-up shooters in Justin Jackson, the ACC Player of the Year, and junior point guard Joel Berry II.
Jackson is excellent around the basket (1.2 points per possession on runners in the lane, 1.3 points per possession on drives to the rim) while Berry has an effective field goal percentage of 69.2 percent on his no-dribble jumper.
A perfect Final Four is nice to have, but not essential. Less than half a percent of people that have filled out a bracket in the past six years have gone 4-for-4. You’re much more likely to get two right, preferably the same two teams that will be up against one another in the title game.
Joining North Carolina in the Final Four will be No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 2 Duke and No. 3 Oregon.
The Ducks share a bracket with No. 10 Oklahoma State, who is likely to upset No. 7 Michigan, and No. 11 Rhode Island, who should beat No. 6 Creighton in the first round. That makes it easier for Oregon to get to the Sweet 16, where it will move past No. 2 Louisville before an Elite Eight showdown with No. 1 Kansas.
Oregon, like any strong tournament team, is good offensively (117.7 points per 100 possessions, 19th in the country) and defensively (93.9 points allowed per 100, 22nd). But their “secret sauce” is discipline, giving up just 520 foul shots all season, with free throws accounting for just 26.6 percent of all shot attempts allowed, 18th lowest rate in the nation.
As for the early rounds: don’t stress too much over the first round and be conservative with picking upsets. Since 2011, no winner in the official bracket game of the NCAA tournament has had more than 25 points in the first round, which translates to seven incorrect picks on average. Plus, the higher seed has historically won 74.5 percent of first-round games while 74 percent of the higher-seeded teams have been victorious in second-round games, so go with the chalk, zeroing in on only a handful of upsets.
And don’t pick a No. 1 seed to be an upset victim in the first three rounds. Over the 426 games they’ve played in the first three rounds since 1985, top seeds prevailed 373 times. That’s a 87.6 percent success rate. Don’t advance the lower-seeded teams too far, either. The No. 14, No. 15 and No. 16 seeded teams have gone 32-379 (7.8 percent win rate) against opponents seeded at least four spots higher than them.
The double-digit seeds most likely to advance from the first round? Look at No. 12 Middle Tennessee, No. 10 Marquette, No. 10 Oklahoma State and No. 11 Rhode Island as the best bets, and look for No. 6 Cincinnati to make an appearance in the Sweet 16.
[2017 NCAA tournament: The most likely upsets for the first round]
Cincinnati is another team with good rebounding skills (offensive rebound percentage of 35.8 percent, 19th in the nation) and takes care of the ball (15.2 percent turnover rate, 10th best). Plus, the Bearcats are opportunistic on defense, creating turnovers on 20.8 percent of defensive possessions.
And don’t try to score on forward Gary Clark in the low post. The 6-foot-7, 230-pound junior is holding opponents to a 30 percent field goal percentage in the post with a 31.6 percent forced turnover rate. In other words, you are more likely to turn the ball over than you are of making a shot with Clark acting as the primary defender.
So, what does perfection look like? A little something like this.“We simply asked if there was good evidence that people who are more religious have more self-control,” Dr. McCullough. “For a long time it wasn’t cool for social scientists to study religion, but some researchers were quietly chugging along for decades. When you add it all up, it turns out there are remarkably consistent findings that religiosity correlates with higher self-control.”
As early as the 1920s, researchers found that students who spent more time in Sunday school did better at laboratory tests measuring their self-discipline. Subsequent studies showed that religiously devout children were rated relatively low in impulsiveness by both parents and teachers, and that religiosity repeatedly correlated with higher self-control among adults. Devout people were found to be more likely than others to wear seat belts, go to the dentist and take vitamins.
But which came first, the religious devotion or the self-control? It takes self-discipline to sit through Sunday school or services at a temple or mosque, so people who start out with low self-control are presumably less likely to keep attending. But even after taking that self-selection bias into account, Dr. McCullough said there is still reason to believe that religion has a strong influence.
“Brain-scan studies have shown that when people pray or meditate, there’s a lot of activity in two parts of brain that are important for self-regulation and control of attention and emotion,” he said. “The rituals that religions have been encouraging for thousands of years seem to be a kind of anaerobic workout for self-control.”
In a study published by the University of Maryland in 2003, students who were subliminally exposed to religious words (like God, prayer or bible) were slower to recognize words associated with temptations (like drugs or premarital sex). Conversely, when they were primed with the temptation words, they were quicker to recognize the religious words.
“It looks as if people come to associate religion with tamping down these temptations,” Dr. McCullough said. “When temptations cross their minds in daily life, they quickly use religion to dispel them from their minds.”
Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content, updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters.
In one personality study, strongly religious people were compared with people who subscribed to more general spiritual notions, like the idea that their lives were “directed by a spiritual force greater than any human being” or that they felt “a spiritual connection to other people.” The religious people scored relatively high in conscientiousness and self-control, whereas the spiritual people tended to score relatively low.
“Thinking about the oneness of humanity and the unity of nature doesn’t seem to be related to self-control,” Dr. McCullough said. “The self-control effect seems to come from being engaged in religious institutions and behaviors.”
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
Does this mean that nonbelievers like me should start going to church? Even if you don’t believe in a supernatural god, you could try improving your self-control by at least going along with the rituals of organized religion.
But that probably wouldn’t work either, Dr. McCullough told me, because personality studies have identified a difference between true believers and others who attend services for extrinsic reasons, like wanting to impress people or make social connections. The intrinsically religious people have higher self-control, but the extrinsically religious do not.
So what’s a heathen to do in 2009? Dr. McCullough’s advice is to try replicating some of the religious mechanisms that seem to improve self-control, like private meditation or public involvement with an organization that has strong ideals.
Religious people, he said, are self-controlled not simply because they fear God’s wrath, but because they’ve absorbed the ideals of their religion into their own system of values, and have thereby given their personal goals an aura of sacredness. He suggested that nonbelievers try a secular version of that strategy.
“People can have sacred values that aren’t religious values,” he said. “Self-reliance might be a sacred value to you that’s relevant to saving money. Concern for others might be a sacred value that’s relevant to taking time to do volunteer work. You can spend time thinking about what values are sacred to you and making New Year’s resolutions that are consistent with them.”
Of course, it requires some self-control to carry out that exercise — and maybe more effort than it takes to go to church.
“Sacred values come prefabricated for religious believers,” Dr. McCullough said. “The belief that God has preferences for how you behave and the goals you set for yourself has to be the granddaddy of all psychological devices for encouraging people to follow through with their goals. That may help to explain why belief in God has been so persistent through the ages.”First Sarah Palin endorsed Donald Trump at a time she had negative 11% favorables with the GOP.
Then she missed the first event of the day following her endorsement.
Then she blamed her son being involved in a domestic incident on Barack Obama’s treatment of veterans, turning off a lot of veterans in the process by suggesting those who came back from overseas were no longer able to control themselves and were not culpable for their actions.
Then she went to a Trump rally the day of the election with tons of undecided voters and started attacking Congressman Steve King, one of the most popular politicians in Iowa.
It was really an amazing spectacle. Sarah Palin then turning on Ted Cruz pretty rapidly and attacking him as unlikable, etc. was almost as pathetic as Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum showing up at Trump’s rally.
Sarah Palin did a huge favor for both Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. She should really be thanked for leading the carnival barker wing of the party to Donald Trump.[Editor’s Note: In light of the recent news the the cast of the Big Bang Theory stands to make $1mil per episode over the next three years, plus 1% in equity (resulting in $90-100mil per actor), I figured what better time than today to republish this masterpiece?]
I have several arch nemesis’ in the entertainment world. Off the top of my head, there’s Nick Cannon, Criss Angel “Mindfreak”, Jaden Smith, Flo from the Progressive Auto Insurance commercials, Taylor Lautner, and, of course, celebrity chef Guy Fieri. I staunchly detest everyone on that list, especially Guy Fieri, who I have a longstanding blood feud with.
But my hatred for all the aforementioned combined pales in comparison to the entire cast of The Big Bang Theory. As anyone who may follow me on social media already knows, I loathe The Big Bang Theory with the white-hot fury of 1,000 suns. Even on their worst days, Lautner and Flo couldn’t evoke the level of discontent I have for this show.
I don’t get it. I truly don’t. This thing is consistently nothing more than a televised pile of dog shit, yet it pulls in monster ratings. Make no mistake about it, I’m more than aware that TBBT is a massive success in every way, shape and form. Not only are the first run episodes still drawing huge numbers, but the syndicated episodes have slowly but surely been replacing Seinfeld in many markets.
What! The! Fuck!?
The Big Bang Theory is simply not funny! It’s not. And if you’re thinking to yourself, “But it is!”, you’re just wrong. Sorry, but your brain is wired incorrectly. Its success insults me not only as a comedy writer, but also as an intelligent human being who knows funny. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is funny. Workaholics is funny. South Park is funny. Arrested Development is funny. Underrated series’ like FX’s Legit and Adult Swim’s Children’s Hospital are funny. But this tired, uninspired and predictably corny series, my friends, is not. In fact, if you were to ask this guy, it’s the drizzling shits.
And the thing is, while it always rates well, 9 out of 10 people usually agree with my point of view. It’s like cocaine. You know people are using it, but no one’s openly admitting it. Much like no one proudly shouts, “Hey, guess what!? I’m coked up out of my mind!”, no one ever tweets “I find The Big Bang Theory hilarious!”
For the past year or so, every so often I’ll log onto Twitter and post my Big Bang Theory Challenge. What, pray tell, is the Big Bang Theory Challenge, you ask? It’s when I invite any fan of the show to send me a YouTube clip of the show. If it successfully makes me so much as smile, I will immediately PayPal that person 20 bucks.
No one’s been paid. They likely never will. Why? Because I’ve seen funnier eulogies.
I hate that we live in a world where Jim Parsons beats Louie C.K. in anything! Louie is hands down one of the most talented comic minds I’ll ever live to see. I say that with all sincerity. And at the 2013 Emmys, Jim Parsons beat out not only Louie, but also Jason Bateman, Alec Baldwin and Don Cheadle.
Again – What! The! Fuck!?
How is this happening?! And I’m not slamming Parsons just to slam him. He was good in Garden State. He has talent. But you watch Alec Baldwin deliver one impeccably written, sharp bit of dialogue in 30 Rock and you immediately realize he’s infinitely more deserving of the trophy. The Big Bang Theory characters aren’t even nerds. They’re the old-timey, outdated nerd stereotype. They’re the nerd Halloween costume. Tough acting, that certainly is not.
Try acting like a nerd around your house right now. Do it. Seriously. Pretty fucking easy, right? Hell, maybe you’ll win an Academy Award!
And the writing is abysmal. The formula, for damn near every joke, is as follows. Nerds are so gosh darn nerdy that they can’t act normal in regular life! Wash. Rinse. Repeat. For example, here’s a bit of gut-busting dialogue that’d surely crack up the CBS writing room:
“Sheldon, do you want a piece of pie?”
“A piece of pie? Are you asking if I want to divide 3.14? If so, what should I divide it by? (pulls out calculator)”
YUCK.
If Kate Upton threw me up against a wall and said two things – 1. I want to have sex with you. And 2. I love The Big Bang Theory – I’d have an existential crisis.
Either way, regardless of my diatribe, this undeserving wheel will continue to spin for years to come. Because, sadly, Mid America actively devours awful humor, like so many Full Throttle Chicken Blasters at one of Guy Fieri’s crappy restaurants.
Ugh.
Cheers.FFP 7438 Police Tech Focus Gift Box- Black for me was the perfect gift for my father who I have to say is using this torch constantly and already it has proved itself invaluable. My father is partially sighted and therefore needed a torch which had a strong beam and because this torch has a white light brings a lot of things into focus. Dad uses this to look into cupboards which he finds difficult or for making writing stand out more which this does all.
It has helped him also find his path more easily and even when other members of my family have used outside the home late at night this torch's strong light really does makes things stand out.
The torch is a nice size and fits neatly in any hand. It has a small press switch at the far end of the torch which is easy to use and for my father means he does not have to search for a switch which has proved invaluable for his needs. Any other torches I have purchased in the past always had the switches positioned on the side and nearly always the same colour of the background of the torch. With this torch it only takes a quick press of the end of the torch and it immediately is in working order.
Another reason I do like this torch is it has three separate beams which are easily changed by twisting the end where the actual light is, therefore with a small twist of the light the actual breadth and strength of the light is changed quickly and easily. The actual breadth of the light does not take away the brightness of the light which is another plus for the torch.
The torch is enclosed in a very smart black box which looks good and is actually proved useful for storage. Also provided is a small black bag for carrying the torch plus a loop handle, everything in the design of the torch is provided for a reason and this for me is a perfect torch.
The FFP 7438 Police Tech Focus Gift Box(Black) is a torch I would highly recommend as a torch which will provide a high quality light for those who want a torch either for practical or professional reasons.What’s at stake: Since 2008, the asset purchases made under QE have increased drastically the aggregate level of bank reserves, thereby weakening the control of the Fed's federal funds rate. On Wednesday 17 September 2014, the Federal Reserve announced a revised plan for the mechanics of how it will raise interest rates from near zero despite large excess reserves.
Real Time Economics writes that as part of the so-called exit strategy, the Fed will continue to rely on its benchmark federal funds rate, an overnight interbank lending rate, as the key rate used to communicate Fed policy. But the primary tool for moving the fed funds rate will be the interest rate the Fed pays on the money, called excess reserves, that banks deposit at the central bank. The Fed also will use an interest rate it pays on trades called reverse repurchase agreements, or reverse repos, to help ensure the fed funds rate stays in its target range.
The old way of raising rates
Michael Woodford writes that it will be an interesting experiment in monetary economics because the Fed will be attempting to control short-term interest rates in a situation where almost certainly its balance sheet is going to be unusually large. That means that there are going to be extraordinary quantities of excess reserves in existence, and this means that Fed control of short-term interest rates will not be achievable in the way that it always was in the past: through rationing the supply of reserves. The Fed would maintain a fairly small supply of reserves, small enough that there was indeed an opportunity cost of reserves, and it could adjust that opportunity cost fairly precisely through relatively small changes in the supply of reserves.
John Cochrane illustrates in the figure below the standard story for monetary policy, and one option for the Fed when it wants to raise rates. In this story, the Fed controls interest rates by rationing the amount of non-interest-paying reserves. Banks must hold reserves in proportion to their deposits. If the Fed sells bonds, taking back reserves, the banks must get along with fewer reserves. They bid up the Federal Funds rate they pay to borrow reserves from each other. Treasury rates and other rates rise by arbitrage with the Federal Funds rate. So all interest rates rise.
The new way of raising rates
Todd Keister, Antoine Martin, and James McAndrews writes that recently, attention has turned to an alternative approach to monetary policy implementation by effectively “divorcing” the quantity of reserves from the interest rate target. The basic idea behind this approach is to remove the opportunity cost to commercial banks of holding reserve balances by paying interest on these balances at the prevailing target rate. Under this system, the interest rate paid on reserves forms a floor below which the market rate cannot fall. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand adopted a particular version of the “floor-system” approach in July 2006.
Todd Keister, Antoine Martin, and James McAndrews writes that the key feature of this system is immediately apparent in the exhibit: the equilibrium interest rate no longer depends on the exact quantity of reserve balances supplied. Any quantity that is large enough to fall on the flat portion of the demand curve will implement the target rate. In this way, a floor system “divorces” the quantity of money from the interest rate target and, hence, from monetary policy. This divorce gives the central bank two separate policy instruments: the interest rate target can be set according to the usual monetary policy concerns, while the quantity of reserves can be set independently.
Policy “normalization” principles and plans
In its press release, the FOMC writes that during normalization, the Federal Reserve intends to move the federal funds rate into the target range set by the FOMC primarily by adjusting the interest rate it pays on excess reserve balances. During normalization, the Federal Reserve intends to use an overnight reverse repurchase agreement facility and other supplementary tools as needed to help control the federal funds rate.
Real Time Economics writes that since the authority to pay interest on reserves does not extend to other participants in short-term rate markets, such as government-sponsored enterprises and money market funds, the central bank has developed so-called overnight reverse repurchase agreements that allow it to withdraw liquidity from the system even from non-banks.
The FOMC writes that it intends to reduce the Federal Reserve’s securities holdings in a gradual and predictable manner primarily by ceasing to reinvest repayments of principal on securities held in the SOMA. John Cochrane writes that the Fed should stop referring to “normalization” when it talks about reducing the size of its balance sheet. The Fed may discover that a huge balance sheet, reverse repos for everyone, and even near-zero rates and zero inflation are a permanent and healthy policy configuration. If you’ve called tiny reserves that don’t pay interest “normal,” it’s going to be awfully hard to accept that the “new normal” is just fine.Epperson/Getty Images
For years, physicians and scientists have been aware that statins, the most widely prescribed drugs in the world, can cause muscle aches and fatigue in some patients. What many people don’t know is that these side effects are especially pronounced in people who exercise.
To learn more about the effect statins have on exercising muscles, scientists in Strasbourg, France, recently gave the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor to a group of rats for two weeks, while a separate control group was not medicated. Some of the rats from both groups ran on little treadmills until they were exhausted.
It was immediately obvious that the medicated animals couldn’t run as far. They became exhausted much earlier than the rats that had not been |
.
Scientific pantheism has a joyous affirmative approach to life. It has a healthy and positive attitude to sex and life in the body. We won’t tell you what you should be smoking or doing in the bedroom. We fully accept diverse gender choices, and we oppose all forms of discrimination.
Scientific pantheism moves beyond “God” and defines itself by positives.
Atheism and Agnosticism both define themselves negatively, in relation to a “God” that they deny or doubt. These are useful starting points – but they don’t take us very far. Most people also need positive beliefs and feelings about their place in Nature and the wider Universe. We take Nature and the Universe as our start and finish point, not some preconceived idea of “God.” We do not believe in a supernatural creator god who watches or judges us. Most of us avoid god-language or religious words like church, worship, divinity and so on. We regard them as misleading. Some of us do like these words, but they use them metaphorically, in a similar way to how Einstein used the word.
Get the Scientific Pantheism handbook.
Our basic principles
Our beliefs and values are summarized in our Pantheist Statement of Principles.
The statement was drawn up by fallible humans. It is not required dogma – it is simply a notice on our door, to show what we are about so people can decide if it suits them or if they want to learn more.
These are the key elements:
Reverence, awe, wonder and a feeling of belonging to Nature and the wider Universe.
Respect and active care for the rights of all humans and other living beings.
Celebration of our lives in our bodies on this beautiful earth as a joy and a privilege.
Strong naturalism – without belief in supernatural realms, afterlives, beings or forces.
Respect for reason, evidence and the scientific method as our best ways of understanding nature and the Cosmos.
Promotion of non-discrimination, religious tolerance, freedom of and from religion and complete separation of state and religion.
Spiritual but not religious
Many people feel the need to belong to a religious community. Research shows that such groups provide mutual support and friends and are good for physical and mental health. There’s no good reason why groups of like-minded non-theistic folk should not enjoy similar benefits.
In the WPM we are spiritual but not religious. We don’t have churches, priests, or prescribed dogma and rituals. But we do aim to provide a “home base” for people who love Nature and the Universe and do not believe in supernatural entities.
Two of the major benefits our members and friends say they value are gaining new like-minded friends and finding a place where they can share their enthusiasms without fear of being ostracized or feeling isolated. There have been many local meetings of members across the USA and in other parts of the world, where people have found a rare level of fellowship and stimulation.
The WPM’s short term goals are to:
Promote the values of environmental concern and human and animal rights.
Make earth-honoring life-affirming naturalistic beliefs widely available as a rational alternative to supernatural and theistic religions.
Promote forums for these beliefs and values on various Internet channels and other media.
Encourage local gatherings by providing fora for networking.
Support separation of church and state and freedom of religion (including non-religion).
In the longer term, as resources permit, we hope to:
Build up numbers of members and friends in localities and promote the formation of longer-lasting local groups
Create a network of civil celebrants for Nature and life-oriented child dedications, weddings, and funerals
Sponsor Nature conservation activities and help members to conserve Nature
Actively address other issues such as women’s rights, animal rights, science education including evolution and climate change, drug laws, dark skies, and more.
If you would like to help promote these goals, please consider becoming a WPM member. Volunteering is another great way of supporting the WPM.
All who agree with our principles are encouraged to join our Facebook page (with more than 160,000 fans), or join our Facebook discussion groupwith more than 10,000 members.
Closely allied beliefs
We use the name pantheism because the term encompasses a long and venerable history dating back to Heraclitus and Marcus Aurelius and extending to Einstein, D. H. Lawrence and beyond.
Our beliefs (see the Statement of Principles) are entirely compatible with atheism, humanism, agnosticism, universalism, and symbolic paganism (viewing magic, gods and spirits as symbols rather than objective realities). We offer a home to all forms of naturalistic spirituality however you may choose to label it. Other paths that approximate include philosophical Taoism, modern Stoicism, Western forms of Buddhism that celebrate Nature and daily life without supernatural beliefs, and Unitarian Universalists who do not believe in supernatural beings.
You are free to adopt the terms and practices you prefer and draw on other traditions for inspiration or celebration. Some call this a religion (a positive one), while others call it a philosophy, a way of life, or a form of general spirituality. It’s up to you.
Please explore our pages. If you have any questions, please contact us.Average increase across the country of 2.3% prompts calls from campaigners for the fares and ticketing system to be overhauled
Higher rail fares have come into effect, with passengers across Britain facing an average rise of 2.3%, prompting renewed outcry from campaigners.
The overall rise in prices will outstrip the increase in season tickets set by the government, leading unions to accuse private train companies of milking the system.
Labour party research shows that season tickets have gone up by an average of 27% since 2010, while the TUC found that rail fares had risen at more than twice the rate of inflation and wages over the last decade.
Rising fares and crowded trains: the misery of Britain's rail users Read more
According to Labour, some commuters will now payover £2,000 more to travel to work than when the Conservatives came to power in 2010. A comparison of costs on nearly 200 routes shows that the average commuter is now paying £2,788 for their season ticket, £594 more than in 2010.
The shadow transport secretary, Andy McDonald, said: “Passengers have faced truly staggering fare rises of over £2,000 since 2010. Fares have risen more than three times faster than wages, and passengers on some routes have also been hit by stealth fare rises of up to 162%.”
A Virgin Trains season ticket between Birmingham and London now costs £10,200, up £2,172 since 2010, while commuters travelling from Brighton to London on the troubled Southern Rail route now pay almost £1,000 more than in 2010, Labour’s research found.
“Passengers were always told that higher fares were necessary to fund investment, but vital projects have been delayed by years and essential maintenance works have been put on hold,” McDonald said. A less fragmented railway, under public ownership, would have lower costs, he added.
The transport secretary, Chris Grayling, took a different view. He said: “We are delivering the biggest rail modernisation programme for more than a century, providing more seats and services. We have always fairly balanced the cost of this investment between the taxpayer and the passenger.”
The train companies pocket millions in compensation for delays Read more
The Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators and Network Rail, said around 97p in every pound paid by passengers goes back into running and improving services. Its chief executive, Paul Plummer, said: “Nobody wants to pay more to travel to work and at the moment in some places people aren’t getting the service they are paying for.”
This year the rise in overall fares, which is set by train companies, outstrip the rise in season tickets and other regulated fares. Fares on Virgin Trains East Coast have risen by 4.9% overall, with the company pushing up the price of some off-peak singles by 7% and the price of a ticket London to Edinburgh up to £137.20.
Regulated fares have increased by 1.9% in line with July’s retail price index inflation figure, which is three times higher than the consumer price index (CPI) figure that the government more commonly employs.
The Campaign for Better Transport called on the government to use CPI inflation figures to determine fare rises. It also demanded a cap on increases on walk-on fares, and season tickets targeted to equally benefit part-time workers.
Lianna Etkind, a spokeswoman for the campaign, said: “With the average cost of an annual season ticket into London now more than £4,000, many people can simply no longer afford to get to work. It’s clear to us, and to millions of passengers up and down the country, that the whole fares and ticketing system needs overhauling.”
Rail fare rises driven by hikes on Virgin Trains East Coast Read more
The TUC’s research shows that rail fares have increased by 56% since 2006, more than double the rise of 24% rise in average earnings and 26% in inflation over the decade.
Action for Rail, a campaign by rail unions and the TUC, says the UK’s privatised rail service has increased costs for commuters. It plans protests at more than 100 stations around Britain on Tuesday, when the majority of commuters will return to work after the new year holiday.
The TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, said: “British commuters are forced to shell out far more on rail fares than others in Europe. Many will look with envy at the cheaper, publicly-owned services on the continent.
“Private train companies are milking the system, and the government is letting them get away with it.”
A survey for the campaign group We Own It found that around half of respondents believed fares would fall under public ownership. According to polling by Survation, 48% of people believed train travel would be cheaper in a renationalised railway, and 58% said privatisation had been a failure.
Cat Hobbs, the director of We Own It, said: “We need an integrated, efficient railway that is accountable to all of us. Profits should be invested for the benefit of passengers, not shareholders.”
The rail fare increases come as strikes continue to affect passengers on Southern rail. Services were disrupted and some lines closed by a three-day strike by conductors from the RMT union in a long-running row over reforms to their jobs and duties. The latest strike started on 31 December and concludes on Monday. Southern said a “team of contingency conductors” was keeping key routes open.
The most extreme disruption yet in the Southern dispute looms next week, when a a six-day walkout by drivers from 9 January is expected to bring the network to a complete standstill.NFL Nation reporters assess every first-round pick.
1. Los Angeles Rams*
Jared Goff, QB, California | Highlights
The pairing of a spread quarterback who spent 99 percent of his college career taking snaps in the shotgun with the team that was in that formation the least in 2015, leaves a lot of questions about how quickly Goff can transition to the NFL and a pro-style offense. But Goff's feet and ability to maneuver in the pocket is enough to make him a worthwhile pick for the long term. The Rams gave up a ton to get Goff but they absolutely had to find a potential franchise passer. Now it's up to them to put him position to succeed. Thumbs up. -- Nick Wagoner
*Acquired in trade with Titans
2. Philadelphia Eagles*
Carson Wentz, QB, North Dakota State | Highlights
To be clear, the Eagles deserve credit for taking chances here, trading away draft picks and players to move up for a chance at a franchise quarterback. There was nothing safe about it. Will Wentz be The Man in Philadelphia? We’ll find out. Thumbs up. -- Phil Sheridan
*Acquired in trade with Browns
3. San Diego Chargers
Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State | Highlights
The Chargers significantly upgraded the team’s run defense with the addition of Bosa. At 6-foot-5, 269 pounds, not only is Bosa stout against the run, but he’ll add juice to an ailing San Diego pass rush that hasn’t finished in the top 10 in the NFL in sacks since 2010. Thumbs up. -- Eric D. Williams
4. Dallas Cowboys
Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State | Highlights
You can quibble with taking a running back this high, but clearly the Cowboys think Elliott will be special and be even more special behind their offensive line. The Cowboys had eight rushing touchdowns last season and were led by Joseph Randle’s four. He played in only four games. Elliott had 44 touchdowns in three seasons at Ohio State. This move is an attempt to recapture the magic of 2014 with DeMarco Murray. Thumbs up. -- Todd Archer
5. Jacksonville Jaguars
Jalen Ramsey, DB, Florida State | Highlights
Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell had to be turning cartwheels after San Diego took Bosa and Dallas took Elliott because he landed the best defensive player in the draft in Ramsey. He can play safety and corner, though it appears from comments coach Gus Bradley made last week that they plan to play Ramsey as a corner. Ramsey is an elite athlete who has safety size (6-foot-1, 209 pounds) with cornerback coverage skills. He’s a perfect fit for Bradley’s defense. Thumbs up. -- Mike DiRocco
6. Baltimore Ravens
Ronnie Stanley, OT, Notre Dame | Highlights
The Ravens go with the safe pick at offensive tackle by choosing Stanley over Ole Miss' Laremy Tunsil. This was time for Baltimore to draft a franchise left tackle with Joe Flacco coming off season-ending knee surgery and Eugene Monroe proving unreliable at protecting Flacco's blind side. Stanley is experienced enough to start immediately. Thumbs up. -- Jamison Hensley
7. San Francisco 49ers
DeForest Buckner, DE, Oregon | Highlights
A physical freak for the Ducks at 6-foot-7, 291 pounds, Buckner is more than familiar with new Niners coach Chip Kelly, who recruited Buckner to Oregon. That gives the 49ers a pair of former Ducks at either end in their 3-4 defense, which gave up more than 2,020 rushing yards ago, and needs fresh blood in the trenches. Buckner had 10.5 sacks for the Ducks last season, including one of Goff. Thumbs up. -- Paul Gutierrez
8. Tennessee Titans*
Jack Conklin, OT, Michigan State | Highlights
Conklin is a bit of a self-made man as a college walk-on who turned himself into a first-round pick. By selecting him after a trade up to No. 8, the Titans are saying he can start at right tackle from the outset of his rookie year. He will bring an attitude they need to be contagious, and can maul in the run game with more to prove in pass protection. I’m a bit wary of the possibility of drafting a persona as much as traits. But he’s going to help. Thumbs up. -- Paul Kuharsky
*Acquired in trade with Rams and Browns
9. Chicago Bears
Leonard Floyd, OLB, Georgia | Highlights
The Bears moved up two spots to draft a player who had 4.5 sacks in 2015. Floyd never dominated at Georgia. He is an incredible athlete, but the pick is risky. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will have to coach up Floyd, who needs to put on weight. The Bears did need another pass-rusher, but to surrender a fourth-round choice for Floyd is odd. Thumbs down. -- Jeff Dickerson
*Acquired in trade with Buccaneers
10. New York Giants
Eli Apple, CB, Ohio State | Highlights
The first hour of the draft couldn’t have gone worse for the Giants. Conklin and Floyd, two guys they liked, went off the board right before them. Tunsil, a guy they liked even better than Conklin, slid down the board due to an unfortunate Twitter video. But given the unfortunate circumstances, the Giants did well to react and take a big New Jersey cornerback who fills a short-term and long-term need. And my goodness, the name! Eli Apple! Big Apple! Born to be a Giant, no? Thumbs up. -- Dan Graziano
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Vernon Hargreaves III, CB, Florida | Highlights
The Bucs upgraded at cornerback with their pick of Hargreaves, a Tampa native. The Bucs had focused on the 5-foot-10, 204-pound cornerback for a while, and they gained a fourth-round pick from the Bears (No. 106) in trading down from No. 9 to No. 11. After general manager Jason Licht hit on last year’s draft, he follows it up with a savvy first round this time around. Thumbs up. -- Andrew Astleford
12. New Orleans Saints
Sheldon Rankins, DE, Louisville | Highlights
Rankins made so much sense for the Saints at No. 12 that all four of our ESPN mock drafts had him projected to New Orleans. He’s an athletic 3-technique tackle who can be an asset against the run and pass -- for a defense that greatly needs to improve in both areas. Thumbs up. -- Mike Triplett
13. Miami Dolphins*
Laremy Tunsil, OT, Ole Miss | Highlights
Despite character concerns due to a video that surfaced online Thursday, the Dolphins took a major risk by selecting Tunsil at No. 13. Ryan Tannehill is the most sacked quarterback (184) in the NFL since being drafted in 2012, and Tunsil should be an immediate starter who will help with pass protection. But there will be plenty of temptations in South Florida and South Beach, and Tunsil must first prove to the Dolphins that he can stay out of trouble. Thumbs down. -- James Walker
*Acquired in trade with Eagles
14. Oakland Raiders
Karl Joseph, S, West Virginia | Highlights
There was no doubt the Raiders liked Joseph as a potential second-round pick. Turns out, they loved him as their first-rounder. The hard-hitting safety might remind some fans of Mike Mitchell but Joseph may have better hands with his five interceptions last season for the Mountaineers. He is coming back from a knee injury, though, having played only four games. Still, he addresses a need in the Raiders’ secondary. Thumbs up. -- Paul Gutierrez
15. Cleveland Browns*
Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor | Highlights
The Browns chose speed over size when they took Coleman. He ran a 4.35 40-yard dash at the combine, but is short of 5-foot-11. The Browns are badly in need of playmakers and guys who score touchdowns, though, and Coleman had 20 TDs last season. That is at least a good place to start. Thumbs up. -- Pat McManamon
*Acquired in trade with Eagles and Titans
16. Detroit Lions
Taylor Decker, OT, Ohio State | Highlights
Bob Quinn’s first pick as the general manager of the Lions is a safe one and a smart one. Matthew Stafford was sacked 89 times the past two seasons and taking Decker at No. 16 was a good decision by Quinn. Decker can come in and play right tackle immediately, improving the running game and giving Stafford more protection. Long term, he could end up as Stafford’s blindside protector. Thumbs up. -- Michael Rothstein
17. Atlanta Falcons
Keanu Neal, S, Florida | Highlights
The Falcons took a player they knew could step in and help improve the defensive immediately. Neal is an in-the-box safety who hits like a linebacker. He brings toughness and attitude, and he can play that Kam Chancellor role coach Dan Quinn had in Seattle as the defensive coordinator. Quinn recruited Neal to Florida, so there’s familiarity. Thumbs up. -- Vaughn McClure
18. Indianapolis Colts
Ryan Kelly, C, Alabama | Highlights
The Colts are finally showing their commitment to protecting franchise quarterback Andrew Luck with the pick of Kelly. Kelly hopefully stops the revolving door at that position for the Colts. They’ve started five different players at center since selecting Luck with the No. 1 overall pick in 2012. Thumbs up. -- Mike Wells
19. Buffalo Bills
Shaq Lawson, DE, Clemson | Highlights
The surprise selections of Corey Coleman and Keanu Neal helped Lawson fall to the Bills, who weren’t expected to have a shot at one of the draft’s best edge defenders. Many expected the Bills to address their front seven and they did better than expected on this one. Thumbs up. -- Mike Rodak
20. New York Jets
Darron Lee, OLB, Ohio State | Highlights
The Jets wisely passed on QB Paxton Lynch, a major project. They went defense for the seventh consecutive year in the first round, taking a new-age linebacker in Lee. At 6-foot-1, 232 pounds, he’s undersized to play inside backer in Todd Bowles’ 3-4 scheme, but he’s crazy fast -- a 4.47 in the 40 at the scouting combine. He can be a three-down player and will help in pass coverage. The Jets’ goal was to improve their team speed on defense. Mission accomplished. Thumbs up. -- Rich Cimini
21. Houston Texans*
Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame | Highlights
The Texans needed speed and get it with this pick. Will Fuller ran a 4.32 40-yard dash, but he isn’t just a track star. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Fuller led the Power 5 conferences in receptions and touchdowns on passes thrown longer than 20 yards. Thumbs up. -- Tania Ganguli
*Acquired in trade with Redskins
22. Washington Redskins
Josh Doctson, WR, TCU | Highlights
The Redskins did not have an immediate need at receiver at all. They need defensive help. However, they know this is a deep defensive draft and absolutely must focus on it after the first round. But, and it’s a big but, I like that the Redskins stuck with a best-player-available theory in taking Doctson. He’s a player they loved, but they did not anticipate taking him. However, after the draft changed in terms of players selected, the Redskins opted for Doctson. He’ll be a good red zone target for a team that needs guys in that area. Another key: Receivers DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon both are free agents after next season. Thumbs up. -- John Keim
23. Minnesota Vikings
Laquon Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss | Highlights
The Vikings wanted a true split end and in Treadwell they got one. He doesn’t turn 21 until this summer, has the size to handle press coverage (and block for Adrian Peterson) and he should give Teddy Bridgewater a much-needed target in an offense that ranked 31st in the league in passing last season. Thumbs up. -- Ben Goessling
24. Cincinnati Bengals
William Jackson III, CB, Houston | Highlights
The Bengals grabbed a cornerback who will help them absorb the potential loss of Dre Kirkpatrick, a veteran corner who will be available for free agency next offseason. The Bengals’ pick came after two pivotal receiver picks from a pair of their former coordinators (Jay Gruden, Washington; Mike Zimmer, Minnesota). Previously, a receiver had been the expectation at No. 24. Jackson led the nation in passes defensed last season with 28. His pick also takes him away from the rival Steelers, who appeared to be interested in him. Thumbs up. -- Coley Harvey
25. Pittsburgh Steelers
Artie Burns, CB, Miami | Highlights
The Steelers desperately needed corner help, so they made it happen with a long, athletic player many evaluators considered a top-three corner in the draft. His technique is an issue at times, and he’ll face questions about whether he can handle the Steelers’ zone-heavy coverage, but he had six interceptions last season in the ACC. The Steelers can utilize a deep defensive tackle class later in the second round. Thumbs up. -- Jeremy Fowler
26. Denver Broncos*
Paxton Lynch, QB, Memphis | Highlights
Lynch is a project, a player with a second-round grade from many teams, but the Broncos have the ability to give Lynch the time he needs to develop. Mark Sanchez certainly could serve as the team’s starter until they believe Lynch is ready. Perhaps Lynch wasn’t the best player on the board at the moment they selected him, but he is exactly the kind of big-framed, strong-armed prospect the Broncos want at the position. Thumbs up. -- Jeff Legwold
*Acquired in trade with Seahawks
27. Green Bay Packers
Kenny Clark, DT, UCLA | Highlights
The Packers allowed 4.5 yards per rush last season, the fourth-worst average in the NFL. And they lost their best run-stopping defensive lineman, B.J. Raji, who unexpectedly decided to walk away from football. So getting an interior lineman with excellent size (6-foot-2½, 314 pounds) and strength (29 reps on the bench press at the combine) should help even with his UCLA teammate Myles Jack on the board. Plus, Clark had six sacks last season for UCLA as a junior and he’s only 20 years old. Thumbs up. -- Rob Demovsky
28. San Francisco 49ers*
Joshua Garnett, G, Stanford | Highlights
The Niners traded up, surrendering picks in the second, fourth and sixth rounds to the Chiefs for the No. 28 pick and their seventh-rounder to draft a guard? Sure, Garnett was the Outland Trophy winner but he is a left guard and the Niners’ big free-agent acquisition is left guard Zane Beadles. Strange pick, indeed, considering the bigger need is at right tackle. Thumbs down. -- Paul Gutierrez
*Acquired in trade with Chiefs
29. Arizona Cardinals
Robert Nkemdiche, DT, Ole Miss | Highlights
The Cardinals got a steal here with Nkemdiche, the risky defensive tackle from Ole Miss. He’s talented and makes the Cardinals’ defense (fifth in the NFL in 2015) even scarier with another pass-rusher. Arizona has taken on players who have dealt with off-field issues before, as Nkemdiche did in college. Thumbs up. -- Josh Weinfuss
30. Carolina Panthers
Vernon Butler, DT, Louisiana Tech | Highlights
Love this pick as much as general manager Dave Gettleman loves "hog mollies," his name for big men. Put Butler in the middle of a rotation with Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short, Carolina’s first- and second-round picks of the 2013 draft, and quarterbacks beware. The best way to take pressure off the secondary minus Josh Norman is to pressure the quarterback. This crew should be able to do that. Thumbs up. -- David Newton
31. Seattle Seahawks
Germain Ifedi, OT, Texas A&M | Highlights
Judging based solely on his film, he's probably not a first-rounder. But Ifedi (6-foot-6, 324 pounds with 36-inch arms) has rare physical attributes and tested out well. The Seahawks believe in drafting prospects like Ifedi and letting offensive line coach Tom Cable work with them. Ifedi has experience playing right guard and right tackle. He could compete for a starting spot right away but is more of an upside pick with an eye toward the future. Given that the Seahawks have defined strengths and weaknesses, this pick makes sense. And the Seahawks were able to pick up an extra third-round pick in the process by trading back with the Broncos. Thumbs up. -- Sheil Kapadia
*There were only 31 picks in the first round, with New England's first-round pick forfeited.Walter Cronkite's illustrious career is remembered for the historic events he covered, from the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. to the moon landing and the Vietnam War. But Cronkite also reported on burgeoning social movements, including the struggle for gay liberation. After becoming a target of that movement, Cronkite would become a behind-the-scenes ally.
Following the Stonewall riots in 1969, as the nascent gay rights movement became increasingly combative, a gay Philadelphia teenager initiated his own guerrilla war aimed at television, including the "CBS Evening News." Nineteen-year-old Mark Segal became angry when he and a male friend were thrown out of a television dance program one August afternoon in 1972 after the program's host saw them dancing together. In retaliation, Segal barged into the studio of Philadelphia's WPVI a few days later during its evening newscast. Startled studio personnel wrestled him to the floor, tied his hands with a microphone cable and called the police.
Segal became a walking terror with his "zaps," as they were called. In 1973, his targets included "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" and "The Mike Douglas Show." He and a friend staged their last and most notorious zap when they posed as college students and obtained passes for the "CBS Evening News With Walter Cronkite." Midway through the broadcast on Dec. 11, 1973, as Cronkite began a story about Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Segal darted in front of the camera with a sign reading "Gays Protest CBS Prejudice."
"I sat on Cronkite's desk directly in front of him and held up the sign while the technicians furiously ran after me and wrestled me to the floor and wrapped me in wire -- on camera," he recalled in an interview. "The network went black while they took us out of the studio."
Ever the professional, Cronkite reported on the event. "Well, a rather interesting development in the studio here -- a protest demonstration right in the middle of the CBS News studio," Cronkite told viewers. He later explained: "The young man was identified as a member of something called Gay Raiders, an organization protesting alleged defamation of homosexuals on entertainment programs." Segal was charged with trespassing.
Cronkite may have been more startled when Segal's attorney tried to serve him with a subpoena to testify. After CBS attorneys blocked repeated attempts to deliver the document, Segal's lawyer informed the network of a little-used New York law that made photocopies of a subpoena as valid as an original. He threatened to make copies available to the Hells Angels, with a reward for anyone who served the subpoena. Faced with the prospect of having Cronkite stalked by gay activists and bikers, CBS lawyers relented.
When the trial began in April 1974, Cronkite took the stand, but CBS lawyers objected each time Segal's lawyer posed a question. During a recess, Segal felt a tap on his shoulder. "Why did you do that?" Cronkite asked about the incident in the studio.
"You're news censors," Segal responded. The anchorman was appalled. "If I can prove it," Segal then asked, "would you do something to change it?" He cited three examples, including a CBS report on the second rejection of a gay rights bill by the New York City Council. "Yes, I believe I wrote that story myself," Cronkite said.
"Well, why haven't you reported on the 23 other cities that have passed gay rights bills?" Segal asked. "Why do you cover 5,000 women walking down Fifth Avenue in New York City when they proclaim International Women's Year on the network news, and you do not cover 50,000 gays and lesbians walking down that same avenue proclaiming Gay Pride Day? That's censorship." Genuinely moved, Cronkite shook Segal's hand and thanked him.
The judge slapped Segal with a $450 fine. At the same time, Segal realized that his celebrity status was becoming a distraction. "I began to wonder if they were using me or I was using them -- I was not quite sure," he remembered. "After the Cronkite zap, the message began to get lost in the commotion. It began to look to me very unsavory."
Nevertheless, Segal's tactics paid off. Cronkite arranged meetings at CBS where Segal could voice his complaints to the top management. On May 6, 1974, Cronkite's newscast featured a segment on gay rights.
"Part of the new morality of the '60s and '70s is a new attitude toward homosexuality," Cronkite told his audience. "The homosexual men and women have organized to fight for acceptance and respectability. They've succeeded in winning equal rights under the law in many communities. But in the nation's biggest city, the fight goes on, with the city council due to vote on the matter again this week."
Reports on the status of gay rights in various cities followed, with one CBS correspondent pointing out 10 cities that had passed legal protections for gays and reporting that similar laws were under consideration in at least four others. At a New York luncheon 34 years later, I asked Cronkite about the zapping incident. "Oh, yes," he said with a smile and twinkle in his eye. "I remember that."
Meanwhile, Segal established his own newspaper in 1975, the Philadelphia Gay News, and remains its publisher today.
"He was the kind of man who believed in human rights for everyone," Segal said of Cronkite. "I am amazed and humbled by his willingness to reach out to me. He was a bridge between the gay movement and major media. We remained friends, and it was a privilege knowing him."
quprof@yahoo.com
Edward Alwood, a former CNN correspondent and journalism professor at Quinnipiac University, is the author of "Straight News: Gays, Lesbians, and the News Media."Like a good crime novel, the WikiLeaks disclosures are beginning to tie up all the loose ends of the long and mysterious story of Hillary Clinton’s private email server.
The key revelation is a 12-page memo about the intertwined finances of the Clinton Foundation and the Clintons personally. It was written by Doug Band, a longtime aide and associate of former president Bill Clinton and founder of business consulting firm Teneo. The memo discloses details of what the Clintons were doing when President-elect Obama said they couldn’t do it anymore if one of them was going to be secretary of state.
It was then, after the 2008 ethics agreement was reached, that Mrs. Clinton had aides set up a private email server in her home in Chappaqua and declined a state.gov account. Years later, when the State Department asked Secretary Clinton to turn over her official records, she and her legal team deleted 33,000 emails she deemed “personal.”
The subject line of Band’s memo, dated Nov. 16, 2011, was “Background on Teneo and Foundation Activities.” He sent it to two lawyers from the firm of Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett LLP, which was hired by Chelsea Clinton to review the governance of the foundation after she got an inside look at its finances. Copies were sent to President Clinton, Chelsea, board members Terry McAuliffe and Bruce Lindsey and special advisor John Podesta.
“Throughout the past almost 11 years since President Clinton left office,” Band wrote, “I have sought to leverage my activities, including my partner role at Teneo, to support and to raise funds for the Foundation. This memorandum strives to set forth how I have endeavored to support the Clinton Foundation and President Clinton personally.”
In a nutshell, Band used glittering foundation events to pitch potential clients, and he urged clients to donate to the foundation and hire the former president for paid speeches and lucrative advisory positions.
Money and gigs came in from clients like Coca-Cola, UBS and Dow. Another Teneo client was Laureate International Universities. “Teneo partners have helped manage this relationship, which is very time-consuming,” Band wrote. “Laureate pays President Clinton $3.5 million annually to provide advice and serve as their Honorary Chairman.”
Band said he personally secured more than $50 million in “for-profit activity” for President Clinton, along with $66 million in future contracts. “Justin Cooper and I have, for the past 10 years, served as the primary contact and point of management for President Clinton’s activities,” he wrote, listing those activities as politics, business, foundation work, speeches, travel, books and “family/personal needs.”
Band, who called Chelsea a “spoiled brat,” wasn’t happy at all to be questioned by lawyers from Simpson Thacher. Chelsea wrote in an email on Nov. 1, 2011, “Doug called and yelled and screamed at my Dad about how could he do this to Justin and him, he would be nothing without him, etc.”
Chelsea wasn’t happy at all with the way Band and Cooper treated her father. “Multiple people shared with me how upset they were at hearing how Justin referred to my father in the last week — in very derogatory ways,” she emailed Podesta and others on Nov. 4, writing that her father had been told of “multiple examples of Teneo ‘hustling’ business at CGI [Clinton Global Initiative].”
Still, the former president signed on as an adviser to Band’s firm a short time later. “I don’t believe in coincidences,” Chelsea wrote cryptically in an email to Podesta.
The Simpson Thacher review found serious problems with the foundation’s governance, including the complete lack of a required policy on conflicts of interest. Chelsea worried in a Dec. 2011 email that the foundation’s non-profit status might be at risk.
Before Doug Band was a consultant, he’d been the “body man” for President Clinton, the person who traveled with him everywhere. In 2012, Band hired Huma Abedin, the woman who travels everywhere with Hillary Clinton, to work for Teneo. In her simultaneous government job as deputy chief of staff, Abedin dutifully checked with Band to see whether people who sought meetings with Secretary Clinton were “legit CGI people,” according to a Dec. 4, 2012, email sent from Abedin’s State Department account.
Hillary Clinton was no bystander. Emails from Abedin about a $12 million donation to the foundation from the king of Morocco show the concerns of the staff about the appearance of Clinton’s personal request for the money and her promise to appear at a CGI event to be held in Morocco in May 2015. “She created this mess and she knows it,” Abedin wrote.
It’s perfectly clear, as President Richard Nixon used to say. Corporations and foreign governments seeking favorable treatment from the U.S. State Department were courted for cash. Access to government officials was “leveraged” to bring in money for the foundation and the Clinton |
shoulders:
"It's for your own good. I'll help you be yourself again, I promise."
"N-no." I shake my head desperately. "No, I can't… I won't g-go through that again. I'd rather die!" I scream, utterly terrified. "Go away!" I mindlessly throw the person that's holding my shoulders off of me and, once there are no longer in my personal space, I can finally breathe, but I don't turn down the aggressiveness, fearing that they'll return and hurt me if I do. "N-no, not again. No… No more, please…" I beg, no longer being able to conceal the fear, since it's way too overwhelming. "No more." As I notice the strength leaving me, the terror paralyzing me, I know that I won't be able to fight, to defend myself, so I close my eyes and hang my head low, accepting defeat… accepting that my life will always be an endless path of suffering and despair.
What I wasn't expecting though, was a pair of strong arms suddenly holding me tightly, scaring the shit out of me. But I can't do anything. I'm trembling with fear, and my limbs feel so weak I can't even move a finger on my own, so I just resign to whatever this person hugging me wants to do with me. Fighting is useless.
After a few minutes pass with nothing happening (no damage being inflicted on me), a certain fog that was clouding my mind clears off, and I now remember the person who is with me is Anna, not my father, and I notice she's crying as she holds my body as if her life depended on it. It's weird. But at least it doesn't totally feel bad… actually it doesn't feel bad at all.
"Anna?" I ask softly.
"Y-yes?" She asks between sobs, not breaking the embrace.
"Why are you crying?" She stops a little her sobs at my words.
"I-I'm crying f-for you."
See what you did? You made her cry. You are a monster; you only bring suffering.
Well, she deserved it…
Did she?
"Then why are you still here?" I say, not having the will to hurt her further, and wanting her to leave already. I think she's already learned her lesson. She won't hurt me anymore but, if her desperate sobs are any indication, she isn't coming back either.
"I-I'm crying for you. N-not b-because of you." What is that supposed to mean? "I'm crying b-because it p-pains me to know you went t-through such t-terrible things, to know y-you a-are still s-suffering because of that, and to k-know some of that pain… I-I inflicted to you." She pauses and swallows. "I wished I c-could feel it for you, t-to spare you from it."
So you're pitying me?
No, she's feeling bad for us.
It's the same.
It's not.
"Why are you hugging me?" I ask.
"Because a warm hug can somewhat mend a broken heart." She whispers. "Two, sometimes. "
Your heart is also broken? Did I broke it as you broke mine? Can you really mend them both?
"Really?" As I ask this, I detect a tiny bit of hope expressing on my tone of voice. It's just a spark, but it's there anyways, and this time I don't immediately try to push it down. On the contrary, I lean towards it, searching for its light to guide me out of the dark prison that I'm currently in.
Anna nods.
It's all I need to press my head on my shoulder, searching for more comfort in the form of physical contact… and, despite what the dark thoughts on my head may say, it actually works. I don't feel so helpless anymore, so lonely. I feel like I may actually have a chance, if not of being happy again, at least of experiencing happiness one more time before I leave this world.Taylor Swift isn’t exactly known for thought-provoking lyrics. She is bubbly, cheerful, humble and still classy, but her music is, well... predictable.
The sweetheart of pop music has released close to 100 songs, and almost every single one sounds the same — lyrically, that is.
She writes love songs — happy ones, sad ones, nostalgic ones, hopeful ones. Young love is her trademark topic. Her songs are catchy, but not deep. They are fun, but not profound. Girls everywhere know her songs by heart, but never stop and think about her words.
They’ve never had to. Until now.
Swift’s newest single, “Blank Space,” and has lingered in the No. 1 slot since its release. But the song, and its underlying message, is surprisingly dark — dare I say, disturbing.
Perhaps for the first time, her lyrics deserve attention, as does her commentary on our culture’s love problem.
“Blank Space” isn’t a love song. It’s a dark depiction of a dysfunctional relationship that descends into a bloodthirsty desire for revenge.
It’s not exactly like the pop princess to use words and imagery like “torture,” “flipping tables,” “screaming,” “pain,” “scars” and “nightmares.”
The song is deeply sad, and an eerily accurate reflection of the increasingly detached attitude among millennials toward relationships, and the accompanying notion that “love is a game,” as Swift sings.
This suggests that love either “lasts forever or goes down in flames,” and that in the “blank spaces” between relationships, one just “writes the name” of the next attractive person that comes along.
It is this “young and reckless” attitude toward love, as Swift suggests, that leads to “taking it way too far.”
And it is this careless, nonchalant attitude toward relationships — a sad spinoff of hookup culture — that ends up becoming the “long list of ex-lovers” that Swift bemoans.
Swift, like so many, seems to now see love as inevitable failure, going into relationships “dying to see how this one ends.” And, predictably, such an attitude ends with “screaming, crying, the perfect storm.”
So, the former queen of young and hopeful love has now given us the anti-love song, a perfect encapsulation of the dystopian nightmare that is our modern view of love.
Swift comes dangerously close to glamorizing this dysfunction, appearing borderline masochistic and almost gleeful at the thought of allocating pain and suffering in the name of retribution.
You can almost hear her smile and wink, as she does in her accompanying music video.
But there’s yet another problem with this song, one that hints at a gender-based double standard that Swift seems to be perpetuating. Considering some of these lyrics from “Blank Space,” imagine if they came from a male musician.
“Look at that face, you look like my next mistake,” “[Girls] only want love if it’s torture,” “It’ll leave you breathless or with a nasty scar,” “You can tell me when it’s over if the high was worth the pain,” “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Let’s be honest — these aren’t words we’d be singing along to if they came from the mouth of a man. There would be cries of misogyny and sexism, and probably a collective freak-out at the undertones of violence and abuse.
It’s not OK for men to sing about teasing and torture, or lashing out at exes with emotional or physical abuse, but when these words come from Taylor Swift, no one bats an eye.
Is it because she’s young? Famous? Female? Whatever it is, we shouldn’t glorify the femme-fatale version of feminism that Swift seems to be flirting with.
We shouldn’t glorify those who dangle their power and sexuality over others, who tease and tempt the opposite sex for the thrill of it or who look at their romantic partners as emotional playthings.
And we certainly shouldn’t glorify the fire of violent revenge that Swift is playing with.
But most of all, we shouldn’t glorify this gloomy, dysfunctional version of modern love that she seems swept up in.
Taylor Swift may have given up on the possibility of hopeful love, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us should.
From acculturated.comLet’s be clear about something. This idea that karma always catches up to people who are shady is for the most part a lie.
Karma is indeed “a bitch” when it comes calling, but it almost never does. Most people who are shady get away with it forever. That’s just how the world works. The old adage “no good deed goes unpunished” is an implicit refutation of the notion that karma is the great equalizer when it comes to rewarding the virtuous and punishing iniquity.
In most cases, it’s not karma that brings about the downfall of the shady. Rather, it’s hubris or some derivation thereof. Either that, or by some misstep, those who are shady run afoul of the “wrong” person and in the process meet their Waterloo.
Take Donald Trump, for instance. The President’s downfall has nothing to do with karma and everything to do with pride and arrogance. Virtually everyone who has dealt with Trump in his business career will tell you that he’s always been shady. As we’ve been keen on pointing out at every possible opportunity, the myth of Trump the “tremendous” businessman is just that: a myth.
As you’re no doubt aware, there’s a very strong case to be made that Trump isn’t a good businessman at all. Between all the bankruptcies, lawsuits and first-hand accounts detailing a history of abject buffoonery, it’s pretty easy to come to the conclusion that Trump couldn’t negotiate his way out of a wet paper bag, let alone lay claim to some imaginary crown bestowed upon the world’s best dealmaker. Recall this hilarious assessment from Elizabeth Warren posted earlier this year:
Let’s be honest – Donald Trump is a loser. Count all his failed businesses. See how he kept his father’s empire afloat by cheating people with scams like Trump University and by using strategic corporate bankruptcy (excuse me, bankruptcies) to skip out on debt. Listen to the experts who’ve concluded he’s so bad at business that he might have more money today if he’d put his entire inheritance into an index fund and just left it alone.
That last bolded bit is particularly amusing as it suggests that in fact, Trump could have lived the very same jet-setting life of luxury and debauchery completely free from the stress and lawyer fees had he just entrusted his money to Jack Bogle. In other words: every buy and hold investor on the planet is a smarter “businessman” than Donald Trump.
Here’s another fun factoid: Trump and his businesses have been sued so many times that there is literally one lawsuit for every episode of every show ever produced about lawyers.
While Trump’s shadiness in the real estate world is legendary, there are less spectacular but far funnier examples. There is, for instance, the time he single-handedly destroyed an entire pro football league and then, when a documentary was made about the boondoggle, he signed a letter to the filmmaker “P.S.: You are a loser.” Then there’s Trump University, which was forced to pay out $25 million earlier this year for defrauding some 6,000 students. He’s even tried to sell mail-order steaks and as of September, at least one national park was peddling his branded wine.
All of that is so shady as to be ridiculous and indeed, part of the reason Trump has been able to get away with everything he’s gotten away with over the course of his 7+ decades on Earth is that he became such a cartoon character that no one took him seriously.
And then… and then.
And then he pushed the envelope too far. He decided to run for President. That would have been fine. I mean, not really because Trump isn’t the type of person who should hold the highest office in the land, but if he had run an “honest” campaign devoid of divisive politics, hate, race-baiting, and outright lies, and still won, well then we’d all just have to swallow it.
But he didn’t. Instead, he ran on a platform that mixed hate, bigotry, and bombast with falsehoods and false hope. When that wasn’t enough, he allegedly turned to a hostile foreign government which played on the fears Trump and Bannon stoked by helping to propagate divisive messages and spread misinformation on social media. In the final insult, that hostile foreign power hacked the election itself and in the words of former-deputy national security adviser KT McFarland, “threw the U.S.A. election to [Trump].”
(From an e-mail obtained by the New York Times)
That was a bridge too far. Trump could have lived out his life in splendor, residing in golden monuments he constructed to himself, surrounded by sycophants, friends, and a family whose opulent lifestyle was guaranteed to continue for generations. But that wasn’t enough. So he pushed the envelope. Pride and arrogance told him he had to be President. And then, like so many business deals, he cheated to win – or at least that’s the accusation.
Now, every shady thing Trump has ever done that can be plausibly linked to Russia is being mercilessly scrutinized.
From the very beginning of this probe, we (and countless others) have contended that Trump’s business dealings may well end up being his downfall. On Tuesday, we got the latest evidence to support that contention when Handelsblatt reported that Robert Mueller has subpoenaed Deutsche Bank for documents detailing its relationship with Trump and the Trump family. To wit:
Deutsche Bank has been served. US investigators are demanding that it provide information on dealings linked to the Trumps, sources familiar with the matter told Handelsblatt. Donald Trump and his family have long-standing ties to Germany’s largest bank. The former real-estate baron has done billions of dollars’ worth of business with Deutsche Bank over the past two decades, and First Lady Melania, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner are also clients. According to media reports, Mr. Trump owed Deutsche Bank as much as $340 million (€286.5 million) at one point, though considerable restructuring appears to have brought down that amount. The president’s financial disclosure of June 16 reported $130 million in debt, a figure the bank has not publicly confirmed.
Earlier this year, Democrats led by Representative Maxine Waters of California, were rebuked by the bank which insisted that absent something formal, sharing information about the Trumps would be illegal.
“This bank has lent hundreds of millions of dollars to Donald Trump and his family members, and reportedly conducted an internal review of whether their accounts had any ties to Russia,” Waters said in a statement over the summer, expressing dismay at the bank’s perceived recalcitrance. “Efforts by Trump, his family members and associates, and Deutsche Bank to avoid scrutiny only intensify our resolve to follow the Trump money trail,” she added.
Well in light of the subpoena (issued “several weeks ago” apparently), Deutsche had the following to say in an e-mailed response to Bloomberg:
Deutsche Bank always cooperates with investigating authorities in all countries.
Citing an executive at the bank who requested anonymity, Bloomberg goes on to write that “Deutsche Bank management is ready to share information about the lender’s dealings with Trump and is hopeful that doing so will help end the series of inquiries from Democrats.”
“Deutsche Bank executives and lawyers had been expecting a demand for information from Mr. Mueller’s team as the special counsel investigation progressed,” people close to the bank told the Wall Street Journal.
Now recall the following exchange from Trump’s interview with the New York Times in July:
SCHMIDT: Last thing, if Mueller was looking at your finances and your family finances, unrelated to Russia — is that a red line? HABERMAN: Would that be a breach of what his actual charge is? TRUMP: I would say yeah. I would say yes. By the way, I would say, I don’t — I don’t — I mean, it’s possible there’s a condo or something, so, you know, I sell a lot of condo units, and somebody from Russia buys a condo, who knows? I don’t make money from Russia. In fact, I put out a letter saying that I don’t make — from one of the most highly respected law firms, accounting firms. I don’t have buildings in Russia. They said I own buildings in Russia. I don’t. They said I made money from Russia. I don’t. It’s not my thing. I don’t, I don’t do that. Over the years, I’ve looked at maybe doing a deal in Russia, but I never did one. Other than I held the Miss Universe pageant there eight, nine years [crosstalk].
Much has been made of that apparent “red line” for Trump on the Mueller probe. But think about all that’s happened since then. Trump cannot fire Mueller or otherwise move against him now – at least not without triggering a constitutional crisis. The indictments of Manafort and Gates and the guilty pleas from George Papadopoulos and Michael Flynn have for all intents and purposes made it impossible for the President to oust the Special Counsel. Irrespective of what you think about Mueller, the optics associated with firing him after multiple indictments and plea deals would be terrible.
You’re also reminded that news of the Deutsche Bank subpoena comes as Trump has stepped up his verbal assaults on the FBI. Over the weekend, he said this:
After years of Comey, with the phony and dishonest Clinton investigation (and more), running the FBI, its reputation is in Tatters – worst in History! But fear not, we will bring it back to greatness. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2017
So what does Trump do now? Mueller has definitively crossed the red line Trump drew in July. The President could of course simply say that Mueller is within his mandate to look into the transactions but that would be a tacit admission that there’s a reason to look at them.
Needless to say, it’s probably a stretch to suggest that Mueller won’t find something in Trump’s accounts that’s shady. Which gets us back to what we said here at the outset. When hubris prompts someone who has spent a lifetime engaging in questionable deals to push the envelope a bit too far thus offending the “gods”, all of those past misdeeds which would have remained shrouded in secrecy forever will be dug up and parsed.
Pride, Mr. President, goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.The excitement and buzz around Pokémon X & Y ahead of their worldwide launch was extraordinary, and it seems that the perceived hype has converted into big sales for the titles. Nintendo has announced that the two releases, combined, sold over four million copies in just two days, on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th October; that's even taking into account the fact that many European retailers are closed on Sundays.
Satoru Iwata has said the following:
The early response to Pokémon X and Pokémon Y not only reaffirms the ongoing passion of Pokémon fans, but also indicates that an entirely new generation of gamers is eager to experience the franchise for itself.
Nintendo has stated that, although direct comparisons are tricky, data suggests that these are the fastest-selling 3DS games in the portable's history to date. It's also difficult to compare directly with previous generations in the franchise that weren't released simultaneously worldwide, though the company states that X & Y are tracking ahead of Pokémon Black & White 2 by 70%. It was also confirmed that five sets of titles in the series have passed 10 million sales since 2002, so it'll be interesting to see whether X & Y eventually pass that milestone; they're off to a good start. The Pokémon brand, meanwhile, is cited as having surpassed 245 million game sales worldwide.
Big numbers for the new releases, which will surely continue to grow substantially during the Holiday season.READ THE TRANSCRIPT
BILL MOYERS: Back when Charlton Heston made that defiant boast at the NRA convention – that gun control advocates would have to pry his rifle from his cold dead hands – he must have thought he was back in the fantasy world of Hollywood, re-living his roles as those famous Indian killers Andrew Jackson and Buffalo Bill Cody, whose Wild West, as he called it, courses through the bloodstream of American mythology. For sure, Heston was not channeling his most famous role as Moses striding down from Mount Sinai with a tablet of stone inscribed with God’s blueprint for a civilized society, including the commandment: “Thou Shalt Not Kill.”
But the good lord seems not to have anticipated the National Rifle Association. Its conscience as cold and dead as Charlton Heston’s grip on his gun, the NRA has become the armed bully of American politics, the enabler of the gunfighter nation, whose exceptionalism includes a high tolerance for the slaughter of the innocent. “Mother Jones” magazine reports that at least 194 children have been shot to death since Newtown. 127 of them died in their own homes and dozens more in the homes of friends, neighbors, and relatives, not strangers. 72 pulled the trigger themselves or were shot by another youngster.
My native state of Texas leads the country in the number of young ones killed by guns. While some states passed tougher firearms legislation after Newtown, Texas enacted ten new laws against sane restrictions on guns. Which is partly why last month, four women had lunch at a restaurant just outside Dallas. It was a planning meeting for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, that’s a group started after Newtown that describes itself as the “Mothers Against Drunk Driving of gun reform.”
As the four women ate and talked, about 40 members of a pro-gun group called Open Carry Texas – champions of guns anywhere and everywhere – gathered outside the restaurant, many of them with their firearms. They said they were there not to intimidate but to make a point. Sure, as if real men need guns to make a point.
So it goes. “Thou Shalt Not Kill,” but if you do, hide behind the Second Amendment, made holier and more sacrosanct by the NRA than God’s own commandment.
We close with a simple public service announcement, produced by the very un-intimidated Moms Demand Action, marking this month’s Newtown anniversary.
ANNOUNCER in No More Silence: On December 14th, we’ll have a moment of silence for Newtown. But with 26 more school shootings since that day, ask yourself: Is silence what America needs right now?INDIANAPOLIS – Knicks rookie phenom Kristaps Porzingis hasn’t made a final decision on whether to play for Latvia in July, but admitted he is leaning toward staying with the Knicks coaching staff to bulk up.
“It’s a big offseason for me,’’ Porzingis admitted.
Porzingis’ rookie year, during which he created as big a Garden buzz as any rookie since Patrick Ewing, will end with him missing the final seven games due to a right shoulder strain that became more cumbersome than he originally thought. The 7-foot-3 shotblocker will miss Tuesday’s season finale in Indiana, meaning his next putback dunk could be in the Vegas summer league rather than an Olympic qualifier.
“It sucks not playing the last seven games,’’ the 20-year-old Porzingis said at the morning shootaround Tuesday at Bankers Life Field House. “I was expecting myself to be back and ready to go the last two, three games. It’s not the right decision to make right now, to rush and play. Something worse can happen. It sucks, but at the same time, you have to be smart about it in and listen to the medical staff.’’
According to a source, Porzingis had hoped soon after the season ended to take off for his home in Latvia and then visit friends in Seville, where he played three seasons in Spain. But the Knicks have asked him to delay the journey until they know his shoulder is healed, so he may be in town for another few weeks.
“I’ll stay here until I’m 100 percent,’’ Porzingis said.
Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis publicly lobbied for Porzingis to snub Latvia so he can stay in New York and get stronger with training staff. The time commitment to the national team, which includes a training camp, would be more than three weeks.
“Most of the offseason, I’ll be in New York,’’ Porzingis said. “I have great coaches. We have Kurt, Phil [Jackson]. To learn from those guys, it’s fundamental for me, especially my first offseason. They have a pretty clear idea on what they want me to work on.’’
Latvia placed Porzingis on its extended roster. Porzingis says he wants a few more days to sit down with family and think about it, but conceded skipping the Olympic play may be the best route. Porzingis will meet with Jackson, Rambis and GM Steve Mills in an exit meeting Thursday.
“Soon I’ll really sit down with my family, my brother Janis and make that decision,’’ Porzingis said. “Of course the organization, they’re the people I have to listen to, and I’ll sit down and make a decision.
“No. 1 is the team. Obviously I want to represent my country and Latvia, but I have to be smart about it. I have to listen to the people who are important. I haven’t decided 100 percent yet. I’ll sit down, calm, and make a decision.”
Considering he was billed as a project after being drafted fourth overall because of his rail-thin build, Porzingis had a dynamite rookie year and should finish second in the Rookie of the Year voting to Timberwolves No. 1 pick Karl-Anthony Towns. He lost weight as the season wore on, so adding about 20 pounds to his 235-pound frame would be a good start.
There is a debate on how hard Porzingis hit the rookie wall in late February and March — Jackson even said in March that Porzingis hit a “wall’’ — or whether Rambis adjusting his minutes and designated spots on the floor in the offense also were factors in his declining play. Porzingis finished out the season with a double-double in three of his final four games, but before that, had none under Rambis.
In playing 72 of 82 games, Porzingis finished averaging 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.
“Not effective enough so we can win and be in the playoffs,’’ Porzingis said when asked to reflect on his first season. “I tried to do the best I could. Things I know I could do: rebounding, scoring, block shots. I think I could’ve had a better year and done things better. That’s how you learn. Now I see what I’m missing from my game where I can be more effective and work on being a better player next season.’’The combined company will take on the name Meredith Media General.
Meredith CEO Stephen Lacy, photographed at their Des Moines, Iowa headquarters on March 27, says the media industry will be split into two categories: the consolidated and the consolidators. (Photo11: Rodney White, The Des Moines Register)
Media General, which owns or operates 71 television stations nationwide, reached a deal Tuesday to acquire Meredith Corp. for $2.4 billion, creating the third largest TV station operator in the U.S. and helping the companies diversify their revenue sources.
Meredith, based in Des Moines, owns or operates 17 TV stations and publishes several national magazines targeted primarily at women, including Better Homes and Gardens, Shape, Allrecipes and Parents. Its websites, many of them affiliated with the magazines, reach 200 million visitors monthly, Meredith said.
The combined company will own 88 TV stations in 54 markets after the deal closes, expected by the end of the second quarter next year. It will take on the name Meredith Media General.
Live TV viewership has been shrinking as the business has been roiled by the cord-cutting movement, with many consumers shedding costly cable subscriptions in favor of a patchwork of digital media subscriptions. And Meredith's magazine business faces the same challenges confronting the traditional media business, which is grappling with an exodus of advertisers and readers from print to digital.
Digital revenue affords the new company an avenue for growth, Meredith CEO Stephen Lacy suggested during a conference call Tuesday. "We have upside opportunity to really take the content from the Meredith side and aggressively monetize that into the... digital audience that Media General has built," he said.
Lacy also signaled that the company will pursue other opportunities for consolidation, including possibly acquiring other companies.
Lacy will become CEO of the new company, while Meredith Chief Financial Officer Joseph Ceryanec will become CFO.
The company said executives from both Meredith and Media General will make up the rest of the senior executive team, but it was not immediately clear whether that included Media General CEO Vincent L. Sadusky.
The cash-and-stock deal for Meredith reflects a price of $51.53 per share, a 12% premium over Friday's closing price. Including debt, the deal is valued at $3.1 billion.
The companies said they expect to slash $80 million in costs within the first two years, including $60 million in the first 12 months.
The combined company will have annual revenue of $3 billion with pre-tax profit of more than $900 million. RBC Capital Markets and JPMorgan Chase provided $2.8 billion in financing to complete the deal.
Combining the companies will reap “significant operating benefits,” said Carl Salas, Moody’s vice president and senior credit officer. But they “offset the increase in leverage and added exposure to print advertising,” he said.
To secure regulatory approvals, the new company plans to shed stations in six markets through sales or swaps: Portland, Oreg.; Nashville, Tenn.; Hartford-New Haven, Conn.; Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.; Asheville, N.C.; Mobile, Ala.-Pensacola, Fla.; and Springfield, Mass.
Officials said the company would keep its corporate offices in Des Moines and Richmond but will be incorporated in Virginia. It will have some 9,000 employees.
Two members of the Meredith family who collectively own 63% of the company's Class B shares have voted to approve the deal, which must also win approval from common stockholders from both companies.
Contributing: Roger Yu
Follow USA TODAY reporters Nathan Bomey and Roger Yu on Twitter @NathanBomey, @RogerYu_
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1UDXNDUFrom the start I would be tempted to say no. After all, vans are made for hauling stuff from A to B with a premium on load capacity. Theyre not aimed at playboys or petrol heads who are after sleek lines and a high headline speed. And as for handling... well the less said about that, the better. There is one comparison between vans and sports cars and that is they offer the driver the same poor standard of visibility. Perhaps Im being a bit unkind, some unremarkable and downright ugly ducklings of cars can be turned into beautiful swans with the right amount of TLC. Maybe the same can be said of vans? Its a challenge and no mistake, especially considering this Citroen Camionette H-Van.
Source
Mazda Van
Lets blow our minds with a pimped Mazda fan known to vanatics (van fanatics) as FAB 2. Massive skirts, surreal spoilers make this erstwhile Bedford Rascal into something rather different. Sexy? Well, its in the eye of the beholder but shes a little on the brash side for me.
Source
Chevrolet Truck
For something to look particularly appealing it needs to have an elegant air. Thats certainly the case here with ladys custom paint job whose metallic flakes make her glisten in the sunlight. Chrome grilles and vertical exhaust add that touch of retro class.
Source
GMC Van
Taking the same 1980s GMC van as seen in The A-Team, this vehicle is like a superstar who craves the spotlight. Or rather she is the spotlight. An attention-demanding, butch lady to be sure.
Source
Ford Falcon
These little vans are fun, great lookers and in the hands of a talented automobile spray painter, really come alive. She just glows on the tarmac, attracting keen glances and smiles alike. The cross-eyed expression is just one of those little foibles that keep a guy interested.
Source
Malta Bedford van
With features harking to the classic Plymouth Fury and Chevy 57 this van is ruggedly gorgeous and oozes charisma. Sure, shes seen a few knocks and hard times but theres some solid character right there on the surface.
Source
Short Wheelbase VW Camper
Some of the sexiest ladies on the planet fall into the elfin, slight, waif-like category. Occasionally a motor mechanic will try and pull off the same look when making a custom vehicle. Just take a look at this now very short wheelbase, suspension-lowered, VW Camper van. Its dinky and cute youd have no worries taking her to meet your family.
Source
Mystery Machine
Based on a Chevy van, this Scooby Doo inspired Mystery Machine might not strike you as particularly pretty but its bright, cheerful colours are retro and hip. And if you arent shallow and agree that attraction is more than just looks, it can be involve memories too then just imagine being with inside with Velma (or Daphne if you insist).
Source
Ice Cream Van
The way to any guys heart is through his stomach. It may be an old-fashioned view but its as true today as its ever been. So, cast your mind back to lazy, sultry summer days and the pleasant lilting call of the otherwise reticent ice cream van. This lady looks particularly hot in pink. Couple that with the fact that shes a Ford Transit, probably the best drivers van on the road, and you know youre going to have a good time.
Source
Custom Chevy Van
Custom vans dont come much sexier than this. Who would have thought someone could take a metal lumpen brick, smooth off those rough edges, impart a chic look of class, elegance and mystery and transform into a magnificent head-turner?
Source
And finally...
Batman Van?
Going way over the top is this stunningly awful/beautiful (delete as appropriate) custom van that takes the Dark Knight as its theme. Sublime? Ridiculous? The sexiest van of all time? Holy kitsch-overload, Batman!
Source
Nice rear?
SourceVisitors don't need a sign to know which building in the otherwise nondescript mini-mall is Machine Gun America — they just need to listen for the occasional gunfire that echoes through the walls.
Central Florida's "first Automatic Adrenaline Attraction" opened its doors this weekend in Kissimmee, and visitors from as far away as San Francisco and Brazil stopped in to fire a range of automatic and semi-automatic weapons in a variety of themes — from "Zombie Apocalypse" to "Automatic Divas."
"Yesterday was our first day, and we hit all our targets," said manager Bruce Nierenberg. "It was a nice, consistent traffic flow all day, and that's always good when you first start."
The building, which formerly housed theSizzlin' Grill Restaurant, could almost pass for a corporate cafeteria if not for the multitude of weaponry mounted behind the counter, the shot-up poster of Osama Bin Laden laying against the glass and the gift shop with T-shirts proclaiming "I shot zombies in Orlando."
Another T-shirt announces "I shot at Machine Gun America" through words and deeds — or more precisely, the bullet holes in the red and black target on the shirt, which can be mounted in the gun range for your firing pleasure.
Natasha Schweitzer, Chief Range Officer for Machine Gun America in Kissimmee, works with Orlando Sentinel reporter David Breen, Thursday, December 12, 2014. (Joe Burbank)
"I shot two guns at this," said Max Nelson, 14, of San Francisco, holding up his bullet-strewn shirt. "An MP5, fully automatic, and I think it was an ACR (Adaptive Combat Rifle) …"
"An AK-47," his dad John corrected him.
"Right, an AK-47, which is semi-automatic. It was really awesome. I got some pretty good shots. I got a little crazy with the fully auto-, but it was really fun, really cool. I'm definitely going to wear this to school if I'm allowed to."
Word of MGA seems to have traveled far — the Nelsons "heard about this from our cousins in Wisconsin, if you can believe that!" John said. "The safety here is really something. These guys really make sure you're safe."
Visitors can pull the trigger at Central Florida's "first Automatic Adrenaline Attraction" later this month when Machine Gun America opens on the U.S. Highway 192 tourist strip. Visitors can pull the trigger at Central Florida's "first Automatic Adrenaline Attraction" later this month when Machine Gun America opens on the U.S. Highway 192 tourist strip. SEE MORE VIDEOS
"I learned a lot about gun safety," Max added. "I learned a lot about how to properly stand. It's really not as dangerous as you might think actually."
What makes MGA unique, said manager Nierenberg, was that no shooter is alone and everyone is joined by a trained "range safety officer."
"That's what we want to communicate to people," Nierenberg said. "No one here shoots by themselves. … We want to make them feel comfortable and safe, and then they can have a good time."
Nierenberg also expects a lot of international visitors, like Sergio and Lucia Armelin of Sao Paulo, Brazil — drawn in part by the vast differences is gun laws.
"In Brazil, you cannot shoot like that," Sergio Armelin said. "You cannot have these kinds of machines. It's very different."
Lisa Tropepe, of Palm Beach Shores, the wife of one of the owners, tried out her own shooting prowess on a target coated entirely in pink and black — except for the target at the heart, white and full of holes.
"Nice grouping," said safety officer Natasha Schweitzer of Kissimmee. "Seriously!"
Nierenberg said that he expected traffic to build over the course of Christmas week as more visitors arrive. "And New Year's will be even busier," he said.
"We had a ball with it," John Nelson said. "An absolute ball. There was this thing that we didn't understand before, and now we shot a machine gun. You got to love that."Chuck and five collage.jpg
Clockwise, from left: Chuck's Fish restaurant on U.S. 280 in Birmingham, Five |
the process.In the four years that Ayanna Chisholm has worked collecting tolls out of tiny glass booths at the Holland Tunnel and elsewhere in New Jersey, there have been several constants. There are familiar commuters, malfunctioning toll arms, occasional scofflaws — and an incessant barrage of come-ons, sexual comments, lecherous stares and crude gestures from male motorists.
Some of Ms. Chisholm’s colleagues say they have been subjected to drivers’ exposing themselves. The fusillade is especially menacing because it is inescapable, the workers confined to small hutches on the highway.
Like other women in her profession, Ms. Chisholm, who works for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, has learned to wear little makeup, crack her booth’s window open as little as possible, and drop change into waiting hands to avoid drivers who try to stroke her palm.
“They know I can’t physically go after them,” said Ms. Chisholm, 26, who is also a student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “This is work, and I deal with it outside of work when I’m walking in the street. To come to work and still have to deal with that, it’s troublesome.”I Con the Record released two statements to mark the end of the Section 215 phone dragnet (which will take place at midnight tomorrow night): a statement and a “fact” sheet. They’re a curious mix of true statements, false statements, and probably false statements.
Here’s the true statement that USAF boosters aren’t retweeting (but which Jim Comey recently mentioned in congressional testimony):
Moreover, the overall volume of call detail records subject to query pursuant to court order is greater under USA FREEDOM Act.
Right now, the Section 215 phone dragnet is not getting some cell records, probably not getting all VOIP, and probably not getting non-telephony messaging. Even just the cell records creates holes in the dragnet, and to the extent it doesn’t collect Internet based calls and messaging, those holes would be especially problematic.
Which is why I’m struck by this language.
adopted the new legal mechanism proposed by the President regarding the targeted production of telephony metadata [snip] With respect to the new mechanism for the targeted production of telephony metadata, [snip] When will NSA implement the new, selected telephony metadata process required by the USA FREEDOM Act?
As I’ve noted, USA Freedom Act is technology neutral — the language of the law itself would permit collection of these other kinds of metadata. And while the House report says it applies to “phone companies,” it would be hard to argue that the maker of the most popular phone handset, Apple, is not a phone company, or handset/software manufacturers Google or Microsoft. So I suspect this is technically inaccurate.
Then there’s the deliberately misleading language, which is most notable in these passages but appears throughout.
On November 29, the transition period ends. Beginning Sunday, November 29, the government is prohibited from collecting telephone metadata records in bulk under Section 215, including of both U.S. and non-U.S. persons. [snip] That approach was enshrined in the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015, which directs that the United States Government will no longer collect telephony metadata records in bulk under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, including records of both U.S. and non-U.S. persons.
I’m sure the government would like terrorists and the press to believe that it “will no longer collect telephony metadata records in bulk … including records of both U.S. and non-U.S. persons.” In which case, this construction should be regarded as a huge success, because some in the press are reporting that the phone dragnet will shut down tomorrow night.
False.
Just a tiny corner of the phone dragnet will shut down, and the government will continue to collect “telephony metadata records in bulk … including records of both U.S. and non-U.S. persons” under EO 12333. Hypothetically, for every single international call that had been picked up under the Section 215 dragnet and more (at a minimum, because NSA collects phone records overseas with location information), a matching record has been and will continue to be collected overseas, under EO 12333.
They’re still collecting your phone records in bulk, not to mention collecting a great deal of your Internet records in bulk as well. BREAKING.
There’s one more misleading passage.
The legal framework permits providers to return call detail records which are either one or two “hops” away from a FISC-approved, terrorist-associated selection term. First hop selection terms (e.g., those that are in direct contact with a FISC-approved selection term) may be obtained from providers as well as from information identified independently by the government. These first hop selection terms may then be sent by NSA as query requests to the providers to obtain second hop records.
I Con the Record offers “those [call detail records] that are in direct contact with a FISC-approved, terrorist approved selection term” as an example of what it gets at each hop. But the language no longer requires that a “contact” be made — only that a connection be made. So it’s quite possible NSA will collect call detail records (which only need be a session identifier, so it doesn’t require any call actually be placed) of people who have never technically “contacted” the target.
There’s a reason they call this “I Con the Record,” you know.EPIC! Dana Loesch Mocks State Dept’s #JobsForISIS Plan by Holding a ‘Jihadi Job Fair’ (VIDEO)
UPDATE: Dana and Chris Loesch are on the cover this month of 573 magazine.
You can read more about it here.
FYI: The 573 website crashed today from traffic. The magazine aims to be a conservative alternative to liberal entertainment magazines.
The Obama White House wants to kill the jihadis with kindness.
The jihadis just want to kill.
Dana Loesch put together this “Jobs for Jihadis” segment in response to State Department spokesperson Marie Harf’s insistence that offering jobs to ISIS will solve the mass killings in the Middle East.
This was Terrific>>>
Country singer John Rich has another excellent idea on Jobs-for-ISIS:
State Dept thinks #isis just needs better jobs to dissuade them from being terrorists. I've got a job for em, holding my DownRange targets. — John Rich (@johnrich) February 18, 2015Getty Images
Each NFL team must decide whether to keep or discard a player following an arrest.
The Seahawks have made their decision on quarterback Trevone Boykin — for now.
Boykin was arrested this week under charges of public intoxication and two counts of marijuana possession. He reportedly was the passenger of a vehicle that injured five people when its driver allegedly backed into a crowd. The driver was arrested, too, for suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
On Friday, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll addressed the club’s commitment level to Boykin.
There are indications it could change as more information is gathered.
“We’ll see; we’ll see what happens here,” Carroll told John Clayton of ESPN in a radio interview. “Early indications are that we’ll give him an opportunity to be back with us. We’ll see what happens though.”
Boykin, 23, was an undrafted rookie last season from TCU.
He completed 13 of 18 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and an interception.MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Two Winona men are accused of kidnapping and forcing a Winona college student to strip before they allegedly threatened to cut him up with a meat saw.
The bizarre case unfolded in the early morning hours Sunday near downtown Winona. Court documents say a Winona college student told police he had been drinking and was lost when Abdirahman Samatar and John Demaske approached him and forced him into a nearby warehouse.
Public records show Demaske’s address is a grocery warehouse half a block away. The student says Demaske and Samatar then “made him strip naked and sit on a chair.”
The student said the men then slapped him, threatened to rape and kill him, and also “turned on the meat saw,” threatening that “he was going to be cut.”
Court documents reveal a different version of part of the story. Demaske told police that he caught the student trying to break in and that he suspected the student might have stolen from him before.
Neighbors would not go on camera but told WCCO Demaske had recently been the target of frequent break-ins
Demaske told the student he could leave after about 30 minutes, and the student ran naked outside.
Police found him a block away, where two friends were “holding flannel shirts around him,” and he was “crying hysterically.”
Police went to the warehouse and arrested Samatar and Demaske. Both were given a portable breath tests. The results of the tests are not being made public.
Winona police declined to comment. Samatar remains in jail, while Demaske is free on $25,000 bond.
WCCO was unable to reach Demaske for comment.VICTORIA B.C. – Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green Party, issued the following statement in response to the final vote counts for the 2017 B.C. provincial election, which has resulted in a legislature where no one party has won a majority of the seats.
“The B.C. Green caucus is committed to ensuring that British Columbians will have a stable minority government,” said Weaver.
“With this historic result, British Columbia can finally put the ineffective two-party system behind us. It has led to a divisive legislature that primarily benefits special interests. The results of the 2017 election are an incredible opportunity for B.C.’s political leaders to put partisan differences aside and work for the common good. I look forward to working with both other parties so that we can finally get big money out of politics, move towards electoral reform and implement good public policy on a wide range of issues that puts people first.”
- 30 -
Media contact
Jillian Oliver, Press Secretary
+1 778-650-0597 | jillian.oliver@bcgreens.caMyanmar's ethnic Karen children looking from inside their school at the Mae La refugee camp outside Mae Sot near the Thailand-Myanmar border.
About 10 years ago, Dr. Jim Letts began to notice an influx of Karen refugees in his primary-care practice at HealthEast Roselawn Clinic in St. Paul. All had been exiled by Myanmar’s long-running and ongoing civil war. A high percentage had experienced forced labor, torture, rape and other trauma. And most had lived in Thai refugee camps for an average of 13 years.
“You would see 13-year-old kids,” Letts said, “and you’d realize that they had spent their entire lives in a camp.”
The staff moved quickly to accommodate the newcomers, partnering with the Karen Organization of Minnesota to locate bilingual and culturally competent staff members (there now are five on staff) who could help identify the most pressing needs, including mental-health care. Screening for tuberculosis, hepatitis B, intestinal parasites, sexually transmitted infections and lead poisoning was routine and fairly straightforward. But accurately screening for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, common issues in this population, was another matter entirely.
A kind and discerning man, Letts did not want to make matters worse for his patients by preemptively re-opening wounds or unwittingly shutting down a conversation.
“I walked a fine line between directly asking them about traumatic experiences, and not wanting to re-traumatize them by making them feel that they had to tell their story,” he said. “Often that would come later, when I got to know patients better.” He aimed for a nonthreatening approach: “The most effective ways we got at [mental-health issues] were by talking about some of the symptoms associated with depression and PTSD — asking them about their sleep habits, about nightmares, about their mood and things like that.”
Aware that available mental-health screening tools were too general and yielding too many false positives and false negatives, the state Health Department’s Refugee Health Program convened a working group in 2012, bringing together experts in refugee health, bioethics, psychology and social work. Organizations across the board were represented, including the University of Minnesota, county and numerous other public health providers, insurance companies, and the Center for Victims of Torture. Letts and a HealthEast colleague, Dr. Shana Sniffen, also were at the table to lend their experience and expertise.
The groups’ challenge was to design a tool that could be used to more accurately identify refugees whose level of distress rendered them incapable of caring for themselves or their families and unable to manage the difficulties associated with resettlement and adjusting to a new culture (housing, employment, education, etc.).
The tool would be for assessment purposes only; those identified as needing further mental-health services would be referred for diagnosis and appropriate psychological care.
To design a tool with questions that would work cross-culturally, they looked at health outcomes data for two traumatized but culturally distinct groups: Karen and Somali. (According to Department of Health statistics, there currently are about 5,000 Karen refugees and 19,000 Somali refugees in the state.)
Lost in translation
The work group members faced some interesting challenges: Questions around mental-health issues can be easily misinterpreted or impossible to translate.
Interpreters, for example, struggled to translate the idea of “depression.” And any questions about diminished sexual desire, a common symptom of depression, would often get lost in translation, said Greg Vinson, senior research and evaluation manager at the Center for Victims of Torture and member of the working group. One question came across to Karen as meaning, “Are you committing adultery?”
Other challenges included eliminating the potential for responses that are “socially desirable.” Vinson explained that some refugees base their responses to screening questions on what they had learned might gain them passage from the camps.
MinnPost photo by Sarah T. Williams Drs. Shana Sniffen and Jim Letts, colleagues at HealthEast Roselawn Clinic in St. Paul, which serves 2,500 Karen refugees.
And even seemingly innocuous questions might not yield relevant results. For example, a provider might understandably inquire about problems with sleep, sometimes a symptom of PTSD and other disorders. But such problems can just as easily be linked to noisy neighbors, jet lag, unstable housing and apartments on four lanes of heavy traffic, said Vinson. “They may have sleep issues that have nothing to do with mental-health stuff,” he said. “In a screener, it’s a bad item — it never predicts anything.”
Calibrating the questions was also important. “It’s one thing to ask, ‘Are you thinking of harming yourself or having suicidal thoughts?’ ” Vinson said. “It’s probably easier to ask, ‘Are you feeling sad?’ A lot of times good screening items are ones that people would be comfortable answering … [and] that providers — especially ones who don’t have mental-health training — are comfortable asking. Even experienced providers sometimes will have difficulty inquiring in much depth about suicidal thoughts and ideation, things like that.”
The five questions
The working group issued its findings last week, agreeing on these five questions:
In the past month, have you had many bad dreams or nightmares that remind you of things that happened in your country or refugee camp? In the past month, have you felt very sad? In the past month, have you been thinking too much about the past (even if you did not want to)? In the past month, have you avoided situations that remind you of the past? (Prompt: Do you turn off the radio or TV if the program is disturbing?) Do any of these problems make it difficult to do what you need to do on a daily basis? (Prompt: Are you able to take care of yourself and your family?)
The Refugee Health Program said in its final report that it will pilot the tool in select clinics across the state in the coming year. Each clinic will get training and ongoing support, and the pilot results eventually will be implemented for all refugee arrivals in the state. The goal is not only to extend humane care and increase social functioning, but to make sure that limited resources are allocated to those who need them most.
Taking extra care
Letts said his clinic, which now serves 2,500 Karen patients, has deepened its understanding of the needs of those who have been violated and traumatized.
“It has changed the nature of the care,” he said. “I never do an invasive procedure exam of any sort the first time I meet a new refugee patient, not even minimally invasive. You don’t push somebody off to a pap smear or a mammogram or a colonoscopy right off the bat. You hold off and build some trust and a relationship before you start talking about those types of things that might be really re-traumatizing to a patient.”
Along the way, Letts said, he has come to appreciate the Karen, their culture, their history and their experience.
“The thing I love most about working with the Karen is their resilience,” he said. “These families that have been through these difficult things repeatedly, and are here now in a difficult situation, are laughing, joking – very happy that they’re able to see the doctor and that their kids are going to school.”" — It's a Myth.A new Trojan has been discovered in the wild that turns Linux-based devices into proxy servers, which attackers use to protect their identity while launching cyber attacks from the hijacked systems.Dubbed, the Trojan was first spotted at the end of last year by the researchers from Russian security firm Doctor Web, who later identified thousand of compromised machines by the end of January this year and the campaign is still ongoing and hunting for more Linux machines.According to researchers, the malware itself doesn't include any exploitation module to hack into Linux machines; instead, the attackers are using other Trojans and techniques to compromise devices at the first place and then create a new backdoor login account using the username as "" and password as "."Once backdoored and the attacker gets the list of all successfully compromised Linux machines, and then logs into them via SSH protocol and installs theusing Linux.Proxy.10 malware on it.This Linux malware is not at all sophisticated since it uses a freeware source code of the Satanic Socks Server to setup a proxy.According to the security firm, thousands of Linux-based devices have already been infected with this new Trojan.Besides this, the same server — belonging to the cybercriminals who distribute the Linux.Proxy.10 malware — not only contained the list of compromised devices but also hosted the control panel of a Spy-Agent computer monitoring software and a Windows malware from a known family of Trojan spyware, calledThis is not the first time when such Linux malware has been discovered.Over a year ago, ESET security researchers uncovered a similar malware, dubbed, that also had the capability to turn Linux devices into proxy servers that were then used for launching armies of fake accounts on social media networks, including Instagram, and Twitter.Linux users and administrators are recommended to tighten SSH security by limiting or disabling remote root access via SSH, and to know if your system has already been compromised, keep a regular watch on newly generated login users.The ruined Darul Aman Palace stands testament to the destruction that this city of Kabul and indeed, Afghanistan, has suffered over the last three decades of war. It was originally built in the 1920's to house the parliament that King Amanullah Khan wanted to have during a period of reform. But that hopeful period of reform, like so many in Afghanistan's recent history, found itself against conservative and Islamic opposition. "Darul Aman means the place of peace" Although Darul Aman translates to "the place of peace", ironically it later housed the Ministry of Defence. The destruction that is visible in and around the palace was not caused by the communists who fought amongst themselves, nor was it caused by the Russian invasion, but by the Mujahideen who defeated the Russians by the end of the 1980's.
Located at the edge of Kabul, the palace is very often described as "the wounded soul" of the nation. The battle-scarred structure is probably the country's most iconic but also tragic building, and just one look at it exposes one hundred years of the country's history. "The wounded soul of the nation" The palace was not open to the public and considering its decrepit conditions it might also be a very dangerous place. But still, I really wanted to discover the place and while driving along the long road leading to the building I was already getting my camera ready in the hopes that the guards would let me go inside.
How to get inside the Darul-Aman Palace?
There I was, right in front of it. What once used to be an architectural landmark, had now become a majestic ruin. It still had a lot of its magic though and it left me speechless, once more. The sun was about to set and the colour of the building changed from grey into a hopeful yellow. "I was able to go inside, for a little bribe of course..." I approached a couple of Afghan soldiers standing next to a barbed wire fence. My message was clear - I wanted to get inside. It wouldn't have been Afghanistan if you couldn't make such things happen for a little bribe...
The palace was constructed by Walter Harten and a team of twenty two architects from Germany. What they left behind eighty years ago was certainly not what I found in 2015. You could only imagine how beautiful it must have been back in the days, when the Ministers were at work and fine gentlemen smoked their cigars in the ballroom. "Bullet holes, missing walls and a patrolling soldier" I walked through a lot of debris, dust and graffiti on the walls as I walked through the ruins. There were bullet holes, missing walls and every once in a while, a soldier that patrolled through the leftover corridors of the palace with only one piece of very polite advice, "Please be careful and mind your step." It was all very captivating and at times felt highly surreal.
You can clearly sense that there is a very unique atmosphere around the place. Many people have tragically lost their lives in the palace. I wouldn't say that it was haunted, although I would never go inside at night by myself.. just way too scary! "The history is always present" In 2005 there were plans to restore the building again in order to host the new parliament, but that would have required at least sixty million dollars. Apparently a special fund was even launched to initiate some backing for the project but it never generated a lot of money. So what is it now? What purpose does it serve? Nobody really knows...
The nearby Tajbeg Palace - where the Russian invasion started...
Through the big holes in the wall you are able to see another iconic building in Kabul, the Tajbeg Palace. It was originally built to host the Royal family during the time of the King. The building is now attached to an Army base and is not accessible to the public. "The Russian invasion began exactly here" The Tajbeg Palace was also heavily shelled during the civil war and finds itself in the very same condition as the nearby Darul Aman Palace. In December 1979, the Russian invasion began exactly at the Palace, when Russian Special Forces stormed the building and killed President Hafizullah Amin.
The new Parliament building is underway...
Thirty five of years of war. There are people who live in Afghanistan who have never experienced anything else but violence, guns and extremism. Is this a life worth living? Will there ever be peace? Is there any hope of a better Afghanistan where children can grow up in peace and dignity, where we respect each other for what we are? The Darul Aman Palace is a zone of destruction and is a remnant of war, crime and a lot of suffering. Maybe it is then destiny that directly opposite the old Parliament building, the new one is under construction and nearly finished. "It is a sign of hope for the people of Afghanistan" It is a sign of hope for the people of Afghanistan that while the old is left behind, it is always present and never forgotten. Every day when the politicians starts their duty at the new home of the government, they will be reminded of the past and a time their country wants to move on from. The new Afghanistan no longer wants a life of fear and blood but a future of reform, education and overall, a peaceful and harmonious society. Edited by Erika Ylagan.
BEFORE YOU GO, READ ANOTHER STORY:Despite calls to boycott stores that sell products related to President Trump and his family members, Amazon lists Ivanka Trump's 3.4-fluid ounce Eau de Parfum Spray for Women as its top bestseller among women's perfumes as of Friday evening.
In second place is Ivanka Trump's Roller Ball Parfum, which sells for $15.
"I bought this perfume in support of Ivanka Trump," one reviewer wrote about the $34 bottle. "I had no idea how it smelled. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and I LOVE it!!"
"I have purchased & will continue to purchase Ivanka Trump items … The perk of this scent is that it's a liberal repellent as well!!!! Yay!!!!" someone else wrote.
Another person asked, "Does this perfume contain any trace of the exquisite scent of liberal tears? Thanks!"
One buyer asked if the product was made in the U.S., to which someone responded that it was.
Trump's trending among Amazon beauty products takes place just as a number of companies chose to remove her products from their stores in protest of her affiliation with the president.
Jeff Bezos, a critic of Trump's, is CEO of Amazon and also owns the Washington Post, a news outlet Trump has criticized for its coverage of him during the campaign.
In early February, the president first tweeted that Nordstrom had treated his daughter "so unfairly," repeating the message across his social media platforms and raising initial ethics concerns. Nordstrom cited poor sales in announcing its decision, which also came after customer complaints about the brand's association with the Republican president.
Asked about the president's statement on TV later that week, Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said she does "find it ironic that you've got some executives all over the Internet bragging about what they've done to her and her line … to get to him."
Ivanka Trump has not issued a statement since the fallout started in January.HAVANA (Reuters) - The European Union and Cuba signed an agreement in Havana on Friday to establish normal relations, bringing the Communist-run island further into the international fold and paving the way for full economic cooperation with the 28-member bloc.
A Cuban flag flies over 'Almendares' bridge in Havana, Cuba February 26, 2016. REUTERS/Enrique de la Osa
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini witnessed the signing of the pact, which will replace a policy imposed by Europe 20 years ago that pushed for changes to Cuba’s one-party political system.
“This accord opens a new chapter in the history of relations between the European Union and Cuba,” Mogherini said, shortly after EU negotiator Christian Leffler and Cuban deputy foreign minister Abelardo Moreno signed the deal.
Rodriguez said the two sides would soon meet to revive a human rights dialogue they started in Brussels last year.
The pact adds to Cuba’s rapidly thawing relations with the West since its 2014 detente with the United States and the renegotiation of debt with creditors from the Paris Club of wealthy nations in December.
It comes just days before a visit to Havana by President Barack Obama on March 20, the first by a U.S. president since the victory of Cuba’s 1959 revolution.
Days after the visit, rock group the Rolling Stones will play on the island for the first time, and electronic music act Major Lazer this week entertained 400,000 young Cubans on Havana’s sea front, the largest ever show by U.S. artists on the island.
Despite the warming relations, Washington retains an economic embargo against Cuba, making it harder for European companies with U.S. business interests to operate on the Caribbean’s largest island.
Mogherini railed against those sanctions.
“The U.S. embargo is totally obsolete,” she said. “The blockade is a measure that belongs to another century. Now the priorities are dialogue and cooperation.”
Europe’s unilateral “common position,” in place since 1996, sought to make Cuba adopt a pluralistic democracy to unlock aid and commerce. Cuba has always rejected pressure to change its political model.
After ex-leader Fidel Castro handed power to his brother Raul in 2006, Cuba cautiously began to open to private enterprise without major political change.
The establishment of ties with Washington has led to a surge of visitors to the island, previously out of bounds for most Americans.
The EU deal, which sets parameters for commerce and aid, must now be ratified by EU governments and Cuba.
The political dialogue and cooperation agreement took two years to negotiate. The European Union has similar agreements with all other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.Two Palestinians killed, hundreds wounded in clashes following Trump announcement on Jerusalem
By Jordan Shilton
9 December 2017
Over 200 Palestinians were injured and at least two killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Friday. The protests came in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and pledge to move the US embassy there from Tel Aviv, in a move that upended decades of US policy toward the region.
Israeli soldiers opened fire on hundreds of protesters advancing on Army posts from the Gaza Strip, killing a 30-year-old and injuring dozens more. In Jerusalem itself, police scuffled with demonstrators trying to enter the Old City. Palestinian medics reported at least 217 injuries in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. This followed the wounding of 31 Palestinians in violent clashes Thursday. Al-Jazeera reported that there have been close to 800 injuries since protests began.
The wave of protests spread internationally, from Indonesia in Southeast Asia to Tunisia in North Africa. In Amman, the capital of Jordan, tens of thousands marched. Large crowds in Tehran, the Iranian capital, chanted “death to Israel” and “death to America” and burned pictures of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called Trump’s decision “wrong, illegitimate, provocative and very dangerous.”
Citing alleged rocket fire, the Israeli Air Force carried out strikes in the Gaza Strip late Friday, injuring 25 Palestinians, including six children. Haaretz reported that a rocket had exploded in the Israeli town of Sderot, causing no casualties.
The Trump administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital was a deliberate provocation. It is a breach of international law, which has long maintained that the status of the city can be resolved only in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, and has never recognized Israel’s illegal annexation of East Jerusalem. The move represents the definitive end of the charade of the “peace process” and “two-state solution” promoted for decades by the US and its imperialist allies.
The recognition of Jerusalem, coming less than two months after Trump refused to certify Iran’s compliance with the 2015 agreement on its nuclear activity, is part of US imperialism’s broader incitement of conflicts throughout the Middle East and preparation for a regional war with Tehran. The announcement came the same day the Pentagon admitted that 2,000 US troops are in Syria, four times the number previously acknowledged, and that the US forces will remain indefinitely. This underscores the hypocrisy of the claims that the Syrian conflict has been aimed at ISIS terrorists, whose forces have been militarily routed in the country. In truth, Washington is determined to push back Iranian and Russian influence so as to consolidate unchallenged US dominance over the energy-rich Middle East.
Washington’s strategy involves the forging of a coalition made up of Israel and the Sunni Gulf monarchies, above all Saudi Arabia.
Trump’s move grants the far-right Israeli regime of Benjamin Netanyahu carte blanche not only to crack down on protests and continue its expansionist settlement policy in the West Bank, but also to escalate its confrontation with its regional foes, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Iranian regime. In September, the Israeli armed forces carried out their largest exercises in 20 years, simulating the defense of Israel against a Hezbollah invasion. Tel Aviv has also regularly struck weapons shipments and targets in Syria with the aim of thwarting Iranian expansion, and has vowed to launch military action if pro-Iranian forces establish themselves close to the Israeli border.
Israel has also encouraged Saudi Arabia’s hardline anti-Iran stance, including by endorsing Riyadh’s destabilization campaign in Lebanon. The Saudi monarchy is concerned not with the fate of the Palestinians, but with confronting Tehran with Israeli support and the blessings of the Trump administration.
Trump’s policy shift has already brought tensions in the region to the boiling point. Both Hezbollah and Gaza-based Hamas have called for Palestinians to launch a third intifada.
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the decision as “deplorable,” and Jibril Rajoub, a senior PA official, stated that US Vice President Mike Pence would not be welcome in Palestinian territory during a planned visit to Israel and Palestine later this month. Rajoub added that a scheduled meeting with Pence would be cancelled.
Riyad Mansour, Palestine’s ambassador to the United Nations, declared that Trump’s announcement should disqualify the US from playing any leadership role in peace talks to resolve the conflict.
In fact, both the PA and Hamas leadership are increasingly discredited in the eyes of the Palestinian and Arab masses. Abbas and the PA function as a security force for Israel and the US against the Palestinian population, representing a wealthy elite that lives largely off of stipends from the CIA. Their entire perspective of maneuvering between the various great powers to push for the creation of a Palestinian statelet within the imperialist- and Zionist-dominated framework of the Middle East has been exposed as bankrupt.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is to host an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Countries December 13 to discuss Jerusalem, warned that Trump’s speech had plunged the entire region into a “ring of fire.” But all of the bourgeois regimes in the region, including Turkey, are complicit in the decades of oppression of the Palestinians.
Trump’s brusque dispensing with the fraud of the so-called “peace process” and the “two-state solution” has underscored the fundamentally reactionary character of bourgeois nationalism and posed the need for a socialist and internationalist alternative, uniting the Arab and Jewish working class in a common struggle for a socialist Middle East.
Trump’s policy shift has also intensified the rift between Washington and its nominal European allies. Britain, France and Germany all condemned Trump’s announcement. Canada is the only close ally of the US to avoid direct criticism of the White House announcement.
Britain and France led six other members of the UN Security Council in calling for an emergency session Friday. Unsurprisingly, the US was not one of the eight states requesting the meeting.
At the Security Council, US Ambassador Nikki Haley arrogantly dismissed any criticism of the Trump administration’s position, directing her fire instead at the UN for its alleged anti-Israel bias. She claimed that Washington would still accept a two-state solution if both sides agreed to it.
The European imperialist powers are no more concerned with the oppression of the Palestinian people than is Trump. They view the current crisis as an opportunity to strengthen their position in the Middle East at Washington’s expense.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini summed up the thinking in Berlin and Paris when she declared Thursday that the US approach “has the potential to send us backwards to even darker times,” and that “what happens in Jerusalem concerns the entire region and the entire world.” She said Washington’s role in the peace process would be diminished as a result of Trump’s announcement--meaning that the EU had to renew its focus and play a more active role in the region.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian stated that Washington had excluded itself from being a mediator in the Middle East.
Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung noted in an article that unlike Trump’s provocations over North Korea, in the Middle East the EU is “directly called upon.” It continued: “Due to the geographical proximity, and the historical, political and economic ties, [the EU] sees itself as bearing a responsibility to which it certainly was not able to do justice in the past.”
These comments follow on the heels of German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel’s keynote foreign policy address, which urged Germany to stand up more forcefully against the United States and define its own foreign policy ambitions.
The European reaction underscores that the deepening crisis over Jerusalem poses the threat not only of a regional conflict, but could serve as the trigger for an intensification of great power rivalries across the Middle East, with both American and European imperialism striving to assert their preeminence.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Now recharge your Google Play Account on Paytm
Paytm Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jan 20, 2017
We have recently launched a one-click recharge for Google Play. This will help Android users across India to recharge their Google Play accounts in minutes.
Here is how it works:
In case you have some questions in your mind, here are some FAQs:
Is there any minimum or maximum amount for recharge?
You can recharge between Rs. 100–1500 at a single go on Paytm.
2. What if I don’t have the Google Play app on my smartphone?
You can easily redeem the recharge code by logging on to g.co/playredeem.
3. What happens if my recharge fails?
We will offer you a unique serial number on the Paytm app and via SMS that you can use to follow up with Google.
4. What happens if I accidentally delete the SMS containing my Google Play Recharge Code?
You can always tap on the relevant order in the ‘My Orders’ tab in the Profile menu of your Paytm app to know your unique Google Play recharge code.
5. I want to download the digital invoice for my recharge.
Please tap on the relevant order in the ‘My Orders’ tab in the Profile menu of your Paytm app. You would see an option to download the official invoice for your recharge.
6. I want to repeat a transaction.
That’s easy. Once you transact on Paytm, we would offer a list of last Google Play recharge transactions in the ‘Recents’ tab. Tap on your preferred recharge amount to instantly recharge your Google Play account.Fox's first attempt at bringing the X-Men to live action was less than a resounding success.
No matter how often it's repeated, it never really seems to "stick" in either the public or even devout comic-reading fandom: X-Men, in its original "school for gifted youngsters"/60s Civil Rights metaphor incarnation, was one of the rare failures of Marvel Comics' otherwise fruitful early years. It wasn't until the series was rebooted in the 70s, and even that version -- originally launched as a "rainbow coalition" of international mutant heroes -- took a lot of refining to become the pop-culture juggern-er... "great big thing" that eventually conquered the Marvel Universe, TV animation, and movie screens.
Not that the original was necessarily a "bad" comic, of course. Just one that had difficulty finding a coherent tone or locking |
was a first-round pick in the 2001 draft out of Syracuse by the New York Giants. He played five seasons with the Giants and another five with the Miami Dolphins before finishing his career with the New England Patriots in 2012.
Allen allegedly worked with a woman named Susan Daub to form several companies offering loans to professional athletes. The pair offered investors up to 18% interest in exchange for providing loans to athletes who were between paychecks.
“As in any Ponzi scheme, the appearance of a successful investment was only an illusion sustained by lies,” said Paul Levenson, who heads the SEC’s Boston office, which investigated the case.
More than 40 people invested money into the Ponzi scheme between 2012 and earlier this year. The Associated Press reports Allen gave $18 million in loans and used $7 million for his own spending.
Viswanatha reports the documents show one of Allen and Daub’s companies, Capital Financial Partners, made a $3.4 million loan to an NHL player, but told investors it was a $5.65 million loan. The NHL player eventually filed for bankruptcy.
- Paul PalladinoModel Chrissy Teigen blames Donald Trump for what she claims is her declining health and mental state, and wants the president to pay her resultant medical bills.
“[S]o f*cking tired of this manically insane, incompetent president and this dumpster fire administration I’m gonna have to go on another med,” Teigen, the wife of Grammy-winning musician John Legend, tweeted Wednesday.
“[T]hat is not a joke. I think I need to either up my dosage or talk to my doctor to “see what works for me” when the world explodes,” she added.
so fucking tired of this manically insane, incompetent president and this dumpster fire administration I'm gonna have to go on another med — christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) May 4, 2017
that is not a joke. I think I need to either up my dosage or talk to my doctor to "see what works for me" when the world explodes. — christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) May 4, 2017
The Lip Sync Battle co-host went on to blame Trump for causing the “crippling anxiety” that led to her needing to get a tooth shaved.
Today I had a tooth shaved down because crippling anxiety makes me grind and rock my teeth on one side. I blame trump. — christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) May 4, 2017
The 31-year-old supermodel says she needed Botox to “relieve tension from constantly clinching,” thanks to Trump.
I also had Botox in my jaw muscle to relieve tension from constantly clinching. I was not like this before. Pay my bill, POS POTUS — christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) May 4, 2017
In a red carpet interview with USA Today in February, Teigen admitted that she’s been “trolling Trump” for more than “five to seven years.”
Indeed, as far back as 2012, Tiegen said “I am hate tweeting donald trump, aimlessly for no reason. I need a life.”
I am hate tweeting donald trump, aimlessly for no reason. I need a life. — christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) October 17, 2012
A week later, she called Trump “the biggest attention whore.”
I literally pose half naked for a living and u are still the biggest attention whore I know RT @realDonaldTrump Story will be released today — christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) October 24, 2012
John Legend, Teigen’s husband, has been one of the most outspoken celebrity critics of the president.
In an April interview with TMZ, the “All of Me” singer called Trump “corrupt” and “one of the worst people I’ve ever encountered in public life.”
“I think he’s a terrible president. Manifestly unqualified,” Legend said. “Not curious. Not good at legislating or doing anything that his job requires. Doesn’t have any depth about any subject. And he’s also using the office of the presidency as a way to make money for himself with his businesses, so he’s corrupt.”
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudsonThe Chateau stage at Belgium's Pukkelpop festival, near the town of Hasselt, was apparently destroyed when bad weather caused trees to fall over. A second stage collapsed but it is not thought to have fallen on any concertgoers. Some giant screens also fell down.
There were varying reports of casualties, but the mayor of Hasselt said two were killed and 40 injured.
Cullen Omori, of the band Smith Westerns, who was on the stage at the time, tweeted : "Stage collapsed max almost got crushed by the trees. I hope pukkelpop has insurance bc all our ---- is broke." He later tweeted: "Apologise to anyone who mistook tweet. Wrote directly after running offstage. Just found out the extent of damage. All of prays go out."
Jared Leto, the actor and frontman of the US band Thirty Seconds to Mars, wrote on his own microblogging site: "Four stages down – still raining + thunder if you are here please be safe.
"Serious injuries att he festival. More bad weather poses heading this way. Please take care and caution."
Pukkelpop, which started on Thursday is an annual three-day event with headlining acts this year including the Foo Fighters and Eminem. Reports say some 60,000 people are attending the event. In 2009 it attracted some 180,000 people over the course of three days. It has been running since 1985.
Last year, the festival attracted controversy when the lead singer of the British electropop group Ou Est Le Swimming Pool died. Charles Haddon, 22, leapt to his death from a telecommunications mast being the main stage. Another musician, 60-year-old Michael Been, the former frontman of the US band the Call died after suffering a heart attack.
The stage collapse is the second such fatal incident in less than a week. On Sunday, at least five people were killed and more than 40 injured when a sudden storm caused a concert stage to collapse in during the Indiana State Fair in the US.The Beatles changed modern culture—that’s an indisputable fact. But they were only able to do so because George Martin changed the way we all listen to music.
George Martin, who died yesterday at age 90, was the Beatles’ arranger and producer on everything they ever did (even Let It Be, where Phil Spector got most of the credit for doing overdubs and remixing). In other words, he’s the principal sonic architect of the most groundbreaking pop music in the Western canon. Of course, the four members of the Beatles—particularly the two songwriters, Paul McCartney and John Lennon—were never short of ideas, and Martin once quipped that the four Beatles could have made all their records by themselves. But a group that talented needs an objective observer, someone to balance the egos and filter the noise and sculpt what becomes the finished product. And with a group as ambitious as the Beatles, it took the classically trained Martin to orchestrate their wildest, most ornate visions.
George Martin is one of only a handful of music producers in pop history—alongside Quincy Jones, Phil Spector, Rick Rubin, and Timbaland—to be as well-known, years later, as the artists with whom they worked.
We all take the Beatles’ records for granted; it’s hard not to. It’s easy to forget that what made them the greatest Western pop act of all time is not just the calibre of the songwriting, it’s that the Beatles had something for everyone. They were purveyors of teenybopper love songs; the rousing rock band; the balladeers covered by artists of all generations and genres; the psychedelic experimentalists who embraced country music and Indian instrumentation; the whimsical jokers who cavort in a “Yellow Submarine”; the avant-garde innovators who first put feedback on a pop record and embraced electronic innovation. All of that made sense under one roof because George Martin was at the helm.
Martin became a staff producer at EMI Records in 1950, and had hits with novelty records by Peter Ustinov, Peter Sellers and the Goon Show. Though he’d made a few pop records, he had never recorded a rock band before. He thought the Beatles’ demo was “unpromising,” but he liked the vocals of Lennon and McCartney. The rest is history.
After the Beatles, Martin largely rested on his laurels—understandably. He would reunite several times with McCartney, notably on “Live and Let Die” (Martin also wrote the score for that James Bond film) and three albums in the early ’80s. He worked with Mahavishnu Orchestra, Cheap Trick, America, Jeff Beck and Ultravox. He helped Pete Townshend turn Tommy into a Broadway musical in 1992. He produced the post-Diana version of Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind.” He produced the song “The Reason” on Céline Dion’s blockbuster 1997 album Let’s Talk About Love. Largely, he worked on Beatle-related projects, like the Cirque de Soleil production Love, and the Beatles’ Anthology project. If those highlights from the last 46 years of his life seem slim compared to his output from 1963-70, keep in mind that, after the Beatles, George Martin didn’t need to prove anything to anybody.
The essential George Martin:
The boss of the Beatles
“I Feel Fine,” 1965. After a flurry of pop hits, the Beatles started to stretch their wings and embrace the album format. As they did, their musical horizons started to expand. This song opens with guitar feedback, one of—if not the first—time that was heard on a charting single. Ringo Starr’s Latin-influenced beat gives the song an extra bounce.
“Tomorrow Never Knows,” 1966. It was the Revolver album where the doors blew wide open, and this track, which features 16 separate tape loops intertwining throughout a droning rock song, is the prime evidence. This is the kind of track that rewrote all the rules.
“Eleanor Rigby,” 1966. It was Martin’s idea to set this song to a string quartet. He said the arrangement was inspired by Bernard Herrmann’s 1960 score for Albert Hitchcock’s Psycho.
“Good Night,” 1968. Martin’s symphonic skill was in full effect on this Disneyesque John Lennon lullaby sung by Ringo Starr.
The entire second side of Abbey Road.
The 10 best non-Beatles Martin-produced tracks
“Don’t You Rock Me Daddy-O,” the Vipers Skiffle Group (1957). Though Martin mostly worked on classical, jazz and comedy records before the Beatles came along, he also captured the raw energy of bands like this. Though John Lennon famously protested that the Beatles were “not a skiffle band,” he did play in one as a teenager.
“Strictly for the Birds,” Dudley Moore (1961). The comic was also an accomplished pianist, and this novelty hit captures the absurdist British wit of the day, a sense of humour Martin shared with the Beatles.
“Right Said Fred,” Bernard Cribbins (1962). Martin would later fill Beatles songs like “Yellow Submarine” with comical sound effects, which by the sounds of this he had been doing for years.
“Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying,” Gerry and the Pacemakers (1964). After the Beatles took off, Martin spent most of the ’60s capturing their prolific pace. However, he also helmed several big hits for this group of fellow Liverpudlians, including this gorgeous ballad.
“Can’t Buy Me Love,” Ella Fitzgerald (1964). One of the first major artists to cover the Beatles, Fitzgerald tapped Martin to produce this hit, on an album where she also covered Cole Porter and Broadway staples.
“Goldfinger,” Shirley Bassey (1965). A strong contender for the best James Bond theme of all time—hell, one of the best movie themes, period—the boss Bassey rides this most brassy arrangement to the moon and back.
“Live and Let Die,” Paul McCartney and Wings (1973). Martin wrote the score to this James Bond film, and it’s his orchestrations that tie together McCartney’s ambitious bombast.
“Say Say Say,” Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson (1983). As he aged, Martin was never stuck in a ’60s time warp, as this uber-’80s No. 1 hit illustrates. In fact, there’s nothing on this single that sounds any different from what Quincy Jones, at the height of his powers, had done the year before on Thriller.
“The Reason,” Céline Dion (1997). This Carole King power ballad, originally written for Aerosmith, is Martin’s sole contribution to Dion’s blockbuster album. Less-than-kind critics suggested Martin had lost his hearing.
“Candle in the Wind,” Elton John (1997). Nothing about this straightforward piano-and-orchestra single illustrates Martin’s particular talents, but it was the soundtrack to a cultural milestone and one of the biggest hits in the decade. It also meant George Martin was one of the extremely few recording artists to have No. 1 hits in four different decades.Sadly, we have become largely inured to misleading, dissembling and dishonest statements from President Trump. Fact-checkers catalogue them by the hundreds.
Yet one lie that I consider particularly egregious has received relatively little attention.
ADVERTISEMENT
The president has repeatedly referred to his plan “to let ObamaCare implode.”
This locution casts the president as a mere observer, watching from the distant sidelines as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) inevitably destroys itself.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
In fact, the president is not just looking on as events ineluctably unfold; rather, he is causing the very failures he decries. He is not just an observer, he is the causal agent.
Health insurers labeled the president’s threats to end cost-sharing reduction payments “the single most destabilizing factor in the individual market, and millions of Americans could soon feel the impact of fewer choices, higher costs and reduced access to care.”
Under the ACA, the federal government subsidizes insurers so they can offer affordable coverage to low-income Americans.
Absent those payments, insurers would be losing money by participating in the exchanges. They would face only two choices — stop offering coverage in the individual market or raise premiums 20 percent to 25 percent.
Businesses have to plan ahead, and their final rates for next year are due in just a few weeks. The uncertainty caused by Trump’s threats has already wrecked havoc.
One of the nation’s largest insurance companies announced it would cease participating in Ohio’s exchange and put the blame squarely on Trump, citing uncertainty around cost-sharing reduction payments as a key reason for exiting the market.
Some may see these payments as just another federal spending program. But every expert, from the Congressional Budget Office to the Kaiser Family Foundation, has demonstrated that ending these payments will not save the government money, but rather increase costs to the government by some 23 percent.
The only reason to end cost-sharing reductions, or to even threaten it, is to destroy the architecture of our current healthcare system. And that’s just what Trump is attempting to do.
And it’s not the only way he is working to undermine the ACA.
ObamaCare, and the protections it affords to those with pre-existing conditions, only works if sick people aren’t the only ones buying insurance. If you could wait until you were ill to buy insurance, many would. And if insurers had to cover that pre-existing condition, they would go bankrupt.
So everything the Trump administration does to limit enrollment in health insurance plans undermines the ACA.
And it’s done about everything they can think of.
The administration cut the enrollment period in half, ended advertising and outreach designed to bring in new enrollees, weakened enforcement of the requirement for the currently healthy to buy insurance and even used ACA funds to produce videos, chock full of misinformation, designed to discredit ObamaCare.
The administration also proposed making premium tax credits less generous, which means many will end up with more expensive plans or higher deductibles and co-pays.
While voters aren’t aware of the details, they are wise enough to understand that the president is more than willing to sacrifice their well-being in a cynical attempt to force the ACA to implode.
A June poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found 59 percent of Americans saying Trump and the Republicans in Congress are responsible for problems with the ACA going forward. Only 30 percent put the onus for future problems on former President Obama and the Democrats for passing the law in the first place.
The GOP’s healthcare strategy has already backfired badly, giving Democrats their biggest advantage on healthcare since before Obama was elected.
Trump can’t hide behind deceitful statements. If he and the GOP cause ObamaCare to implode, they will pay an even more serious political price.
Mellman is president of The Mellman Group and has helped elect 30 U.S. senators, 12 governors and dozens of House members. Mellman served as pollster to Senate Democratic leaders for over 20 years and as president of the American Association of Political Consultants.
The views expressed by this author are their own and are not the views of The Hill.They had hoped that by renouncing their Malaysian citizenship, they would qualify for a British passport.
Instead, some now find themselves doing menial jobs far beneath their qualifications as they are classed as illegal migrants.
Their fate is in part the result of a quirk of Britain's colonial past. When Britain's colony of Malaya gained independence in 1957, the ethnic Chinese residents of Penang and Malacca feared discrimination by the country's Muslim Malay majority.
They sought assurances from London and were granted the status of British Overseas Citizens (BOC). Hundreds of Malaysians took up the offer and moved to the UK in the 1980s and 1990s where they could register as British citizens after residing for five years.
But the immigration laws were toughened in 2002, denying the Malaysian BOCs any further opportunity to register as citizens.
Yet confusion over implementation meant many continued to apply and some cases have been left unresolved for years.
Letters sent by the UK immigration authorities told applicants they could not proceed unless they had renounced their Malaysian citizenship. Many filled in forms at the Malaysian High Commission in London, cut up their passports and renounced their citizenship.
But then an asylum and immigration tribunal ruling in July 2008 decided any Malaysian BOC who held, or had held Malaysian citizenship, had no right to reside in Britain.
It also decided that a Malaysian BOCs did not forfeit their Malaysian citizenship simply by renouncing it, though the Malaysian government disputes this.
Ben Scaro, an Australian lawyer representing the applicants, said: "We are looking at nearly 1,000 Malaysians who have given up their citizenship, are now BOCs, but have no right to stay in the UK."
Among them is a 34-year-old man who wanted to be known as Dee, from Penang, who trained as an architect but can only get work as a dishwasher in a Chinese restaurant in London.
"I'm an illegal immigrant," he said. "What makes it worse is the British Government saying it's very hard to renounce Malaysian citizenship and declaring we're still Malaysian. The Malaysian government says we're not Malaysian any more, but British. It's crazy."Yann Kermorgant joined Reading last month from Bournemouth
Former Charlton striker Yann Kermorgant has described the owner's vision for the Championship club as "deluded".
The 34-year-old striker was sold to Bournemouth by the Addicks in January 2014, shortly after Belgian businessman Roland Duchatelet took over the club.
"I wanted to sign a new deal and stay longer at the club," Kermorgant said.
"In my first meeting with the new owners I found out things were completely different. They had a vision which, for me, was completely deluded."
Kermorgant, now at Reading, scored 32 goals in 96 appearances for Charlton between 2011 and 2014 and helped the Addicks win the League One title in 2012.
Charlton supporters have recently aimed protests at Duchatelet, with fans angry at how he runs the club, the turnover of managers at The Valley and the club's recruitment policy.
Charlton owner Roland Duchatelet has a network of clubs around Europe, encompassing sides in Belgium, Spain, Germany and Hungary
"I'm gutted," Kermorgant added. "I think they have wasted the club.
"They didn't know too much about football. I felt like they were wrong and they would be in trouble because football is different to business.
"It looked to me like their position was a bit weird."
The south-east London club are currently bottom of the Championship table, seven points from safety and with a goal difference of minus 34.
Charlton skipper Johnnie Jackson has said surviving relegation would be like winning a trophy, but Kermorgant is not so optimistic about his former club's chances of remaining in the second tier.
"Two years after I can see where they are and I think it was the right decision [to leave]," the Frenchman added.
"They are bottom of the league and I can't see them not being relegated at the end of the season.
"The club and the fans are great. It's a nice, family club and to see what they have done is very annoying."The son of Fox News host Eric Bolling - who was fired on Friday after claims of sexual harassment - has died.
Eric Chase, 19, Bolling's only child with wife Adrienne, died on Friday evening, just hours after his father was parted ways with the cable giant.
Bolling, 54, confirmed the tragic passing of the University of Colorado Boulder student in a tweet on Saturday afternoon, saying that he and his wife were distraught.
'Adrienne and I are devastated by the loss of our beloved son Eric Chase last night. Details still unclear. Thoughts, prayers appreciated' wrote Bolling.
He also later tweeted authorities have told him that there were no signs of self-harm and that an autopsy will take place next week.
The shocking news was first reported in a tweet by journalist Yashar Ali, who also broke the story last month about alleged lewd texts sent by Bolling to female staff members at Fox News.
Bolling insists the allegations are false and has filed a $50 million lawsuit against Ali.
'Very sad news, Eric Bolling’s son, who was only 19, died last night,' wrote Ali earlier on Saturday afternon. 'By all accounts, Eric was incredibly devoted to his son. Heartbreaking.'
Fox News released a statement on Saturday, saying: 'We are very saddened to hear of the passing of Eric Bolling's son.
'Eric Chase was a wonderful young man and our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Bolling family.'
Eric Chase (right), 19, the son of former Fox News host Eric Bolling (left), has passed away. The circumstances of his death are unclear
Confirmation: The tragic death of Eric and Adrienne Bolling's only son was confirmed by the former Fox news host in a tweet
Initial findings: Bolling later tweeted that his son's death did not appear to have been from self-harm
Eric Bolling's son Eric Chase is pictured here in 2015 before his prom. The caption from his father on the snap read 'My guy is growing up'
A source close to the Bolling family told DailyMail.com: ‘It is believed he died Friday night. No doubt everything his father has been through lately has weighed heavily on his child’
Chase (seen right with his father a November 2016 photograph) was attending school in Boulder, Colorado at the time of his death
A source close to the Bolling family told DailyMail.com: ‘It is believed he died Friday night. No doubt everything his father has been through lately has weighed heavily on his child.’
Bolling's former colleague at Fox News, primetime host Sean Hannity, tweeted on Saturday: 'To my dear friend, please know we all love you, will be here for you and your family.'
Don Lemon, a host on rival network CNN, tweeted: 'So awful. My heart goes out to Eric and his family.'
Andrew Kaczynski, a journalist with CNN's KFile unit, tweeted: 'This is very sad on a human level, regardless on what you thought of Eric. Thoughts for the family.'
Another former colleague of Bolling, Geraldo Rivera, tweeted: 'Gut-wrenching news about Eric Bolling's 19-year old only son Eric. Erica and I weep for the Bolling family This is horrible, our condolences.'
Katie Pavlich, a commentator who frequently appears on Fox News, tweeted: 'Overwhelmed by the news of Eric Bolling's son. How absolutely horrific and devastating.'
MSNBC host Joy Reid tweeted: 'This is incredibly sad. Just heartbreaking for this family. Deepest condolences.'
As of Saturday afternoon, there was no official confirmation as to the cause of death
Yashar Ali, a contributor to New York magazine and the Huffington Post, broke the news on Saturday that the 19-year-old son of former Fox News host Eric Bolling had died
Ali was the reporter who initially broke the story in Huffington Post last month about the alleged lewd texts sent by Bolling to colleagues at Fox News, resulting in an internal investigation
Bolling's former colleague at Fox News, primetime host Sean Hannity, tweeted on Saturday: 'To my dear friend, please know we all love you, will be here for you and your family'
Another former colleague of Bolling, Geraldo Rivera, tweeted: 'Gut-wrenching news about Eric Bolling's 19-year old only son Eric. Erica and I weep for the Bolling family This is horrible, our condolences'
Don Lemon, a host on rival network CNN, tweeted: 'So awful. My heart goes out to Eric and his family'
Katie Pavlich, a commentator who frequently appears on Fox News, tweeted: 'Overwhelmed by the news of Eric Bolling's son. How absolutely horrific and devastating'
Andrew Kaczynski, a journalist with CNN's KFile unit, tweeted: 'This is very sad on a human level, regardless on what you thought of Eric. Thoughts for the family'
MSNBC host Joy Reid tweeted: 'This is incredibly sad. Just heartbreaking for this family. Deepest condolences'
Bolling and his wife, Adrienne (above together), have been married since 1997. They have one son together, Chase
The tragic death took place one day after it was learned that Bolling agreed to leave the network following an investigation into claims of sexual harassment.
Three of Bolling's colleagues claimed that he sent them unsolicited photos of male genitalia via text message.
The rising Fox News host was suspended during the investigation and left the network where he has anchored several different shows for the past 10 years.
'Fox News Channel is canceling The Specialists, and Eric Bolling and Fox have agreed to part ways amicably,' a network spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
'We thank Eric for his ten years of service to our loyal viewers and wish him the best of luck.'
After the allegations emerged back in August, Bolling had maintained his innocence and tweeted: 'I will continue to fight against these false smear attacks! THANK YOU FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT'.
The rising Fox News host was suspended during the investigation and will now leave the network where he has anchored several different shows for the past 10 years
After the news was announced that he was leaving Fox, Bolling tweeted: 'I will continue to fight against these false smear attacks! THANK YOU FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT'
The network began investigating Bolling, who is married, after two of the women who claimed to have received the photo worked with Bolling at Fox Business Network, while a third woman works at Fox News, Huffington Post reported.
The women all claim they did not solicit the messages and that they knew the message was from Bolling, who has been married to his wife since 1997, because they recognized the phone number from previous informal and work-related interactions.
Huffington Post reported that the messages were sent several years ago on separate occasions.
After receiving the messages reportedly from Bolling, the women told their colleagues that they were deeply offended and upset.
One of the women replied to the 54-year-old anchor instructing him to never send her photos of male genitalia ever again; he reportedly did not respond.
A dozen sources told Huffington Post that at least two of Bolling's female colleagues at Fox Business and one at Fox News received the photos of male genitalia from Bolling.
The identities of the women have not been released to the public. Bolling had previously denied all allegations against him.
It was announced last month that Bolling is reportedly suing the Huffington Post reporter who broke the story claiming that he had sent several female co-workers lewd photos.
Ali tweeted last month that he is being personally sued by Bolling for $50 million in damages for the story which led to the Fox reporter's suspension on Saturday.
'It's important to note that Bolling's summons does not include HuffPost - he is coming after me personally. I'm a big boy...but very telling,' Ali tweeted on Wednesday.
'Not going to stop reporting on Eric Bolling or anyone else. I've had family members killed/jailed in Iran, a lawsuit isn't going to scare me,' he added, writing that he'stand(s) by my reporting + will protect my sources.'
Bolling is represented by Michael Bowe - a lawyer from the same firm as Marc Kasowitz, President Trump's personal attorney until July.
The defamation lawsuit seeks $50 million in damages for 'the defendant's efforts to injure the plaintiff's reputation through the intentional and/or highly reckless publication of actionable false and misleading statements about the plaintiff's conduct and character.
'As a result of the defendant's actions, the plaintiff has been substantially harmed,' the summons sent to Ali stated.
Since the allegations emerged against Bolling, a Fox News guest, who claimed in the past she was sexually harassed by Bill O'Reilly, came forward to claim she was also on the receiving end of unwanted advances by Bolling.
Since the allegations emerged, Caroline Heldman (above), a Fox News guest, who says she was sexually harassed by Bill O'Reilly, came forward to claim she was also on the receiving end of unwanted advances by Bolling
Heldman claims she was the victim of unsolicited sexual advances from Bolling between 2008 and 2011 when she would regularly appear on the network. During a 2011 appearance on Bolling's show Bulls & Bears, he referred to her as 'the great Dr. McHottie' (above)
Caroline Heldman, a 44-year-old Associate Professor of Politics at Occidental College in Los Angeles, made 'hundreds' of appearances on Fox between 2008 and 2011, many of which were on Bolling's show Bulls & Bears.
Between appearances, she claimed Bolling, 54, called and texted her to invite her to New York to 'have fun'. On one occasion when she was in town, he took her into his office and told her it was his favorite place to have sex, she said.
He called her 'Dr. McHottie' on air and, she said, would sometimes call her afterwards to apologize 'and then do it again'.
Heldman made her accusations in a lengthy Facebook post on Saturday in which she also claimed that'several other women' received similar treatment from him.
'My only surprise is that it took this long for people to come forward about Bolling's behavior, which has been wildly inappropriate for years,' she wrote.
Bolling denies ever making inappropriate and unsolicited contact with her.
Heldman made the accusations in a lengthy Facebook post after Bolling was suspended
His attorney Michael Bowe told DailyMail.com: 'Mr. Bolling never had any interactions with Ms. Heldman of a sexual nature, and any such accusation would be false and defamatory.'
The father-of-one co-hosted the Fox News show The Specialists and hosted Cashin' In.
His show The Specialist only just premiered in May. He previously served as one of five anchors on the network's show, The Five.
Prior to joining the network in 2008, Bolling worked at CNBC and was a former commodities trader.
In the past year, the network has faced numerous accusations of sexual harassment and assault by Fox Business and Fox News on-air talent and executives.
Former Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes resigned last year after ex-Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexual harassment.
Numerous current and former Fox News hosts have accused Ailes of harassment since he was forced out of the company.
Twenty-First Century Fox paid out $50million to settle sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuits at Fox News in the last 12 months.
The figure was disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.0 SHARES Share Tweet
If you're into overclocking, then the news that Intel's upcoming Ivy Bridge processors can reach memory speeds of over 3GHz is going to be exciting news in itself, but the fact that it can be done on four DIMMs is just insane. Intel has obviously done some serious improvements to the memory controller in Ivy Bridge compared to Sandy Bridge, but we're most likely going to have to wait to the launch to find out exactly what Intel has done.
If you're into overclocking, then the news that Intel's upcoming Ivy Bridge processors can reach memory speeds of over 3GHz is going to be exciting news in itself, but the fact that it can be done on four DIMMs is just insane. Intel has obviously done some serious improvements to the memory controller in Ivy Bridge compared to Sandy Bridge, but we're most likely going to have to wait to the launch to find out exactly what Intel has done.
Overclocker Sin0822 has posted screenshots of a Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H motherboard which has been paired up with an Intel Core i7-3770K running on a base clock of 102.37MHz. The memory is overclocked to an insane 3,276MHz using four unspecified G.Skill modules rated at 2,666MHz with a latency of 11-13-13-36 and a 2T command rate which isn't terrible latencies considering the high speed the modules are operating at.
Apparently the UEFI has a 29.33 divider for the memory, something you can't get with Sandy Bridge and this is part of the reason for the high memory overclock. Sin0822 also claims that higher speeds are possible using fewer DIMMs, so in other words, we can expect even higher memory overclocks in the future from the Ivy Bridge platform. It'll be interesting to see how high memory overclocks the Ivy Bridge platform will bring and we doubt we'll have to wait long for more record breaking memory overclocks. Hit the source links for more details and screenshots.
Source: Overclock.net, HWbotON THURSDAY Fox News will host the first debate of the 2016 election season in Cleveland, Ohio. The event will be among Republican presidential hopefuls, but not every aspirant will share the stage. With no fewer than 17 candidates now running for the job, it is simply impossible to accommodate them all at once. Perhaps to avoid comparisons with speed-dating, Fox is limiting the number of participants in its main debate to ten.
The broadcaster has been fuzzy over how exactly it will determine which ten candidates will debate in primetime. The invitations will be based on who is leading in “five national polls from major organisations”—but precisely which polls, and from what dates, isn’t exactly clear.
Get our daily newsletter Upgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks.
As the horse race to the horse race to the horse race, the dash to make it to the main stage is earning a lot of attention. The subject dominated the Sunday political talk shows, and the Washington Post has been diligently tracking “who’s in” and “who’s out”. Fox News has been eagerly trumpeting the “battle” for the final spot in the debate. Some, including Nate Cohn of the New York Times, have wondered whether John Kasich’s late announcement of his candidacy was strategically timed to ensure his post-announcement bump in the polls would push him across the threshold and onto the debate stage. (It may help that the debate will be held in Mr Kasich’s home state.) And of course Donald Trump's insurgency promises to make the event a bit more entertaining than the format usually allows.
But for all the hoopla, failing to make it to the main stage in this proto-proto-horse race is actually no big deal. This is because candidates whose polls put them on the cusp of being included have no substantial hope of winning the nomination anyway.
Let’s compare two sources of data: a market-based prediction of who is likely to be the eventual nominee, and a current average of major national polls. (The market-prediction data comes from the prediction-aggregator PredictWise, and the polling data from the Huffington Post’s Pollster. Note: there’s no data yet for Jim Gilmore, who only announced his candidacy on July 29th.) These two measures are positively correlated, of course. A candidate that the market favours is probably polling well, too. But combined they help clarify the stakes of this race to the stage.
With six months until the Iowa caucuses, it’s a fairly top-heavy race. One of the four top-polling candidates (Jeb Bush, Scott Walker, Marco Rubio and, yes, Donald Trump) will win the nomination 78% of the time, according to prediction markets. And every candidate that the market sees as having any real shot at the nomination—above even 3%, say—will be in the main debate. (The second-tier candidates will have their own debate on Fox earlier in the evening, like a pre-party.) There is still some uncertainty about who will be included owing to the vagaries of politics, polls and Fox’s criteria, but if the numbers used here are the same as those used by Fox, Chris Christie and John Kasich are in; everyone below is out.
What’s really at stake here? The “second-tier” candidates—your Perrys, your Santora, your Fiorinae, those hoping to limp, or even just crawl, onto the debate stage Thursday night—are dead in the water anyway. The market gives the best of them a 1% shot at the nomination. For those barely keeping their heads above water—your Christies, |
even if they haven’t used the drug recently.
"There’s a risk of false positives, if you like, just relying on the number, and the lower that number is set, the greater the risk of these false positives," he said.
The potential for false positives is of particular concern to medical users of cannabis.
"We’re concerned that responsible patients who aren’t impaired will still exceed a per se limit, even when following safe-use guidelines," said Jonathan Zaid, executive director of Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana.
Zaid is calling for the government to include a special exemption in Bill C-46 for medical cannabis users.
"To be clear, this doesn’t mean patients can drive impaired. Patients still need to be responsible and drive safely," he said.
"But what it does mean is that if patients should exceed a per se limit, but don’t show signs of impairment, then they will be allowed to use a medical defence and get off the per se limit charges."
‘The least objectionable alternative’
The federal government’s proposed blood-THC levels are based, in part, on the findings of the Drugs and Driving Committee of the Canadian Society of Forensic Sciences, according to a Justice Department spokesman.
In that report, released in April, the CSFS described setting per se limits for cannabis as "a controversial exercise for many reasons." The report’s authors reached the same conclusion as the AAA Traffic Safety Foundation Study in the U.S.: Although THC can impair a driver’s ability, the authors wrote, "setting a per se limit does not mean that all drivers below that concentration are not impaired and all drivers above that concentration are impaired."
The idea of recommending a specific limit for blood-THC levels appeared to trouble the authors.
"Determination of a per se limit which addresses both public safety concerns and minimizes the potential for an individual to be ‘wrongly’ convicted of a drugged-driving related offence can be considered an exercise in selecting the least objectionable alternative," said the report.
Passing Bill C-46 as-is would be "a gift to the marijuana lobby," said Pamela McColl, national director of Smart Approaches to Marijuana Canada, who is vigorously opposed to legalization.
"I think it’s a gift to the industry and to lawyers who will get their clients off" for impaired driving charges, McColl said. "There’s so much wiggle room in blood testing, there’s so many ways they can defend their clients."
Ron Ward / The Canadian Press
SAM Canada and its allies in the U.S. anti-legalization movement have asked the Canadian government to rethink its approach to blood per se limits. Ed Wood, an American advocate who favours a tough approach to drug-impaired driving, excoriated the bill during testimony in front of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights on Sept. 20.
"The two-tier structure in Bill C-46 perpetuates the myth that blood levels of THC correlate with levels of impairment, and they don’t," Wood said.
He proposed a stricter approach dubbed "tandem per se." Under that approach, any driver arrested under reasonable suspicion of being impaired would be tested for drugs and alcohol. Detection of "any amount of impairing substance" would render the suspect guilty.
Robert Solomon, a law professor at the University of Western Ontario and national director of legal policy with Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada, has rebutted Wood’s proposal as "noble, but unrealistic," and said Wood lacks a full understanding of the Canadian criminal-justice system.
"I don’t think that he fully appreciates the problems that we’ve had in Canada attempting to get convictions based on an officer’s unaided observations of a driver’s behaviour," Solomon said.
MADD Canada supports Bill C-46, but Solomon described it as "far from perfect."
"It won’t provide a major deterrent," he said. "It’s better than what we have."
What we have
Currently, proving drug-impaired driving in Canada relies on examinations performed by police officers trained as "drug recognition experts." The DRE program, originally developed in the 1970s by the Los Angeles Police Department, trains officers to perform a series of physical examinations and tests in order to conclude whether a suspect is impaired by specific drugs. The officer’s analysis is then backed up by a blood, urine or saliva sample to prove the presence of the drug.
Approximately 600 Canadian police officers — 202 of them Mounties — were trained as drug recognition experts as of this month, according to the RCMP. There are 43 drug recognition experts in Manitoba.
"DRE takes about two hours from end to end," Solomon said. "It requires police to record 100 separate pieces of information, it costs $17,000 to train each officer, the cost of maintaining their certification is is high, (and) the courts have not welcomed the DRE evidence."
A late 2015 ruling by Manitoba provincial court Judge Cynthia Devine illustrates Solomon’s point; DRE evidence doesn’t always fare well in court.
In November 2013, Tyler Manaigre was arrested in Steinbach and charged with impaired driving by drugs. Arresting RCMP Cpl. Terry Sundell followed Manaigre after observing him driving 80 km/h in a 100 km/h zone on the outskirts of town. (In her ruling, Devine was careful to note that the speed limit reduced to 80 km/h just 250 meters down the road, and that winter weather conditions may have merited driving slower than the speed limit.)
Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press files Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould says legislation will provide police with tools to combat impaired driving.
Even though Manaigre was driving in a normal manner, Sundell testified, he pulled the driver over to check his sobriety, licence and registration. After some questioning, Manaigre said he had smoked "just a little bit of pot" earlier in the evening.
Sundell, who had had been certified as a drug recognition expert in Florida within a month of stopping Manaigre, performed a standard field sobriety test to determine whether there were reasonable grounds to arrest him for impaired driving. (Such tests, which include walking a straight line and turning, standing on one leg and an eye examination, don’t qualify as admissible evidence of impaired driving, but can be used to find grounds for an arrest and subsequent DRE test.)
Sundell testified Manaigre performed poorly on the tests. He made the arrest and took him back to the local RCMP detachment for a full drug evaluation. After concluding Manaigre was driving while impaired by cannabis, Sundell demanded a urine sample, which also tested positive for cannabis. An RCMP toxicologist testified the urinalysis confirmed only whether Manaigre consumed cannabis at some point in the previous month, and that consuming a small amount of marijuana may not impair someone’s ability to drive.
In spite of the officer’s evaluation, the positive urine sample and even Manaigre’s admission that he used cannabis before getting behind the wheel, Devine was unwilling to find Manaigre guilty of driving while impaired.
"There was nothing about the driving to suggest impairment by a drug," she wrote in her decision, noting that Manaigre also acted appropriately during his encounter with police.
"I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the test results indicate marijuana consumption," ruled Devine.
"But even though I accept that these tests are standardized and utilized across Canada and the United States, I am not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that they demonstrated impairment, even to a slight degree, in this case… it is unknown how performance on the tests is correlative of impairment."
The blood limits in Bill C-46 appear to be designed to address that kind of reasonable doubt about cannabis impairment by establishing an objective test, but the scientific consensus is clear: blood testing for THC content can’t definitively prove impairment.
Manaigre’s attorney, Michael Dyck, raised another problem with the legal limits on blood-THC content: people who use cannabis and wait until they no longer feel impaired before driving will have no way of testing themselves to ensure they’re below the limit, unlike alcohol users who can use keychain breathalyzers.
"The reality is that if people are allowed to legally purchase and consume marijuana, and people are allowed to legally operate motor vehicles, we have to think about where they can do those things — not simultaneously — but where they can do those things and still live their lives," Dyck said in an interview.
"(If) a person consumes marijuana and they’re not impaired and they’re driving on the road, should we have a problem with that as a society? I’d say no, because they’re not doing anything dangerous. Once they’re impaired, that’s when they become a danger. But those two things don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand."
Between the Canadian Society of Forensic Sciences report and testimony presented to to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, the Justice Department appears to be well aware of the limitations of blood testing for cannabis impairment. Regardless, the department says it is trying to err on the side of public safety.
"The current scientific evidence shows that setting legal limits for drugs is more complex than alcohol," a Justice spokesman said in an email.
"The proposed levels for THC — particularly for the low-level, fine-only drug offence — reflects a precautionary approach. In the absence of clear evidence of what is the safe level of THC to drive, the best way forward is to say that there is no safe level.... At this time, the minister has no plans to alter Bill C-46 as it relates to blood testing for the proposed new drug-impaired driving offences."
solomon.israel@freepress.mb.ca
@sol_israelCelebrity chef Luke Nguyen teaches us how to pronounce Australia's seventh most popular surname. Video by: Michelle Loh.
It's Australia's seventh most common surname and the third most common surname in our largest city, Sydney. But how many of us can pronounce it?
Yesterday news.com.au took to the streets of Sydney to see how many locals could pronounce the Vietnamese surname “Nguyen”.
The good citizens of the harbour city didn’t fare so well, so we popped down for a bit of a linguistic lesson with TV chef Luke Nguyen at his schmick little restaurant Red Lantern on Riley.
Luke was one of eight kids with the surname Nguyen at school, and used to cringe when the teachers read out the name at roll call.
Mostly they’d pronounce it like the common Australian surname “Ewan” with the letter “n” at the front. So, they’d pretty much say “Newan”. Many people we interviewed on the streets pronounced it that way too.
But as Luke Nguyen tells us, that’s not right.
So how to say it properly and impress your Vietnamese friends? It’s actually not that hard. The first thing you have to do is get your head around the “ng”.
In English, we only have the “ng” sound at the end of words like “thing” or “song”. In Vietnamese, they often use that sound at the beginning of words.
So pretend you’re saying the word “thing”. Now hold onto that end bit. Say it a few times. “Ng”. “Ng”. Get ready to start a word with it.
OK, that’s the tricky part. Now all you have to deal with is the “uyen”.
Vietnamese is a tonal language, which means a native speaker would pronounce the “uy” musically with a downwards inflection, then dip back up again on the “en”.
We’ll let you off that. All you need to do is run the “uy” and the “en” together so that they make a sound almost identical to the English word “win”.
Imagine you follow the Geelong Cats but you missed the game on the weekend. You ask your friend “Did Geelong win?”.
The secret is in the end of that sentence. Say the last five letters again, and say them as one syllable “ngwin”.
That’s it. Congratulations, you are now pronouncing Australia’s seventh most common surname better than many Vietnamese people.
And that, friends, is a Nguyen Nguyen situation for all of us.
Twitter: @antsharwoodWomen’s March organizer Linda Sarsour flaunted her new membership to a socialist organization Monday night.
Sarsour tweeted out a picture of her membership card to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), telling her followers “. @ DemSocialists, I am official.”
The DSA is the biggest socialist organization in America. Some of the group’s causes include trying to get money out of politics, attempting to give more power to ordinary people in their jobs and working on revising gender relationships so they are more equal.
“We are socialists because we share a vision of a humane international social order based both on democratic planning and market mechanisms to achieve equitable distribution of resources, meaningful work, a healthy environment, sustainable growth, gender and racial equality, and non-oppressive relationships,” the group noted.
Follow Amber on Twitter
Send tips to amber@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.All Walmarts are, bluntly, not created equal. Some have better customer service than others and are just plain more pleasant shopping experiences. And if you’ve felt like the Walmarts in richer ZIP codes are more likely to be the nicer ones, well, one study says you’re right.
A study published this year took a look at Walmart customer satisfaction by analyzing the 35,000 total Yelp reviews for all Walmarts nationwide. And the trend the researcher found is… disquieting.
The reviews covered a total of 2.840 stores. Among them, the study found, reviews for stores in areas with a lower average income were significantly worse than reviews for stores in areas with higher incomes.
And worse: even controlling for average area income, the higher the percentage of black or Latino residents in a certain ZIP code, the worse a Walmart there would rate.
The researcher running the study didn’t just look at the numerical ratings stores got; he also looked at the words reviewers were using to describe them. Stores in areas with predominantly black residents tended to be “negative,” “nasty,” “terrible,” “unorganized,” and, mainly, “worst.” Stores in areas with mostly white residents tended to be “friendly,” “typical,” “clean,” and even “pleasant” or “amazing.”
Now, it seems incredibly unlikely that anyone at Walmart is actually sitting around twirling their handlebar moustache and trying to figure out how to make life miserable for low-income or minority customers on purpose. Still, the trend in the data is there — so what’s going on?
The researcher who conducted the study points to chronic understaffing and poor working conditions as probably causing the poorer service. In a series of interviews, he and his student-assistants talked to 89 Walmart workers around the country. Employees across the board reported a lack of support, but it seemed “particularly acute,” he writes, for employees working in low-income communities of color.
And all of that — Walmart’s ability to cut corners and generally suck while still drawing in customers — is tied to competition, the researcher suggests, or specifically, the lack of it.
Walmart is able to compete so aggressively on price that it drives other retailers out of an area and establish a local monopoly, the researcher suggests. It’s called a “monopsony”:
“Instead of raising prices and lowering product quality and quantity to increase profits, profits are increased by lowering wages and staffing levels, worker effort, and employee retention. All companies trade-off lower turnover and effort for lower wages; Walmart is distinct for the extent to which it has chosen a strategy in which low-wage workers do not stay very long, do not invest much effort, but are paid such low wages that Walmart is still making a profit.”
Walmart, of course, thinks the study is bunk. In a statement to Business Insider, a spokesperson for Walmart called it “flawed and without merit.”
“Our customer traffic and overall customer satisfaction scores have been improving and we’re focused on continuing to do better,” the representative told BI, tacitly acknowledging that the company has some pretty serious customer satisfaction problems overall.
The statement continued: “Our associates play a critical role in the company’s success and that’s why we’ve invested $2.7 billion on associate education, training and wages. We’re also proud to provide communities across the country, regardless of social or economic background, access to affordable goods and career opportunities to help them better provide for their families.”
And, as BI points out, the study itself may be flawed: using Yelp alone, though it generated a fairly high sample of reviews, can’t account for other biases or outside influences. The Yelp-using population may not be representative of the broader population, or it may be predisposed to perceive any store in a ZIP code mainly populated by people of color as low-quality, regardless of the reality.
On the other hand, the Yelp reviewers aren’t the first to notice a significant absence of staff at Walmart stores, either: staff cutbacks have led to increased crime across the board at Walmart locations.
walmart’s consumer redlining [Contexts]
A study reveals a disturbing trend about Walmart locations across the US [Business Insider]Deep beneath the ocean floor off the Pacific Northwest coast, scientists have described the existence of a potentially vast realm of life, one almost completely disconnected from the world above.
Persisting in microscopic cracks in the basalt rocks of Earth's oceanic crust is a complex microbial ecosystem fueled entirely by chemical reactions with rocks and seawater, rather than sunlight or the organic byproducts of light-harvesting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
Such modes of life, technically known as chemosynthetic, are not unprecedented, having also been found deep in mine shafts and around seafloor hydrothermal vents. Never before, though, have they been found on so vast a scale. In pure geographical area, these oceanic crust systems may contain the largest ecosystem on Earth.
"We know that Earth's oceanic crust accounts for 60 percent of Earth's surface, and on average is four miles thick," said geomicrobiologist Mark Lever of Denmark's Aarhuis University, part of a research team that describes the new systems March 14 in Science.
If what the researchers found resembles what's found elsewhere below Earth's oceans, continued Lever, "the largest ecosystem on Earth, by volume, is supported by chemosynthesis."
The paper represents the culmination of findings that have gathered over the last two decades, starting in the 1990s with the discovery of strange microscopic holes in the basalt rocks that form much of Earth's outer crust, floating above the planet's viscous upper mantle and below seafloor sediments.
The holes looked as though they were made by bacterial activity, but there wasn't supposed to be any life there. The crust isn't just hot, deep, dark and dense, but mostly devoid of the organic compounds, supplied by plants and plankton and other sunlight-fueled organisms, on which life relies elsewhere.
In coming years, researchers noted that oceanic crusts, which form when rock heated by Earth's core pours slowly through mid-ocean cracks between continental plates, differed greatly between the centers and edges. At the centers, near where they form, rocks are suffused with energy-rich compounds that support microbes. At the edges, where rocks arrive millions of years later, the chemicals are gone. It's like they've been eaten.
Other researchers found DNA traces of microbes in the oceanic crusts, further making the case for life, but just what the microbes were doing remained uncertain.
"All these pieces of evidence have been coming together for over 15 years. It was time to put it all together," said microbial ecologist Andreas Teske of the University of North Carolina, a co-author of the new study. "We now have the best available evidence that there is in fact microbial life in the cracks and fissures of deep ocean basalt. The question is, how far does it extend?"
Teske and Lever's team collected samples of crust from the Juan de Fuca Plate, about 120 miles off the coast of Washington, drilling from boreholes made by other researchers some 1.5 miles below the ocean's surface and beneath another 1,000 feet of sediment.
At that depth, there exists rock and water and carbon dioxide, and few if any traces of organic matter produced from sunlight in the illuminated surface world. The researchers put their rocks in a laboratory apparatus designed to simulate that environment, then spent the next seven years observing what happened.
They measured chemical ebbs and flows, slowly learning the system's elemental cycles. Though the microbe populations didn't grow at the densities necessary to convenient find them under a microscope, the researchers scoured their rocks for microbial DNA, identifying sequences that could be compared to known genes. Out of this emerged a picture of the oceanic crust community and how it lives.
Fundamental to the ecosystem is hydrogen, which in the absence of sunlight provides the energy on which all other biological processes rely. The hydrogen is released by reactions between iron- and sulfur-rich rocks and seawater, then used by microbes to fuel their conversion of carbon dioxide into organic matter.
That matter, along with metabolic byproducts like methane, would support other organisms, ultimately creating a web of life. That web is relatively simple compared to sunlight-based ecosystems, said Teske, and it's unlikely that multicellular life will be found there, as it's too hot and energy-poor compared to the places where higher life is found.
The work "confirms that there are subsurface environments that can support life without using oxygen," said Martin Fisk, a biogeochemist at Oregon State University who also studies oceanic crust microbiology at the Juan de Fuca plate, but was not involved in the new research.
Biogeochemist Everett Shock of Arizona State University, also not involved in the research, isn't yet ready to rule out multicellular life. "My bet is on fungi," he said, "but there are other possibilities, including things that may be quite unfamiliar."
Continued Shock, "As for invertebrate and vertebrates, much depends on their size and the sizes of interconnected pore spaces in the rocks. I'm not ready to rule out such possibilities. Our ignorance about these systems is staggering, and accessing them is not at all easy."
Even if multicellular life isn't to be found in oceanic crusts, the presence of any life there is still extraordinary. Lever emphasized just how disconnected it is from the rest of Earth's life processes, a sort of "parallel universe" linked to ours only by seawater.
A map of Earth's seafloor crust (color-coded by age; red is young, blue is old) conveys its vast size. Image: NASA/Wikimedia Commons
Despite that tenuous link, said Lever, it's likely that over geological time "those processes happening in the crust have a profound chemical influence on the composition of our oceans and atmosphere."
Another avenue of speculation involves the origins of life, which some scientists think might be traced to oceanic crusts. If simple interaction between seawater and rock provides the necessities, then Earth's early environments were quite conducive to life.
"The emphasis on common processes is appealing," Shock said. "It moves attention away from special circumstances, like spark discharges in implausible atmospheres, or conditions that may once have prevailed but no longer do."
Lever mused on the possibility that primeval chemical systems with a tendency to replicate themselves, not quite alive yet something more than inanimate, might have accreted around hydrogen- and sulfur-generating processes in the oceanic crust.
"What's proposed is that before there was life, there was this organic matter-producing chemical reaction going on," said Lever. Life might have originated around the iron and sulfur compounds fueling that reaction, evolving to produce biomass and harvest energy.
Such ideas are speculative, emphasized Lever, and Teske preferred to think about the implications for life elsewhere. "What I find interesting here is not so much the origin of life, but the persistence of life," he said.
"As long as there's space for microbes, and biochemistry, life persists," Teske continued. "Deep subsurfaces could be the best hiding place for life on other planets, where surface conditions are too harsh but the right chemical conditions are available below."
Back on Earth, a more immediate implication of the findings is the possiblity that a large fraction of Earth's life exists in oceanic crusts, not in ocean water or on land.
"We need to stretch our brains to consider that there should be much to discover, and much that will be unfamiliar," said Shock.
Citation: "Evidence for Microbial Carbon and Sulfur Cycling in Deeply Buried Ridge Flank Basalt." By Mark A. Lever, Olivier Rouxel, Jeffrey C. Alt, Nobumichi Shimizu, Shuhei Ono, Rosalind M. Coggon, Wayne C. Shanks III, Laura Lapham, Marcus Elvert, Xavier Prieto-Mollar, Kai-Uwe Hinrichs, Fumio Inagaki, Andreas Teske. Science, Vol. 339, 15 March 2013.As the first teaser trailer implied, Cars — until now Disney-Pixar’s most light-hearted franchise — is speeding in a decidedly darker direction with the upcoming threequel. The preview showed our red- and yellow-hued hero Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) flipping through the air in slow motion on his way to what will no doubt be a thunderous crash.
That image, paired with the tagline “From This Moment, Everything Will Change,” is captured on Cars 3‘s first official poster, which you can see exclusively below:
Disney Animation chief John Lasseter told Entertainment Weekly in June that Cars 3 will feature a “very emotional story” that finds McQueen remembering his late mentor Doc Hudson (Paul Newman), whose own championship racing career was untracked by a crippling accident. Fan favorite Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) and McQueen’s main squeeze Sally (Bonnie Hunt) are returning, while the film will also introduce new characters named Cruz Ramirez and Jackson Storm, though casting on those voice roles has yet to be announced.
Cars 3 marks the directorial debut of Brian Fee, who came up the Pixar ranks as a storyboard artist on the first two Cars adventures as well as studio favorites Ratatouille and WALL-E. The film is scheduled for release on June 16, 2017.Jones was in his second spell at Keighley and also had a spell with Halifax
Keighley Cougars rugby league player Danny Jones has died after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest during a game.
The Wales international, 29, collapsed after being replaced during the League 1 game at London Skolars on Sunday.
The married father of five-month-old twins was treated at the ground before being taken to the Royal Free Hospital.
"He was the life and soul in the dressing room, a natural leader, a true professional and irreplaceable," read a Keighley Cougars statement.
Jones, from Halifax, was injured in the fourth minute of the game at the New River Stadium and was treated by the match doctor and paramedics at the ground.
London Ambulance Service said they were called "to a patient in cardiac arrest" at the ground at 15:10 BST and "extensive efforts were made to resuscitate him."
The contest was abandoned in the 16th minute with Keighley 12-6 ahead.
Jones won 12 caps for Wales after making his debut in 2010
"It is always devastating when someone so young dies in these circumstances," said Rugby Football League chief operating officer Ralph Rimmer.
"Danny was a popular and talented player, having played at the highest level with Wales and for more than 12 seasons for Keighley Cougars and Halifax."
Jones scored in excess of 1000 points in 150 appearances for Keighley and won 12 caps for Wales, making his debut against Italy in Wrexham in 2010.
His final international appearance was in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, against Cook Islands in Neath.
Deaths in rugby league Jones is the second rugby league player in just over six years to die after collapsing during a match. Wakefield forward Leon Walker, who was 20, fell ill during a reserve game with Celtic Crusaders in Maesteg in March 2009. It was later discovered that he had an undiagnosed heart defect and a coroner ruled that he died from natural causes. Just six months earlier, in October 2008, Wakefield's Cook Island international Adam Watene, 31, died after collapsing during training. Leeds half-back Chris Sanderson died on the pitch in a match in 1977.
Rimmer added: "The rugby league community will mourn his loss and I wish to extend our deepest sympathies to Danny's family and friends at this incredibly sad time.
"The family, friends and team mates of Danny are currently, and will continue to be, supported by the RFL Benevolent Fund and Sporting Chance.
"We would ask that the privacy of the Jones family, players and Keighley Cougars staff be respected."
Tributes to a "great man"
BBC Super League Show presenter Tanya Arnold said: "Such sad news about Danny Jones, thoughts with all those close to him at such a difficult time."
England international Chris Hill also paid tribute to Jones on Twitter. "Such sad news about Danny Jones," he said. "Played against him a few times always a top competitor; thoughts go to all his friends and family."
Wales Rugby League chairman Brian Juliff said: "Everyone at Wales Rugby League is very shocked to hear of Danny's sudden passing. Our condolences go out to his family, friends and colleagues at this sad time."
The sport's players' association, League 13, said in a statement: "Our deepest sympathy and condolences go to the family of Danny Jones tonight."This is Niche Culture. In this column, we regularly cover anime, geek culture, and things related to video games. Please leave feedback and let us know if there’s something you want us to cover!
This past weekend, Sega’s internal Yakuza Studio announced a bevy of new titles, including the expected Yakuza: Kiwami 2. During the presentation, a returning voice actor made a joke (via Kotaku) that got a lot of South Koreans angry.
Veteran Japanese actor Susumu Terajima joked that “there are…several of the people up on this stage are Koreans, truly… I only hope no missiles come flying from Korea.”
To put things into perspective, North Korea literally fired three short-range missiles into the sea between their peninsula and Japan, earlier that day.
Terajima’s remarks came after series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi asked him for the last word before they closed out. Following his joke, Japanese comedian Yuichi Kimura, who also makes an appearance in Yakuza Kiwami 2, accurately predicted “there’s going to be a public apology after this.”
Sega Korea later issued the following apology:
Apology for the comment made by a speaker at the Sega sponsored event There was an inappropriate comment from the speaker at the Yakuza Studio’s new title announcement event, which took place on 8/26. We sincerely apologize for the anger it has caused everyone due to the incident. Sega group is working hard to deliver emotional experience to the players worldwide and deeply regretting about this incident. We will assure that such incident will not happen in the future. Once again, we truly apologize.
Popular South Korean online forums have had a multitude of negative reactions to Terajima’s comment, some even having concerns over whether the game will still be released in the region.
Things get a little bit interesting when you consider Terajima voices the character Jiro Kawara (pictured above from his appearance in Kiwami 2) or “Killer Kawara,” a hard-boiled detective on the pursuit of a violent Korean crime gang.
Some further context: the word “Chousenjin” was used by Terajima, which officially can be used for “Korean person.” However, there’s no distinction here between whether or not this means North or South Korea-born people. Used by itself, it can be considered as a pejorative.
Yakuza: Kiwami 2 is launching for PlayStation 4 on December 7th in Japan. In related news, Sega is running a survey polling fans whether or not they want a western release for the game, as well as: Yakuza Online, and their new Fist of the North Star title – you can read more about that here.TWO Hawaii women who say they were lost at sea on a sailboat for months never activated their emergency beacon, the US Coast Guard said, adding to a growing list of inconsistencies that cast doubt on their harrowing tale of survival.
The women previously said that they had radios, satellite phones, GPS and other emergency gear, but they didn’t mention the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, or EPIRB.
A Coast Guard review of the incident and subsequent interviews with the women revealed that they had an EPIRB aboard their boat but never turned it on.
Jennifer Appel confirmed in an interview that they had the beacon and did not use it.
She said that in her experience, it should be used only when you are in imminent physical danger and going to die in the next 24 hours.
“Our hull was solid, we were floating, we had food, we had water, and we had limited manoeuverable capacity,” Ms Appel said in Japan, where the US Navy took them after they were rescued by a Navy ship. “All those things did not say we are going to die. All that said, it’s going to take us a whole lot longer to get where we’re going.”
In retrospect, though, Ms Appel said there were two times that she would have used it — once when she and Tasha Fuiava were off Hawaii around late June to early July, and a second time off Wake Island on October 1.
“That’s a lesson learned for me, because that was the best chance we had in the ocean to get help,” Ms Appel said of the Wake Island missed opportunity.
Previously, Ms Appel and Ms Fuiava had said they were close to giving up when the Navy rescued them last week, thousands of kilometres off course.
The EPIRB communicates with satellites and sends locations to authorities. It’s activated when it’s submerged in water or turned on manually. The alert signal sends a location to rescuers within minutes.
A retired Coast Guard officer who was responsible for search and rescue operations said that if the women had used the emergency beacon, they would have been found.
“If the thing was operational and it was turned on, a signal should have been received very, very quickly that this vessel was in distress,” Phillip R. Johnson said on Monday in a telephone interview from Washington state.
Mr Johnson described the device as sturdy and reliable, but added that old and weak batteries could cause a unit not to function.
Ms Appel and Ms Fuiava also said they had six forms of communication that all failed to work.
“There’s something wrong there,” Mr Johnson said. “I’ve never heard of all that stuff going out at the same time.”
The two women met in late 2016, and within a week of knowing each other decided to take the trip together.
Ms Fuiava had never sailed a day in her life.
They planned to take 18 days to get to Tahiti, then travel the South Pacific and return to Hawaii in October.
They set off on May 3 along with their two dogs and were rescued by the Navy last week, thousands of kilometres off course.
Key elements of the women’s account are contradicted by authorities, and are not consistent with weather reports or basic geography of the Pacific Ocean.
The discrepancies raised questions about whether Ms Appel and her sailing companion, Tasha Fuiava, could have avoided disaster.
On their first day at sea, the two women described running into a fierce storm that tossed their vessel with 97km/h winds and nine-metre seas for three days, but meteorologists say there was no severe weather anywhere along their route during that time.
After leaving “we got into a Force 11 storm, and it lasted for two nights and three days,” Ms Appel has said of the storm they encountered off Oahu.
In one of the first signs of trouble, she said she lost her mobile phone overboard.
“We were empowered to know that we could withstand the forces of nature,” Ms Appel said. “The boat could withstand the forces of nature.”
But the National Weather Service in Honolulu said no organised storm systems were in or near Hawaii on May 3 or in the days afterwards.
Archived NASA satellite images confirm there were no tropical storms around Hawaii that day. Ms Appel expressed surprise that there was no record of the storm.
She said they received a Coast Guard storm warning while sailing after sunset on May 3.
The pair said they thought about turning back, but the islands of Maui and Lanai didn’t have harbours deep enough to accommodate their sailboat.
At 15 metres long, the vessel is relatively small, and both islands have harbours that accommodate boats of that size. Plus, the Big Island — the southernmost island in Hawaii — has several places to dock.
Ms Appel, though, said she modified her sailboat, called the Sea Nymph, by adding six tonnes of fibreglass to the hull to make it thicker and heavier and extend the keel to a depth of 2.5 metres to give the boat greater stability.
Similar vessels typically have a keel of 1.5-2 metres, she said. The extra-long keel meant it couldn’t get in to nearby harbours.
“Given the constraints of our vessel, we chose the appropriate action,” she said.
Still, they pressed on.
Days later, after parts of their mast and rigging failed, they sailed up to another small island, still with a working motor, but decided against trying to land, believing the island was mostly uninhabited with no protected waters.
“It is uninhabited. They only have habitation on the northwest corner and their reef was too shallow for us to cross in order to get into the lagoon,” Ms Appel said.
But Christmas Island, part of the island nation of Kiribati, is home to more than 2000 people and has a port that routinely welcomes huge commercial ships.
“We could probably nurse it down to the next major island in Kiribati,” Ms Appel said. “Then we’ll be able to stop there and seek safe haven and get up on the mast and fix it.”
The island has at least two airfields, and women had flares aboard to alert people on land. Plus, its widest point spans about 48 kilometres, a day’s hike to safety from even the most remote area.
When asked if the small island would have been a good place to land and repair their sails, Ms Appel said no. “Kiribati, um, one whole half of the island is called shipwreck beach for a reason,” she said.
Christmas Island has a place called Bay of Wrecks on its northeast side. So, instead of stopping for help, they say they set a new destination about 1609 kilometres away and a few hundred miles beyond their original target of Tahiti.
They were headed to the Cook Islands.
“We really did think we could make |
kicked out of the store.
From your friend Down South,
DiSanto
Direct link to – Florida House of Representatives
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=49236Nicolás Maduro uses decree powers to raise fuel prices for first time in 20 years and devalues currency in bid to boost nation’s coffers
Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, has announced the first rise in petrol prices in 20 years and a sharp devaluation of the currency which he said aimed to shore up the flailing economy, hard hit by falling oil prices which make up 95% of foreign income.
Prices at the pump in Venezuela will jump as much as 6,086% for 95 octane gasoline, from 0.097 bolivars to 6 bolivars, or 1,300% for 91 octane as of Friday.
Venezuela under 'economic emergency' as court gives Maduro decree powers Read more
The official exchange rate used for food and medicine imports will weaken to 10 bolivars per dollar from 6.3, as of Thursday, while a second rate will be allowed to float.
The socialist government’s announcement on Wednesday revealed some of the free market reforms that analysts have been clamouring for in the oil-dependent nation although critics say they don’t go far enough to right the country’s crisis-hit economy.
“This is a necessary measure, a necessary action to balance things, I take responsibility for it,” said Maduro in a five-hour televised speech in which he announced the measures.
Maduro said the new fuel prices would help support social programmes such as housing, health services and education, which had won his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, a broad following when he set the country on a socialist path 17 years ago.
Maduro said he hoped the measures “will be understood by the people on the streets”, alluding to the 1989 wave of violence known as the “Caracazo” that left hundreds dead, sparked by a rise in fuel prices. Maduro also announced a 20% increase to the country’s minimum wage, effective 1 March.
But even with the rises, Venezuela’s petrol will still be the cheapest in the world, allowing Venezuelan’s to fill their tanks with high-octane gasoline for the equivalent of the price of three beers.
Wall Street analysts previously said Venezuela needed a sharp currency devaluation, spending cuts and a rise in fuel and electricity prices to avoid further economic meltdown. But local analysts said the changes announced by Maduro had not gone far enough.
Analyst Luis Vicente León, said the measures were akin to putting “truffle salt on a rotten steak”.
León said on Twitter the government would have to constantly adjust the fuel prices so the impact would not be “pulverized” by inflation, which in 2015 was 140%.
He added that the changes to the exchange rate system did not seem to represent a fundamental change. “We’ll have to wait and see the implementation but it doesn’t seem to be enough,” he tweeted.
Maduro revealed the measures by decree after the supreme court overturned the opposition-controlled legislature’s decision not to grant him special powers. The showdown with the opposition, which has held a majority in the National Assembly since January, for the first time in 17 years, has turned even moderates more radical.
Two-time opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, who is the leader of the moderate wing of the opposition, threw his support behind a possible referendum on recalling Maduro on Wednesday.
“The constitutional time has come... let’s go for recall,” he said in a tweet after Maduros’ speech.
Under the constitution, the opposition needs to collect almost 4 million signatures to force a recall referendum and then get more people to vote against him than those who voted for him in the 2013 presidential election.Gamers who purchased Dark Matter from GOG prior to October 21 are being offered their money back, while Steam has stopped selling it outright.
The Dark Matter saga has been an ugly one so far. The crash course catch-up version, for those who haven't been paying attention: Indie developer InterWave Studios ran out of money and so released an abbreviated Dark Matter without a proper ending, acknowledging that it was "indeed not complete" but then later claiming that it actually is "complete," just not all they'd hoped to make; then publisher Iceberg Interactive got involved and said the studio had been misquoted and that the game is actually intended to be just the first part in an "episodic series," even though absolutely nothing about an episodic release had been mentioned by anyone prior to that moment.
The bottom line is that the game doesn't end properly and players aren't happy about it, and with InterWave seemingly unable to do much about it beyond clarifying that the end is the end, GOG has decided to handle things itself. "It's come to our attention that the gamecard for Dark Matter was not quite specific enough about the nature of the game and, as a result, it may be that some people bought the title with some misapprehensions as to how the game's story would end," GOG marketing guy Trevor "The Enigmatic T" Longino wrote.
"If you bought Dark Matter before 21 October 2013 at 15:00 GMT (when we updated the description to where we feel it adequately reflects the game) and you feel that the game wasn't as promised to you, please contact Support and they'll be happy to offer you full refund to your card or, if you'd prefer, games of equal or lesser value to the sale price of Dark Matter (which is $13.49)," he continued. "We're sorry if anyone who bought the game isn't happy with the way it was represented, and we hope this makes it right for you guys."
While the GOG entry for Dark Matter doesn't specifically address the abrupt "wall of text" ending, it is now described as "the first half of a thrilling, gripping story spanning 14 areas of deep-space survival." Steam, meanwhile, has halted sales of the game outright, replacing the purchase link with a message stating, "Currently there is a known issue at the end of the game. The developer is aware of the issue and they are working on a patch as a solution."
Source: GOGThe pro-life movement has known for a long time that pro-life laws make a difference when it comes to protecting women and saving unborn babies from abortions. Wisconsin is no exception.
Last year, abortions in Wisconsin dropped 4.4 percent and they declined 7.4 percent the year before. Now, Wisconsin Right to Life informs LifeNews abortions int he Badger State are down another 16 percent.
“Last week, Wisconsin abortion providers stated under oath that abortions have decreased from 6,927 in 2012 to roughly 5,800 in 2013,” stated Barbara L. Lyons, Executive Director of Wisconsin Right to Life. “This is another sharp decline of approximately 16%, continuing Wisconsin’s record as having some of the lowest abortion numbers in the country.”
Testimony was presented in the Wisconsin Federal Court Western District last week on a challenge to Wisconsin’s new law which requires that an abortion provider have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the abortion facility. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin testified that 3,300 abortions were performed in 2013 at its three abortion clinics. Affiliated Medical Services testified that it performed 2,500 abortions in 2013. There are four abortion clinics in Wisconsin.
“The numbers presented are unofficial as the Wisconsin Department of Health Services has not yet released its required annual report,” continued Lyons. “The DHS numbers will be more specific and accurate since the numbers reported in court are rounded. Nonetheless, it is tremendous news that 1,100 fewer women and unborn babies were subjected to a brutal abortion procedure last year and the Wisconsin trend to reduce abortions continues.”
The abortion drop comes after pro-life Governor Scott Walker signed multiple pro-life bills into law.
In 2012, Walker added to his pro-life list of accomplishments today by signing bills the pro-life movement supported, including measures to stop abortion funding in Obamacare and webcam abortions.
Last year, Walker signed Senate Bill 206 (Sonya’s Law) into law. This important new law requires that women seeking abortions in Wisconsin be given the opportunity to see their unborn children through ultrasound.
Click here to sign up for daily pro-life news alerts from LifeNews.com
“We thank Governor Walker for signing this important piece of legislation into law,” said then-Wisconsin Right to Life legislative director Armacost. “Sonya’s Law will empower women to make truly informed decisions regarding how they will proceed with their pregnancies and will protect the lives of women who experience complications after their abortions.”
Wisconsin Right to Life officials told LifeNews Wisconsin abortions have decreased 68% from their all-time high in 1980 and 60% since Wisconsin began requiring abortion reporting in 1987.People are often too quick to judge others based on appearance. Just because someone doesn't LOOK like they speak a certain language, does not mean that they aren't actually fluent. Be careful what you say, no matter what language you're speaking.
Here is this bilingual girls story:
(Source can be found at the bottom of the article)
So I'm a white Caucasian female, but I am fluent in Mandarin Chinese and English. Now, looking at me, you wouldn't know I can speak Mandarin, which is why I find it absolutely hysterical to mess with people. Especially when they come through my line at work speaking Chinese, and I understand every word they're saying. My coworkers find it especially hysterical.
Okay, so the other day this Chinese couple came through my line, and I asked them (in English) all of the usual questions about bags and if they had their rewards cards, all of that fun stuff.
Anyway, I started ringing up their stuff, and the wife said to her husband, "Tell her not to bruise the bananas," in Chinese and I didn't say anything. Then the wife said, "Tell the stupid girl to go faster," in Mandarin. I smiled at her and pretended like I had no idea what she was saying.
She kept commenting on how my hair was like a boy's (I have short hair, it's honestly not even that short) and how her grandfather would have gone faster than I was going, all of this in Chinese.
And then she said, "Make sure she doesn't forget the water," in Chinese.
I replied in English, "I won't forget the water."
And I watched with enjoyment as a look of sheer terror spread across her face, as she realized I understood everything she had said before. She just stood there with her mouth open and her husband said (in Chinese), "This is why you shouldn't trash talk employees while they're standing right in front of you!"
I replied (in English), "He's right, you know."
They paid, then the husband apologized and left. After they walked out the door, my manager and coworker and I were laughing so hard.
Even though being a cashier sucks, it sometimes makes my day a little brighter when something like that happens."
#LANGUAGEGOALS
Source: Imgur
Click below and SHARE this with your friends!Welcome to the GSMArena benchmark database. This page puts together the Basemark benchmark scores for all the devices we've tested so far.
While acknowledging that there are many other excellent benchmarking tools out there, we've settled on using Basemark due to the tool's wide platform support. We are not affiliated with Rightware (Basemark's publisher) in any way.
Basemark OS II is a compound, all-in -one benchmarking tool for measuring the overall performance of smartphones and tablets on Android, iOS and Windows phone 8.
Similarly, Basemark X is a cross-platform benchmarking tool, which is meant for evaluation and comparison of gaming and graphics performance for the same groups of mobile devices.
You can sort the table below by either the Basemark OS II score, by the Basemark X score or alphabetically, based on the device model name.Daily broadsheet newspaper based in New York City
The New York Times (sometimes abbreviated as the NYT and NYTimes) is an American newspaper based in New York City with worldwide influence and readership.[6][7][8] Founded in 1851, the paper has won 125 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper.[9][10] The Times is ranked 17th in the world by circulation and 2nd in the U.S.
The paper is owned by The New York Times Company, which is publicly traded and is controlled by the Sulzberger family through a dual-class share structure.[11] It has been owned by the family since 1896; A.G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher, and his father, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., the company's chairman, are the fourth and fifth generation of the family to helm the paper.[12]
Nicknamed "The Gray Lady",[13] the Times has long been regarded within the industry as a national "newspaper of record".[14] The paper's motto, "All the News That's Fit to Print", appears in the upper left-hand corner of the front page.
Since the mid-1970s, The New York Times has greatly expanded its layout and organization, adding special weekly sections on various topics supplementing the regular news, editorials, sports, and features. Since 2008,[15] the Times has been organized into the following sections: News, Editorials/Opinions-Columns/Op-Ed, New York (metropolitan), Business, Sports of The Times, Arts, Science, Styles, Home, Travel, and other features.[16] On Sunday, the Times is supplemented by the Sunday Review (formerly the Week in Review),[17] The New York Times Book Review,[18] The New York Times Magazine[19] and T: The New York Times Style Magazine.[20] The Times stayed with the broadsheet full-page set-up and an eight-column format for several years after most papers switched to six,[21] and was one of the last newspapers to adopt color photography, especially on the front page.[22]
History
New-York Daily Times, on September 18, 1851 First published issue of, on September 18, 1851
Origins
The New York Times on July 29, 1914, announcing Front page ofon July 29, 1914, announcing Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia
The New York Times was founded as the New-York Daily Times on September 18, 1851.[a] Founded by journalist and politician Henry Jarvis Raymond and former banker George Jones, the Times was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company.[24] Early investors in the company included Edwin B. Morgan,[25] Christopher Morgan,[26] and Edward B. Wesley.[27] Sold for a penny (equivalent to 30 cents today), the inaugural edition attempted to address various speculations on its purpose and positions that preceded its release:[28]
We shall be Conservative, in all cases where we think Conservatism essential to the public good;—and we shall be Radical in everything which may seem to us to require radical treatment and radical reform. We do not believe that everything in Society is either exactly right or exactly wrong;—what is good we desire to preserve and improve;—what is evil, to exterminate, or reform.
In 1852, the newspaper started a western division, The Times of California, which arrived whenever a mail boat from New York docked in California. However, the effort failed once local California newspapers came into prominence.[29]
On September 14, 1857, the newspaper officially shortened its name to The New-York Times. (The hyphen in the city name was dropped on December 1, 1896.)[30] On April 21, 1861, The New York Times began publishing a Sunday edition to offer daily coverage of the Civil War. One of the earliest public controversies it was involved with was the Mortara Affair, the subject of twenty editorials in the Times alone.[31]
The main office of The New York Times was attacked during the New York City Draft Riots. The riots, sparked by the beginning of drafting for the Union Army, began on July 13, 1863. On "Newspaper Row", across from City Hall, Henry Raymond stopped the rioters with Gatling guns, early machine guns, one of which he manned himself. The mob diverted, instead attacking the headquarters of abolitionist publisher Horace Greeley's New York Tribune until being forced to flee by the Brooklyn City Police, who had crossed the East River to help the Manhattan authorities.[32]
In 1869, Henry Raymond died, and George Jones took over as publisher.[33]
The newspaper's influence grew in 1870 and 1871, when it published a series of exposés on William Tweed, leader of the city's Democratic Party—popularly known as "Tammany Hall" (from its early 19th century meeting headquarters)—that led to the end of the Tweed Ring's domination of New York's City Hall.[34] Tweed had offered The New York Times five million dollars (equivalent to more than 100 million dollars today) to not publish the story.[25]
In the 1880s, The New York Times gradually transitioned from supporting Republican Party candidates in its editorials to becoming more politically independent and analytical.[35] In 1884, the paper supported Democrat Grover Cleveland (former Mayor of Buffalo and Governor of New York State) in his first presidential campaign.[36] While this move cost The New York Times a portion of its readership among its more progressive and Republican readers (revenue declined from $188,000 to $56,000 from 1883-1884), the paper eventually regained most of its lost ground within a few years.[37]
Ochs era
After George Jones died in 1891, Charles Ransom Miller and other New York Times editors raised $1 million dollars to buy the Times, printing it under the New York Times Publishing Company.[38][39] However, the newspaper was financially crippled by the Panic of 1893,[37] and by 1896, the newspaper had a circulation of less than 9,000, and was losing $1,000 a day. That year, Adolph Ochs, the publisher of the Chattanooga Times, gained a controlling interest in the company for $75,000.[40]
Shortly after assuming control of the paper, Ochs coined the paper's slogan, "All The News That's Fit To Print". The slogan has appeared in the paper since September 1896,[41] and has been printed in a box in the upper left hand corner of the front page since early 1897.[36] The slogan was a jab at competing papers, such as Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal, which were known for a lurid, sensationalist and often inaccurate reporting of facts and opinions, described by the end of the century as "yellow journalism".[42] Under Ochs' guidance, aided by Carr Van Anda, The New York Times achieved international scope, circulation, and reputation; Sunday circulation went from under 9,000 in 1896 to 780,000 in 1934.[40] In 1904, during the Russo-Japanese War, The New York Times, along with The Times, received the first on-the-spot wireless telegraph transmission from a naval battle: a report of the destruction of the Russian Navy's Baltic Fleet, at the Battle of Port Arthur, from the press-boat Haimun.[43] In 1910, the first air delivery of The New York Times to Philadelphia began.[36] In 1919, The New York Times' first trans-Atlantic delivery to London occurred by dirigible balloon. In 1920, during the 1920 Republican National Convention, a "4 A.M. Airplane Edition" was sent to Chicago by plane, so it could be in the hands of convention delegates by evening.[44]
Post-war expansion
The New York Times newsroom, 1942 newsroom, 1942
Ochs died in 1935,[45] and was succeeded as publisher by his son-in-law, Arthur Hays Sulzberger.[46] Under his leadership, and that of his son-in-law (and successor[47]), Orvil Dryfoos,[48] the paper extended its breadth and reach, beginning in the 1940s. The crossword began appearing regularly in 1942, and the fashion section first appeared in 1946. The New York Times began an international edition in 1946. (The international edition stopped publishing in 1967, when The New York Times joined the owners of the New York Herald Tribune and The Washington Post to publish the International Herald Tribune in Paris.)
Dryfoos died in 1963,[49] and was succeeded as publisher[50] by his brother-in-law, Arthur Ochs "Punch" Sulzberger, who led the Times until 1992, and continued the expansion of the paper.[51]
New York Times v. Sullivan
The paper's involvement in a 1964 libel case helped bring one of the key United States Supreme Court decisions supporting freedom of the press, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. In it, the United States Supreme Court established the "actual malice" standard for press reports about public officials or public figures to be considered defamatory or libelous. The malice standard requires the plaintiff in a defamation or libel case prove the publisher of the statement knew the statement was false or acted in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity. Because of the high burden of proof on the plaintiff, and difficulty in proving malicious intent, such cases by public figures rarely succeed.[52]
The case foreshadowed another major libel case, Steven J. Hatfill v. The New York Times Company, and Nicholas Kristof,[53] resulting from the 2001 anthrax attacks (which included powder in an envelope opened by reporter Judith Miller inside the Times newsroom).[54] Dr. Hatfill became a public figure as a result of insinuations that he was the "likely culprit" put forth in Kristof's columns, which referenced the F.B.I. investigation of the case.[55][56][57] Dr. Hatfill sued him and the Times for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. After years of proceedings, the Supreme Court declined to grant certiorari in the case, leaving Dr. Hatfill's case dismissed since he had not proved malice on the part of the Times.[58]
The Times was involved in a similar case in which it agreed to pay a settlement to Dr. Wen Ho Lee who was falsely accused of espionage.[59][60][61][62][63]
The Pentagon Papers
In 1971, the Pentagon Papers, a secret United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political and military involvement in the Vietnam War from 1945 to 1967, were given ("leaked") to Neil Sheehan of The New York Times by former State Department official Daniel Ellsberg, with his friend Anthony Russo assisting in copying them. The New York Times began publishing excerpts as a series of articles on June 13. Controversy and lawsuits followed. The papers revealed, among other things, that the government had deliberately expanded its role in the war by conducting air strikes over Laos, raids along the coast of North Vietnam, and offensive actions taken by U.S. Marines well before the public was told about the actions, all while President Lyndon B. Johnson had been promising not to expand the war. The document increased the credibility gap for the U.S. government, and hurt efforts by the Nixon administration to fight the ongoing war.[64]
When The New York Times began publishing its series, President Richard Nixon became incensed. His words to National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger included "People have gotta be put to the torch for this sort of thing..." and "Let's get the son-of-a-bitch in jail."[65] After failing to get The New York Times to stop publishing, Attorney General John Mitchell and President Nixon obtained a federal court injunction that The New York Times cease publication of excerpts. The newspaper appealed and the case began working through the court system. On June 18, 1971, The Washington Post began publishing its own series. Ben Bagdikian, a Post editor, had obtained portions of the papers from Ellsberg. That day the Post received a call from the Assistant Attorney General, William Rehnquist, asking them to stop publishing. When the Post refused, the U.S. Justice Department sought another injunction. The U.S. District court judge refused, and the government appealed. On June 26, 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take both cases, merging them into New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971). On June 30, 1971, the Supreme Court held in a 6–3 decision that the injunctions were unconstitutional prior restraints and that the government had not met the burden of proof required. The justices wrote nine separate opinions, disagreeing on significant substantive issues. While it was generally seen as a victory for those who claim the First Amendment enshrines an absolute right to free speech, many felt it a lukewarm victory, offering little protection for future publishers when claims of national security were at stake.[64]
1970s and 1980s
In the 1970s, the paper introduced a number of new lifestyle sections including Weekend and Home, with the aim of attracting more advertisers and readers. Many criticized the move for betraying the paper's mission.[66]
On September 7, 1976, the paper switched from an eight-column format to a six-column format. The overall page width stayed the same, with each column becoming wider.[21] On September 14, 1987, the Times printed the heaviest ever newspaper, at over 12 pounds (5.4 kg) and 1,612 pages.[67]
1990s and 2000s
In 1992, "Punch" Sulzberger stepped down as publisher; his son, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., succeeded him, first as publisher,[68] and then as Chairman of the Board in 1997.[69]
The Times was one of the last newspapers to adopt color photography, with the first color photograph on the front page appearing on October 16, 1997.[22]
Digital era
A speech in the newsroom after announcement of Pulitzer Prize winners, 2009
The New York Times switched to a digital production process sometime before 1980, but only began preserving the resulting digital text that year.[70]
In September 2008, The New York Times announced that it would be combining certain sections effective October 6, 2008, in editions printed in the New York metropolitan area. The changes folded the Metro Section into the main International / National news section and combined Sports and Business (except Saturday through Monday, when Sports is still printed as a standalone section). This change also included having the name of the Metro section be called New York outside of the Tri-State Area. The presses used by The New York Times allow four sections to be printed simultaneously; as the paper had included more than four sections all days except Saturday, the sections had to be printed separately in an early press run and collated together. The changes will allow The New York Times to print in four sections Monday through Wednesday, in addition to Saturday. The New York Times' announcement stated that the number of news pages and employee positions will remain unchanged, with the paper realizing cost savings by cutting overtime expenses.[15]
In 2009, the newspaper began production of local inserts in regions outside of the New York area. Beginning October 16, 2009, a two-page "Bay Area" insert was added to copies of the Northern California edition on Fridays and Sundays. The newspaper commenced production of a similar Friday and Sunday insert to the Chicago edition on November 20, 2009. The inserts consist of local news, policy, sports, and culture pieces, usually supported by local advertisements.
Following industry trends, its weekday circulation had fallen in 2009 to fewer than one million.[71]
In August 2007, the paper reduced the physical size of its print edition, cutting the page width from 13.5 inches (34 cm) to a 12 inches (30 cm). This followed similar moves by a roster of other newspapers in the previous ten years, including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. The move resulted in a 5% reduction in news space, but (in an era of dwindling circulation and significant advertising revenue losses) also saved about $12 million a year.[72][73][74][75]
Because of its steadily declining sales attributed to the rise of online alternative media and social media, the newspaper has been going through a downsizing for several years, offering buyouts to workers and cutting expenses,[76] in common with a general trend among print news media.[77]
In December 2012, the Times published "Snow Fall", a six-part article about the 2012 Tunnel Creek avalanche which integrated videos, photos, and interactive graphics and was hailed as a watershed moment for online journalism.[78][79]
In 2016, reporters for the newspaper were reportedly the target of cyber security breaches. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was reportedly investigating the attacks. The cyber security breaches have been described as possibly being related to cyberattacks that targeted other institutions, such as the Democratic National Committee.[80]
In October 2018, the Times published a 14,218-word investigation into Donald Trump's "self-made" fortune and alleged tax fraud, an 18-month project based on examination of 100,000 pages of documents. The lengthy article ran as an eight-page feature in the print edition and also was adapted into a shortened 2,500 word listicle featuring its key takeaways.[81] After the midweek front-page story, the Times also republished the piece as a 12-page "special report" section in the Sunday paper.[82] During the lengthy investigation, Showtime cameras followed the Times' three investigative reporters for a half-hour documentary called The Family Business: Trump and Taxes, which aired the following Sunday.[83][84][85]
Headquarters building
The newspaper's first building was located at 113 Nassau Street in New York City. In 1854, it moved to 138 Nassau Street, and in 1858 to 41 Park Row, making it the first newspaper in New York City housed in a building built specifically for its use.[86]
The newspaper moved its headquarters to the Times Tower, located at 1475 Broadway in 1904,[87] in an area called Longacre Square, that was later renamed Times Square in honor of the newspaper.[88] The top of the building – now known as One Times Square – is the site of the New Year's Eve tradition of lowering a lighted ball, which was started by the paper.[89] The building is also notable for its electronic news ticker – popularly known as "The Zipper" – where headlines crawl around the outside of the building.[90] It is still in use, but has been operated by Dow Jones & Company since 1995.[91] After nine years in its Times Square tower the newspaper had an annex built at 229 West 43rd Street.[92] After several expansions, the 43rd Street building became the newspaper's main headquarters in 1960 and the Times Tower on Broadway was sold the following year.[93] It served as the newspaper's main printing plant until 1997, when the newspaper opened a state-of-the-art printing plant in the College Point section of the borough of Queens.[94]
A decade later, The New York Times moved its newsroom and businesses headquarters from West 43rd Street to a new tower at 620 Eighth Avenue between West 40th and 41st Streets, in Manhattan – directly across Eighth Avenue from the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The new headquarters for the newspaper, known officially as The New York Times Building but unofficially called the new "Times Tower" by many New Yorkers, is a skyscraper designed by Renzo Piano.[95][96]
Discrimination in employment
Discriminatory practices restricting women in editorial positions were previously employed by the paper. The newspaper's first general woman reporter was Jane Grant, who described her experience afterwards. She wrote, "In the beginning I was charged not to reveal the fact that a female had been hired". Other reporters nicknamed her Fluff and she was subjected to considerable hazing. Because of her gender, promotions were out of the question, according to the then-managing editor. She was there for fifteen years, interrupted by World War I.[97]
In 1935, Anne McCormick wrote to Arthur Hays Sulzberger, "I hope you won't expect me to revert to 'woman's-point-of-view' stuff."[98] Later, she interviewed major political leaders and appears to have had easier access than her colleagues did. Even those who witnessed her in action were unable to explain how she got the interviews she did.[99] Clifton Daniel said, "[After World War II,] I'm sure Adenauer called her up and invited her to lunch. She never had to grovel for an appointment."[100] Covering world leaders' speeches after World War II at the National Press Club was limited to men by a Club rule. When women were eventually allowed in to hear the speeches, they still were not allowed to ask the speakers questions, although men were allowed and did ask, even though some of the women had won Pulitzer Prizes for prior work.[101] Times reporter Maggie Hunter refused to return to the Club after covering one speech on assignment.[102] Nan Robertson's article on the Union Stock Yards, Chicago, was read aloud as anonymous by a professor, who then said, "'It will come as a surprise to you, perhaps, that the reporter is a girl,' he began... [G]asps; amazement in the ranks. 'She had used all her senses, not just her eyes, to convey the smell and feel of the stockyards. She chose a difficult subject, an offensive subject. Her imagery was strong enough to revolt you.'"[103] The New York Times hired Kathleen McLaughlin after ten years at the Chicago Tribune, where "[s]he did a series on maids, going out herself to apply for housekeeping jobs."[104]
Slogan
The New York Times has had one slogan. Since 1896, the newspaper's slogan has been "All the News That's Fit to Print." In 1896, Adolph Ochs held a competition to attempt to find a replacement slogan, offering a $100 prize for the best one. Entries included "News, Not Nausea"; "In One Word: Adequate"; "News Without Noise"; "Out Heralds The Herald, Informs The World, and Extinguishes The Sun"; "The Public Press is a Public Trust"; and the winner of the competition, "All the world's news, but not a school for scandal."[105][106][107][108] On May 10, 1960, Wright Patman asked the FTC to investigate whether The New York Times's slogan was misleading or false advertising. Within 10 days, the FTC responded that it was not.[109]
Again in 1996, a competition was held to find a new slogan, this time for NYTimes.com. Over 8,000 entries were submitted. Again however, "All the News That's Fit to Print," was found to be the best.[110]
Organization
The New York Times headquarters 620 Eighth Avenue headquarters 620 Eighth Avenue
News staff
In addition to its New York City headquarters, the paper has newsrooms in London and Hong Kong.[111][112] Its Paris newsroom, which had been the headquarters of the paper's international edition, was closed in 2016, although the city remains home to a news bureau and an advertising office.[113][114] The paper also has an editing and wire service center in Gainesville, Florida.[115]
As of 2013, the newspaper had 6 news bureaus in the New York region, 14 elsewhere in the United States, and 24 in other countries.[116]
In 2009, Russ Stanton, editor of the Los Angeles Times, a competitor, stated that the newsroom of The New York Times was twice the size of the Los Angeles Times, which had a newsroom of 600 at the time.[117]
Ochs-Sulzberger family
In 1896, Adolph Ochs bought The New York Times, a money-losing newspaper, and formed the New York Times Company. The Ochs-Sulzberger family, one of the United States' newspaper dynasties, has owned The New York Times ever since.[36] The publisher went public on January 14, 1969, trading at $42 a share on the American Stock Exchange.[118] After this, the family continued to exert control through its ownership of the vast majority of Class B voting shares. Class A shareholders are permitted restrictive voting rights while Class B shareholders are allowed open voting rights.
The Ochs-Sulzberger family trust controls roughly 88 percent of the company's class B shares. Any alteration to the dual-class structure must be ratified by six of eight directors who sit on the board of the Ochs-Sulzberger family trust. The Trust board members are Daniel H. Cohen, James M. Cohen, Lynn G. Dolnick, Susan W. Dryfoos, Michael Golden, Eric M. A. Lax, Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr., and Cathy J. Sulzberger.[119]
Turner Catledge, the top editor at The New York Times from 1952 to 1968, wanted to hide the ownership influence. Arthur Sulzberger routinely wrote memos to his editor, each containing suggestions, instructions, complaints, and orders. When Catledge would receive these memos he would erase the publisher's identity before passing them to his subordinates. Catledge thought that if he removed the publisher's name from the memos it would protect reporters from feeling pressured by the owner.[120]
Public editors
The position of public editor was established in 2003 to "investigate matters of journalistic integrity"; each public editor was to serve a two-year term.[121] The post "was established to receive reader complaints and question Times journalists on how they make decisions."[122] The impetus for the creation of the public editor position was the Jayson Blair affair. Public editors were: Daniel Okrent (2003–2005), Byron Calame (2005–2007), Clark Hoyt (2007–2010) (served an extra year), Arthur S. Brisbane (2010–2012), Margaret Sullivan (2012–2016) (served a four-year term), and Elizabeth Spayd (2016–2017). In 2017, the Times eliminated the position of public editor.[122][123]
Content
Style
When referring to people, The New York Times generally uses honorifics, rather than unadorned last names (except in the sports pages, |
Justel showers, gets dressed and pockets his wage: 3,000 Czech crowns ($168), the going rate for solo work. Duals pay almost twice as much. Will he do it again? “I’ll see. Maybe I’ll find a job and I won’t be back,” he says.
If the shoot, the cash, and the compliments (even if it’s only in online chat rooms for now) are as addictive as other models say, he’ll be back.
The other “Velvet Revolution”
Twenty years ago, the Velvet Revolution, named for its nonviolent protests that helped bring down the communist government, marked the end of totalitarianism in Czechoslovakia. In 1993, the country peacefully split into Czech Republic and Slovakia in the so-called “Velvet Divorce.”
Since then, the Czech Republic has gradually become one of the epicenters of world porn production, again with serenity and without protests, this time with velvet used more often for upholstery than symbolism.
Both the Czech Republic and Hungary became major sources of world porn production. Prague became known as the capital of gay porn, while Budapest kept most of the straight porn business.
Although homosexuality was decriminalized in Czechoslovakia in 1961 — before Germany or Great Britain legalized it — the gay community was thoroughly underground under communism. The few clubs and baths where gays gathered were under surveillance by the secret police. Classified advertisements to meet persons of the same sex were banned by the Communist Party because they alleged a correlation with criminal activity.
It was illegal to produce porn, hetero- or homosexual, in communist Czechoslovakia. For reasons of political repression under the Soviet-controlled regime there were strict regulations on cameras, camcorders or any other recording equipment. But porn was a popular commodity to smuggle in from abroad, copy, trade or sell on the black market.
When communism ended, it was only a matter of time before somebody filled the hunger for porn by using local talent.
William Higgins fit that bill.
William Higgins.
(Nora Stribrna/GlobalPost)
With 14 years in the porn industry already behind him, he left the U.S. in 1980s, when the AIDS epidemic struck and made the American gay porn business a depressing place to be. He moved his operations to Amsterdam.
When Higgins first visited Prague, he was amazed by how easy it was to get men to have sex.
“I picked up a hitchhiker once and asked, ‘Hey, you want to have sex for $60?’” says Higgins. “He said, ‘OK.’ It was that easy.”
He started a business in Prague, first the club, Drakes, and then a recording studio. He found it was much easier to recruit models in Prague than in Amsterdam. Unemployed Dutch men and students got generous state benefits and thought twice about “plastering their asses all over the screen” for extra cash. Czechs didn’t have those hang-ups.
Moreover, “Czechs would do it anyway,” he says, even with generous state benefits. They are entrepreneurial, he says, “always looking to make an extra buck.”
Higgins is articulate and opinionated, and says he reads nine newspapers in the morning (The New York Times to get Israel's point of view, The Guardian for the Arab view). In addition to the latest gossip about Prague's gay porn scene, on his blog Higgins can't resist making frequent political statements: “I believe the great majority of folks who call Obama a Socialist wouldn’t know a Socialist if he bit him in the ass."
Outside of the blog, Higgins keeps a low profile in Prague. The Oklahoman learned quickly that Czechs will stay out of your business if you don't get in their faces. With Buddy and Aida (his two retrievers) in tow, Higgins sits down at his favorite restaurant around the corner from the studio. The waiter automatically brings him hot chocolate and a shot of espresso. The waiter, Higgins mentions, once modeled for him.
Walking around Prague's Mala Strana neighborhood with Higgins and his dogs, one gets the idea that everybody in this town has worked in gay porn, or soon will. He even recruited the presidential palace guards — uniforms and all — for one of his films in 2003.
Economic crisis and porn
Lately, Higgins has seen a surge in the number of men interested in modeling. It must be the economy, he says. More than 30 men a week knock on his door. “We have also had a lot more Ukrainians,” he says, adding that immigrant laborers have been laid off from their construction jobs and now must look for other work.
Czech unemployment has nearly doubled from 5.3 percent in late 2008 — when manual labor shortage forced the country to lure guest workers here from poorer countries like Ukraine or Mongolia. Because the construction and automotive industries have suffered greatly in the global economic crisis, factories have cut thousands of jobs and 80,000 guest laborers lost their work permits by June 2009.
The Czech government, under increasing pressure to keep citizens employed, offered to pay the guest workers 500 euros and a free air ticket to motivate them to return home. But most workers, especially those from Ukraine, with their homeland near economic and political collapse chose to weather the storm here.
Consequently, gay and straight porn studios in the Czech Republic have been reporting record numbers of participants at their casting calls in the past year.
But not everyone points to the weaker economy as the reason straight men enter gay porn.
Bohumil Dolezal, a former Czech dissident, says that although the country now has freedom, it doesn’t yet have a firm moral standard. The problem is that, after communism, “all constraints and values fell,” he says. “And now, the society is rotten with pigs.”
On the website CzechBoys.com, Czech-Canadian owner Pavel Rada offers his own explanation. “Part of it comes from an incredibly open minded culture, and part of it comes from the after-affects [sic] of 40 years of communism, but you won’t find 100% str8 [sic] boys anywhere in the world that will drop there [sic] pants as fast as a CzechBoys model when he knows there’s a ‘reward’ for his efforts!” he writes.
Simple economics is also playing a role. While the supply of Czech gay porn is plentiful, it is merely meeting strong demand. Higgins estimates that 80 percent of his customers are in English-speaking countries, primarily in the U.S., because Americans are used to paying for porn, while everyone else just downloads it for free.
Steve Shay, a producer from Citiboyz, a central Illinois-based studio that distributes the films of the studio Czech Boys, asserts that porn is in high demand in the U.S. because Americans are so religious.
“There is a lot of engrained repression in this country,” he says, arguing that Americans wouldn’t need as much porn if sex wasn’t stigmatized. “The anti-porn movement here is actually making porn more popular.”
Every time protest groups announce an anti-porn-month initiative in the Midwest, Shay says to himself: “Great, I’ll sell more.”
The prince of "Twinkopolis"
Alan Capier, an AVI Films porn star and cameraman, who has also performed under the names Felix Wallace, Alan Clarke, Filip Nowotny and Pavel Vlasek, among others, has been in the business for almost six years. He's worked for Higgins, Eurocreme, Man’s Art and others. He has been with more than 600 men and appeared in more than 100 hardcore films.
As an openly gay man, Capier is a rarity on the Prague market and one of the few who can perform without erection-enhancing drugs. “It’s practice, like anything else,” he says.
Over svarak, a popular wintertime drink of spicy red mulled wine in a cafe across from the gay club Valentino, Capier talks about his career in porn openly and enthusiastically.
Alan Capier.
(Nora Stribrna/GlobalPost)
“Others hide it, but not me. I am an exhibitionist,” he says. Capier, whose real name is Marek Tomsu, says he has no secrets. His family knows about his career, and they are fine with it as long as he promises to be careful about his health. Being in the bareback business, he is careful by getting tested once a month.
Although he has never had sex with an HIV-positive man that he knows of, he has encountered models with syphilis and he sees others with chlamydia and genital herpes regularly.
Like virtually all the men in gay porn here, Capier is uncircumcised, which customers in the U.S. find exotic, and like most other Czech models, he looks younger than his age, 26. Prague, after all, has been nicknamed Twinkopolis for producing some of the best such talent in the world, popular primarily among older, Western gay men.
Capier has soft features, brown, shaggy hair with blond highlights, immaculate peach skin and smart, green eyes. He speaks rapidly, with a pleasant smile, and jumps from topic to topic with an elegant giddiness, frequently adjusting his hair and touching his nose.
He was a paramedic in his home town Olomouc, in Moravia, when he posted nude pictures of himself on a gay matchmaking website. The scouts of AVI Films saw his pictures, they contacted him with an offer to come to Prague and “do some photos.”
When Capier arrived, he found out it would be a sex scene with two other guys, with him playing the “passive role.” The director giggled and said his fellow model was a “25/6,” referring to his impressive anatomy in centimeters. That meant almost 10 inches long, and two and a half inches in diameter.
“I said ‘no, I can’t manage that’ and the director laughed and said ‘yes, you can.’ And I did,” Capier says. “I got 13,500 crowns ($675) cash and went back home.”
Those were the golden days. Back then, when the internet didn’t offer as much free material and models weren't so easy to find, Capier made as much as 130,000 crowns a month ($7,303), more than 10 times as much as he earned as a paramedic. But he was one of the highest earners in the porn business. Most models never dreamed of making more than $2,000 monthly. Still, it was a nice income, often for no more than three actual days of work a month. Those days are over. There is too much competition now.
Some of Capier's fellow models are students, many of whom get used to making a lot of money quickly and then have a hard time quitting. They get used to spending lavishly and buying generous gifts for their girlfriends. Capier says he has seen models quit school because they no longer saw the point.
“Today, they have nothing. They are too old to shoot,” he says. “It’s all gone. The nice hotels, the fans. All gone.”
Most of them end up doing escort work, a polite term for prostitution.
Life with an alter ego
The majority of the Czech gay porn models, especially the occasional models, have regular day jobs and girlfriends. Some are married. There are college and high-school students, bartenders or unemployed. It’s not unusual to see cops, firemen and nurses. They typically keep their porn alter-egos secret.
Producers pledge confidentiality to the young Czech men cast in the movies, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to hide their real identities online.
Producers promise not to sell any of the movies in the Czech Republic, but can’t force their distributors to do the same. Producers block their websites from access from inside the Czech Republic, but easy-to-use online anonymizers will let anyone access any website. A few Czech models have been recognized and “outed” this way to the utter shock of their friends and families.
One such case involved a Czech Big Brother reality show finalist named Filip Trojovsky, or rather Tommy Hansen, his nom du porn.
An astute television viewer recognized him as a Bel Ami porn star. Once identified as Tommy Hansen, it took only a couple of days before a local tabloid published explicit photos from the DVD. The families of both of the models found out that day what their sons actually did in their “modeling” careers through media. Trojovsky was forced to come clean about his career in porn, but he has fervently denied any claims he might be gay.
Most of the Czech porn business operates underground, without the locals realizing the extent of the industry. From that standpoint, it reflects primarily the country's pragmatic and conservative, rather than liberal, values. It is an environment in which having sex with men is something one does for money, not pleasure. Hence models have little reason to ask themselves the soul-searching questions: "Why am I really doing this? How is it possible that I have an erection being with a guy? Am I, perhaps, attracted to this guy?"
This fundamental discrepancy is sometimes attributed to the popularity of using drugs, especially ecstasy and pervitin (the Czech version of crystal meth) among male sex workers. Drugs can also lower inhibitions enough to make models more willing to engage in risky behavior, such as agreeing to film bareback, or without a condom.
Higgins says the current Czech trend reminds him of what was happening in the U.S. in the 1980s, when everyone was doing drugs, which led the country into what he calls the “AIDS mess” because people were willing to do anything.
“Maybe it’s the same thing here now,” he says.
AIDS: the dark side of porn
After the AIDS epidemic in the U.S., almost all gay porn producers began shooting porn with condoms. But in the last few years, demand for bareback porn has skyrocketed and, naturally, so has supply. Because most American studios still refuse to film without condoms, Czech studios have been quick to fill the lucrative demand niche. Most Czech studios have switched from condom work to bareback, justifying it by low HIV rates in the country. While America sees disease risk as a widespread problem, only 150 Czechs were diagnosed with HIV in 2008, compared to Russia where some 940,000 people have the disease.
But Czech HIV rates are on the rise, and recent reports by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control claim they are underestimated by at least 20 percent.
Chip White, a California-based producer of gay porn from 18 West Studios, has committed to shoot only with condoms, and continues to hope — rather unrealistically, as he puts it — that all studios will agree to stop producing bareback films, particularly in the twink genre. People are told that bareback is risky, “that it's hot, that it's more exciting and thrilling, and so they want it,” says White.
Month after month, in the top 50 videos at JRL, a gay adult film industry sales chart, bareback films typically outsell the most popular films in which condom use is the standard.
Consequently, most of the films produced in the Czech Republic carry titles such as “Barebacking Prague,” “Raw Courage, BSI: Prague — Bareback Sex Investigation,” “Raw Meat” or “Bareback Buddies.”
The only two major studios in the Czech Republic refusing to go the bareback route are Bel Ami and William Higgins.
Barebacking — on and off screen — has been slowly getting more popular since 1996, when protease inhibitors became available as a treatment for HIV patients and the diagnosis stopped terrifying people, says Christian Grov, assistant professor at the Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences at Brooklyn College.
“HIV is no longer viewed as a death sentence,” says Grov. “It’s more of a lifelong sentence.”
Back in Higgins’ studio, Rado Pauer, the cameraman, is getting ready for another shoot in "the porn factory," as he and his colleague Boris call the studio. They shoot every day up to five times. Both are ex-models, who worked themselves up from the screen to the other side of the camera.
Pauer, 24, originally from Slovakia, is built like a swimmer, all upper body. He wears glasses and a red Adidas track suit, an outfit reminiscent of the early post-communist days. With his wide, shy smile, and adolescent blond haircut with bangs, he resembles a tech geek more than a retired porn star.
His story begins much like the others. He moved to Prague when he was 19 and saw an ad for male modeling offering “lucrative, long-term work with an American photographer.” Higgins and his team snapped a few pictures of him and asked if he wanted to do a shoot with another man.
“I said ‘absolutely not,’” says Pauer, a devout Christian. Then, he changed his mind. He badly wanted the money, being employed in a Skoda car factory where he worked 12-hour shifts for barely $600 a month. Higgins was offering that kind of money for four hours of work.
“During the first shoot, I just kept thinking, ‘Is this right? Nobody raised me to do this.’ I kept imagining my friends and what they would say,” he says. The overwhelming feeling of guilt subsided with time and experience, but never enough for him to tell his family or friends, even after four years working with Higgins and others. To this day, everyone back in Pauer's home town thinks he is some sort of photographer in Prague.
“God, I was so naive,” he says, putting his face in his hands. “I had no idea how it all worked.”
"A train you can't get off of."
Having worked on the other side of the business, he now understands. “It always starts with ads for modeling and goes slowly from there,” he says. When a guy shows up, he is always told it’s nude modeling. Some guys leave right away, some will stay. A producer will tell them they could get more money if they did solo masturbation. Some think about it and accept. Then even more money if they do a sex scene with another guy. It progresses slowly, but “you wake up and realize you are on a train that you can’t get off of.” Or, even before that happens, the producer might say “they no longer need you because you are old news.”
In porn, everyone is always looking for the next thing, the new guy. Porn is fantasy. People don’t want to keep seeing the same faces and bodies. The models want to know what’s next and, usually, end up as escorts and hustlers.
Pauer was approached by a man online looking for a boy to rent. “Selling a body is selling a body,” he says to justify why he agreed to meet him. But the consistent stretching of morality can get dangerous, as he found out. He did something he had never done before — agreeing to have unprotected sex with the customer. It turned out to be the biggest mistake of his life.
“Afterward, he told me he was HIV-positive,” Pauer said. “I fell to the ground.” It’s been two years since the incident and Pauer is still HIV-negative. He believes God saved him.
He keeps showing up for work, partly because Higgins and his crew are his family now. He even lives in the studio building, rent-free. He tried to leave the business once, but felt drawn back to the studio.
Every day he sees men in a position similar to his when he first walked through the door, men with reservations about gay porn but hoping to make lots of money. They are willing to work hard, but hard work is not always the magic formula when it comes to the forces of demand.
“We don’t tell them they might only be here once,” he says. “Most of them only come once, twice or maybe three times, and then we don’t need them anymore.” All they might ever make in gay porn is the $150 they made the first time, yet the evidence of their brief career will be online forever.
And sure enough, a week after his second solo shoot Martin Justel walked back into the studio.
Higgins teamed him with Tomas Bayer, a model wearing leather straps on his chest. A tattoo spelling “fight” is inked on the top of his left hand. The behind-the-scenes video showed Justel and Bayer sitting next to each other, heads turned to the right, eyes transfixed on the screen showing straight porn.
Justel was then instructed to stand with his face to the wall. Behind him, Bayer held his narrow hips and slapped him with each thrust. Justel closed his eyes firmly and bit his lip, his skinny legs rocking with each movement.
In a few moments, it was over.
A day later, Higgins posted a blog entry, depicting Justel’s loss of man-on-man virginity. “I don’t think he knew what hit him. He certainly took it like a man,” Higgins writes. “I don’t think I mentioned: Martin has a face like an angel.”
Iva R. Skoch is a freelance writer who splits her time between New York and Prague. Her articles have been published in Newsweek.com, Slate, TimeOut Prague, AOL and other publications. She was a staff writer at the Prague Post and regularly writes for the Czech magazine Reflex. She’s currently traveling around the world, crashing weddings and writing a book about marriage in different cultures.Minnesota artist Aaron Dysart will be a "city artist" for Minnesota's capital city, St. Paul, starting in April 2016. He will work closely with Amanda Lovelee, the other "city artist" in a two-person department within the Office of Financial Services which is housed in St. Paul City Hall. Their jobs are funded through Public Art Saint Paul (PASP), a quasi-public nonprofit organization that works closely with city agencies.
The 11 year old "City Artist" program integrates artists into the city's bureaucracy where they cook-up unusual ways to incorporate arty activities or content in otherwise mundane city maintenance or building projects. With the "Everyday Poems for City Sidewalks," for example, city artists arranged to have poetic phrases and verse pressed into sidewalk concrete, bringing a whimsical tone to unexpected urban sites.
An adroit arts bureaucrat, Dysart has worked in the field for 14 years. He's been affiliated with PASP since 2008 when he was picked as a "Sustainable Art-Making Fellow." Next he got a PASP fellowhip in a "City Art Collaboratory Program" which in turn led to participation in the "Plume Project," a four-artist endeavor of St. Paul's District Energy department.
Before that Dysart had a 2010 grant from Forecast Public Art, another Twin Cities nonprofit that advises on art selection, placement and process in public parks, squares, government buildings and such. He's gotten other grants and awards from Franconia Sculpture Park (2007, 2012) and the Minnesota State Arts Board (2013, 2015).
Dysart's work has also been shown at the Northern Spark Festival, Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Art, among other Minnesota institutions. He earned a MFA in sculpture from the University of Minnesota and a BFA in the same field at the University of Montana."Ride Along" director Tim Story will helm the comedy, with Peter Chernin ("The Heat") on board to produce.
Could the world's strangest "diplomatic mission" be fodder for one of Hollywood's hottest comedic directors?
20th Century Fox has bought the comedy pitch Diplomats, inspired by Dennis Rodman's so-called "hoops diplomacy" mission to North Korea, as a directing vehicle for Ride Along's Tim Story (pictured below).
PHOTOS: Hollywood's Best Basketball Movies
Peter Chernin, hot off the hit Sandra Bullock-Melissa McCarthy comedy The Heat, is producing via his Fox-based shingle Chernin Entertainment. Jonathan Abrams is writing the script.
The ever eccentric Rodman became a lightning rod last year when he visited North Korea and befriended the country's dictator, Kim Jong Un. In January, he returned to the secretive country, which has an atrocious human rights record, and organized a basketball game in Pyongyang. He even sang "Happy Birthday" to the despot.
VIDEO: Dennis Rodman Lashes Out at CNN, Says 'I Don't Give a Rat's Ass What the Hell You Think'
Diplomats is described as a two-hander that takes its cues from the antics of the 6-foot-7 former NBA player Rodman, known as "The Worm." Meanwhile, the North Korean leader has also provided the comedic backdrop for another comedy, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's upcoming The Interview at Sony.
Story is fielding offers in the wake of Ride Along, which has earned $123 million domestically. He already is onboard for a sequel that will reteam stars Kevin Hart and Ice Cube.
STORY: Dennis Rodman Slams President Obama Over American Prisoner in North Korea
Story is handled by UTA, manager Jeff Field and Ziffren Brittenham.
Abrams is managed by Mosaic.
E-mail: Tatiana.Siegel@THR.com
Twitter: @TatianaSiegel27
E-mail: Borys.Kit@THR.com
Twitter: @Borys_KitYou would think that an ad for Bentley, which makes some of the most expensive and luxurious cars on the planet, would pull out all the stops to make their product look absolutely perfect by using a camera that mirrored the opulence of its subject. But instead, the ad was shot on an everyday smartphone -- an iPhone 5s to be exact, and the result was surprisingly gorgeous! Continue on to see what a beautiful 2014 Bentley Mulsanne looks like through the eye of a smartphone, as well as some behind the scenes footage that shows all of the added goodies these filmmakers used to make their images pop.
This ad, which is technically a short documentary, is called "Intelligent Details," and was commissioned by Bentley Motors to highlight the "fusion of luxury, performance and technology" of their new Bentley Mulsanne. Their approach to this meant having the ad "filmed, assembled and edited using the in-car connectivity and entertainment platform." Essentially, the filmmakers used an iPad Air to assemble all of the footage, and edited the entire thing in the backseat.
These filmmakers essentially turned a $300,000 luxury car into a production office, which I'm sure is the whole point of approaching the project this way -- to show that the Mulsanne is an extravagant tech-hub on wheels. AppleInsider got to speak with Bentley's Head of Communications Graeme Russell and was told that out of the factory, the Mulsanne includes a Wi-Fi hotspot, two electrically deployed picnic tables with iPad holders (with space for Apple's wireless keyboard) and high-end audio components.
Check out the ad below, and make sure you continue watching after it ends -- the behind the scenes portion starts at the 3:15 mark. Continue scrolling to find out what tools these filmmakers used to achieve the look of the video.
So, what exactly was used? According to AppleInsider, two iPhone 5s' were mounted onto $75 BeastGrip lens adaptors that allowed them to use threaded lenses, including the $38 Neewer 0.3X Baby Death 37mm Fisheye Lens, as well as a Schneider iPro lens, which you can buy in a kit for $230. Oh! I almost forgot -- they also used one of Freefly's $5,000 MōVI M5 gimbal stabilizers for all of those beautiful handheld shots. As far as software goes, the "fast and dirty" edits were made using iMovie, while the $5 FilMic Pro was used to offer more control over their cameras -- it's kind of like the Camera+ for video.
What did you think of the video? Now that a company like Bentley has utilized smartphone filmmaking to promote their luxury cars, do you think that it will become more acceptable professionally (given that you're got some bells and whistles like these filmmakers did)?
Link: Behind the scenes of Bentley's iPhone-filmed, iPad Air-edited ad -- AppleInsider
[via WOBentley]The passengers wait eagerly in the ornate lobby of the enormous spaceport. Soon, a signal indicates that their spaceship is ready for boarding. As they wait, special displays instruct them about how their spaceship functions and what to expect once they leave Earth's atmosphere. Aboard the giant spacecraft — as luxuriously appointed as any yacht — they are soon on their way to a vacation on the Moon.
No, this isn't a vision of the future of space tourism. It's what happened in 1901, when people could pay a princely half dollar for a ticket to ride into space.
Advertisement
There had already been space extravaganzas on stage. "A Trip to the Moon", a play based on Verne's classic novel, appeared at New York's Booth Theater in 1877. This was followed by a music and dance number, "A Trip to Mars", performed by a company of little people called "The Lilliputians", at New York's Niblo Theater in 1893.
The success of these may have inspired architect Frederick Thompson to create a unique spectacle called "A Trip to the Moon," for the Pan American Exposition being held in Buffalo, New York, in 1901. "I had several ideas in my head," Thompson wrote, "all of which were unsatisfactory until I hit on the idea of an airship... and I immediately thought, ‘Where will I take the airship?' And then it occurred to me. ‘To the moon'."
Advertisement
Thompson spared no expense in creating the illusion of a trip to the Moon. To house his show, he erected an eighty-foot-high, 40,000-square-foot building that for sheer opulence put European opera houses to shame. It cost a staggering $84,000 to construct... at a time when a comfortable home could be built for $2000.
For fifty cents — twice the price of any other attraction on the midway, such as the ever-popular "Upside-Down House" — customers of "Thompson's Aerial Navigation Company" took a trip to the moon on a thirty-seat spaceship named "Luna". The spaceship resembled a cross between a dirigible and an excursion steamer, with the addition of enormous red canvas wings that flapped like a bird's. The wings were worked by a system of pulleys and the sensation of wind was created by hidden fans. A series of moving canvas backdrops provided the effect of clouds passing by and the earth dropping into the distance. Lighting and sound effects added to the illusion.
Advertisement
Thompson had twenty employees running the ride, in addition to 200 actors — including the 60 little people who played the Selenites.
Every half hour, at the sound of a gong and the rattle of anchor chain, the "Luna"—- "a fine steel airship of the latest pattern", according to one newspaper—-rocked from side to side and then rose into the sky under the power of its beating wings. The passengers, sitting on steamer chairs, see clouds floating by, then a model of Buffalo far below, complete with the exposition itself and its hundreds of blinking lights. The city soon falls into the distance as the entire planet earth comes into view. Soon, the ship is surrounded the twinkling stars of outer space. After surviving a terrific — and spectacular — electrical storm the "Luna" and its passengers sets down in a lunar crater. Image: Patent Drawing of Luna at its Launch Site.
Advertisement
As the passengers leave the spaceship, they are greeted by "Selenites" who guide them through a maze of stalactites and "crystallized mineral wonders" to the "City of the Moon". There (like any visitor to Disney World a century later) they find souvenir shops, samples of green cheese and "mooncraft demonstrations". The are finally admitted to the palace of the Man in the Moon and a spectacular stage show featuring illuminated fountains...and the journey is over. The return to earth was via an anticlimactic rope ladder.
Advertisement
"A Trip to the Moon" was the first electrically powered mechanical "dark ride"—-since then a staple at amusement parks everywhere such as Disney World—-and the first space extravaganza. Thompson even patented his creation: US725,509. Historian Frank Winter even believes this may have been the first-ever patent involving a spaceship! During the course of the exhibition more than 400,000 people took the trip to the moon. These included such notables as President William McKinley, Secretary of War Elihu Root, Secretary of State John Hay, members of the cabinet, several state governors and justices of the Supreme Court. Even Thomas Edison took the trip and personally congratulated Thompson's electrical engineers (Edison himself toyed with the idea of inventing a spaceship and his journey on the "Luna" may have provided him with the inspiration).
It's also possible that filmmaker George Melies may have been inspired by reading about the ride—-which was wildly successful and reported in newspapers and magazines all over the world. It's certainly true enough that there are a very great many similarities between his classic 1902 film, "A Trip to the Moon", and Thompson's ride.
Advertisement
After the Pan American Exposition closed in 1903, Thompson moved the ride to Steeplechase Park at Coney Island. It was such a success there that the park was renamed "Luna Park", a title it retained for the next forty years.
Souvenir of a Moon visit.
Advertisement
An overview of the Exposition with the Moon Ride at lower right.
The Entrance.
Advertisement
Patent Drawing of the Luna
Moon Ride as it looked at Coney Island's Luna Park.
Advertisement
Passgengers Aboard the Luna.
Inside the Caverns of the Moon.
Advertisement
Meeting the Man in the Moon.
A Lunar Monster.By Marton Dunai
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Saturday said Donald Trump had proposed security policies that Europe should take to heart to solve a security crisis he blames on uncontrolled immigration.
Speaking at a summer university in Baile Tusnad, Romania, the Hungarian leader tied increased security threats to increased migration and cited Trump's proposals at the Republican National Convention to combat terrorism.
Orban is one of Europe's most outspoken politicians and has in the past upset fellow members of the European Union over policy.
Most recently he has taken a tough stance on Europe's migrant crisis, objecting to EU resettlement plans and calling for a razor wire fence to be built along his country's southern border.
Trump accepted the Republican nomination for president on Thursday with a speech that outlined an increased intelligence effort, an end to a "failed policy of nation-building and regime change" and a total suspension of immigration from states "compromised by terrorism."
He wants a wall to be built along the U.S. border with Mexico.
Orban sought to buttress his own security proposals with Trump's points.
"I am not a Donald Trump campaigner," he said in the televised speech. "I never thought I would ever entertain the thought that, of the open options, he (Trump) would be better for Europe and for Hungary.
"But I listened to the candidate and I must tell you he made three proposals to combat terrorism. And as a European I could have hardly articulated better what Europe needs."
Orban has accused the EU of weakness in the face of a what he sees as a fundamental threat from more than a million migrants who arrived on the continent last year, with hundreds of thousands following them this year.
For the most part, the migrants are fleeing the war in Syria.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has called Orban "Viktator" - a pun on Viktor and dictator - as a way of putting down the Hungarian's views.
But Orban also has supporters. Slovak premier Robert Fico, joined Orban's court challenge of the EU's mandatory migrant resettlement quotas.
EXPORTING DEMOCRACY
Tapping into Trump's proposals to create "the best intelligence-gathering organisation in the world," Orban said that Europe too needs to create a network of national intelligence agencies that ranks with the world's best.
He then took aim at some of his EU colleagues.
"The second thing, said this valiant American presidential candidate, is to abandon the policy of exporting democracy. I could not have said it more precisely."
Orban said Western countries acted recklessly to remove the undemocratic but stable regimes in Libya, Syria and Iraq without guaranteeing stability in the aftermath, exposing Europe to a mass wave of migration.
Worse, he said, instead of supporting the regimes that try to control the civil-war-torn countries in North Africa and the Middle East, Europe criticises them for democratic shortfalls.
"If we keep prioritising democracy over stability in regions where we are unlikely to succeed with that, we will create instability, not democracy."
(Reporting by Marton Dunai Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)In their ongoing PS2 to PS4 series of remasters, Sony has announced that the last 2D Samurai Shodown game, Samurai Shodown VI, is coming to the US PlayStation Network Store next Tuesday. This port of the arcade version contains pretty much every version of every character from the entire Samurai Shodown series, including four brand new “EX” characters which were exclusive to this console port.
Similar to the Grooves in Capcom vs. SNK 2, there is a Spirit Select system in Samurai Shodown VI, where players can choose between the six different fighting styles from previous Samurai Shodown games. If you are looking for a Samurai Shodown title which captures the entire history of this SNK series, this is the one to get. Unfortunately, due to the fact it is a straight port of the PS2 version, there will most likely be no online multiplayer–but there will be trophy support.
With the original Samurai Shodown scheduled to release on PSN before the end of the year, these last two months of 2016 act as the perfect time to become acquainted with the series.
Source: PlayStation BlogSnakes of Darwin: Meet the suburban serpents that you have little reason to fear
Posted
Every year snake catchers in Darwin attend to more than 1,000 callouts from residents concerned about serpents settling in their suburbs.
The sheer number of snakes and the variety of species that can be found in Darwin has earned it the tongue-in-cheek title of Australia's snake capital.
Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife officer and self-confessed snake lover Ray Chatto said the city's tropical climate and "lack of wholesale clearance of habitat" made it a haven for snakes.
"A lot of the snakes have become urbanised in Darwin, that is they've learned to live in urban areas and live hand-in-hand with people," he said.
Thankfully for Mr Chatto, his snake-catching colleagues and the residents of Darwin, only about 2 per cent of snakes caught in the region are considered dangerous.
Around 80 per cent of the callouts are in response to just five species of snake — all relatively harmless.
|
to make sure that the design won’t prohibit him from delivering convincing performances in scenes where a certain degree of humanity is required.
As for the “undies”, I’ve tried to more or less leave them as undies while making them look a little cooler. Did it work? It’s probably better to stop using the term “undies”, or that image will stick in everybody’s head.
===========
Design E:
Based on the previous Design C. The term “Armored” seems to imply some sort of case or cover, so for this design I’ve used the name “Advanced Design”. Here, I’ve improved the area connecting the stomach area to the chest, and added some lines to the black area of the suit to create an impression of thickness. I feel that this alleviates the weak or frail look of the torso that many of you commented on from the previous design. What do you think? (It may be hard for some of you to shake that classic image of MegaMan, but I’d like to know what you think)
===========
As a bit of advice, or perhaps a request, I hope that you’ll see these designs for what they are, and not get hung up on how the designs have changed since the previous poll. Try to forget about the previous round and just focus on what’s before your eyes now when you make your judgment. What impressions do they leave on you? What do you like or dislike?
I might also note that for Legends 3, we are anticipating a slightly older audience than we had for the previous games, which is why we’ve been aiming for sort of an “edgy mecha” feel in these designs.
Also, you’ll note that the color schemes have been toned down just a bit this time around. During production of the Legends 3 Prototype, a few graphical/design points that needed improvement became apparent to us. One of those was the color scheme—hence the changes here. I know it would’ve been nice to show you what the respective designs would look like in game, but for now we’ll just have to work with MegaMan’s standalone art.
But I do hope that you can use previously released images of Barrett’s model as reference, and try to imagine how the designs I’ve presented will look onscreen.
==========
BONUS: While we’re here, why not check out the new Roll design?!
(Designed by: Nakashima-san) “With Roll’s previous design, our aim was to show that she was a mechanic who loved machines, but who also still had a girly side. Here, I’ve blown up the “mechanic” look by connecting the outfit at her torso, and I’ve touched up some little details here and there to make her look a little more with the times (starting with her belt buckle). I tried to make a design that would be appealing to both fans of the previous titles as well as newcomers.”
===========
Vote Guidelines
●You may vote only once, but can comment as much as you want. Don’t forget to share on Facebook and Twitter!
●The dev staff will create a final design based on your votes, opinions in the comments, and surrounding support of those opinions and comments. This is a creative process we are all involved in, NOT a binary or strictly quantitative process.
Voting Period: Now until Thursday, 5/26, 6:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.
● We will select a few particularly shining comments to receive a healthy helping of Unity Points.
*Awards for the previous round are on the way.
*Must have a Servbot number to qualify for awards!
●Questions? Take ‘em to the forum thread!Donald Trump’s ex-wife Ivana revealed that iconic president Ronald Reagan once encouraged Mr. Trump to run for the highest office in the land. But surely not even the Gipper knew he’d succeed!
Ivana said that Reagan wrote a letter to Trump in the 1980s, urging him to run for office, and the real estate mogul has had his eyes on the presidency ever since.
More from The Political Insider
Via the Post:
It’s Ivana Trump’s fault that Donald didn’t run for president sooner. “Probably five years before our divorce, Reagan or somebody brought him a letter and said, ‘You should run for president,’” Donald’s first wife tells The Post at her opulent seven-floor Upper East Side town house, which she purchased for $2.8 million in 1998. “So he was thinking about it. But then... there was the divorce, there was the scandal, and American women loved me and hated him,” she says, referencing Donald’s much-publicized infidelity with Marla Maples that led to the power couple’s 1991 split. “So there was no way that he would go into [politics] at that point,” Ivana says. “But he was always tooling around with the idea.”
Perhaps that is why Trump paid homage to Reagan using his campaign slogan from the 1980 race:
I was proud to be one of Ronald Reagan's earliest supporters. Like Reagan, it's time to Make America Great Again!http://t.co/toq7Ddalco — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2015
Ivana went on to explain why she thinks Donald, much like Reagan, would be a great President.
“He’s no politician. He’s a businessman. He knows how to talk. He can give an hour speech without notes... He’s blunt,” she said.
Ivana also concluded that America has lost it’s prestige under President Obama, and getting it back starts by adopting Trump’s immigration policies.
“And I’m an immigrant,” she reminds readers.
It should be noted that Reagan and Trump’s campaigns share some similarities – both were considered Washington outsiders and both were dismissed as not being serious candidates.
Reagan and Trump were both disliked by the establishment as well, being portrayed consistently as extremist and simplistic in their ideas.
Here is a clip of Trump in an interview with Oprah, discussing what he’d do as President in 1988 …
Read this Next on ThePoliticalInsider.com ‘Avengers’ Star Compares Donald Trump to a Plantation Owner
Comment: Do you think Ronald Reagan would be supporting Trump’s policies? Share your thoughts on Reagan and Trump below.A new law going into effect this week in North Carolina law prohibits law enforcement from destroying unclaimed guns and firearms acquired through gun buyback programs.
The so-called "save the gun" law passed the Republican-controlled Legislature in the spring as the state moved to strengthen gun rights in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The law requires that law enforcement agencies donate, keep or sell confiscated guns to licensed gun dealers. Guns may only be destroyed if they are damaged or missing serial numbers, according to the report.
In the past, North Carolina law enforcement agencies needed a judge's permission to sell or destroy guns. The move to strip judges and local police's options in dealing with unclaimed guns was backed by the National Rifle Association.
"It is critical for you to contact your state Representative TODAY and urge her or him to oppose any efforts to amend H 714 in a way that will allow any discretion by judges or law enforcement to destroy lawful functioning firearms," read an alert issued by the NRA's lobbying arm while the bill was being debated.
A gun buyback program held last week in Wilmington lasted just 30 minutes before it ran out of money. Organizers set aside $4,000 from private donors, planning to pay $100 for handguns, shotguns or rifles and $200 for assault weapons. A total of 67 guns were collected.
In July, state lawmakers approved a bill that allows concealed-carry permit holders to take firearms into bars and restaurants and other places where alcohol is served as long as the owner doesn't expressly forbid it.
The measure, which takes effect in October, also allows concealed-carry permit holders to store weapons in locked cars on the campus of any public school or university. Guns will also now be allowed on greenways, playgrounds and other public recreation areas.
The final bill dropped a controversial provision that would have repealed the long-standing law requiring a background check and permit issued by county sheriffs for handgun purchases.
Similar laws prohibiting the destruction of firearms by law enforcement agencies have been passed in Kentucky and Arizona, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Click here for more from the Los Angeles Times.DAVAO CITY—For cupping his ears with his hands as Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago was lecturing, Vitaliano Aguirre was cited in contempt of the Senate, threatened with being stuffed with sashimi and wasabi or forced to listen for 24 hours to video speeches of the feisty former trial judge.
That was in March 2012, during the impeachment trial of then Chief Justice Renato Corona.
ADVERTISEMENT
There were suggestions that Aquirre was holding on to his toupee so it would not be blown by hot air.
But the veteran lawyer, who handled the defense of Hubert Webb in the celebrated Vizconde massacre and rape case, offered a semblance of contrition and escaped with only a slap on the wrist, as it were.
On Thursday, Aguirre announced that he had been appointed justice secretary in the incoming Rodrigo Duterte administration.
The 69-year-old lawyer said he had asked for an appointment with Duterte, and at the end of the conversation in Davao City was appointed to head the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the new dispensation.
“I was the one who asked for audience, I didn’t know I would be it,” Aguirre said.
Marching orders
Peter Laviña, a member of Duterte’s transition committee, confirmed that Aguirre had been chosen as the next justice secretary. He told reporters that Aguirre had accepted the designation.
Aguirre said marching orders were immediately issued by Duterte, and the top priority was to make the justice system work.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I have yet to get the details,” he said. Duterte’s message and warning was for everyone to comply with the law, he added.
Also a priority are the jails, including the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa. Illegal activities continue to thrive there, including operations of big drug syndicates, he told reporters. “That should be cleaned up. It is strange that every week, they find contraband there,” he said.
“We will be focusing on corruption cases. No one will be spared,” said Aguirre, who added that he and Duterte belonged to the same fraternity.
Aguirre was the latest addition to the Duterte Cabinet whose composition began to take shape following a series of announcements since the presumptive President-elect’s first news conference on Monday, during which he said he was offering four portfolios to the Communist Party of the Philippines in a bid to end a decades-long insurgency.
Dominguez
Most of the members of Duterte’s official family were either classmates, friends or associates during his two decades as mayor of Davao City.
Duterte’s spokesperson, Salvador Panelo, on Thursday said that Carlos “Sonny” Dominguez, a businessman who served in the Cabinet of former Presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos, remained the designated finance secretary.
“Earlier, I announced Dominguez declined the offer for secretary of finance. Apparently he had a change of heart. He accepted it,” Panelo told reporters on Wednesday night.
Dominguez helped in the crafting of the eight-point economic agenda of Duterte and is part of his transition team.
Leoncio Evasco, Duterte’s national campaign manager, said on Wednesday night he had also turned down an offer to serve as interior secretary.
“To be nominated or short-listed for the secretary of the interior and local government would be a great honor for me, since not all will be given the chance to lead the department,” Evasco said in a statement posted on Facebook.
“But I would like to clarify that I am not, and will not be interested in any Cabinet post. I will always be grateful for the offer, and I will always serve our newly elected President and the Filipino people in some other way, based on my capacity and skills,” Evasco said.
A former rebel, Evasco had been Duterte’s city administrator. He later served as mayor of Maribojoc town in Bohol.
Read Next
LATEST STORIES
MOST READRepublican presidential candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says GOP front-runner Donald Trump is doing so well in the polls because nearly half of Republican primary voters think President Obama is a Kenyan-born Muslim.
Madness has gripped a segment of the Republican Party that embraces a war on its own voters as unworthy. Instead of blaming himself for a presidential campaign mired at the one percent level of support, failing to make a ripple even in his home state of South Carolina, Senator Lindsey Graham blames the GOP voters who are too driven by irrational, probably racist beliefs. Caitlin Yilek of The Hill reports:
“There’s just a dislike for President Obama that is visceral. It’s almost irrational,” Graham added.
“Well there’s about 40 percent of the Republican primary voter who believes that Obama was born in Kenya and is a Muslim,” Graham told Boston Herald Radio on Friday, according to BuzzFeed News.
Madness has gripped a segment of the Republican Party that embraces a war on its own voters as unworthy. Instead of blaming himself for a presidential campaign mired at the one percent level of support, failing to make a ripple even in his home state of South Carolina, Senator Lindsey Graham blames the GOP voters who are too driven by irrational, probably racist beliefs. Caitlin Yilek of The Hill reports:
Republican presidential candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says GOP front-runner Donald Trump is doing so well in the polls because nearly half of Republican primary voters think President Obama is a Kenyan-born Muslim. “Well there’s about 40 percent of the Republican primary voter who believes that Obama was born in Kenya and is a Muslim,” Graham told Boston Herald Radio on Friday, according to BuzzFeed News. “There’s just a dislike for President Obama that is visceral. It’s almost irrational,” Graham added.
Big Fur Hat of iOTW Report recalls a certain famous defender of Britney Spears:
Hat tip: Breitbart, iOTWReportThe Oakland Raiders will be without standout long snapper Jon Condo for the rest of the season after placing him on injured reserve.
The Raiders signed long snapper Thomas Gafford to replace Condo, who injured his shoulder in the fourth quarter Sunday while recovering a muffed punt deep in Denver Broncos territory to set up the deciding points in Oakland's 15-12 upset win.
Condo's injury was the reason behind Oakland's decision to go for two points after scoring a touchdown instead of going for the PAT, which would have given the Raiders a four-point lead. Oakland missed the two-point attempt. Condo did come back to finish the game.
Condo has played in every game for Oakland since the start of the 2007 season. Condo, 34, is signed through next season and has played 141 straight games for Oakland..
Gafford, 32, snapped for the first 11 games of the year for the Chicago Bears before being cut. He was with the Kansas City Chiefs for the six previous seasons and is known for being a capable snapper.Janthina janthina Janthina janthina A live Janthina janthina (with bubble raft) that has been swept up onto a beach in Maui, Hawaii. This is the normal view from above: the spire of the shell is held pointing down like this when the animal is floating on the surface of the ocean water. Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Gastropoda Clade: Caenogastropoda Clade: Hypsogastropoda Superfamily: Janthinoidea Family: Janthinidae Genus: Janthina Species: J. janthina Binomial name Janthina janthina
Linnaeus, 1758) Synonyms[1] Helix janthina Linnaeus, 1758
Janthina affinis Reeve, 1858
Janthina africana Reeve, 1858
Janthina alba Anton, 1838
Janthina balteata Reeve, 1858
Janthina bicolor Menke, 1828
Janthina bicolor var. major Monterosato, 1878
var. Janthina bicolor var. minor Monterosato, 1878
var. Janthina britannica Forbes & Hanley, 1853
Janthina carpenteri Mørch, 1860
Janthina carpenteri var. contorta Tryon, 1887
var. Janthina casta Reeve, 1858
Janthina coeruleata Reeve, 1858
Janthina communis Lamarck, 1799
Janthina costae Mørch, 1860
Janthina depressa Reeve, 1858
Janthina fibula Reeve, 1858
Janthina fragilis Lamarck, 1799 (junior synonym)
(junior synonym) Janthina fragilis var. spiraelata Mørch, 1860
var. Janthina grandis Reeve, 1858
Janthina involuta Reeve, 1858
Janthina orbignyi Mørch, 1860
Janthina penicephela Peron, 1824
Janthina planispirata Adams & Reeve, 1848
Janthina roseala Reeve, 1858
Janthina rotundata Dillwyn, 1840
Janthina smithiae Reeve, 1858
Janthina striulata Carpenter, 1857
Janthina striulata var. contorta Carpenter, 1857
var. Janthina trochoidea Reeve, 1858
Janthina violacea Bolten, 1798
Janthina vulgaris Gray, 1847
Janthina janthina, common name the violet sea-snail or common violet snail, is a species of holoplanktonic sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Janthinidae, the violet snails or purple storm snails.
Image of Janthina Janthina, also known as the Violet Sea-Snail, in Manchester Museum
Distribution [ edit ]
This species is found worldwide in the warm waters of tropical and temperate seas, floating at the surface.[2] They are often found in large groups and sometimes become stranded on beaches when they are blown ashore by strong winds.[2]
These snails are a unique part of the pleuston, organisms living on or at the very surface of the water, because of their relatively large size. They have veliger or free swimming larvae, but the adults do not swim and cannot create their rafts except at the surface where air bubbles are available.[3]
Habitat [ edit ]
These snails are pelagic, drifting on the surface of the ocean, where they feed upon pelagic hydrozoans, especially the by-the-wind sailor Velella velella and the Portuguese man o' war Physalia physalis.
Description [ edit ]
J. janthina is a member of the family Janthinidae, snails that trap air bubbles with a layer of clear chitin to maintain their positions at the surface of the ocean where they are predatious on the hydrozoans.[4] In addition to the bubble raft, only the veliger, or larval stage, has an operculum, and the shell is paper-thin to allow the animal to float upside down at the surface.[2][5]
Janthina janthina Five views of a shell of
The snail's shell is reverse countershaded, because of its upside-down position in the water column. There is a light purple shade on the spire of the shell, and a darker purple on the ventral side.[5] The animal has a large head on a very flexible neck. The eyes are small and are situated at the base of its tentacles.
The snail begins life as a male and later changes to the female of the species. The eggs are held by the female until they develop into a larval form.[2]
The shell is almost smooth with a slightly depressed-globose shape.[4] It is thin and delicate, and is without an operculum.[2] The colour of the shell is violet, with a paler upper surface. The height of the species shell is up to 38 mm, the width to 40 mm.[4]ADVERTISEMENT
IT IS UNLIKELY that you know what a paleoartist is. Furthermore, unless you are either an anthropologist or that rare breed of subscriber to National Geographic who actually gets around to reading the magazine, it is even less likely that you care. But you should, if only because it is a field completely ridden with interesting controversies. Take one example: The first Neanderthal remains were discovered in Germany, in the mid-19th century. For years after that, the general public assumed these creatures were thick, hairy, bull-necked folk, who walked about the Earth on bent knees; only said, "Ug"; and brandished crudely hewn stone clubs.
Now it transpires, after much more research, DNA evidence, and so on, that Neanderthals had brains bigger than ours, although with smaller frontal lobes; were not covered in fur; were probably capable of speech; and carved intricate tools, many of which survive today. The notion that they walked around on bent chimpanzee knees, it transpires, derives wholly from the fact that one of the first Neanderthal skeletons ever discovered had dodgy knees, a defect that scientists were later able to attribute to a bad case of arthritis.
And though it is scientists who make these discoveries, it is paleoartists who have, over the years, interpreted them for our benefit in the form of drawings, paintings, and three-dimensional anthropological models. I admit that my heart sank at the thought of traveling to an unremarkable city in the Netherlands to interview identical twins Alfons and Adrie Kennis. The phrase "two of the world's most accomplished paleoartists" hardly makes one want to leap onto the next flight to Arnhem. But as soon as I reach their offices, where Alfons flings open the door and begins jabbering away with his brother, I am won over.
The 44-year-old brothers tear up the stairs into a room in which shelves creak under the weight of the skulls of at least 70 mammals — living and extinct. Images of tribes from around the world, with their adornments, weather-beaten features, and missing teeth, inform all of their reconstructions. The brothers pore over coffee-table books, enthusing over, say, the particular beauty of droopy asymmetrical breasts on the tribal women of South America or the nobility of the deeply wrinkled skin of Mongolian tribesmen. I don't know how they can stay so worked up, but their obsession is genuine. They've modeled around 30 heads and six or so full bodies, and only work with casts of real skulls: the KNM-ER 1813 skull from Lake Turkana, Kenya, one of the most complete Homo habilis skulls ever found, and dated to about 1.85 million years ago; the old man of La Chapelle-aux-Saints, a Neanderthal who lived around 60,000 years ago; Wilma, the female Neanderthal built using replicas of a pelvis and cranial anatomy from Neanderthal females.
Do they consider themselves artists? "Noooo. We are no artists," says one or the other — to be honest, they sound identical on tape. Are they rich? "Nooooo," they laugh in unison. "Look," says either Alfons or Adrie, pointing at one of their reconstructions, "We used the hair of a Scottish Highlander." The hair is russet-colored and has been implanted in the head of a silicon-faced Neanderthal. What kind of Scottish men donate their hair to the paleoartistry industry? "A cow, a cow," scream the Kennises: The hair comes from Highland cattle.
The Kennises have caused some ripples in the museum world. Paleoartists are as susceptible as any of us to their own imaginations. "Artists, even scientific professors, can romanticize the past like everyone else," says Alfons. Hence, what you'll see depicted as an early example of Homo erectus, in museums, in books, or on television, is often wildly inaccurate, as influenced by fantasy or fashion as anything in a glossy magazine. You'll see prehistoric humans depicted with gleaming white teeth or smooth pale skin. "People have fantasies about what it's like to live most of your life in the outdoors," says Alfons. "It is a hard life." The Kennises don't do smooth. They don't do expressionless either. If the bones show that a prehistoric human incurred an injury to his jaw that would give him a tooth infection, this is what the Kennises will imply in the face of their reconstruction.
There are stories of nervous curators balking at the Kennises' version of Ötzi the Iceman: hunch-shouldered, wizened, with an underbite. A previous paleoartist had shown Ötzi (a mummified man, he was discovered on the Italian-Austrian border in 1991; he is 5,300 years old) as youthful and handsome, and the museum curator from Germany had hoped for something similar, preferably with blue eyes and a six-pack: a sort of Aryan folk hero. But unfortunately for the German curator, the people that most resemble prehistoric man "are tramps," say the Kennises.
We tend to glamorize our ancestors, they say. We like to think our forebears, if they are male, looked something like Arnold Schwarzenegger. If they are female, we imagine them to have long, flowing, Pocahontas hair, despite the proven absence of combs until comparatively recently. In the 1990s, the trend of paleoartists glamorizing their reconstructions reached a peak. Paleoartists were creating replicas that looked like "they just stepped out of the shower," fumes Adrie. "They made their noses too small, too pretty." They also gave them too many clothes.
Nudity is a sensitive subject even in natural history museums. When the Kennises made Wilma — a 4-foot-something Neanderthal, named after Fred Flintstone's wife — there were scientists who wanted to preserve her modesty beneath clothes. One curator told the Kennises "that Muslim children wouldn't be allowed to go into the museum because they are not allowed to see naked women." The Kennises argued that Neanderthals were more likely to be naked, and therefore caving in to religious sensitivity would be a distortion of the truth. Is there a sense that museums distort history because of their fears about how people will react? "Yah, yah!" scream the brothers in joyful and sorrowful recognition. Pendulous, asymmetrical breasts may be "beautiful" to their Dutch creators, but to a public more used to the pert, full versions "on billboards and magazines," they are ugly and obscene. "Too many people look at the past through Western glasses," says Alfons. "We think our ancestors will look like us."
WHEN THEY WERE teenagers, the twins filled up their parents' shed with the skulls of dead animals. They began to read obsessively about skulls, too. This was a godsend, they say, because they were "terrible" in school: If it hadn't been for skulls, they probably wouldn't have ever picked up a book.
Nevertheless, their prospects were not rosy, and they may well have foundered as art teachers had they not been sidetracked by the author of a children's book on prehistoric animals, who asked them to illustrate it. Being the Kennises, they decided this would be "impossible" unless they first constructed three-dimensional models of the creatures they were to draw, "to see where the light falls." Commissions from National Geographic soon followed.
In the late '90s, they persuaded an Italian scientist to lend them a cast of one of the Saccopastore skulls, fossilized hominid skulls that had been found by the Aniene River in Lazio, Italy, in 1929 and that are judged to be between 70,000 and 100,000 years old. The head they made is now on an unknown shelf somewhere in Rome. The techniques they use now are much more sophisticated, the twins say.
THE KENNISES are obsessed, eccentric, serious pioneers. One hopes that, in the end, they will win over the anxious curators and their worries about prudish visitors. A survey taken in Bolzano, Italy, where you can see the Kennises' reconstruction of Ötzi, found that most people like to think of their ancestors as good-looking, noble people with perfect skin, rather like film stars. The reality is, say the Kennises, that we looked liked homeless people. Then again, Ötzi does rather look like a film star, I thought: He's a dead ringer for Nick Nolte in Down and Out in Beverly Hills.
From the London Times. ©The Times Magazine/N.I. Syndication. Photos are from Evolution: The Human Story by Dr. Alice Roberts, published by Dorling Kindersley.DUBLIN BUS WORKERS are seeking pay increases of up to 30% over a number of years to bring them in line with Luas staff.
The National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) will bring the pay claim to the Labour Court on Thursday.
Speaking to the TheJournal.ie ahead of the appearance, general secretary of the NBRU Dermot O’Leary said that bus workers were seeking pay parity with tram workers.
O’Leary said that a recent dispute between Luas workers and the operating company Transdev had lifted a “veil of secrecy” that surrounded their pay and conditions.
“The very public dispute between Luas workers and Transdev showed us what money they’re on,” said O’Leary.
Earlier this month, Luas workers voted to accept pay recommendations from the Labour Court – bringing to an end a protracted and heated dispute that had seen the tram service disrupted over the course of a number of months.
Following on from the dispute, O’Leary said the Dublin Bus workers were seeking similar terms.
O’Leary said that this would amount to pay increases of about 30%.
Broken down, the increases include the 18.3% in increases offered to Luas drivers, as well as 6% previously offered to bus workers workers – the rest would be made up of pay rises that had already been given to Luas workers before the dispute.
“Whilst our members were enduring pay cut the tram drivers… were getting pay rises,” said O’Leary.
All we’re asking for here is fair play in terms of pay and conditions.
The Labour Court date comes after bus workers rejected pay rises put forward at the Workplace Relations Commission of 6% over three years.
“Palatable anger”
O’Leary didn’t rule out the prospect of industrial action in the future, but said that he hoped the situation could be resolved before such action was considered.
“There’s a palatable anger among our members,” he said.
“If they see some progress towards meeting their claim [on Thursday] that will dilute the necessity for industrial action.
But of course if the opposite happens and there is no progress our people will be asking us to ballot for industrial action.
In a statement to TheJournal.ie, Dublin Bus said that it was involved in an “ongoing process” with the trade union.
“Dublin Bus is engaged in a process with Trade Unions with a Labour Court hearing taking place on 30 June,” the statement reads.Born in 1875 in Switzerland. His paternal grandfather was prominent physician/one of the best known men of the city. Jung sometimes believed he was the great grand son of the German poet Goethe. Both of Jung's parents were the youngest of 13 siblings, which may have contributed to some difficulties in their marriage. His father was minister of Swiss Reformed church and mother was daughter of a theologian. Both religion and medicine were prominent professions in his family and extended family. His mother's family had a tradition of mysticism and spiritualism, and his mother's mother believed in the occult and often talked to the dead.
Jung's early life was as an only child. He had an older brother who only lived for 3 days and a younger sister 9 years younger than himself. Jung was an emotional and sensitive child and identified with the unstable and mystical side of his mother.
At age 3 he was separated from his mother who was hospitalized for several months, and this separation was deeply troubling for him. Years later he still felt distrustful about the word "love" and still associated "woman" with unreliability and "man" with reliability, but powerlessness.
Before his 4th birthday, family moved to Basel, and from this period, his earliest dream stems (which had a profound effect on his later life and his concept of collective unconscious).
During school years, Jung became aware of two separate aspects of himself: which he called his no. 1 and no. 2 personalities. At first he thought that both personalities were part of his own personal world, but in adolescence, came to see No. 2 personality as a reflection of something other than himself: an old man long dead. In later years, he recognized that No. 2 personality had been in touch with feelings and intuitions that No. 1 did not perceive.
Between 16-18 his No. 1 personality emerged as more dominant and gradually repressed the world of intuitive premonitions that his No. 2 personality was in touch with. He described his No. 1 personality as extroverted and in tune with the objective world. His No. 2 personality was introverted and directed toward his subjective world. During his school years, he was largely introverted, but he became extroverted when he needed to prepare for a profession and meet responsibilities. This No. 1 personality prevailed until his midlife crisis, after which point he became extremely introverted.Image copyright AP Image caption Wednesday's attack targeted the Sadr City area of Baghdad
At least 18 people have been killed in a bomb attack on a predominantly Shia suburb of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, security sources say.
A suicide bomber detonated a vehicle in Sadr City, targeting a busy street full of garages and used-car dealers.
At least 42 people were also wounded in the attack, which was claimed by the Islamic State group.
Baghdad saw a wave of deadly suicide attacks in the first few days of 2017, but the number has dropped recently.
The IS group has stepped up its attacks since the Iraqi army, aided by US-led coalition strikes, launched its campaign to dislodge the group from its stronghold of Mosul in the north four months ago.
Wednesday's attack targeted the Habibya area of Sadr City, north of the centre of the Iraqi capital, an interior ministry official told AFP.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption The attack targeted the Habibya district of Sadr City
The blast follows a car bomb attack in southern Baghdad on Tuesday that killed four people.
On 2 January, 35 people were killed in a bomb blast in Sadr City, in an attack claimed by IS.
Iraq's capital has also been hit by violent protests in recent days by supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who are demanding changes to the electoral commission that oversees elections.
At least six people were killed in clashes with police on Sunday.'Crypto-Jews' In The Southwest Find Faith In A Shrouded Legacy
Code Switch has been writing about some overlooked cultural interactions that have helped shape what Jewish identity is today, and we continue the series with this post about the murky and fascinating history of crypto-Jews in the Southwest.
There were the grandfathers who refused to eat pork and wore hats at Saturday church services, the grandmothers who lit candles on Friday nights. The sheep and cattle ranchers who slit the throats of their animals, drained the blood, removed the sciatic nerve and salted the meat. These kinds of stories aren't uncommon in the American Southwest.
At a bedside altar facing the room's East wall, Sonya Loya's maternal grandmother, a staunch Catholic, would pray three times daily with a shawl over her head. Living in Alpine, Texas, a small town isolated in the high desert, she taught her family to routinely check their hens' eggs for spots of blood. Her last request before she died was that she be buried with her feet facing the East.
"There's something about it, deep within our souls," Loya says.
It wasn't until Loya was an adult that she learned of a possible Jewish legacy in the region — a narrative that the media would magnify and scholars would dispute. She matched her family surnames with names of medieval Sephardic Jews on an online database. Suddenly, her grandmother's unquestioned traditions dramatically changed in meaning. Had she been a Jew all along?
New Mexico's Hidden Jews When Jewish-Latino photographer Peter Svarzbein drove through Ruidoso, N.M., and stopped at Sonya Loya's shop, he was overwhelmed to find a collection of Judaica for sale in the small town off US-70. "It was fascinating and emotional," he says, "not something that fit with the Jewish narrative of my life." He began taking pictures. That evolved into a project documenting crypto-Jews in the region who were making the "transition back" to Judaism. See Svarzbein's project at mongovision.com. Hide caption On the right is Sonya Loya's original glass shop. On the left is a section she opened after embracing a Jewish identity. Loya believes her family was among those who were forced to convert from Judaism during the Spanish Inquisition. Previous Next Courtesy of Peter Svarzbein/mongovision.com
Hide caption A man touches the mezuzah on his home in East El Paso, Texas. Previous Next Courtesy of Peter Svarzbein/mongovision.com
Hide caption Rabbi Stephen Leon leads a Friday night service at B'nai Zion synagogue in El Paso, Texas. Leon has converted crypto-Jews in the region. Previous Next Courtesy of Peter Svarzbein/mongovision.com
Hide caption This dreidel-like Mexican top is used to play a similar game called toma todo. Its origins are unclear. Previous Next Courtesy of Peter Svarzbein/mongovision.com
Hide caption A group of men sits expectantly for Friday night dinner in Mexicali, Mexico. Previous Next Courtesy of Peter Svarzbein/mongovision.com
Hide caption Mr. and Mrs. Ysidro Chavez walk in Sunland Park, N.M. Beyond them is |
and thereby gave many other Democrats permission to take that political risk. He’s a social conservative in many respects, too. More recently, Nunn has associated himself with the cause of nuclear nonproliferation. He spent 8 years as chairman of the Armed Services committee in the Senate. Boren left the Senate in 1994 and is a former chairman of what used to be called the Senate Select Committee on intelligence. He also spent 16 years as governor of Oklahoma.
One could easily see Boren and/or Nunn as a Cabinet Secretary in 2009; which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.1987 Opera House heist Date 19 March 1987 ( ) Time 2:15 pm IST Location Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri & Sons Jewellers, Opera House, Mumbai, India Coordinates Coordinates: Also known as TBZ Opera House robbery Participants not identified Outcome Jewellery and cash totalling ₹ 3 to 3.5 million stolen
On 19 March 1987, a group posing as CBI officers executed the fake income tax investigation raid on the Opera House branch of Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri & Sons Jewellers in Mumbai, India. This case has remained unsolved.
Background [ edit ]
The person posing himself as Mon Singh[1] or Mohan Singh[2] had placed a classified advertisement in the 17 March 1987 issue of The Times of India, asking for "Dynamic Graduates for Intelligence Officers Post and Security Officers Post". Applicants were told to report to the hotel Taj Intercontinental between 10 am and 5 pm the next day. He rented an office at Mittal Towers in Nariman Point to interview the candidates. Singh selected at least 26 candidates and asked them to report to the Taj the following day and were briefed about the'mock raid' by Singh.[1][2]
They arrived at the Opera House branch of Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri & Sons jewellers around 2:15 pm. Singh introduced himself to the owner, Pratap Zevari, and produced a'search warrant'. He ordered the owners to turn off CCTV cameras and surrender a licensed revolver held on the premises. Singh and the fake contingent of officers did not allow any phone calls and took samples of ornaments for assessment of the quality of the gold. Singh picked'samples' of jewellery and had them sealed in polybags. Cash was also collected. After 45 minutes Singh asked two men to put the briefcases in the bus. He asked others to keep watch on the shop and left in the bus to'supervise' another raid. After about an hour, the owners called the Mumbai Police.[1][2]
Investigation [ edit ]
Police investigation revealed that he booked room number 415 at the Taj on 17 March and he put an advertisement in the newspaper. Police found that Singh reached the hotel after leaving the jewellery shop and hired a taxi from there. The taxi dropped him at Vile Parle where he hired an auto.[1][2] He was last seen there and there was no trail. The police put out a nationwide alert. They sent a team to Kerala as his hotel record showed that he hailed from Trivandrum. A person named George Augustine Fernandes was arrested but later found that he was not involved. They also sent a team to Dubai but no headway reported.[2] The heist amount ranged from ₹ 30 to 35 Lakhs (₹ 3 to 3.5 million).[1][2]
Popular culture [ edit ]Private Chef Andrea Drummer meticulously crafts her ravioli by hand. She drizzles hollandaise sauce over crab cake Benedict. She makes a brûléed bread pudding with caramel sauce, chantilly cream and seasonal berries.
Her secret ingredient — cannabis.
"When I smell cannabis, I smell the possibilities of it," Drummer said.
Drummer is among a group of Los Angeles chefs preparing multiple course meals with cannabis at private dinners around Los Angeles.
She and those like her are carving out a niche, cashing in on a slice of the marijuana market as Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, was passed by California voters in November and fully goes into effect on Jan. 1.
Take a Look at What These LA Chefs Are Cooking With Cannabis
Drummer's curated dinners are intimate, invite-only four-course meal affairs that can cost up to $500 per person. The co-owner and director of food and beverage at Elevation VIP Cooperative, Inc. recently treated guests to a "Making America Great" dinner, which showcased ethnic cuisines from cultures "that contribute to the fabric of America," she said.
At Drummer's private client dinners, guests can try her ravioli or a crab cake Benedict with hollandaise infused with the citrusy strain Lemon Haze. Most guests are required to present a medical marijuana card.
When one of Drummer's repeat guests, a 25-year-old artist who goes by B. Stewart, walks into a curated dinner — which have been held in a Hollywood Hills mansion and a high-rise in downtown LA — she instantly feels like a celebrity. The ambience, she said, is "like walking into a page right out of a story."
The dinners leave her with a calm high.
"Chef Drummer has it down to the science," Stewart said.
Chef Andrea Drummer cooking.
Photo credit: Elevation VIP
These chefs stand behind the quality of their products and say they go to great lengths to ensure they're safe.
But county regulators are trying to figure out how to regulate them. They say they have to balance health and safety with current medical marijuana laws and the new recreational law.
"It is really complicated," said Joe Nicchitta, the coordinator of Los Angeles County's newly formed Office of Marijuana Management. "What is considered a private dinner? Is it a potluck? Are you selling tickets? It's not a one-size-fits-all approach. We're working to figure out what the appropriate regulations should be."
Nicchitta said he appreciates entrepreneurs getting into a new industry, but suggests potential diners research edibles, their effects on getting high and how to consume them safely before taking part.
"It's not our goal to shut down innovation," he said. "That said, we do need to apply our health code in a way that's safe."
Andrea Drummer's crab cake Benedict with Lemon Haze infused hollandaise sauce.
Photo credit: Elevation VIP
Drummer, a classically trained chef who fuses southern, Cajun and Creole styles, gets her cannabis from an organic farmer who has grown weed for 35 years. She said she adjusts the amount of cannabis in a meal based on guests' preferences. She infuses cannabis into her food as an alternative to smoking.
Drummer was pulled into this career path after a friend said she needed to sell bruschetta that she had infused with Blue Dream — a strain with notes of blueberry and citrus that pair well with the dish.
"I'm very cognizant of the flavors of the bud," Drummer said.
Holden Jagger, chef and co-owner of Altered Plates, creates custom joint pairings for his private dinners. He smokes ingredients with cannabis, cooks infused dishes and treats weed as its own ingredient for small private meals and business events. He also serves as a gangier, pairing weed with plates, similar to a sommelier who specializes in wine.
Chef Holden Jagger.
Photo credit: Rachel Burkons
With paired courses, his diners get an explanation of the dish, a whiff of the aroma and take a pull by breathing through the joint to taste the cannabis before smoking it.
"I am very much in the business of saying yes to my guests," Jagger said, adding that he will cook everything from a high-end meal to a summer barbecue if his diners request it.
Jagger, who grows his own pot, uses a strain called "In the Pines" to smoke shallots for a salmon creme fraiche dish, and salt cures and "quick-pickles" part of the male cannabis plant to serve on cheese plates.
"Cannabis is a vegetable," said Jagger, who worked at well-known LA restaurants including Craft, SoHo House and Maude before opening Altered Plates. "This is just another way to combine all my passions and distill them into something that I can share with people."
Joint pairings served at an Altered Plates dinner.
Photo credit: Rachel Burkons
His guests pay up to $500 per dinner and are required to present a medical marijuana card.
"I want to play by the rules, I want a seat at the table when there is that seat to be had, and I don't want to get in trouble because I'm not participating in the right way," Jagger said.As youngsters, Leafs defenceman Luke Schenn and his brother Brayden, now of the Philadelphia Flyers, often played street hockey with Wade Belak back home at their Saskatchewan cottage. “This was before even my brother and I were hockey players. We were just little kids looking up to him as an NHL player,” Luke Schenn, 21, said on Thursday after participating in an unofficial Leafs workout at the MasterCard Centre.
Leaf defenceman Luke Schenn talks to the media about the death of former Leaf and friend Wade Belak at the Mastercard Centre on Thursday. ( VINCE TALOTTA / TORONTO STAR )
“He had a street hockey net on his driveway and he used to invite us to come shoot with him. He had a cottage literally right next to us. “We were just little kids growing up, about 10 and 12 and he was just breaking into the league at the time. He was the nicest guy. He’d bring us on his boat the odd time and throw a football around.” Schenn, a restricted free agent, was still reeling from the tragic news of Belak’s death, a player he never played with but first encountered when he watched the Saskatoon Blades junior team play.
Article Continued Below
“I used to watch him growing up,” said Schenn, who continues to practise with the Leafs while his agent negotiates a new contract. “I didn’t get the chance to play with him but I got to know him a bit when he came to town with Nashville,” Schenn said. “I’d talk to him and see him at restaurants. It’s hard to see a guy like that go. “This was a shock. A lot of people who knew him would say he’d be the last person you’d think this would happen to.” The 35-year-old former Leaf tough guy was found dead in his Toronto hotel room on Wednesday. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding his apparent suicide. Several police sources said he was found hanging from a closet.
Belak is the third NHL enforcer to die since the spring. Winnipeg Jets forward Rick Rypien, who suffered from depression, was found dead in August. In May, New York Rangers forward Derek Booguard’s death was ruled an accidental overdose from a lethal mixture of alcohol and oxycodone. Speaking on behalf of his teammates, Schenn expressed his sadness for Belak’s family. He also said the hockey community has lost “a great guy.”
Article Continued Below
The young Leaf rearguard learned of Belak’s death while on the golf course with several of his teammates. “You stop right away and it hits you.... This is the third guy this summer,” Schenn said. “It’s hard to grasp. It’s tough. “You realize everybody has problems. It doesn’t matter if you’re a hockey player or living in the real world, everybody has things they have to deal with. “It’s tough for the league. Whether you play with him or against him, the NHL is one big family.” The reasons behind Belak’s apparent suicide remain unknown but Schenn said life in the NHL can take its toll. “No question playing in the NHL is everything you wanted as a child. It’s a dream come true for 99.5 per cent of players who make it,” Schenn said. “It’s awesome being a part of it and everyone says it’s awesome from the outside looking in. “But at the end of the day, NHL guys are no different human beings than anybody else. People go through problems on a day-to-day basis whether you’re a professional athlete or have a regular job.” Fellow Leaf defenceman Mike Komisarek was also shocked by the tragedy. “We’ve lost a couple of members of the league.... You’re just floored. It just hits you like a punch in the stomach,” he said. “You can’t even function. You can’t even breathe when you hear something like that.” Komisarek played many games against Belak as a Leaf and before with Montreal. “He was a hard-nosed guy, a competitor, who battled on the ice every shift,” he said. “He always stuck up for his teammates. He had a great personality. “Your heart just goes out to his family and friends. That’s all you can think about it.”
Read more about:Health Canada scientists are so concerned about losing access to their research library that they're finding workarounds, with one squirrelling away journals and books in his basement for colleagues to consult, says a report obtained by CBC News.
The draft report from a consultant hired by the department warned it not to close its library, but the report was rejected as flawed and the advice went unheeded.
Before the main library closed, the inter-library loan functions were outsourced to a private company called Infotrieve, the consultant wrote in a report ordered by the department. The library's physical collection was moved to the National Science Library on the Ottawa campus of the National Research Council last year.
If you want to justify closing a library, you make access difficult and then you say it is hardly used. — Dr. Rudi Mueller, retired Health Canada pathologist
"Staff requests have dropped 90 per cent over in-house service levels prior to the outsource. This statistic has been heralded as a cost savings by senior HC [Health Canada] management," the report said.
"However, HC scientists have repeatedly said during the interview process that the decrease is because the information has become inaccessible — either it cannot arrive in due time, or it is unaffordable due to the fee structure in place."
A recently retired Health Canada pathologist agreed with this assessment.
"I look at it as an insidious plan to discourage people from using libraries," said Dr. Rudi Mueller, who left the department in 2012.
"If you want to justify closing a library, you make access difficult and then you say it is hardly used."
Staff borrowed students' library cards
The report noted the workarounds scientists used to overcome their access problems.
Mueller used his contacts in industry for scientific literature. He also went to university libraries where he had a faculty connection.
The report said Health Canada scientists sometimes use the library cards of university students in co-operative programs at the department.
Unsanctioned libraries have been created by science staff.
"One group moved its 250 feet of published materials to an employee's basement. When you need a book, you email 'Fred,' and 'Fred' brings the book in with him the next day," the consultant wrote in his report.
"I think it's part of being a scientist. You find a way around the problems," Mueller told CBC News.
Librarians missed after cuts
One of the problems Mueller couldn't work around was the disappearance of librarians who could help him in his search for scientific literature. The report said the number of in-house librarians went from 40 in 2007 to just six in April 2013.
"The librarian would sit down with me and specifically design the searches for what I needed," said Mueller.
"A librarian is far better at doing a literature search than I am," added Mueller. "It's their profession."
James Turk, executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers, sympathized with Mueller's frustration.
"Knowledgeable and expert librarians and archivists are invaluable resources in helping you find what you want," he said.
"So they [Health Canada] are not just closing physical collections of books. They are getting rid of the guides to those collections."
New Democrat health critic Libby Davies said her own staff know the value of the parliamentary library.
"My staff can do so much in sort of Googling around and trying to find this and that or stuff that may come into us. But being able to use the experts and to get their assistance makes a world of difference," Davies said.
Davies said Health Minister Rona Ambrose should ask her department what the situation is like today at Health Canada.
"I think the minister should dig deeper and follow this up and find out what's really gone on and review why this report was just shelved," Davies said.
One of the stated goals of Health Canada's contracting out of library services was to save money. According to the report, though, the new arrangement is more expensive.
The report stated that in the 2008-09 fiscal year, Health Canada Library Services had a staff of 36 and a budget of $1.75-million. In 2013-14 there is a staff of 6 and a budget of $2.67-million.
In addition, Health Canada researchers now have to pay a $25.65 retrieval fee plus the cost of a courier to get a book from the National Science Library. For a scanned document, it now costs $9 plus a $4 to $8 copyright fee.
Quality of work at risk
Turk worried about the effect this change would have on Canada's international reputation.
"Scientifically, we are going to be a third-rate country," he said.
A lasting regret for Mueller is that by the end of his career at Health Canada, he didn't feel satisfied with quality of his work. And he put the blame for that squarely on cutbacks in the department's libraries.
"If I tell my children what I have done, I am not as proud as I would like to be."
In the end, the report recommended moving the physical collection back to Health Canada and increasing library staff from six to between 15 to 20.
According to Health Canada, the report was a draft and contained many factual inaccuracies.
"[The report] was returned to its author for corrections, which were never undertaken. As such, the recommendations are based on inaccurate information and have not been accepted," Health Canada wrote in response to questions from CBC News.
A letter to CBC News from a lawyer representing the consultant refuted Health Canada's claims.
"It is the case that the consultant provided a draft report to Health Canada and that some changes were requested," the letter said.
"The changes requested were however neither'many' in number nor 'factual' in nature. The consultant met with the client to review the comments after which the requested changes were made immediately.
"A final report was promptly submitted. Representations that our client provided a factually inaccurate report and then neglected to respond to requests for changes are untrue," the lawyer's letter says.
Health Canada also said this week it has consulted with employees and addressed many of their concerns.WILL MCINTYRE / Getty Images
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has always seemed like a barbaric treatment. Even though anesthesia now makes the procedure itself painless for patients, it still involves literally shocking the delicate electrical systems of the brain to produce seizures and may cause painful muscle spasms and memory problems afterwards. Still, after seven decades of use, ECT remains the most effective treatment known for severe depression — and a new study offers intriguing hints as to why.
Researchers in Scotland used fMRI to scan the brains of nine people with profound depression, both before and after ECT. The patients had all failed to respond to antidepressants or other therapies and none had had ECT in the previous six months. The scientists found that after ECT — given twice a week until symptoms lifted — patients showed significant decreases in connectivity between certain parts of the brain.
Specifically, the researchers found that the treatment dampened the connections within and radiating out from a region called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), but only on the left side of the brain. The left DLPFC has long been associated with negative thoughts, criticism, anxiety, pessimism and rumination. The same region in the right hemisphere appears to handle more uplifting, optimistic and cheery ideas. Healthy thinking and planning requires a balance of both.
Until now, researchers really didn’t know how ECT worked. But the new findings may help reassure doctors and patients who use it. “We believe we’ve solved a 70-year-old therapeutic riddle because our study reveals that ECT affects the way different parts of the brain involved in depression connect with one another,” lead author Ian Reid, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Aberdeen, said in a statement.
MORE: Antidepressants: Are They Effective or Just a Placebo?
“When the mechanisms of illness and recovery are not fully known, as is the case in depression, there’s a decided advantage in stepping back and taking a look at the big picture. This work has done just that,” says Aimee Hunter, assistant professor of psychiatry at University of California, Los Angeles, who was not associated with the study.
It’s hard to determine whether excess activity in the left DLPFC causes depressive thinking, or whether a depressed person’s chronic negative focus essentially exercises the DLPFC and grows it disproportionately — as would happen if you lifted weights with only one arm. It’s possible also that each condition exacerbates the other to create an imbalance. “It is tempting to speculate that ECT might act to rebalance hemispheric activity [on the right and left side] though modulation of connectivity,” the authors write.
Researchers increasingly suspect that the pathology of depression may involve having too many connections between certain brain areas, a problem known as “hyperconnectivity.” Though it might seem counterintuitive that depression, which is marked by low mood and often, low energy, would be the result of an overly wired brain, research suggests that too much wiring can be as problematic as too little.
In a study published last month, researchers including Hunter used a technique called QEEG, which measures brain activity through a cap of electrodes placed on the scalp, and found greater connectivity in numerous brain regions in more than 100 participants with major depression. The DLPFC was especially affected, though this study found extra connections on both sides of the brain.
“Their findings are also interesting in the context of recent work from our lab led by Andrew Leuchter, which showed increased connectivity, i.e., “hyperconnectivity” in depressed subjects,” says Hunter.
Other studies have also found that antidepressants may work by reducing connectivity between frontal brain regions involved in emotional control and lower regions that generate emotions. Further, research has associated hyperconnectivity in the brain to autism spectrum disorders, which are frequently associated with depression.
MORE: Prior Antidepressant Use May Affect Patients’ Response to New Drugs — and Placebo
Interestingly, however, both antidepressants and ECT have been found to increase levels of nerve growth factors that trigger the birth of new brain cells and revitalize damaged connections in an area of the brain known as the hippocampus. That suggests that while there may be too many connections in some areas of the depressed brain, there may be too few in others.
The new study does have some negative implications. ECT has long been notorious for side effects, such as memory problems. So, in some cases, when doctors perform ECT, they attach the electrodes to the right side of the head, because it’s the less dominant side of the brain for most right-handed people. But this research indicates that delivering ECT to the left side of the head — to the left DLPFC — may be more effective. And that suggests that the mood-enhancing benefits of ECT may be inseparable from its memory-related side effects.
Hunter notes that the study also raises questions about excess connectivity that remains even with successful treatment. “Do some types or regions of connectivity indicate vulnerability to depression, i.e., a “trait” marker, whereas other regions of connectivity related to one’s active or current “state” of depression?,” she asks. Or, perhaps these extra connections produce the more accurate perception of reality that studies have repeatedly found in people with depression: a clearer vision that can bring insight, not just pain.
The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Maia Szalavitz is a health writer for TIME.com. Find her on Twitter at @maiasz. You can also continue the discussion on TIME Healthland’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIMEHealthland.IT'S the taxpayer-funded TV journey which set out to change opinions on the climate change debate - and ends with little ground being made by either protagonist.
After four weeks of filming around the world and 60 hours of interviews (at a cost of 60 tonnes of carbon), I Can Change Your Mind About Climate has barely shifted the opposed views of its stars, former Howard government finance minister Nick Minchin and climate activist/author Anna Rose.
The premise was simple: Pitch up a list of people who hold your views on climate science, then go about convincing each other to change.
Funded jointly by Screen NSW (under the O'Farrell government) and Screen Australia's national documentary program scheme, it was produced by filmmaker Simon Nasht and entrepreneur Dick Smith.
It airs on ABC1 tonight.
Mr Minchin, who led opposition to a carbon trading scheme, claimed he was "a little shocked the ABC had signed off on this proposal as it involves airing the views of those sceptical of anthropological global warming... and it doesn't do a lot of that".
The program flew the pair across Australia, then to Hawaii, Boston, New York, San Francisco, Washington and London filming meetings with leading professors and anti-global warming bloggers.
Mr Nasht said producers purchased renewable energy offsets for Ms Rose and four production crew.
Mr Minchin argued the federal government was "making a mistake spending billions on the assumption we're the ones causing climate change and I don't think that's right".
Do you believe climate change is mainly man made? Or are the climate doomsayers now discredited? Tell us below
He believes the show's value was "in Anna beginning to understand what I call the scare-mongering is actually counter-productive".
Ms Rose said yesterday: "Nick did not present any evidence or coherent explanation for why the world has warmed so significantly that could be attributed to anything other than fossil fuels, cars, coal-fired power stations."
She took up the challenge to educate "people watching at home who might still have some questions about climate science and be able to answer them in a clear way".
While she is steadfast in her position that the climate crisis is a real and urgent one, the duo did share in their disappointment at having several of their suggested interview subjects cut from the final edit.
Mr Minchin said the production filmed two interviews at his request - with British professor Jasper Kirkby in Geneva and UK journalist Christopher Booker in London - which do not appear.
Ms Rose argued a greater imbalance, with four of her interview options not going to air (two appear on the ABC website). The doco ending with the twosome searching for common ground on the white sands of Heron Island and the retired politician and his 28-year-old combatant will continue their argument on tonight's climate-themed Q&A.
Originally published as 65,000km trip = an hour of hot airMacs equipped with Retina displays are high on everyone’s wish-list right now, but despite many rumors claiming we’ll see them announced at WWDC, we’ve still had our doubts they’ll arrive this year. However, we’ve been handed a glimmer of hope this morning after Retina-ready Mac applications began appearing in the Mac App Store.
The latest update to FolderWatch, a tool that syncs your files between different locations, was approved by Apple today, and right at the top of its release notes it reads “Retina graphics.” It suggests certain OS X developers have already been notified that Retina displays are coming to the Mac.
Of course, this only strengthens the rumors that have claimed Apple will refresh a number of its machines during the keynote address at WWDC on Monday to introduce high-resolutions displays — along with Intel’s latest Ivy Bridge processors. Those machines expected to get Retina displays first include the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro, the 11- and 13-inch MacBook Air, and possibly the iMac.
Although it seems unlikely that Apple would have given developers this kind of information prior to its official announcement, The Next Web notes that FolderWatch was an “Apple Staff Favorite” back in June 2011, and that the Cupertino company may have selected a number of popular applications that it would like to see updated with high-resolution artwork before the new Macs launch. FolderWatch could also be one of the apps that Apple uses to demonstrate the Retina display at its event.
There’s also a good chance, however, that FolderWatch’s developers, Brothers Roloff, simply updated their app in anticipation for the update just in case. We’ll find out for certain in just a few days.
Source: Mac App Store
Via: The Next WebShibuya is not a neighborhood where you head for haute cuisine. But all that window-shopping, people-watching, hanging out and having fun can be hungry work. So it’s good to have a few places up your sleeve that offer sustenance and respite from the crowds and noise. Maishin is one to add to that list.
It comes as a relief to find somewhere that’s calm, aimed at an adult demographic and serious about its food and drink. Not that you’re likely to stumble unaided on this cozy basement izakaya, despite its location just a few minutes’ walk from Shibuya’s stations and retail emporiums.
The clue is the sugidama, a large ball of cryptomeria needles hanging above the stairs that descend steeply to Maishin’s heavy timber door. This is the traditional sign that here you will find superior sake and, with it, good food and staff who understand what they are serving.
But that’s only to be expected: Maishin is the latest offspring from the growing stable of sake-specialist taverns run by Noriharu Nozaki. As at his eponymous branch in Shinbashi, the walls are plastered with memorabilia and photographs of breweries around the country, and the fridges are crammed with their output.
Nozaki himself spikes tradition with a very contemporary feel, favoring an indigo-dyed sake-maker’s happi coat to go with his bleach-blond hair and goatee. Similarly, the food menu contains some interesting contemporary crossover dishes alongside the tried-and-true izakaya staples.
There’s only one place to start, especially at this time of year, when seafood is at its very best. The mixed sashimi plate (just over ¥2,000 for a generous two-person serving) is a colorful still-life, complete with a carved daikon floweret as the centerpiece. It’s excellent value, and perfect with the premium brews that Nozaki and his crew have gathered from around the country.
The sashimi takes a while to prepare, so it’s best to order a selection of appetizers. Smooth, creamy ankimo (monkfish liver) anointed with a tart ponzu dressing is always a treat. And perhaps a serving of ebi-shinjo, deep-fried balls of shrimp served in hot savory dashi broth. It’s all satisfying and very sake-friendly.
It’s not all seafood by any means. There are good salads and a range of organically grown vegetable dishes. And carnivores should try the remarkable Maishin wagyū and foie gras steak. If you’re not convinced that beef goes with sake, try ordering a full-bodied yamahai-junmai and be prepared to revise your opinion.
But winter is nabe hot-pot season. Right now there’s a choice of Hiroshima oysters or aegamo duck as the main ingredient, and Maishin offers a range of sizes from communal casseroles for larger groups to individual portions just right for when you drop in solo for a quick tonic at the counter to see you home.
A word of warning: Only the lower half of Maishin’s sturdy front door opens, so you have to crouch to get through. It’s hard enough when you’re sober, let alone at the end of the evening. But the message is clear: dilettantes are discouraged.
Suyama Bldg. B1F, 2-10-12 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; 03-3464-1644; 5-11:30 p.m. (Sat. 4:30-11 p.m.; Sun 4:30-10:30 p.m.); nearest station Shibuya; smoking permitted; price ¥3,500 per head (plus drinks); cards OK; Japanese menu; a little English spoken.
Robbie Swinnerton blogs at www.tokyofoodfile.com.
Maishin Restaurant Page Maishin Name (J) 米心 Cuisine Japanese Keywords izakaya Smoking Smoking permitted Reservations Recommended Area Shibuya Address Suyama Bldg. B1F, 2-10-12 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Address (J) 東京都渋谷区道玄坂2-10-12 道玄坂スヤマビル B1F Stations Shibuya Station Telephone 03-3464-1644 03-3464-1644 Website http://ameblo.jp/t-ko-ta/ Hours 5-11:30 p.m.; weekends, holidays 4-10:30 p.m. MapBEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces launched a major offensive on Saturday against rebels in Homs, a centre of the two-year-old uprising, in their latest drive to secure an axis connecting Damascus to the Mediterranean.
Activists said jets and mortars had pounded rebel-held areas of the city that have been under siege by Assad’s troops for a year, and soldiers fought battles with rebel fighters in several districts.
“Government forces are trying to storm (Homs) from all fronts,” said an activist using the name Abu Mohammad.
There were no immediate details of casualties but video footage uploaded by activists showed heavy explosions and white clouds of smoke rising from what they said were rebel districts. Loud, concentrated rounds of gunfire could also be heard.
One clip showed thick black smoke rising from a mosque identified as the 13th-century Khalid ibn al-Walid mosque, on the edge of the Khalidiyah neighborhood.
Syrian state media said the army was “achieving great progress” in Khalidiyah but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an anti-Assad monitoring group, said there were reports that rebels had destroyed an army tank as troops tried to penetrate the Old City in the centre of Homs.
The attack on Homs follows steady military gains by Assad’s forces, backed by Lebanese Hezbollah militants, in villages in Homs province and towns close to the Lebanese border.
Three weeks ago Hezbollah spearheaded Assad’s recapture of the border town of Qusair, a former rebel bridgehead for smuggling in guns and fighters. Last week the rebels lost another border town, Tel Kalakh.
A general view shows buildings damaged by what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the Al-Khalidiya neighbourhood of Homs June 28, 2013. REUTERS/Yazan Homsy
Those gains have consolidated Assad’s control over a corridor of territory that runs from the capital Damascus through Homs to the traditional heartland of his minority Alawite sect in the mountains overlooking the Mediterranean.
They have also alarmed international supporters of the rebels, leading the United States to announce that it will step up military support. Saudi Arabia has accelerated deliveries of sophisticated weaponry, Gulf sources say.
DERAA VICTORY
The interventions by Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, a staunch backer of the mainly Sunni rebels, and Shi’ite Hezbollah highlight how the 27-month-old uprising has divided the Middle East along sectarian lines.
Gulf Arab States, Turkey and Egypt all support the rebels while Shi’ite Iran and Hezbollah are actively helping Assad whose Alawite community - an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam - has dominated Syria for more than four decades.
Sunni Islamist fighters from countries across the Middle East have also flocked to Syria, fighting for the rebels in a war that has killed more than 100,000 people, driven 1.7 million refugees abroad and displaced another 4 million within Syria’s borders.
Hopes of holding a U.S. and Russian-backed peace conference have faded, with rebels reluctant to negotiate while they are on the defensive militarily and tensions between Moscow and Washington exacerbating their deep differences over Syria.
The violence has spilled over frontiers and stirred sectarian violence in neighboring Iraq and Lebanon. Two people were killed in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli on Saturday, one in an explosion and another in sniper fire between the Alawite district of Jebel Mohsen and adjacent Sunni areas.
Slideshow (5 Images)
Despite losing ground around Damascus and Homs, rebels registered a symbolic victory on Friday when they overran a major military checkpoint in Deraa, the southern city where the uprising first erupted.
Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory, said the fall of the army post was strategically significant and could change the balance of power in Deraa, where rebels control most of the old city.
The province of Deraa, on the border with Jordan, has been a conduit for arms supplies to the rebels.What We Do
COACHBUILT MOTORS is a complete auto maintenance & sales facility that specializes in Rolls Royce & Bentley automobiles. Owned by Jim & Donna Metheney for well over 40 years, Coachbuilt has been a stable business model with dedicated employees. Bill, the lead mechanic, has been with Coachbuilt since 1990 & Rick, the office manager, since 2001.
Whether you need to schedule a regular maintenance appointment or you require repairs due to damage or malfunction, look no further! Our facility marries the latest automotive technology with excellent customer service. We believe that every customer is special, and we will work hard to keep your business. At COACHBUILT MOTORS, we're so certain you'll be satisfied that we guarantee efficient, prompt and reliable work, and honest service. No job is too big or too small, we want to see your car live a long, long life.
Cars available are offered for viewing by clicking on any of the cars you may be interested in, on the top of this page. We can also send more detailed photos of any car of interest.
Coachbuilt offers a full array of new & used Rolls Royce & Bentley parts. We maintain an inventory of over 10,000 parts. If we don't have what you need in stock, we have acquired a wide network of suppliers to locate virtually any part needed. We always maintain a supply of RR363 & Mineral Oil. We ship to nearly every address in the world.
Need an automotive appraisal for insurance or estate needs? Coachbuilt has been selected by the Franklin County (and other counties) Common Pleas Court as an official estate appraiser. We can come to your location or you can bring the car(s) to us |
pt. 115-486. [externalActionCode] => 5000 [description] => Introduced ) Passed House Array ( [actionDate] => 2018-02-06 [displayText] => Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 266 - 157, 1 Present (Roll no. 56).(text: CR H815) [externalActionCode] => 8000 [description] => Passed House )
69. H.R.772 — 115th Congress (2017-2018) Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2017 Sponsor: Cosponsors: (86) Rep. McMorris Rodgers, Cathy [R-WA-5] (Introduced 01/31/2017) Committees: House - Energy and Commerce Committee Reports: H. Rept. 115-486 Latest Action: Senate - 02/07/2018 Received in the Senate. ( All Actions Tracker: This bill has the status Passed House Here are the steps for Status of Legislation: Introduced Array ( [actionDate] => 2018-01-08 [displayText] => Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Energy and Commerce. H. Rept. 115-486. [externalActionCode] => 5000 [description] => Introduced ) Passed House Array ( [actionDate] => 2018-02-06 [displayText] => Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 266 - 157, 1 Present (Roll no. 56).(text: CR H815) [externalActionCode] => 8000 [description] => Passed House )
BILL 70. H.R.750 — 115th Congress (2017-2018) Ensuring Access to Quality Complex Rehabilitation Technology Act of 2017 Sponsor: Cosponsors: (116) Rep. Sensenbrenner, F. James, Jr. [R-WI-5] (Introduced 01/30/2017) Committees: House - Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means Latest Action: House - 02/09/2017 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. ( House - 02/09/2017 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. ( All Actions Tracker: This bill has the status Introduced Here are the steps for Status of Legislation: Introduced Array ( [actionDate] => 2017-01-30 [displayText] => Introduced in House [externalActionCode] => 1000 [description] => Introduced )
BILL 71. H.R.721 — 115th Congress (2017-2018) BRACE Act Sponsor: Cosponsors: (262) Rep. Jenkins, Lynn [R-KS-2] (Introduced 01/30/2017) Committees: House - Ways and Means Latest Action: House - 01/30/2017 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. ( House - 01/30/2017 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. ( All Actions Tracker: This bill has the status Introduced Here are the steps for Status of Legislation: Introduced Array ( [actionDate] => 2017-01-30 [displayText] => Introduced in House [externalActionCode] => 1000 [description] => Introduced )
71. H.R.721 — 115th Congress (2017-2018) BRACE Act Sponsor: Cosponsors: (262) Rep. Jenkins, Lynn [R-KS-2] (Introduced 01/30/2017) Committees: House - Ways and Means Latest Action: House - 01/30/2017 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. ( All Actions Tracker: This bill has the status Introduced Here are the steps for Status of Legislation: Introduced Array ( [actionDate] => 2017-01-30 [displayText] => Introduced in House [externalActionCode] => 1000 [description] => Introduced )
BILL 72. H.R.681 — 115th Congress (2017-2018) Life at Conception Act Sponsor: Cosponsors: (150) Rep. Mooney, Alexander X. [R-WV-2] (Introduced 01/24/2017) Committees: House - Judiciary Latest Action: House - 01/24/2017 Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice. ( House - 01/24/2017 Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice. ( All Actions Tracker: This bill has the status Introduced Here are the steps for Status of Legislation: Introduced Array ( [actionDate] => 2017-01-24 [displayText] => Introduced in House [externalActionCode] => 1000 [description] => Introduced )
72. H.R.681 — 115th Congress (2017-2018) Life at Conception Act Sponsor: Cosponsors: (150) Rep. Mooney, Alexander X. [R-WV-2] (Introduced 01/24/2017) Committees: House - Judiciary Latest Action: House - 01/24/2017 Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice. ( All Actions Tracker: This bill has the status Introduced Here are the steps for Status of Legislation: Introduced Array ( [actionDate] => 2017-01-24 [displayText] => Introduced in House [externalActionCode] => 1000 [description] => Introduced )
BILL 73. H.R.644 — 115th Congress (2017-2018) Conscience Protection Act of 2017 Sponsor: Cosponsors: (140) Rep. Black, Diane [R-TN-6] (Introduced 01/24/2017) Committees: House - Energy and Commerce Latest Action: House - 01/24/2017 Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. ( House - 01/24/2017 Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. ( All Actions Tracker: This bill has the status Introduced Here are the steps for Status of Legislation: Introduced Array ( [actionDate] => 2017-01-24 [displayText] => Introduced in House [externalActionCode] => 1000 [description] => Introduced )
73. H.R.644 — 115th Congress (2017-2018) Conscience Protection Act of 2017 Sponsor: Cosponsors: (140) Rep. Black, Diane [R-TN-6] (Introduced 01/24/2017) Committees: House - Energy and Commerce Latest Action: House - 01/24/2017 Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. ( All Actions Tracker: This bill has the status Introduced Here are the steps for Status of Legislation: Introduced Array ( [actionDate] => 2017-01-24 [displayText] => Introduced in House [externalActionCode] => 1000 [description] => Introduced )
LAW 74. H.R.609 — 115th Congress (2017-2018) To designate the Department of Veterans Affairs health care center in Center Township, Butler County,Since collapsing on the sidewalk in New York and then emerging from her daughter’s apartment a few hours later, there has not been a confirmed public sighting of Hillary Clinton.
Although she did, apparently, conduct a phone interview with Anderson Cooper Monday evening, she has since called off her campaign trip to California, and has cancelled her scheduled appearance on The Ellen Show.
With her campaign airplane Hill Force One effectively grounded, it’s unclear exactly where Secretary Clinton is at present.
Hillary Clinton taking a neurological test with Dr. Lisa Bardack after her dramatic collapse on Sunday, 9/11.
Adding to the mystery is the release of an apparently confidential medical progress report online at a common hacking release site, Pastebin.com, has sparked a new wave of speculation about Clinton’s health. (The original Pastebin document was inexplicably removed from the site, but has been archived.) According to the report, Clinton’s condition worsened quickly since Sunday.
From the report:
Mental status rapidly declined over past 24 hours. Arousable by loud voice commands, but immediately lapses into stupor without further response. … Global Irreversible Brain Damage caused by Sepsis-Associated Encephalopathy. … Hillary Clinton is in a high-security, secluded and private, intensive care unit with 4:1 nursing 24/7. … Putative Brain Death – Patient too unstable for apnea test. Awaiting confirmation from SSEP and possible nuclear medicine study. PROGNOSIS AS OF 9/14/16 Death no later than October 12, 2016.
Along similar lines, it has now come to light that Clinton avoided the ER in New York in order to keep her true condition under wraps, opting instead to “rest” in her daughter’s apartment in the city. Additionally, earlier in the month Clinton had received secret medical procedures for chronic sinus infections, allergic complications, and other bacterial infections. As DailyMail.com explains:
Hillary Clinton battled a sinus condition so bad that she had surgery and a follow-up brain scan – but never told voters – her doctor revealed for the first time on Wednesday evening. … Through the race Clinton has battled the perception that she’s not been fully honest with the American people. The disclosure of another secret medical treatment will only fuel questions in Democratic circles about the impact on Clinton’s poll ratings for candor. She had dismissed claims she had been unwell as conspiracy theories – but never told anyone she had been treated in January for an ear infection which involved the intervention with a drainage tube. … Clinton’s updated health history stated that she takes thyroid and allergy medicines and the blood thinner Coumadin, prescribed as a preventative after she suffered a blood clot resulting from a 2012 concussion. The blood clot, which was in a vein in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear, led Clinton to spend a few days in New York-Presbyterian Hospital and take a month-long absence from the State Department for treatment. Clinton has spent the past three days out of the public eye, recuperating at her suburban New York home. She’ll return to the campaign trail Thursday, with a rally in North Carolina and a speech before a Hispanic group in Washington. ‘I just talked to her — she’s feeling great and I think she’ll be back out there tomorrow,’ former President Bill Clinton said Wednesday, when he stepped in for his wife at a previous scheduled campaign event in Las Vegas. And despite the massive pressure on her campaign to tell one true version of events, he described her illness as the ‘flu’.
Oddly, however, only a couple days earlier, Bill Clinton said Hillary had pneumonia–but now claims she has the flu. A general medical exam is reassuring, but, as even Tom Brokaw argued on Sunday, Hillary Clinton needs to see a neurological specialist if she wants to put all these rumors to rest–one way or another.
A peculiar pose for Clinton, who also seems to have lost tens of pounds 90 minutes after collapsing on Sunday.
While Dr. Bardack’s report about Hillary Clinton may seem to confirm that Hillary is healthy, in fact her report is highly problematic. As Dr. Milton Wolf explained on Twitter Wednesday evening:
* * *
UPDATE (September 15, 2016):
Dr. Wolf is at it again!
This story is still unfolding, so stay tuned for breaking developments.Hello! This is Stefano. It’s been a while since my last post on our blog. I’ve been busy working with our great team at Cloud Academy, but I would like to use this article today to talk about something we’ve been really enjoying these last few months: doing cloud training webinars with you guys!
In June alone we had almost 2000 of you following our live webinars at Cloud Academy!
The great part? There are two, actually: they are completely free (yes, free!) and you can rewatch all of them here in our library! Joining us live is even better, as we usually have questions and answers with our expert team at the end of each session.
Who runs these webinars? Our team, of course! Everyone from our content team to our engineering and product team participate to make them as valuable as possible. It’s not a secret we are in love with cloud technologies and we use webinars to teach to our customers about new experiments, tools and technologies we implement here at Cloud Academy or that we enjoy using.
This month, we have some great topics to cover. Be sure to register as soon as possible! Last time, we maxed out all the available seats in a few days after our email, but this time we have more available – although they are going quickly 🙂 Thank you for helping us building this incredible series with more and more feedback every time, and feel free to send us suggestions or ask questions the comments below.
Ready? Let’s talk about our 4 upcoming cloud webinars!
1. AWS Lambda Coding Session with our Sr. Engineer Alex Casalboni – July 14th – Register now for free!
This is Alex Casalboni taking us through AWS Lambda with a live coding session. Lambda became incredibly popular in the cloud industry and it contributed to create the Serverless movement, something we’ve covered in our last webinar with Austin the creator of the Serverless framework.
Coding Session with AWS Lambda will be live on July 14th at 11AM Pacific Time – Register now to reserve your free seat!
2. Introduction to Ansible with our DevOps Engineer Ben Lambert – July 18th – Register now for free!
You’ve heard about Ansible, right? If not, go and check out our free Introduction to DevOps course at Cloud Academy, and you will learn why Ansible is one of the most important tools today in the DevOps industry and definitely one that has been very popular in the last 12 months. Our DevOps Engineer and Trainer, Ben Lambert, will introduce you to Ansible with a very guided approach, explaining how and why we should use it in our infrastructure and what kind of benefits we can get out of it.
Introduction to Ansible will be live on July 18th at 11AM (Pacific Time). Register now for free!
3. A/B Testing Data-Driven Algorithms in the Cloud with our Sr. Data Scientist, Roberto Turrin – July 25th – Register now for free!
Let’s take a look at some of our daily challenges at Cloud Academy building A/B tests for data-driven algorithms. Our Sr. Data Scientist, Roberto, will guide us through the idea and the objective behind this to understand how we used the cloud to A/B test our algorithms.
A/B Testing Data-Driven Algorithms in the Cloud will be live on July 25th at 11AM (Pacific Time). Register now for free!
4. Cloud Academy Office Hours – July 28th – Register now for free!
Have a question about your cloud training or careers in the industry? Our expert instructors are here to answer any questions you might have. It’s first come first serve, so be sure to sign up ASAP and get there on time to submit your question. We look forward to meeting you!
Cloud Academy Office Hours will be live on July 28th at 11AM (Pacific Time). Register now for free!The Orthodox Jewish Chamber Of Commerce is proud to introduce its new weekly Biz podcasts series featuring CEOs and business leaders to share their leadership insights to help others succeed.
In their amazing first episode Chris Gronkowski, former NFL player turned entrepreneur shares exclusively with our listeners his entrepreneurial insights of how he successfully turned his idea into reality and his experience of pitching it on ABC’s Shark Tank.
His pitch was so good that all five sharks fought over the opportunity to invest with him. In the end, Mark Cuban and Alex Rodriguez invested $120K together for a 15% stake in his company, Ice Shaker.
In this amazing episode, Chris shares the story of getting onto Shark Tank, how he brought his product to market, his take on the current media storm over the NFL, and the strategies his parents used to groom all their children with to compete at the highest level.
In addition, join us as Chris keynotes our Dallas Texas OJC Small Business Alliance Group in Dallas, TX November 2017.
For more information or to join the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, visit ojchamber.com.
To sponsor an episode or inquire about being featured email podcast@ojchamber.com or call 212 659 5270.
To hear the podacst via iTunes click here.Schools in the Greater Toronto Area are more likely to have specialized staff, program options and outside student support than other schools in the province, according to data from a new report on inequality in Ontario’s publicly funded schools.
The Mind the Gap report by People for Education, a public education, research and advocacy organization, bases its findings on 1,122 schools surveyed across the province. Data collected and analyzed from the 2012-2013 school year focused on issues such as health and well-being, special education, the arts and poverty and inequality.
“When you compare across the province, for the most part, GTA schools mostly have more,” said Annie Kidder, executive director of People for Education.
This “more” includes specialized staff such as music teachers, librarians, physical education teachers and guidance counsellors and access to outside supports such as psychologists, Ms. Kidder said. This comparative advantage exists because GTA schools tend to have more students enrolled. The provincial funding formula correlates funding dollars to number of students enrolled, Ms. Kidder said.
The thing we know about Toronto is that we have fairly stark differences between neighbourhoods
Although enrollment numbers are down “dramatically” across Ontario due to a declining birth rate, areas around Toronto including York, Peel and Durham regions have seen increasing enrollments, Ms. Kidder said.
“There’s been, for a number of years, a move out of the urban centres into the suburban areas. Also, now when people immigrate, they’re more likely to settle in those areas,” Ms. Kidder said.
Though the GTA stands up well in some areas, problems remain, she said.
“The thing we know about Toronto is that we have fairly stark differences between neighbourhoods,” she said.
The report found the school system is reinforcing some external socio-economic realities.
In schools with high average family incomes, the report says students are more likely to be in a band or choir, play more expensive sports, and have access to French immersion and gifted programs. High income schools also fundraise five times more than low income schools do.
“It makes a kind of double advantage for kids. They come from homes where the parents can afford those things. Then they go to school where all those things are readily available,” Ms. Kidder said.
Recommendations to the provincial government include development of a new policy framework mitigating socio-economic and ethno-racial factors, policy and funding that gives students equal access to extracurricular activities, arts and music programs at no charge and the creation of a special education ombudsman office.
“The overall [recommendation] has to do with making sure that all kids, rich poor, wherever they live in the province, have access to a truly broadly based education,” Ms. Kidder said.
National PostThe G Flex has been referred to as "the banana phone" more than once, and that nickname would certainly fit the description. Compared to the Galaxy Round, which features a short contour from left to right, the Flex's three-dimension reach is far more noticeable because it arcs from top to bottom -- yes, exactly like the tropical treat. From a high-level view, it looks a lot like a large LG G2 that sagged in the middle, but as you might imagine, there's a lot more to it than that.
First, let's dive into the display, which is a 6-inch, 720p Plastic OLED (POLED) panel with a pixel density of 245 ppi. While it's not as beautiful, bright or crisp as most 1080p screens, we weren't as disappointed with the lower resolution as we had initially expected. The colors aren't as saturated on the G Flex as they are on the G2, It's easy to read in direct sunlight and the curved screen helps make viewing angles even better than most phones we've used. Overall, however, the screen on the Round is of better quality, and we're confused by LG's decision to use a lower-resolution panel, especially given the phone's extremely high cost.
The in-hand feel is another area in which the Galaxy Round bests the G Flex. It's larger in virtually every dimension (it's 0.8mm thicker, 9.4mm taller, 2mm wider and 23 grams heavier), which already makes it pretty uncomfortable, but the top-to-bottom arc also makes the phone feel more awkward to handle. The Round's left-to-right curvature, in contrast, gave it a much more natural fit in my hand. As many of you have already guessed, the G Flex also doesn't fit quite as comfortably in pants pockets -- again, largely due to the direction of the Flex's curve. That said, there's one area in which it does feel better than the Round: my face. It's reminiscent of older cordless telephones that wrap around the cheek and reach down to the mouth, and it feels like it's meant to be shaped that way.
On paper, the G Flex gains an upper hand in durability over the Round despite its clear disadvantage in overall comfort; both devices offer a curved screen that theoretically lends to a more durable experience because it isn't quite as exposed to drops, and LG's version adds a self-healing finish on the back and the ability to actually flex under pressure. But how well does this translate into real-life use?
As a disclaimer, we had to be more delicate with the phone than we would've preferred, because it was a temporary loan from Negri and we were specifically asked to keep it in good shape. Therefore, we couldn't try out the self-healing finish beyond the usual wear and tear (which it handled with ease), but we expect to receive another unit which we can fully test in the near future. A couple of our industry colleagues have had the opportunity to put the G Flex's durability to the test, however. A drop test on Android Authority shows that it's indeed possible to crack the screen when the phone's dropped on its end (although the phone itself still works well). Additionally, YouTube reviewer Marques Brownlee showed that minor scratches are minimalized -- though not completely erased -- thanks to the phone's self-healing capabilities, but you definitely don't want to use a knife or other extremely sharp object on it. Still, it's at least better than any other phone on the market, and we wouldn't be surprised if LG continues to make it even better.
The last aspect of durability is the G Flex's ability to... well, flex. Unlike the Round, which features a flexible display that's bonded to a rigid and unmovable chassis, the G Flex can actually be flattened with enough force and is capable of springing back to its original shape. In theory, this extra flexibility can protect it from external impacts or pressure that normal phones may not be able to endure, and our real-life tests didn't give us any reason to doubt it. We can't say that it's worth paying a $300 premium for this feature, but as the tech continues to progress, the cost will go down and this could certainly become a solid selling point.
We'll spend more time and go into more detail on the phone's performance once we do a full review, but the Snapdragon 800 chipset inside the G Flex does quite well. It's just as quick and capable as the G2, and we were quite happy with it. In fact, LG has thrown in a multi-window feature that takes advantage of the large screen, and it works without any hiccups. Gaming is good for the most part, save for the occasional frame skip here and there. The 3,500mAh battery inside the G Flex is also as good as it sounds; we were able to run a 720p video on endless loop for a little over 14 hours before the battery died.
In the early stages of curved or flexible displays, there doesn't seem to be much of a point for people to buy into the idea... yet. Samsung and LG are just testing the waters, each company coming out with a brand new type of device that paves the way for a much more exciting smartphone future. As for the present, the improvements that curved phones have over their flat counterparts are rather minimal right now -- the extra value is certainly not significant enough for us to recommend that you spend $1,000 or more to get one -- but it's only going to get better with time and as more resources are dedicated to the movement. The G Flex and Round are pretty good for first-gen products, but for the moment, they're still a novelty.On 28 March 2016, the Hindu organisation the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh posted a tweet to its official Twitter page: “The leftist scholars’ bid to undermine India’s glorious identity was foiled by young Hindu activists and HEF”—the Hindu Education Foundation, a US-based Hindu group–“in California, USA.” Another tweet, posted a few minutes later, added: “Congrats to Hindu activists to successfully oppose & contest the suggestion to replace 'India' by 'SouthAsia' in text books in USA.”
These messages concerned a recent meeting in Sacramento, the capital of the large US state of California. A few months earlier, in January, California’s board of education had asked the public to suggest revisions to the History-Social Science Framework, a teaching guide that outlines the social-studies curriculum for the state’s government-run schools. The Framework’s South Asia-related material proved especially controversial; over 600 of the roughly 1,500 total suggested edits pertained to the subcontinent, although well under a tenth of the Framework does. On 24 March, a crowd of about 100 people—most of them connected to South Asian communities—gathered to watch a subject-matter committee, a group of educational administrators appointed by the board of education, deliberate on the revisions.
The authors of the South Asia-related edits fell into two broad camps. The first consisted of organisations such as the RSS-lauded HEF; the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), an advocacy organisation; and the Uberoi Foundation, a religious-studies group that promotes awareness of Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism. These groups proposed revisions to rectify what they perceive as a culturally insensitive portrayal of Hinduism. On the other side were the “leftist scholars” the RSS referenced: the South Asia Faculty Group, an interdisciplinary committee of fifteen South Asianist academics, who submitted a lengthy review of the Framework. A coalition of anti-caste activist groups supported the faculty group. Though the subject-matter committee rejected most of the Hindu groups’ changes and accepted most of the faculty group’s, its decisions are only recommendations presented to California’s board of education, which is expected to make final decisions on the edits in May.
Some of the faculty group’s approved edits suggested that certain usages of “India” be replaced with “South Asia,” mostly in pre-1947 contexts. Outcry at these changes was so fierce—thousands signed a petition against them, and protestors outside the meeting held signs reading “Did Columbus go in search of South Asia?”—that after their initial approvals, the committee retracted some of the “South Asia” revisions. Indian press coverage about the controversy hasoverwhelminglyfocussedon this point. But while this question of terminology is complex, concentrating exclusively on it overlooks many other important issues raised by the edits, such as gender roles in ancient India, the legacy of the Indus Valley civilisation, the origins of Sikhism and Buddhism, and—perhaps most pressingly—the caste system. This last dispute has brought to fore issues often neglected by much of the Indian American community: the legacy of caste oppression in India, and how to fairly depict this history of marginalisation.
For over a decade in California, Hindu advocates have sought to temper or erase the curriculum’s mentions of the caste system, arguing that their virulence reflects unfairly on Hinduism. In 2005, Hindu groups such as HEF and the Vedic Foundation submitted over 150 edits to the Framework. Some were factual corrections—an image of a Muslim man praying was captioned “A Brahmin priest,” for instance. But other revisions—such as one that suggested “castes” be replaced with “social classes”—moved many to accuse the groups of promoting a religious and political agenda. Michael Witzel, a Sanskrit professor at Harvard University, became aware of the Hindu groups’ edits soon after most of them, including the “social classes” one, had already sailed past the committee. He wrote a letter opposing the changes, got it signed by 47 academics (including heavyweights such as Homi K Bhabha and Romila Thapar), and sent it to California’s board of education, which appointed Witzel and two other scholars to re-evaluate the edits. Many of the Hindu groups’ revisions, among them the “social classes” edit, were rolled back. In 2006, HAF sued the California board of education for failing to follow a “fair and open” process. The suit was settled two years later.Bulletstormers Gearbox have dropped out of a deal to sell their remastered shooter on G2A.com, following a spat over the key reseller’s business practices. They were selling Bulletstorm: Full Clip [official site] and its expensive, statue-sporting collector’s editions through the site but following complaints and a backlash focusing on the reseller’s less-than-wholesome history of complaints, that has fallen apart.
Last week we saw that Gearbox seemed to listen to those complaints and had openly given G2A a list of demands, including better protection against fraud for both developers and customers. Gearbox have since decided those demands were not met and have now cut ties with the reseller completely, taking their game off the shelf. Obviously, it’s more complex than all this. If you really want to dive into this slurry pit of videogame distribution, come with me and I’ll try my best to explain.
The complaints made to Gearbox, which were spearheaded by videomonger John ‘TotalBiscuit’ Bain, pointed out that the key reseller has historically been lackadaisical about combating “stolen keys”. These come about when, for example, someone uses a stolen credit card number to buy large quantities of game keys direct from a developer’s website. The card will later be flagged as stolen and no money will go to the developer, who’ll also receive a hefty chargeback. Meanwhile, the key is out in the wild and can be quickly re-sold for much cheaper than face value. Fraudsters can use a service like G2A to do that. Publisher tinyBuild last year complained that they had lost $450,000 worth of game sales due to this practice. It has also affected larger publishers, like Ubisoft.
But Gearbox seemed oddly unfazed by any such reputation and went ahead with a deal to sell two special editions of Bulletstorm: Full Clip on the site, costing £99 and £226 respectively, featuring 3D printed statues, t-shirts, dog tags and all the other guff usually found in those things. The deal launched on April 4. But within two days the developer was back-pedalling quite fast, releasing a list of demands to G2A, which you can read in full here. Basically, they wanted G2A to reform much of their website. “Gearbox Publishing won’t support a marketplace that is unwilling to make these commitments and execute on them,” they said. Now that the game has launched on Steam, and G2A hasn’t changed anything about their business, the publisher broke off the deal and Full Clip is no longer for sale on G2A.
Meanwhile, G2A have sent us a statement defending their business practices and insist that they have all measures to stop fraud already in place. They also claim that they have “one of the lowest fraud rates in the industry” but offer no accompanying statistics or figures to back this claim. Essentially, it is their view that they have done nothing wrong. Here’s three separate paragraphs from their lengthy statement which more or less sums up their position (or you can read the full statement here).
The reality is that the keys on G2A.COM come from legitimate sources. Our marketplace is a leader in security and boasts one of the lowest fraud rates in the industry. G2A.COM employs over 100 people whose job is to ensure the legality of keys, transaction security, and compliance with the most stringent anti-fraud regulations. The problem is that some developers do not want to accept that people resell their games. The developers would like to control the market and all the sales channels within it, imposing higher prices and prohibiting the resale of unused games. G2A.COM does not agree with this – we respect the buyers’ rights, buyers who often unfortunately believe that the rules set forth by developers follow the law. We respect our critics and believe that they have the good of the industry at heart. Unfortunately, sometimes they do not understand how G2A.COM works and as such this misunderstanding causes them to mislead the public about our company. The best proof of this are the four ultimatums formulated in part by John Bain, which, it turns out that were completely unnecessary as all of the issues raised have long been a part of the G2A.COM marketplace. Most of the allegations levied against us are based on both a lack of knowledge, and a lack of desire to learn the other side of the story.
So that’s where we stand now in the ongoing shitshow that is key reselling. What a cast of colourful characters: A publisher who is trying to save face on an abortive business decision they probably thought they could easily carry out. A YouTuber who called them out. And an eBay for game keys with an unsavoury reputation holding its hands up and pulling an ‘I-didn’t-touch-him’ face to the referee. VIDEOGAMES. Our advice? It’s possible to get cheap games without going through icky channels. Sales pop up like weeds, while more wholesome key sellers such as Humble have their own steps for combating fraud.Submitted by Martin Armstrong of Armstrong Economics,
The greatest problem we have is misinformation. People simply do not comprehend why and how the economic policies of the post-war era are imploding. This whole agenda of socialism has sold a Utopian idea that the State is there for the people yet it is run by lawyers following their own self-interest. The pensions created for those in government drive the cost of government up exponentially with time. The political forces blame the rich and this merely creates a class warfare with no resolution for the future. Even confiscating all the wealth of the so-called rich will not sustain the system. Consequently, we just have to crash and burn and start all over again.
The Guardian reported that some 50,000 people marched in London to protest against austerity. They cried: “Who is really responsible for the mess this country is in? Is it the Polish fruit pickers or the Nigerian nurses? Or is it the bankers who plunged it into economic disaster – or the tax avoiders? It is selective anger.”
The exploitation by the bankers has been really a disaster. They have been their own worst enemy and in the end, they have become the symbol that inspires class warfare if not revolution. They are not the representatives of those who produce jobs. They are merely those who wanted to trade with other people’s money for free. When they win, it is their’s, but any losses are passed to the taxpayers. Bankers should be bankers – not hedge fund managers who keep 100% of the profits using other people’s savings.
The repeal of Glass Steagall was the final straw that broke the back of the world economy. That was the single worst act that could have ever been done and we are now paying the price in spades. The collapse from 2007 has wiped out even the liquidity of the markets. The second worst act was the creation of the euro when the real goal was the federalization of Europe from the outset. That undermined the entire European banking system and has led to a serious undermining of the entire global economy.
The solutions from politics will always be the same – grab more power. We are in a downward spiral of liberty and how far we go down this path to the future will be determined by the people and if they at least wise up and see this is not class warfare, it is the people against government. This is why I say career politicians are dangerous for they can be bought way too easily as Clinton was to open the flood gates for the bankers.
This is not going to end pretty. The question is when does society wake up? Just how high will this price be that we have to pay? They will blame the rich and the idiots will cheer – get them. What will happen when there is no more wealth to hunt? We end up with a communist state by default – no wealth, just career politicians who blame everyone but themselves.Wisconsin’s practice of recruiting unheralded or overlooked players, coaching them up through their redshirt and underclass seasons before letting them loose as upperclassmen can only make the team so good. Higher talent teams are simply able to run up, over, and around the Badgers no matter how well disciplined or coached they are. Based on past performance, it’s reasonable to ask if Badger football has peaked? The “Wisconsin Way” produces consistent, winning football, but is it fair to expect further improvement without changes of some kind?
Given all this, Bret Bielema’s departure may have come at the right time. Despite the upheaval caused by his move to Fayetteville and the scattering of most of the staff during the ensuing coaching search, bringing in a new head coach and like minded assistants from outside Madison - outside the Alvarez coaching tree - may be best for the long term growth of Badger football.
Gary Andersen comes to the program as an experienced head football coach with a proven track record. In a story that parallels Alvarez's rise at Wisconsin, Andersen took Utah State from being one of the worst programs in the FBS to having the best season in school history in four short years. His experience allows him to rely on his own experience and identity in a way that his predecessor never could as a coordinator promoted from within. Rather than being next in succession in the Alvarez dynasty, Andersen comes in with his own worldview and methodology to sustain a winner.
Gary Andersen’s personality and career perspective seem well matched to the idiosyncrasies of the Wisconsin job. Wisconsin is one of the few jobs in the country where the athletic director has firm beliefs about what the football team should look like.
Alvarez has not been shy in sharing them either. During the hiring process he made it clear he would not hire someone who would “go five wide” running an air raid style of football. Given his history with the program, Barry’s philosophies have trickled down to the fanbase that’s fearful of a “spread guy” getting away from what made Badger football great.
Andersen has made it a point since he was hired to praise the resources he’s been given to “compete at the highest level”. He’s gone out of his way to praise Wisconsin’s past success running power football and promises to make extensive use of tight ends and fullbacks. To steal a line from the headlines Andersen has lead a “charm offensive |
place like that. It’s just a comfort thing.”
Antonoff’s method has drawn some career-best work out of female pop artists. But there’s also something vaguely unsettling right now about male producers who make a point of their good relationships working with creative women, à la Dunham’s mentor, Judd Apatow. (In fact, Antonoff’s relationship with Dunham itself serves as a bona fide for his professed role as a Male Feminist; in light of controversies surrounding Dunham, though, it also draws attention to the fact that all the major pop artists Antonoff works with are white.) For all of Antonoff’s talk about being a different kind of man, he is still a straight, white male producer helping female artists bring their vision into the world. Quietly existing as a male ally is one thing; building a public brand off Not Being That Creep is another. With Antonoff, sometimes those lines blur.
Jack Antonoff was raised in suburban New Jersey, with a view of the George Washington Bridge from his bedroom window. He grew up with two sisters: His elder sibling is the fashion designer Rachel Antonoff; his younger sister, Sarah, died of brain cancer when she was 13. (Her death, he’s said, is his own answer to, “What is the worst thing that’s ever happened to you?”) His music is often rooted in a sense of loss, searching for sounds that will provide momentary catharsis from depression, anxiety, and grief.
Antonoff cut his teeth in the early-aughts pop-punk scene. He went on his first tour at age 14 (“Half the time no one would show up or the equipment would be too fucked up to play,” he’s recalled, “but that’s when I fell in love with touring”), and his second band, Steel Train, was signed to the then-booming pop-punk label Drive-Thru Records. In 2008, Fun. was assembled from the remnants of that scene (frontman Nate Ruess got his start in the synth-pop act the Format). The band broke through to the mainstream in 2012 with Some Nights, an album that crafted Queen-sized melodies from the ambiguities of millennial malaise; what do I stand for? what do I stand for? they asked in a music video that recreated another generation’s war. The band won Best New Artist at the 2013 Grammys and then, improbably, went on an extended hiatus. They haven’t made another record, and with Ruess and Antonoff deeply invested in their respective solo careers, it seems unlikely that they will anytime soon.
In 2014, Antonoff started a solo project called Bleachers, which has not achieved the same level of recognition as Fun. Antonoff is a far less dynamic vocalist than Ruess, and on the Bleachers albums he often seems to be doing impressions of more recognizable indie-rock singers, alternately aping Win Butler’s yelp, Matt Berninger’s low croon, and James Murphy’s spoken-word deadpan. Buoyed by a relentless, sometimes exhausting optimism, Bleachers’ two albums, 2014’s Strange Desire and this year’s Gone Now, don’t feel like stand-alone achievements so much as sonic laboratories for the songs he’ll later write with other people. Swift’s “Out of the Woods,” for example, included a sample of the Bleachers song “Wild Heart.”
Bleachers’ music is deeply nostalgic for the ’80s — not just the sound of drum machines and Roland synthesizers, but for the feeling of how old Antonoff was in the ’80s, which was very, very young. (He is now 33.) “All the hope I had when I was young, I hope I wasn’t wrong,” Antonoff sings on the album’s first line; memories of his parents’ house and childhood bedroom are repeated lyrical motifs. Bleachers feels of a piece with a certain strain in millennial pop rock, to yearn not for a past that’s less teenage so much as less prepubescent — or perhaps just pre-anxiety. (“You were a child, crawling on your knees,” goes MGMT’s 2007 hit “Kids,” a song that, like “We Are Young,” became an accidental generational anthem.) But there’s a fine line between nostalgia and arrested development, and it’s the blurring of that boundary that makes Bleachers less interesting than the music Antonoff makes with other people. And yet, childhood nostalgia is another crucial element of his brand. On the latest Bleachers outing, Antonoff toured with a listening station situated inside a painstakingly detailed replica of his childhood bedroom, where his fans could listen to Gone Now “where it was most inspired in the first place.” It took a crew of seven people two weeks to finish the installation, which he described, “happily,” to The New York Times as “financially crippling.”
I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that one of my favorite musical moments of 2017 happens in the middle of Lorde’s song “The Louvre,” specifically when she tells someone that they ought to hang their love in that hallowed art museum “… down the back, but who cares, still the Louvre.” It’s a moment of casual, muttered intimacy that we don’t usually hear in pop music — it’s brilliant. (Max Martin, famously, told Lorde that her breakout hit, “Royals,” was an example of “incorrect songwriting.” It’s hard to imagine someone like Martin producing a song like “The Louvre.”) It is, singularly, Ella Yelich-O’Connor uttering those words, but I suspect that Jack Antonoff is at least part of the reason there’s enough empty space in the song for us to hear them.
Can I ever know that for sure? Probably not. I cannot be on the lot of the movies I watched when they’re being filmed, and I can’t be in the studio where the music I listen to is being created. We have a deep desire to know who deserves “credit” for creative ideas, and yet we are currently reckoning with the abuses of power and distortions of narrative that have resulted from adhering too tightly to the ideology of auteurism, which has too often given male creators a tacit permission to diminish the contributions of their collaborators and, in some extreme cases, treat them as less than human.
While promoting Beautiful Trauma, Pink’s hit record with two songs cowritten and produced by Antonoff, she was asked about Kesha’s allegations against Dr. Luke. (She had previously worked with him on two of her 2006 hits, “U + Ur Hand” and “Who Knew.”) “I don’t know what happened,” Pink said. “But I know that regardless of whether or not Dr. Luke did that, this is his karma and he earned it because he’s not a good person.” She went on, “I have told him that to his face and I do not work with him.” Artists like Kelly Clarkson and Lady Gaga have similarly suggested that they will not work with him again. Working with Dr. Luke used to be good business. He collaborated with Katy Perry on her record-breaking Teenage Dream, and his absence on her flopped 2017 record, Witness, is perhaps one reason it failed to produce a big hit. But now he’s created a void in the industry, sending some of the most powerful artists in search of producers willing to separate themselves from “that creep.” Antonoff’s rise has shown that, in 2017, being loudly anti-Luke is now good business.
In August 2013, Katy Perry released “Roar,” a midtempo fight song that was written and produced in collaboration with Max Martin and Dr. Luke. Many people criticized the song for sounding too similar to Sara Bareilles’s recently released “Brave” — which, of course, Jack Antonoff cowrote. You can take this similarity one of two ways. Maybe you see Antonoff’s sudden ascent as a comeuppance to the pop-music mathematicians who were more concerned with scoring a hit than coming up with original songs. Or maybe it’s just proof that the old boss sounds the same as the new boss: “Brave” had to sound enough like a Katy Perry song for Katy Perry (and her collaborators) to rip it off in the first place. Jack Antonoff is quickly becoming one of the most powerful producers in pop, although I don’t think that’s because we were looking for a new sound — just a new story. He’ll be the first to remind you that he was already in the process of writing it.RUSSIAN FEDERATION SITREP 31 December 2015
TRUMPUTIN MANIA! Putin said some nice things about Donald Trump; not an "endorsement": he said that was none of his business. The WMSM went nuts – two obsessions at once! (My favourite: ("Putin supports Donald Trump because of the threat that Trump poses to the U.S." But, in fairness, the author still resents Putin's attempt to steal her laundry.) But he kills journalists! Trump sticks to his guns and faces down the anti-Putinists. In the process, WMSM consumers hear something other than the usual innuendo; a perfect example here on "killing journalists": "not been proven" but still... "creating an environment". Trump continues the attack: why do we need problems with Russia?
CORRUPTION. A criminal case has been launched against officials in the Defence Ministry involved in taking bribes on contracts. On the other hand, Serdyukov has a new job. I must say again that getting the little guys is good, but getting the big guys is better.
PUTIN DERANGEMENT SYNDROME. Anatoly Karlin has produced a map of the world-wide distribution of this condition. I note – he's too polite to – that it's strongest in areas blessed with Independent© Media.
MORE SANCTIONS. Anybody know why? Minsk, they say. But there is nothing in the agreement that obliges Russia to do anything and, even if you think Russia controls the Donbass, it's Kiev that's lagging on fulfilment. But, never mind, Europe extends them and the US adds some more. Note, of course, that while a Southstream is a terrible thing and sanctions are necessary, another Nordstream is a good idea. Speaking of Germany, an interest group reports German exports to Russia were down €6.5 billion in 2014 and would drop another €8.5 billion in 2015. Russians are also voting with their feet: it's estimated Germany has lost about €275 million in tourism. But, still, they continue and Russia's counter-sanctions will stay as long as they do. I agree that sanctions, on balance, are good for Russia Inc.
SYRIA. Russian MoD summary of activities here.
UNGOVERNED CONFUSION. Who is in charge in Washington? Just after Kerry says Washington is not seeking regime change in Syria, Obama says "Assad must go" and Kerry then dutifully echoes him. On the other hand, the UN agreements (Washington takes the credit here!) say nothing about his going. Meanwhile, Seymour Hersh says the Pentagon ignored Obama. Getting to be as chaotic as a failed state, don't you think? Hard to negotiate with such an unreliable partner.
OIL WARS. Oil prices are low, seem to be set to stay that way and everyone is pumping as much as possible. Here's my theory (not that I know what's really going on either). Knowing that Washington is 1) exceptionally ignorant about Russia and 2) hostile to it, my theory is that the White House incompetents (see above – or indeed anywhere else on the planet) thought it would be clever to persuade Saudi Arabia to pump so much oil that the price fell and Russia, that "gas station masquerading as a country", collapsed. Riyadh signed on thinking that, at the same time, low prices could hurt Iran and kill off US shale oil and fracking and, at the end, it would be the last man standing. But it's not working out; Russia keeps pumping: even a new record this last week. What these geniuses missed was that Russia produces its oil in rubles but sells it in dollars; today its production costs are among the lowest in the world. Meanwhile the US shale and fracking business is failing and Saudi Arabia is hurting; to say nothing of its catastrophic war in Yemen. So, my guess is that, while it would prefer higher prices, Moscow calculates it can tough it out and, in the end, might even be the last man standing.
HOW DID WE GET INTO THIS MESS? Stephen Cohen tells us: NATO expansion; missile defence; "democracy promotion"; ignoring multilateral reality. Moscow is not responsible for any. How do we get out?
RUMOURS. Don't believe them but they are things to keep an eye on. Chinese troops in Syria and aircraft carrier at Tartus are fakes, but Beijing has authorised the use of troops externally. Likewise the story that Erdoğan has been overthrown (off the Web now I see). But perhaps, one day.
UKRAINE. Torch-light parade in Mariupol, parliamentarian toasts Hitler, neo-nazi mayor. Life in Kiev. Gallup poll shows extreme disillusionment with everything. Summary of the disaster. How much longer?
INDIA. PM Modi visited and had the usual warm reception and a couple of meetings with Putin. Many deals were signed.
© Patrick Armstrong Analysis, Ottawa, Canada Websites: ROPV, US-Russia, Russia InsiderAn order has been made to restrain the founder of Console Paul Kelly, his wife Patricia and his sister Joan McKenna from accessing its funds.
It is after an HSE audit revealed financial irregularities at the national suicide charity between 2012 and 2014.
The High Court has also approved an injunction preventing them from destroying, concealing or moving any of its records.
Despite the announcement of his resignation last week, the court heard Mr. Kelly has continued to hold himself out as CEO.
David Hall was appointed as interim CEO last night. He says their main focus now is to keep Console’s services going: “This has been a difficult week for many including those who use Console, the staff and many donors and the entire industry.
“With the support of the charity regulator, and with the board, we have achieved an injunction, a wide ranging injunction to protect this charity, protect the good work it does, and we will now go and affect that and ensure the charity is protected.”I was deeply saddened to learn the news of Darrin Patrick of Journey Church in St. Louis. Let us not act as though talking about this man's fall is somehow inappropriate. It is no private matter. Far from it. Indeed we must talk about this not to slander Darrin but to warn each other lest we too fall. I am grateful that Darrin seems to be following a decidedly different path than Mark Driscoll who rejected the efforts of his church to shepherd him toward proper repentance. But we must also acknowledge the real damage done to the reputation of Christ and his church through Darrin's sin.
In the letter written and posted by the elders of Journey Church there were three things that stood out to me as if surrounded by neon lights. Among the list of sins that led to Darrin's removal as pastor were "abandonment of genuine Biblical community," "domineering over those in his charge," and "a history of building his identity through ministry and media platforms." There is much that can be said about each of those sins. First, I want to commend the elders of Journey Church for taking those sins seriously for that is what they are - sins. Too often domineering leadership and hypocrisy over the issue of community are tolerated in a pastor. This should not be. But I am especially thankful that they recognized that Darrin's pattern of platform building could no longer be tolerated. Please understand, I am not trying to pick on Darrin Patrick. It is clear that platform building has become a growth industry in the Reformed and Reformed-ish world. We seem to not only tolerate it but celebrate it. Carl Trueman's warnings about the rise of celebrity culture within the Reformed world were mocked 5 years ago. But any such mocking today seems like nothing less than pathetic denial.
The fact is, the Reformed-ish ministry machine helped build Darrin Patrick even as it built Mark Driscoll. And while Darrin is responsible for his own sins the king makers within the Reformed world ought to take a moment to consider their own culpability. How many other Darrin Patricks are there occupying our mega-conference stages who are within a hair's breath from a similar fall? To those handfull of leaders who decide who is "in" and who is "out" (and let's stop pretending that you don't exist) let me ask you this: Do you care enough about the pastors in your ranks who spend so much time on the platforms you provide to inquire of their families and elders if they are godly men and competent pastors?
One of the disturbing things brought to light by the elders of Journey Church is that Darrin's patterns of sin had persisted for years. Years! How is it that a pastor whose own elders consider him disqualified by sin can find himself serving on the boards of Reformedish mega-ministries? Did anyone in those ministries care enough about Darrin, his family, and Journey Church to ever dare to say to him: "You're doing too much. Your star is rising too high Darrin. It's dangerous for your soul"? Or was his value as a crowd gathering speaker too great to risk peaking below the surface?
We've been doing it wrong brothers. It has to stop.
Reformed doctrine and church practice should have been a sufficient shield against the banality and trappings of celebrity culture. But money and fame and influence are powerful drugs. Even the best of men can succumb to their sensual whisper.
It is time to repent.Taipei, May 12 (CNA) The National Communications Commission (NCC) said Thursday that the reason why some mobile phone users did not receive an emergency alert during a magnitude-5.8 earthquake earlier in the day may have been because they did not have the correct model of smartphone, or the right type of software or connection.
Currently, there are 21 smartphones models capable of receiving the Public Warning System (PWS) earthquake alert, which went into effect for the first time on Thursday after a strong earthquake struck northeastern Taiwan, the NCC said.
If some mobile phone users did not receive the alert, it probably was because they did not have the required hardware or software, the NCC said.
For example, 2G mobile phones are unable to receive the alert, NCC spokesman Yu Hsiao-cheng (虞孝成) told reporters.
The NCC said 3G and 4G phones that use Wideband Code Division Multiple Access technology and were certified by the NCC after March 1 are automatically capable of receiving the emergency alert.
The NCC said it has asked the makers of the other phones to provide over-the-air firmware updates for consumers so that they will be able to receive emergency alerts in the future.
The 21 phones models that currently support the Public Warning System are Acer's Liquid Jade 2; OPPO Flf, Oppo R7 Plus f, and Oppo R7 sf; HTC's Desire 530, Desire 825, and Desire 628; Apple's iPhone SE, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S, and iPhone 6S Plus; Hongmi's Note 3; LG's G5, K8, and Stylus 2; Samsung's Galaxy Note 4, and Galaxy Note Edge; and Nextbit Smartphone, according to the NCC.
Among those models, the Acer Liquid Jade 2; HTC Desire 530, 825 and 628; LG G5, K8 and Stylus 2; iPhone SE and Nextbit Smartphone come equipped with the required software, while the makers of the other phones have provided the software for their customers, the NCC said.
Yu said another reason why some users did not receive the alert on Thursday was because the message was sent only to mobile phone users in Yilan County, Taipei City and New Taipei City -- areas where the tremors were estimated to be strongest.
Many users in the three areas received the earthquake alert on their mobile phones almost as soon as the magnitude-5.8 earthquake struck off Yilan County in northeastern Taiwan at 11:17 a.m., registering an intensity of six in Yilan.
The message was titled "national-level alert," "presidential alert" or "emergency alert" depending on the telecom carrier. It was accompanied by an alarm and a vibration and stated the time of the earthquake, its estimated intensity level and the areas affected.
Many mobile phone users, however, either did not receive the warning or got it later.
The NCC advised phone users to contact their telecom carriers to ask about the capability of their phones to receive the alerts.
It said some subscribers to Chunghwa Telecom and FarEasTone did not receive the emergency warning Thursday.
In the case of FarEasTone, 3G users received the alert, while 4G subscribers did not because the company was updating its 4G software, the NCC said.
Subscribers to Taiwan Mobile, Asia Pacific Telecom and Taiwan Star Telecom Corp. should have had no problem receiving the emergency message, the NCC said.
Meanwhile, telecom carriers said that the phone model and software were not the only factors, as reception and phone settings would have played a role.
For example, if users were in an area of poor reception or were speaking on the phone at the time, they may not have received the emergency warning until later, the telecom companies said.
The companies said users also have to enable the notifications on their phone to be able to receive the alerts. Users of iPhone, for example, will need to turn on both the "alert message" and "emergency alert" options in their notification settings, the companies said.
The emergency warning system was launched by the NCC to inform the public of seismic activity as quickly as possible so that they can take emergency or evacuation action if necessary.
The alerts are sent to phone users if there is an earthquake of magnitude 5 or above and if it has an intensity level of at least 5.
An NCC spokesman said the Public Warning System is still in the trial stage and adjustments will be made before it is launched officially in July.
(By Christie Chen and Wang Ching-yi)
ENDITEM/pcThe Danish theater Aveny-T has secured exclusive rights to stage Skam’s theatre version. Four different performances will be the theater, one for each season. The first season has a premiere on September 15 this year.
The local theater in Copenhagen is known for staging great musical performances and new Danish drama. Among other things, they received exclusive rights in 2015 to create a theater concert about the life of John Lennon.
– We are currently adapting the series to the theater now. We want to create an intimate performance with the audience, says Aveny-T chief, Jon Stephensen to NRK.
– It is a challenge, clearly. But many of the scenes in “Skam” are very close to theater, he says.
Most of the main roles, such as Vilde, Sana, Chris and William were already roles were auditioned and selected.
About the TV Series
Skam (English: Shame) is a Norwegian teen drama TV series about the daily life of teenagers at the Hartvig Nissen School, a gymnasium in the wealthy borough of Frogner in West End Oslo. It is produced by NRK P3, which is part of Norwegian state broadcasting company, NRK. The series is web-based and airs primarily on the website of NRK.
Skam follows a new main character each season. Throughout a week, a new clip, conversation or social media post is published on the NRK website, allowing viewers to follow the series on a daily basis. Each season has focus on particular topics, and during production, creator Julie Andem had extensive, hours-long interviews with individual persons in the target audience to be able to cover their stories.
Skam has received critical acclaim and significant recognition, particularly for its portrayal of sexual abuse in the second season and homosexuality in the third. It has won multiple awards, including “Best TV Drama”, “Best New Show”, “Innovation of the Year”, and “Newcomer of the Year” at the 2016 Norwegian Gullruten awards, and receiving two nominations, “Best TV Drama” and “Best Actor in a Drama” for season three’s lead actor Tarjei Sandvik Moe, at the upcoming 2017 Gullruten awards. In late 2016, Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment production company signed a letter of intent with NRK to produce an American version of the series called Shame for the U.S. and Canada with production expected to start in 2017.
video_youtube_Z3LnZkGos3ETurkey, Qatar to establish university for Syrian refugees: Minister
ANKARA
AA Photo
Turkey and Qatar will establish an international joint-degree university for Syrian refugees in Gaziantep and other cities populated by Syrians, Turkish Education Minister Nabi Avcı has said.Speaking to Hürriyet, Avcı said more space was needed in higher education institutions for Syrian refugee university students, adding that more elementary-level schools were also necessary to cope with the demand.Children living in Syrian refugee camps attend schools operated by local municipalities and non-governmental organizations in the area, Avcı said. Syrian refugee children are taught based on the Syrian curriculum, but receive five hours of Turkish language classes per week.“We prioritize Turkish students in the school recruiting period. We draft Syrian children into schools when there is extra space for them … I heard some opposition parties say Syrian children were being prioritized over Turkish students during school recruiting. But in fact we give them extra spaces,” he said.Judge criticises regulator as couples who used sperm donors win right to be called legal parents of their own offspring
Couples who used sperm donors to conceive have had their parental status called into question after “widespread incompetence” in the sector was revealed in court.
Handing down a ruling in the family division of the high court, where seven couples were battling to establish a legal declaration that they were the legal parents of their offspring, judge Sir James Munby said that some couples were suffering problems due to failings in the system.
It has emerged that consent forms, which are signed by couples who are not married or in a civil partnership to ensure legal parentage before treatment begins, had not been properly completed by the clinics involved.
Sir James, president of the family division of the high court, said that these failures painted an “alarming and shocking” picture of the industry.
Referring to a 2013 audit of the UK’s 109 fertility clinics which found 51 paperwork “anomalies” in clinical records that could cast doubt on the legal status of parents, he said there was “widespread incompetence across the sector”.
The judge criticised the industry regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, saying: “The picture revealed is one of what I do not shrink from describing as widespread incompetence across the sector on a scale which must raise questions as to the adequacy if not of the HFEA’s regulation then of the extent of its regulatory powers.”
The judge granted legal declarations of parentage to the couples in the case.
He said that because of the regulator’s failings, couples had been forced into a legal process where they had to divulge “intensely private” details of their family lives in court.
Responding to the ruling, the HEFA said it recognised the situation had been “very stressful for the families involved”.
The statement from the regulator added: “They rightly assumed that legal parenthood was beyond doubt. Finding out that it was not must have been very upsetting.”
HEFA cheif executive Peter Thompson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We must accept some responsibility for this. I am here today to stand up and accept that responsibility.”
One of the parents involved in the judgement, who chose to remain anonymous, said: “I learned of the clinical errors this year after separating from my partner, so I have been living with the knowledge and fear that my legal status as a parent might be in jeopardy.”
She added that for each of the seven couples involved in the legal proceedings, the clinics had “made simple clerical mistakes and as such appeared to be blasé about their legal responsibility to ensure our children were just that in name and in law”.
Although the families had feared they would be forced to enter into adoption proceedings to secure legal parentage, the judge ruled that they had given their written consent to be parents to the clinics, even if it was not on the specific form required by law.President Trump told schoolchildren and visitors gathered for his inaugural White House Easter Egg Roll that the country will be “stronger, and bigger, and better as a nation than ever before.”
Standing alongside a bespectacled Easter Bunny, the first lady and his 11-year-old son, Barron Trump, the president addressed the crowd from the Truman Balcony at Monday’s 139th annual Egg Roll on the South Lawn.
“Think of it — 139. It began a long time ago, 1878,” Trump said of the springtime tradition, “and we will be stronger, and bigger, and better as a nation than ever before. We’re right on track.”
“You see what’s happening — and we’re right on track,” Trump reiterated.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I don’t know if we’re gonna be successful,” Trump said of the egg-rolling festivities, “but I know a lot of people down there are gonna be successful. I’ve seen those kids, and they’re highly, highly competitive. That I can tell you,” he said.
Trump praised his wife, acknowledging what he described as her efforts in organizing the White House event.
“I just want to thank first lady Melania Trump,” the president said. “She’s really worked hard on this. She has been working on this for a long time to make it perfect, and we wanted to keep it just right."
A recent New York Times article had questioned the readiness of the White House in pulling off the Easter-themed occasion, which typically brings thousands of attendees to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. “The late start in planning by the Trump White House points to a smaller and less ambitious Egg Roll than in previous years,” the Times wrote.
“It’s great that you are all with us today,” Melania Trump said Monday. “I want to thank all the military with us today, and all military in this great nation, and servicemen and servicewomen all around the world who are keeping us safe.”Most Europeans see Russia as a “minor” threat compared to Islamic State (IS), the refugee crisis or other issues, a survey suggests.
Roughly seven out of 10 people in the EU named IS, the jihadist group which recently carried out attacks in Paris and Brussels, as a “major” menace in a new study by US think tank Pew, out on Tuesday (14 June).
Russian tanks on parade: Few Europeans shared EU and Nato leaders' concern on Russian revanchism (Photo: Dmitriy Fomin)
More than half of Europeans said climate change, economic instability and cyber-attacks were “dire” threats. A little less than half also named the number of refugees coming from Iraq and Syria as a “major” challenge.
But just one in three EU nationals put “tensions with Russia” in the same category.
Pew interviewed 11,494 people in April and May from France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US.
The 10 European countries account for 80 percent of the EU population and 82 percent of its combined GDP.
The results indicated a divide between EU leaders and public opinion.
EU states are preparing to extend economic sanctions on Russia for another six months due to the war in Ukraine.
Nato is also planning to send 4,000 soldiers to the Baltic states and to Poland in September to deter potential Russian aggression.
But Poland stood out in the Pew sample as the only EU country where most people (71 percent) said Russia was a “major” issue. The number was lower than 35 percent in France, Germany, Italy and the UK. It was just 23 percent in Hungary.
Europeans were split on whether to take a tough line with Moscow.
Nine in 10 Greeks said it was more important to have good economic relations with Russia than to challenge it on foreign policy. Most Hungarians (67 percent), Germans (58 percent) and Italians (54 percent) agreed.
Seventy-one percent of Swedes, the highest figure in Europe, said the opposite. But just 45 percent believed that Sweden should join Nato.
Pew said its survey showed “dramatic differences” of opinion in Europe.
More than 90 percent of people in France and Spain believed IS was a major threat, falling to 69 percent in Sweden. More than 80 percent of Greek and Spanish people put climate change in the same category, compared with just 54 percent in coal-dependent Poland.
Over 80 percent of people in Greece and Spain, which face huge unemployment, feared economic instability.
Sixty-nine percent of Greeks and 65 percent of Italians, the two countries on the front line of the migration crisis, named refugees as a serious problem.
The figures were as high or higher in central European countries Hungary (69 percent) and Poland (73 percent). But they were the lowest in Germany (31 percent) and Sweden (24 percent), the two states that take in the most asylum seekers per capita.
Unloved EU
With the UK referendum on EU membership due next week, Pew said 51 percent of Europeans held favourable views of the EU.
But that figure was just 44 percent in the UK, 27 percent in Greece and 38 percent in France. The sharpest drops year-on-year were in France and Spain.
Huge majorities of people in Greece, Sweden, Italy and Spain said the EU mishandled the refugee crisis. Dutch people, French people, Greeks, Italians and Spanish people were also highly critical of EU economic policies.
Some of the divides followed ideological and educational lines. People in countries with right-wing governments, such as Hungary and Poland, were more concerned about refugees.
People who did not go to university were more fearful or refugees and more likely to say that the best way to deal with IS was by using “overwhelming force”. Most Europeans said “relying too much on military force to defeat terrorism creates hatred that leads to more terrorism”.
France turns inward
The Pew study found what it called a “profound gulf” between how French and German people “see their respective places in the world”.
Most Germans believed their country had become more important on the world stage and that it should play a bigger role in foreign policy, even if that meant making compromises with EU or Nato allies that hurt German interests.
But the majority of French people said it had “lost prominence on the world stage” and that it should put national interests first.
The level of “nation-first sentiment” has seen little change in Europe overall in recent years, the US think tank said.
But Pew noted that 57 percent of Americans believed the US should deal with its own problems and leave its allies to fend for themselves - 11 percentage points more than in 2010.What do rich people have that poor people don’t? I imagine that ‘money’ is the first answer that comes into your mind. Well, yes, but let’s break this down. What does money give you? It gives you choice.
Farmers began co-ops in the mid-19th century because they were being sold expensive, rotten food by private food sellers. Because co-ops were providing better produce at cheaper rates, other private food sellers had to up their game. Farming co-ops weren’t non-profits; they were a different type of capitalism. The free-market doesn’t just mean the consumer wins because they have a choice of products to buy; they have a choice between outlets which are structured differently. Different forms of capitalism compete to create better capitalism.
At the time of the financial crisis, I remember seeing very little analysis about how the Co-operative Bank fared in comparison to it’s shareholder counterparts (although, to be fair, the Co-operative bank is not a true democratic co-operative). If we had a greater mix of co-operative banks and shareheld banks, with co-operative banks being perceived as being more ethical – the theory goes that a greater amount of customers choosing to bank cooperatively would signal to the shareheld banks that they wanted more ethical banking. The shareheld banks would have to get more ethical in order to compete. On the other hand, if a greater number of consumers perceived the shareheld banks as more efficient/cheaper, the co-operative banks would have to get more efficient/cheaper in order to compete. Thus, the pendulum would swing, increasing the efficiency, cheapness and the ethical credentials of banking.
What I’m arguing for is a greater plurality in the structures we interact with. In order for this to come about the State must recede. The main argument against greater marketisation of public services is the perception of capitalism as being unethical. A greater plurality could mean adding a dimension to capitalism that means organisations/outlets have to compete with each other on grounds of their ethical credentials as well as with prices, quality and providing shareholders with dividends. Most people don’t think about this dynamic between capitalist organisations when they think of the free-market.
The sector I fear for most is education. Classrooms don’t look that much different than they did in the 1930s. Even though almost every other area of our lives have changed our schools still look the same. Children don’t all learn the same, but we teach them all the same. Education does not seem to be moving with the times at all. I know no one who makes their living as a fine artist. I know a great deal who make their living using Adobe Creative Suite. Yet, I was taught fine art in school and I was not taught how to work any part of the Adobe Creative Suite.
Ultimately this rot is due to a lack of plurality ergo a lack of incentive to change and innovate. In my ideal world there would be three different types of school structure – schools run by private shareholder capitalist companies, schools run by cooperatively owned capitalist companies and schools run by private charities/non-profits. There would also be three types of funding – private funds, charitable donation and government vouchers. Vouchers give poor people what rich have. Choice. Were this the case education would look different in a very short period of time and unrecognisable after a long period.
This lack of choice is precisely why social democracy sucks. It sucks flexibility and plurality out of the system. The NHS, state schools and other public services are as good as they’re going to get. If that’s good enough for you, fine. But it may not be good enough in 50 years time. Changes in structure and competition change the game for the better, both ethically and efficiently. Em |
processing*/ (new TextManager).start! text return parseResult } def setConf(conf: Configuration) { this.conf = conf headings = conf.getStrings("headings") } def getConf: Configuration = this.conf def getElement(element: String): String = { val walker = new NodeWalker(doc) while (walker.hasNext) { val currentNode = walker.nextNode if (currentNode.getNodeType() == Node.ELEMENT_NODE) { if (element.equalsIgnoreCase(currentNode.getNodeName)) { return getNodeValue(currentNode) } } } return null } def getNodeValue(node: Node): String = { val buffer = new StringBuffer val children = node.getChildNodes for (i <- 0 to children.getLength) { if (children.item(i).getNodeType == Node.TEXT_NODE) { buffer.append(children.item(i).getNodeValue) } } return buffer.toString } }
As you would notice, we extend the HtmlParseFilter and inject our logic there. As soon as we get the parsed text, we send a message to a Scala actor which does further processing. This way we do not keep the crawl cycle hostage to our processing and can easily delegate the processing asynchronously to an actor.
Let us look at the actor implementation,
import scala.actors.Actor import com.novus.salat.annotations.raw.Key import com.novus.salat.dao.SalatDAO import com.novus.salat._ import com.novus.salat.global._ import com.novus.salat.annotations._ import com.novus.salat.dao._ import com.mongodb.casbah.Imports._ import com.mongodb.casbah.MongoConnection class TextManager extends Actor { var events: List[Event] = List() def act() { react { case text:String => for (event <- parseTextForEvents(text).getOrElse(List())) yield Event.createEvent(event) case _ => println("^^^^^ received a message but not valid") } } def parseTextForEvents(text: String): Option[List[Event]] = { text.replaceAll("\"", "") val starter = text.indexOf("London Olympics ") + 43 starter match{ case -1 => return None case _ => // parsing mechanism Option(events) } } } } case class Event(@Key("_id") id: ObjectId, name: String) object Event { def createEvent(event: Event) { EventDAO.insert(event) } } object EventDAO extends SalatDAO[Event, ObjectId](collection = MongoConnection()("london")("event"))
Our scala actor picks up the processing part and puts the desired parsed information into MongoDB. Once we have the code compiling then it is time to package it. For that we used sbt assembly This helped us a get a jar of the project which can directly be deployed in Nutch.
Nutch requires a corresponding plugin.xml file for it to register the plugin. Our plugin.xml looks like this
<plugin id="MyAggregator" name="My Parse Filter" version="1.0.0" provider-name="nutch.org"> <runtime> <library name="myaggregator.jar"> <export name="*" /> </library> </runtime> <requires> <import plugin="nutch-extensionpoints" /> </requires> <extension id="org.apache.nutch.parse.headings" name="Nutch Headings Parse Filter" point="org.apache.nutch.parse.HtmlParseFilter"> <implementation id="KDParseFilter" class="com.knoldus.KDParseFilter"> </implementation> </extension> </plugin>
Here we are telling Nutch, which extension point we are extending and where is the implementation.
Next step is to make Nutch aware of the plugin. For this change the following setting in the../runtime/local/conf/nutch-site.xml to make Nutch aware of our plugin as well
<property> <name>plugin.includes</name> <value>MyAggregator|protocol-http|urlfilter-regex|parse-(html|tika)|index-(basic|anchor)|scoring-opic|urlnormalizer-(pass|regex|basic)</value> </property>
Now once these steps are done, Nutch would know that it has to call this plugin as well as a part its crawl cycle. When we execute Nutch with something like
bin/nutch crawl urls -dir vikas -depth 2 -topN 3
you would be able to see the records present in MongoDB as a part of the crawl process. Thus, it is easy to intercept and extend the Nutch cycle with your custom plugins. You just need to get lucky by finding your way through some sketchy documentation 😉Image: Nicholas Alejandro/Flickr
What makes a "truly Holy S**t" story worthy of immediately dominating Facebook's trending news section, according to the company?
Facebook relies on 10 specific news outlets—which are all mainstream old media—to help it decide the importance of any given story, according to leaked documents obtained by The Guardian. Update: Facebook just posted its current guidelines; Buzzfeed News has replaced Yahoo on the'most trusted' list and is now the only new media outlet on Facebook's top 10 list.
Motherboard has asked Yahoo if Facebook notified the company of the change. Yahoo did not immediately respond. Buzzfeed's Ben Smith told me that Facebook did not notify the company that it was on the list.
Since a Gizmodo report earlier this week that said the editors of Facebook's "trending" section have killed important conservative news stories and put important liberal ones at the top of the section, lots of people have been wondering: Do Facebook's journalists actually suppress conservative news? Does Facebook attempt to influence how news spreads throughout its site, and thus the internet as a whole?
The Guardian got its hands on a leaked version of Facebook's internal "Trending Review Guidelines," a 21-page document that lists best practices for what is allowed to go into the trending section. Lots of it is about how to source photos and videos and how to use the internal tech system Facebook has built for its trending section.
But, interestingly, Facebook relies on 10 specific news outlets to determine if a story is actually important.
Those outlets are BBC News, CNN, Fox News, The Guardian, NBC News, The New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and Yahoo News (or Yahoo.com).
If a story is leading (i.e. if it's the most prominent story on the homepage) at least five of those outlets, it's classified as a "National Story," which often will get it marked as the top story on its trending section.
Facebook also has two higher levels of importance above "National Story:" A topic becomes a "Major Story" if it's leading at least seven of the 10 outlets, and "Nuclear" stories must lead all 10 outlets and be approved by an editor on the Facebook news team.
"Nuclear: Reserved for the truly "Holy S**t" stories that happen maybe 1-3 times a year," the guidelines say. "Leading all 10 websites AND requires editor approval before marking as 'nuclear.' Extreme examples are 9/11; major country's president is shot; Russia declares war with Ukraine, etc."
Of those news outlets, only Fox News and the Wall Street Journal are widely considered to be "conservative" news sources—but all of them are undoubtedly major mainstream news outlets.
These are all legacy old media, save for maybe Yahoo, which also has very old media tendencies. Most of Yahoo's top journalists, such as Katie Couric, come from old media, and Yahoo has been laying off many of the journalists it employs. What's left are stories reprinted from wire services such as Reuters, supplemented by some original reporting. Motherboard has reached out to Yahoo to learn how many journalists still work there. Update: Yahoo is no longer on the list. A Yahoo spokesperson told me that Yahoo has between 150 and 200 journalists around the world.
There's nothing specific in these particular guidelines that suggest Facebook is suppressing specific types of news as a matter of policy, which of course doesn't mean that it never happened.
Facebook also says that story summaries for all trending topics should be "corroborated by reporting from at least three Media 1K outlets." Facebook doesn't define in the guidelines what a "Media 1K outlet" is or whether there's a difference between a Media 1K outlet and the 10 news outlets the site considers to be the most trustworthy.
I asked Facebook the following questions in an email:
How did you come up with the list of the 10 news outlets that can determine a "major," "national," or "nuclear" story? Was there one specific person who came up with this list? Do the companies on this list know that they are on this list?
What is a "Media 1K Outlet?" Do you have a list of them? How are they determined?
How does Facebook determine what is "clickbait?"
Facebook did not immediately respond. I will update the post if and when it responds. Update: Facebook has provided slightly more information in a blog post.
It's still a bit too early to make complete sense of what Facebook is doing with the trending news section and how outraged we should be. But, thanks to the Gizmodo reporting and these Guardian documents, we're learning that Facebook relies much more heavily on the journalists it hired to make editorial decisions about what goes on trending news, raising the question of to what degree the stories are truly "trending" on Facebook or whether it's simply a list of stories that have been hand picked by humans who work for Facebook.(ERLANGEN, GERMANY – 2010) The state of Germany performed a SWAT style raid to remove a girl from her family. The state considers them dangerous for attempting to homeschool their own children. The girl had been having trouble in public schools so her parents chose to teach her at home. The state persecutes homeschoolers in Germany and it is treated as a bizarre practice.
The state describes the reasons they took the child as because she is overly devoted to her father. It states that she is “A highly disturbed girl who obediently and faithfully obeys the idealistic statements of the father and who describes the state as being despotic and fascist-like.” The girl was placed in a mental hospital alongside other teenagers who were suicidal.
It is interesting to hear the description of the state considering that the compulsory child education laws were used for the creation of the Hitler Youth. A special German bureau exists for the sole purpose of subverting the authority of parents and to take control of the children. Homeschoolers in Germany are at a severe disadvantage in combatting the negative stereotypes associated with the perfectly normal practice.
The video below from CBN has the story (5:31)YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan -- The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan will make Yokosuka its new home port in the summer of 2015, replacing the USS George Washington, Navy officials in Japan announced Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Norfolk, Va.-based USS Theodore Roosevelt will replace the Ronald Reagan in San Diego, while the George Washington moves to Virginia to complete a multi-year nuclear refueling and overhaul, according to a Commander Naval Forces Japan statement.
The Navy said it would release timelines on the moves at a later date; however, Navy contracting documents call for Huntington Ingalls, the lead contractor handling USS George Washington’s overhaul, to work on advance planning between October 2013 and September 2016.
Carrier Air Wing Five will remain in Japan as part of the USS Ronald Reagan’s complement. This ship rotation also does not necessitate any changes to base facilities in either San Diego or Yokosuka, officials said Wednesday.
Most of the crew of the George Washington will transfer over to USS Reagan, “so there will be no mass movement of families overseas,” CNFJ spokesman Jon Nylander said Wednesday.
The moves are part of the United States’ rebalancing pivot strategy in the Pacific theater, an area that the Obama administration and the Pentagon have deemed their greatest long-term priority.
“The security environment in the Indo-Asia-Pacific requires that the U.S. Navy station the most capable ships forward,” according to the statement. “This posture allows the most rapid response times possible for maritime and joint forces, and brings our most capable ships with the greatest amount of striking power and operational capability to bear in the timeliest manner.”
Despite arriving in Japan only in 2008, when the USS Kitty Hawk was retired, the George Washington’s departure was anticipated due to its age.
The George Washington was commissioned in 1992. An overhaul for a Nimitz-class carrier generally takes about three years and must be done in the United States.
Because some of Reagan’s systems differ from those of the George Washington, a small contingent will remain with the ship and transfer to Japan. Also, a small group of George Washington sailors will remain with the carrier when it transfers to Virginia.
The Ronald Reagan previously played a large role during Operation Tomodachi, the U.S. military’s relief effort following the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. The ship served as a floating refueling station for Japanese and U.S. helicopters flying relief missions to the battered Tohoku coast.
About 50 former Reagan sailors have since filed a lawsuit against Tokyo Electric Power Company, blaming the company for illnesses they say were a result of radiation exposure during the operation. Navy officials said at the time that the ship was exposed to a low level of radiation and then scrubbed at sea.
Japanese media outlets reported last June that Reagan would replace the George Washington in 2015, citing anonymous sources. Navy officials said publicly that no decision had been made at the time.
However, senior Navy leaders were also adamant that a carrier would remain forward deployed to Yokosuka, and often added that the service’s Asia-Pacific locations were due to receive many of the most modernized assets in the fleet.
Only four carriers are newer than the George Washington. Reagan, second-newest behind the USS George H.W. Bush, went on active duty in 2003.
The Ronald Reagan spent 2012 in Bremerton, Wash., where its sailors and contractors overhauled all four propulsion engines, propeller shafts and rudders. Workers also repaired the hull and modernized ship systems before the carrier returned to San Diego in March 2013.Blockchain.info to Support Bitcoin Cash
Blockchain.info just released a blog post saying they will support bitcoin cash (BCH). They have been monitoring it since the hard fork on August 1. Within the next 8 weeks they will be rolling out limited support for BCH via their settings panel. The panel is situated on the blockchain.info user wallet home page.
Also read: A Look at Two Alternative Bitcoin Hardware Wallets on the Market
Their website read: “Within the next 8 weeks, we’ll be rolling out limited support for BCH via the settings panel in your Blockchain Wallet. Users with balances of bitcoin in their Blockchain Wallet on August 1st will be able to access an equal balance, as of August 1st, of bitcoin cash.”
Why is Blockchain Giving Limited Access to Bitcoin Cash?
Peter smith, founder of Blockchain, tweeted why they were going to provide limited support for BCH. He said “current options for users are sub-optimal and many users have request help accessing their bitcoin cash.” In this sense, it appears more users need assistance gaining access to their BCH.
2/2 current options for users are sub-optimal and many users have requested help accessing their #BitcoinCash https://t.co/Ehz9MeotTs — Peter Smith (@OneMorePeter) August 22, 2017
Blockchain guarantees Exclusive Access to BCH Funds
Furthermore, the Blockchain.info blog suggested that users should not worry about losing their BCH. They will have total, exclusive access to their bitcoin cash funds so long as they stored bitcoin on blockchain.info prior to August 1. Their site elaborated:
“While no immediate action is necessary, rest assured that your funds are secure. Blockchain wallets are non-custodial and you hold the private keys, meaning you always have full, exclusive access to your funds — which are always accessible with your recovery phrase.”
Do you think more companies will roll out support for bitcoin cash? Do you think bitcoin cash will “be the bitcoin” of the future? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Images via Shutterstock
Have you been to Bitcoin.com’s store? We have the coolest Bitcoin swag on the planet from t-shirts, to artwork, hardware wallets, and mining accessories. You should also check out our forum where you can discuss the latest trends in the Bitcoin universe. Check em’ both out today!BOSTON — Orioles outfielder Adam Jones said Tuesday that racial taunts that prompted immediate condemnation around baseball and Boston have no place in today's game but speak to larger racial issues in the United States.
"I thought we'd moved past this a long time ago," said Jones, who said he heard fans call him the N-word on Monday night and had a bag of peanuts thrown in his direction.
"With what's going on in the real world, things like this, people are outraged and are speaking up at an alarming rate," he said.
Jones received a personal apology from Red Sox team president Sam Kennedy on behalf of the club. When he stepped up for his first at-bat during Tuesday night's game, he was also given an extended applause from the Fenway crowd, with Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale stepping off the mound to allow the applause to continue.
"Just appreciative that action was taken and not everybody feels the same way as selected people," Jones said. "Sale, who works extremely fast, took his time and let it relish a little bit, so I appreciate the sentiments," Jones said after Boston won 5-2.
Before the game, the All-Star said he felt "it was just the right time" to speak out.
Kennedy said 34 people were ejected for various reasons Monday night and reiterated the team's "zero tolerance" policy for such incidents. He also said there would be extra security around the outfield Tuesday night.
"I'm a grown man with a family to raise. So I'm not just gonna let nobody sit there and berate me," Jones said. "Where I come from if you say things like that, you put on the gloves and you go after it. Obviously in the real world you can't do that, especially in my field."
Kennedy said that 10-15 people are usually ejected from Fenway any given night, calling the 34 ejected Monday usually high. Along with the fan ejected for throwing the peanuts, a second fan was ejected for using foul language toward a player, though the team didn't know whether the fan used the bad language toward Jones.
Kennedy and manager John Farrell separately met with Red Sox players on Tuesday and said the players said they'd experienced similar incidents in both Fenway and around the league.
"I think one person hears an inappropriate remark or slur, that's one person too many," Kennedy said.
Boston's professional teams — like the city's neighbourhoods — had different reactions to the civil rights movement and the integration of professional sports.
While the Celtics and Bruins broke barriers in pro basketball and hockey, the Red Sox were the last Major League Baseball team to field a black player.
In the 1980s, the Red Sox also dealt with an incident during spring training in Florida in which an Elks Lodge was giving passes to only white players.
It also wasn't until last season that the New England Patriots started a black quarterback for the first time in its history. Rookie Jacoby Brissett started two games with Tom Brady suspended as part of his "Deflategate" punishment and backup Jimmy Garoppolo injured.
"It's changed a lot over many years, but it sure takes a long time to change everything," said Steve McHugh, who is white and said he's been a Red Sox fan since he moved to the Boston area in 1977.
Michael Towns, 39, has been a casual fan of the Red Sox since attending the University of Rhode Island.
"It's sad that even today such attitudes exist," said Towns, who is black. "We shouldn't dwell on it, but it's important to acknowledge it."
Outrage and condemnation flowed from around Major League Baseball on Tuesday.
"It's nothing new to any of us," Atlanta Braves outfielder Matt Kemp said. "He let it be known that's what we go through. I mean, it's pretty much normal, especially in some of these different cities. I'm not going to name all the cities, but there's some pretty tough cities where people say some pretty ruthless things. There's no filters or nobody holding anybody accountable for some of the things these fans do."
"You get called names, N-word, all kinds of stuff when you go to Boston," Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia said.
Monday's incident also touched off widespread social media use of the hashtag #BostonWrong — a dark twist on the post-marathon bombing #BostonStrong.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker called the incident "outrageous and disgraceful."
"I'm glad they kicked the guy out and I hope they never let him back in ever again," the Republican told reporters.
Police Lt. Mike McCarthy said a fan threw a bag of peanuts at the Orioles' dugout and hit a police officer posted nearby, not the centre fielder. He told The Associated Press that security officials had the man thrown out before police could identify him.
Jones, a five-time All-Star, said he has been the subject of racist heckling in Boston's ballpark before.
"Hopefully the awareness comes," he said. "People around in the stands will hold other fans accountable."
The Red Sox said any spectator behaving poorly forfeits the right to be in the ballpark and could be subject to further action.
"The racist words and actions directed at Adam Jones at Fenway Park last night are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated at any of our ballparks," Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.
Hall of Famer and Yankees senior adviser Reggie Jackson said the incident with Jones proves the United States has a long way to go with race relations.
"While there was a residue of racism in the game, certainly it wasn't out in the open when I played," he said. "I guess this thing with Adam Jones, it makes you well up and get teary-eyed.... You really feel that way?"
___
AP Sports Writers Mike Fitzpatrick in New York and Charles Odum in Atlanta, Associated Press writers Steve LeBlanc and Bill Kole, and videographer Rodrique Ngowi contributed to this report.
___
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
___
Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightowerAndy Weir’s follow-up to The Martian, the moon-heist thriller Artemis, is finally here, but that’s just one of dozens of new scifi and fantasy books out this month. The days are shorter, it’s cold and rainy outside, and there’s no better time to pick out a new book or five to stay home and read. We’ve got you covered.
Advertisement
All Those Explosions Were Someone Else’s Fault by James Alan Gardner
A science experiment gone awry transforms college kid Kim and her three roommates into superheroes, but while they decide what their super alter-egos should be named and gleefully design their costumes, they also find themselves being pulled into a serious fight between light and darkness. (November 7)
Advertisement
Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine: A Decade of Hugo & Nebula Award Winning Stories 2005-2015, edited by Sheila Williams
The Hugo winner curates a selection of the best recent short stories and novellas from Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. (November 7)
Advertisement
Down and Out in Purgatory: The Collected Stories of Tim Powers by Tim Powers
The award-winning author of The Anubis Gates, Last Call, and On Stranger Tides presents 20 scifi and supernatural tales culled from various points in his career, including the title story. (November 7)
Advertisement
Gluttony Bay by Matt Wallace
The latest in Wallace’s Sin du Jour series about paranormal caterers is, of course, another foodie tale—this time set in the not-so-friendly confines of Gluttony Bay High Security Supernatural Prison. (November 7)
Advertisement
Ironclads by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Only 1,000 special-edition copies of this military scifi novella from the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winner will be released, so act fast if you want to get your hands on one. (November 7)
Advertisement
$23 Ironclads 64 bought by readers GMG may get a commission Buy now
Jade City by Fonda Lee
The official description of this multigenerational saga—set in a world where jade is prized for its ability to enhance the powers of those who know how to use it—likens it to “The Godfather with magic and kung-fu.” Make your own “offer you can’t refuse” joke here, because you know that sounds awesome. (November 7)
Advertisement
The Jim Baen Memorial Award: The First Decade, edited by William Ledbetter
The first collection in the Jim Baen Memorial Award’s 10-year history, this volume collects winners and runners-up that keep with the philosophy of “looking to the future with a positive outlook on humanity’s place in the universe.” (November 7)
Advertisement
More Human Than Human: Stories of Androids, Robots, and Manufactured Humanity, edited by Neil Clarke
This reprint anthology is filled with tales about artificial humans. Contributing authors include Charles Stross, Cory Doctorow, Elizabeth Bear, and many more. (November 7)
Advertisement
Nanoshock by K.C. Alexander
In this sequel to Necrotech, cyberpunk mercenary Riko is on a desperate quest to salvage her recently battered reputation as the best of the best. (November 7)
Advertisement
The Overneath by Peter S. Beagle
This short-story collection includes a callback to the author’s classic, The Last Unicorn, along with several other new fantasy tales. (November 7)
Advertisement
$11 The Overneath 7 bought by readers GMG may get a commission Buy now
Renegades by Marissa Meyer
In the post-apocalypse, humans with special abilities help bring justice and order back to a chaotic world. But where there are super-humans, there are always super-villains, including a young woman joins a revenge scheme that could end the world for good. (November 7)
Advertisement
$13 Renegades 12 bought by readers GMG may get a commission Buy now
Shadowborn by David Dalglish
The author begins the final volume of his Seraphim trilogy amid a massive war, though the face of the rebellion that started it all has started to realize what’s most important to her: rescuing her imperiled brother, and somehow figuring out a way to restore peace. (November 7)
Advertisement
The Sisters of the Crescent Empress by Leena Likitalo
The author continues her historical-fantasy Waning Moon series with a new story about the magical Romanov sisters, who are now being held captive and facing ghosts, strange mysteries, and difficult decisions about the uncertainty that lies ahead for each of them. (November 7)
Advertisement
Strange Music: A Pip and Flinx Adventure by Alan Dean Foster
The author’s latest in his extensive Commonwealth series brings a new adventure for Flinx and his venomous pal Pip. They head to a primitive planet teetering on the brink of war, but their plan to help calm the waters becomes complicated when Flinx realizes he’s unable to use his empathetic abilities on the locals, who sing instead of speak. (November 7)
Advertisement
Terminal Alliance by Jim C. Hines
The Hugo winner launches a humorous new series about the scrappy humans who’ve survived the apocalypse on Earth to become janitors—proof that there’s one job that will always need doing, even in space. Unfortunately for them, the crew of their ship has a bit of a zombie problem. (November 7)
Advertisement
The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt
The Hugo winner’s latest sounds perfect for fans of the Alien films (and maybe Event Horizon, too). It starts with a deep-space salvage crew discovering a seemingly long-abandoned ship that turns out to have one occupant—who, once revived, warns them of an alien race that mixes advanced technology with pure evil. (November 7)
Advertisement
After the End of the World by Jonathan L. Howard
H.P. Lovecraft enters the alternate-history 21st century through this tale of Emily Lovecraft and Daniel Carter, who investigate scientific mysteries in a world where the Nazis won and the Cold War never happened. There are plenty of human monsters running around, but there are plenty of supernatural ones, too. (November 14)
Advertisement
Artemis by Andy Weir
Weir’s follow-up to The Martian is about a heist on the moon. This would already be an awesome premise even without the story’s other details, like the fact that the protagonist is a female smuggler who’s grown tired of serving the inhabitants of the very posh, apparently very corrupt moon city of Artemis. Can’t wait to read it... and watch the inevitable movie, too. (November 14)
Advertisement
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
In this debut novel set in and around 18th century Cairo, a faux fortune teller realizes she has actual magic powers, awakened by the arrival of a mysterious djinn warrior who opens up her world for better and worse. (November 14)
Advertisement
Creatures of Will and Temper by Molly Tanzer
In Victorian London, a pair of sisters—a fencer and a wannabe art critic—living on the outer rim of high society become unwittingly entangled with a supernatural cult. Only one sister takes up the side of fighting demons, while the other is drawn into worshipping them. (November 14)
Advertisement
The Cthulhu Casebooks: Sherlock Holmes and the Miskatonic Monstrosities by James Lovegrove
Holmes and Watson embark on a Lovecraftian case when an amnesiac Bedlam asylum patient begins speaking the language of the Old Ones. After the detectives piece together that he’s a former science student from Miskatonic University, they realize they’ve uncovered a much greater mystery. (November 14)
Advertisement
The Emerald Circus by Jane Yolen
The award-winning author’s first short-story collection in over a decade imagines familiar characters (like Peter Pan’s Wendy, The Wizard of Oz’s Dorothy, and Emily Dickinson) undertaking new and unexpected adventures. (November 14)
Advertisement
Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich
A dystopian novel about a world that somehow starts evolving backwards, and the young pregnant woman who is determined to keep her unborn baby safe amid all the rampant paranoia and terrifying chaos that surrounds her. (November 14)
Advertisement
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
The author (Mira Grant is a pen name used by the award-winning Seanan McGuire) returns with an aquatic mystery about a ship that vanishes while its crew is filming a mockumentary (or is it?) about ancient mythological sea creatures. (November 14)
Advertisement
Mandelbrot the Magnificent by Liz Ziemska
A “magical pseudo-biography” of Benoit Mandelbrot, exploring how he used mathematics to cope with the rise of Hitler and to help save his family as he was growing up in Vichy France. (November 14)
Advertisement
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
The sequel to Worlds of Radiance continues the author’s epic Stormlight Archive fantasy series, as humankind once again faces certain destruction from the vengeful Voidbringers. (November 14)
Advertisement
Seventh Decimate by Stephen R. Donaldson
This is the first volume in a new trilogy about a prince who’s tasked with finding a special library that can save his people, but considering it’s a magical library hidden in a treacherous world controlled by battling sorcerers, it’ll be no easy quest. (November 14)
Advertisement
The Caldera (The Brotherband Chronicles) by John Flanagan
The seventh Brotherband book sees the Herons on a daring rescue mission involving a kidnapped royal heir, pirates, stormy seas, and a seemingly impossible-to-penetrate fortress. (November 21)
Advertisement
The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories by Charlaine Harris
True Blood fans won’t want to miss this complete collection of all of Harris’ short stories, exploring more adventures of the telepathic waitress who’s forever becoming entangled with the supernatural. Harris also contributes a new introduction. (November 21)
Advertisement
Sweet Dreams by Tricia Sullivan
In 2022, a “dreamhacker”—someone who can enter your dreams and help you shape them—is a very popular thing to be, especially since there’s only one person in all of London who has the right skills. Or so she thinks, until her clients start having nightmares she can’t control. (November 21)
Advertisement
$22 Sweet Dreams 3 bought by readers GMG may get a commission Buy now
Winter of Ice and Iron by Rachel Neumeier
A dark fantasy tale set in a land ruled by two cruel kings, where a princess and a duke who both long for freedom very reluctantly join forces to plot a revolution. Supernatural forces and a bleak midwinter forecast won’t make their grand scheme any easier. (November 21)
Advertisement
Darkness Falling by Ian Douglas
The author continues his Andromedan Dark space odyssey with this sequel to Altered Starscape, following a colony ship that travels to the deepest corners of the universe—where it encounters a new race that seems rather intent on wiping everyone aboard out of existence. (November 28)
Advertisement
Starfire: Shadow Sun Seven by Spencer Ellsworth
The Starfire trilogy space opera continues with its three main characters dodging mercenary aliens (among other enemies) as they plot to obtain something so valuable it’ll surely secure their freedom: a stash of pure oxygen cells. (November 28)A large fight broke out at Atlantic City High School. At least one security guard was taken to the hospital, police said. (Published Thursday, March 19, 2015)
More videos (1 of 9)
Link to this video
UP NEXT
A fight involving students at a south Jersey high school sent a security guard to the hospital just before lunch Thursday, police said.
The brawl which involved several students broke out around 11 a.m. just outside Atlantic City High School on 1400 N. Albany Ave. in Atlantic City.
One of the school's security guards was rushed to a nearby hospital with unknown injuries, police said.
Three students were taken to the public safety building.
No word on what caused the fight to occur.
This story is breaking. Check back for details.Katelyn Fossett is associate editor at Politico Magazine.
After retiring from NATO as its second highest military official in 2014, Gen. Sir Richard Shirreff penned the ultimate war game: A 500-page fictionalized account of a war between Russia and NATO, titled, simply, War With Russia. The book, in the style of anti-appeasement tracts before World War II, is a plot-propelled warning about the dangers of Western acquiescence complete with romances, a Russian president with a “pale, bloodless face” (known only as Vladimir Vladimirovich) and a group of bumbling, self-interested NATO ambassadors that can’t ever seem to agree on a course of action soon enough.
While the story may seem farfetched, key plot points look awfully similar to some real life geopolitical mischief we’ve observed in the past couple of years, like Russia’s sowing of misinformation to rile up public sentiment and justify military action. The basic plot of the book begins with a Russian invasion of Ukraine, followed by invasions of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. At each aggression, NATO members debate over how to respond, and every response is not enough to stop escalating Russian aggression, until, eventually war breaks out.
Story Continued Below
Since Shirreff published the book in May, several geopolitical earthquakes have upended our understanding of what the future might look like. Some of those events have taken our world closer to his fictionalized one—like Brexit, which he predicted in the book, and an increasingly aggressive Russia. And some of those events have surpassed his wildest scenarios, like Russia’s hack on the Democratic National Convention, an attempt to manipulate the U.S. election that even Shirreff concedes goes further than what he could have imagined a year ago. He also didn't imagine a President Trump, who is far less supportive of NATO and far friendlier with the Russian president than the no-nonsense, relatively hawkish woman who is elected in the United States in the book's fictional 2016 election.
Given how much the world has changed, we thought it was worth sitting down with Shirreff to ask how this fictional universe that he has spent so long creating has changed in just a matter of months. If the scenario he predicted was bad before, he's feeling less optimistic now with a Trump presidency, an apparently emboldened Russia and a NATO he says might not survive for even five more years.
(This conversation has been condensed and edited.)
***
Katelyn Fossett: In the beginning of the book, a new U.S. president reverses the previous president’s “hands-off” approach to Russia; she arms Ukraine and is committed to standing tough against Russia. This doesn’t really sound like Trump.
Richard Shirreff: No. This is absolutely the antithesis of Trump. [In the book] we have an American president who is absolutely unequivocally prepared to lead NATO and to lead the free world.
What we’ve seen with Trump—and rightly, actually, in Trump’s case, rightly for America’s case, he called out European members of NATO for not stepping up to the mark in terms of defense spending and being dependent on America. But Trump is not alone in saying that; secretaries of defense and secretaries of State have said that over the last decade or so.
The really scary thing about Trump is what he said about not necessarily coming to their aid if a NATO member is attacked. In a stroke, that undermines the credibility of NATO’s collective defense under the founding principle of NATO, Article 5, which says that an attack on one is an attack on all. That is scary because the defense of Europe since 1949 and the establishment of NATO has depended on the total certainty that whatever American president is in the White House, America will always come to their aid if a NATO member is attacked.
And his recent appointment of Tillerson—here is a man who’s got an order of friendship from Vladimir Putin. So, you know, this isn't a man who is necessarily going to stand up to Russia.
The whole principle of collective defense and deterrence is to raise the bar of risk sufficiently high to any decision-maker in the Kremlin so that biting off a chunk of the Baltic States is not worthwhile.
But after Trump’s inauguration in January, Putin might think it’s worthwhile because he knows that America may not come to the aid of Baltic States if attacked. So he may just get away with it, and that’s why this is so dangerous.
Fossett: So, looking five years down the road, what do you think is the future |
Rand Paul is the ONLY candidate for President from either the Republican or Democrat party that would probably make any significant change in America’s foreign policy.
And quite frankly, the office of President is mostly defined by foreign policy, and in this regard, Rand is probably the only candidate that would be willing to defy the war-mad neocons and bring America’s founding principles back to our State Department and DOD. Ted Cruz won’t do it; Ben Carson won’t do it; Scott Walker won’t do it; Marco Rubio won’t do it; Mike Huckabee won’t do it; Mike Pence won’t do it; Rick Santorum won’t do it; Chris Christie won’t do it; Jeb Bush won’t do it; Hillary Clinton won’t do it; and neither will Martin O’Malley. In reality, when it comes to foreign policy, there isn’t a dime’s worth of difference between the Republicans and Democrats. Except for Rand Paul, that is. Rand is the ONLY presidential candidate who would potentially restore a constitutional foreign policy to the United States.
*Rand Paul is solid on the Bill of Rights and the right to life
Rand Paul is solid on the right to life and the Second Amendment. But unlike the rest of the presidential candidates, Rand is also solid on the rest of the Bill of Rights. In the name of the “war on terror,” politicians from both parties in Washington, D.C., have mostly eviscerated the Bill of Rights. For all intents and purposes, the Fourth through Tenth Amendments are mere words on paper. Both Republican and Democrat congresses have gutted them to the point that they are unrecognizable from their original intent. Rand Paul is the only presidential candidate who gives more than lip service to the Bill of Rights.
Accordingly, Rand Paul is the only presidential candidate that would probably use the power of the office to alleviate, or perhaps even dismantle, the burgeoning Police State in this country. This is another reason why Lindsey Graham and other neocons in Washington, D.C., hate Rand Paul.
*Rand is the Republican who has the best chance of winning the general election in 2016
Rand’s popularity will come from just about every quarter, except the Washington establishment. He will pull support from not only conservative, Tea Party, and patriot groups, but also from libertarians, independents, college-age and young Americans, and anti-war Democrats.
An MSN report notes, “Paul’s speeches and media coverage have helped him break out of the Republican field. In very early trial heats of the presidential race, Paul regularly gets closer to Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, than his so-called establishment rivals. In a March poll conducted by Quinnipiac University, Paul tied Clinton in Pennsylvania, a state no Democratic candidate for president has lost since 1988.”
See the report at: Rand Paul Begins 2016 Presidential Campaign, Aiming at ‘Washington Machine’
Rand’s challenge will be winning the Republican nomination. The GOP establishment will go all out to defeat him. But, if he can prevail in the Republican primary, he would undoubtedly be the strongest GOP candidate in the general election. But, remember, the Republican establishment would rather lose with neocons like John McCain and Mitt Romney than win with a principled freedomist like Rand Paul. So, Rand has his work cut out for him.
Cons: Illegal Immigration/Amnesty | Support of GOP Elite | Israel
*Illegal immigration and amnesty
So far, Rand has been soft on his stance against illegal immigration and Barack Obama’s executive amnesty for illegals. Rand’s principal opponent in the GOP race will be Ted Cruz; and Cruz’s tough stance against illegal immigration and amnesty is very popular with most Republican voters. If Rand continues to take a soft position on illegal immigration, it will give Cruz a leg up with many of the GOP electorate.
*His support for Mitt Romney and Mitch McConnell
The decision to support Mitt Romney for President in 2012 cost Rand a lot of popular support. Romney was a Democrat in Republican clothing. Romney’s socialized medicine program in liberal Massachusetts was the blueprint for Obamacare. Massachusetts has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation. And Mitt Romney flipped-flopped on so many issues (including the life issue) that he more resembled Silly Putty than he did a serious presidential contender. There was no telling which way Romney was going to bounce next. And Mitch McConnell is the consummate establishment politician. No genuine conservative respects McConnell.
I understand why Rand endorsed Romney and McConnell. He was trying to show the Republican Party that he was willing to work with the GOP leadership. Plus, as the freshman senator from Kentucky, he didn’t want to make a political enemy out of Kentucky’s senior senator (and soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader). But endorsing Republican candidates that were fundamentally flawed positionally and constitutionally was something Ron Paul was never willing to do. And that uncompromising commitment of Ron Paul was one of his most endearing qualities. As such, I am extremely honored to be the only candidate for President since Ronald Reagan that Ron Paul endorsed. In my opinion, that says more about Ron than it does me.
When Rand endorsed Romney, it angered untold numbers of principled conservatives. That anger still exists. These folks are worried that Rand will be too willing to work with unprincipled Republicans in the future. This fear is something Rand MUST successfully assuage if he is to unify the base that he needs to win the Republican nomination.
*Rand’s recent homage to Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli lobby
This is another area where Rand’s father, Ron, was never willing to compromise. Ron had a constitutionally-correct understanding of America’s relationship with Israel and other Middle Eastern nations. And due to the constitutional ignorance (and scriptural misinterpretation regarding the modern state of Israel, thanks mostly to preachers such as John Hagee) of most Christian conservatives, it was this issue that most alienated many of them from Ron’s presidential campaigns. Doubtless, Rand is trying to circumvent that potential opposition from within the conservative Christian community by showing them, “See, I am not my father.”
Noted political researcher and analyst Joel Skousen put this in perspective recently, saying, “Rand Paul has the same problem [as Ted Cruz]. He’s decided that he can’t get ahead in politics without being a yes-man to the Israeli lobby, and so he takes his pilgrimage to Israel, meets with Netanyahu and other politically connected Israelis and pledges to stand with Israel. The problem with that position, as I’ve explained many times in the WAB [World Affairs Brief], is that Israel’s leaders are all compromised globalists (especially Netanyahu) so Christians have to learn to separate their allegiance to God’s promises of restoring the house of Israel to their homeland and the aggressive globalist policies of the Israeli government.” Amen!
What most Christian conservatives don’t seem to understand is that Ron Paul’s position on Israel (and other foreign nations) is actually the best policy to help the people of the Middle East (including Israelis) that the United States could possibly have. The neocon, pro-war, New World Order (NWO) policies that began under George H.W. Bush, and that continue to the present, are the most destructive policies in the entire world at present. The entire world (including the United States and Israel) are suffering (and will suffer) incalculable tragedy at the hands of these wicked globalists if they are not soon deterred. How tragic that Christian conservatives–who sincerely believe they are being a blessing to Israel by supporting a neocon foreign policy agenda–are actually assisting Israel and America’s worst enemies. And, once again, no other presidential candidate from either party will potentially do anything to challenge the neocon, NWO agenda. If Rand Paul doesn’t do it, no other Republican or Democrat presidential candidate will.
Obviously, it is too early for me to actually endorse a presidential candidate. I am willing to say that, at this juncture, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz are the two men who seem to stand out. But, since Ted Cruz’s foreign policy is in lockstep with the neocon agenda, and IF Rand Paul can continue to demonstrate a genuine commitment to oppose a neocon foreign policy, he would definitely have a leg up in my book.
Dr. Ben Carson Note
And unlike many conservatives, I am NOT impressed with Dr. Ben Carson. His support of government-forced vaccinations is anathema to any person who truly understands the principles of constitutional government and liberty. Anyone who could claim to be opposed to Obamacare and then support government-forced vaccinations is truly confused and directionless.
See the report at: Carson: No Exemptions On Immunizations
Plus, Dr. Carson talks out of both sides of his mouth regarding gun control. He says he supports the Second Amendment, but then he turns around and says, “It depends on where you live.”
“Appearing on Glenn Beck’s radio show this past week, Carson took a vastly different stance from most conservatives on the issue of gun control, claiming you shouldn’t be able to own semi-automatic weapons in large cities.
“Asked by Beck for his thoughts on the Second Amendment, Carson gave the popular pro-gun argument: ‘There’s a reason for the Second Amendment; people do have the right to have weapons.’
“But when asked whether people should be allowed to own ‘semi-automatic weapons,’ the doctor replied: ‘It depends on where you live. I think if you live in the midst of a lot of people, and I’m afraid that that semi-automatic weapon is going to fall into the hands of a crazy person, I would rather you not have it,’ Carson elaborated. However, if you live ‘out in the country somewhere by yourself’ and want to own a semi-automatic weapon, he added, ‘I’ve no problem with that.’”
See the report here: Ben Carson On Gun Control
I’m sorry; the Second Amendment is an issue I will NOT compromise. And Dr. Carson’s statements demonstrate a fundamental lack of understanding regarding the liberty principles behind the Second Amendment. It is those people who live in the most populous–and, therefore, the most dangerous–areas that most require a semi-automatic weapon (rifle or pistol) with which to defend themselves. What good does a firearm do if one is “out in the country somewhere by yourself”? Dr. Carson demonstrates vast ignorance regarding the God-given duty of self-defense. So, I can say with a certain amount of confidence that I will NOT be supporting Ben Carson for President.
So, again, this is my preliminary assessment of Rand Paul’s candidacy. And as I said in my column assessing Ted Cruz’s candidacy, I reserve the right to adjust my thinking one way or another as more information becomes available.
© Chuck Baldwin
Chuck Baldwin – is a radio broadcaster, syndicated columnist, and pastor dedicated to preserving the historic principles upon which America was founded.
“Chuck Baldwin Live” aired its first program on August 1, 1994. The broadcast originated as a Radio Talk Show and continued in that capacity for eight years. The current format of the show features a recording of Dr. Baldwin’s sermons and commentaries that are heard 30 times a week on 12 radio stations in 5 States, including Northwest Florida (from Destin, Florida to Mobile Alabama) and Southern Alabama (including Evergreen, Greenville, and Monroeville), parts of Central Florida (Deland area), Lynchburg and Martinsville, Virginia (including Roanoke, Virginia and into the Triad area of Winston/Salem, Greensboro, and High Point North Carolina), and in Utah (between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas). CBL is constitutionalist, Christian, pro-life, pro-traditional family, and patriotic. We support constitutional government and the Bill of Rights. We hold fast to the principles and values expressed by the Founding Fathers and the Declaration of Independence.click to enlarge Photo courtesy of Flickr/Nicolas Henderson
Scottrade Center is the home of the St. Louis Blues.
This April, city voters will be asked whether to devote $60 million to Major League Soccer stadium planned for downtown St. Louis, thanks to members of the Board of Aldermen who insisted that any public financing come with a public vote.But today, the Board is poised to approve an even bigger expenditure — $105 million to renovate and upgrade the city's hockey arena, Scottrade Center. Unlike the MLS stadium, the plan for Scottrade does not include a public vote. And the money would come from the city's general fund, at a time the city is already looking at a $20 million annual budget shortfall.Scottrade's operators, a limited liability company called SLB Holdings that also owns the Blues, say the renovations are necessary to allow the 25-year-old center to remain competitive. Blues Chairman Tom Stillman has said that both the NCAA and concert promoters have threatened to stop using Scottrade unless it gets an upgrade. The $105 million general fund contributions would be coupled with another $50 million from a tax on Scottrade sales.But some aldermen are questioning why the bill is being pushed through. They've been under pressure to pass the bill before the aldermanic session ends tomorrow, yet there is far from consensus that its details represent the best deal for city residents — or that they've even been fully fleshed out. The city's comptroller has even said a previous version of the plan could hurt the city's credit rating. All the aldermen from north St. Louis are believed to be opposed at this time; some south city representatives are also saying they will vote no, or at least considering it.One "no" vote is likely to come from Alderwoman Cara Spencer, who represents a south side district that includes part of Cherokee Street. She says some people have defended the expense saying that the city owns Scottrade Center, but she doesn't think it's that simple."We own City Hall, we own the streets, we own the rec centers our children play in," she says. "We can't even find the money to pay our cops sufficiently. Yet somehow we've got ourselves in a position where we need to find another $4.5 million in the general fund budget every year to pay for this?"For Alderman Antonio French, who represents the northside neighborhood of O'Fallon, the deal simply stinks. French, who is running for mayor, notes that the Blues ownership group doesn't pay rent to the city.He's incredulous that some of his colleagues have suggested the city has to pay for renovations simply because it owns the arena.He says, "We own it as ato them. They don't want to own it, because then they'd have to pay taxes on it." Since the Blues owners enjoy the profits from events on site, he questions, shouldn't they also be the ones to pay for upgrades?Beyond that, French believes the city has other options to help the ownership group without encumbering general revenue funds — including, perhaps, a special community improvement district or other special financing plans.In committee, French notes, "Every north side alderman voted against it, because it's completely insulting to us when you look at the needs we're facing in our neighborhoods."Aldermanic President Lewis Reed has been pushing the plan, and defended it in a statement to the“Events at Scottrade have generated over $100 million in revenue directly to the city. That $100 million goes to fund our youth programs, our police, our streets and streetlights and trash pickup, among other things. If we lose events, we won’t have that tax revenue," he said. "This is actually a no-brainer. The city owns the Scottrade Building. We must be able to compete with other cities to attract events like the ones held at Scottrade, or our economy will continue to decline. It is not a luxury. It is a must have."He added, "We spend money from general revenue on our own buildings all of the time. No one’s happy about it, but we haven’t spent money on the building in 23 years and it is outdated so of course we must invest in it.”Alderman Terry Kennedy, who represents part of the Central West End, Vandeventer and Midtown, was a "no" vote in committee. He says he remains opposed today."I understand their timetable, but I need a little more dialogue on this," he says. He'd like to find alternatives to taking the money from the city's general fund.And ultimately, he'd like to see St. Louis experience a paradigm shift. "We are a community with a significant crime rate and a high poverty rate," he says. "If we can make that a central focus, then we can begin to get in a place where we can solve the rest."Barney Frank's Internet Gambling has Backing, Sent to Subcomittee
Gambling News - July 17th, 2009 - Written by Glen
Back in early May, Representative Barney Frank introduced H.R. 2267 - a Bill that would overturn the UIGEA. Two months have passed, and some progress has been made, but that progress may have become stagnant.
According to the Library of Congress, there has not been a major action surrounding the Bill that would abolish the UIGEA in just over a months time. The significant movement the Bill saw was being redirected to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. The big worry is that this Bill get caught up in the bureaucracy.
Time is running out until the UIGEA must be enforced by banks, which is in December. As soon as December rolls around, the UIGEA becomes mandatory - up until then, it is still at the discretion of the banks. Recent account freezing and seizure of poker funds has made this Bill even more important, as the government continues to abscond with money that poker players rightfully earned.
There are 535 members of congress, and 42 of them are on board with Frank's Bill. With Frank included, this is roughly one twelfth of congress. The required number of votes for the Bill to pass must be at least two-thirds, meaning that at least 353 must go for the anti-UIGEA Bill to pass.Barney Frank is a weathered civil rights activist. Amongst his other Bills are laws to protect marriage, those who follow alternative life styles, and the decriminalization of marijuana.This article is by Darren Andrews.
Generations have been enthralled by Tolkien’s epic fantasy, “The Lord of The Rings”. Its pages have been studied alongside the works of C.S. Lewis in Christian-literature classes, a society exists dedicated to preserving it in the spirit of its author, and back in the 1970s (in England at least) it was ‘unofficial required reading’ to enter the more respected universities – if you wanted to be accepted by your peers!
J.R.R. Tolkien, born 1892, was both a philologist and a student of mythology. He was a down-to-earth man nevertheless, and filled with a remarkable amount of common sense and clarity of thought. That he spent so much of his effort in fiction yet had so great a grasp of reality – both of the seen and unseen – is perhaps one of his most endearing qualities.
A number of documentaries, and other TV shows discussing both “The Lord of the Rings” and its author, were screened around the release of the movie, “The Fellowship of the Ring”, in December 2001. None, however, looked – except perhaps briefly – into the supernal truths wrapped up in this high fantasy epic.
Tolkien held to the belief that so-called “fairy-stories” were not just for children, but a powerful way of relating truth. “The peculiar quality of the ‘joy’ in successful Fantasy,” Tolkien wrote, “can thus be explained as a sudden glimpse of the underlying reality of truth.”[1]
In fact, Tolkien went on to opine that the “association of children and fairy-stories” was an “accident of our domestic history.”[2]
It’s important to first understand a little about Tolkien’s world, Middle-earth, if we are to understand why he spent so much time creating it. This was no alien planet, but our world set in some fictional era and possessed of a history that paralleled our own. Tolkien built his world on the basis of language and then upon that world’s creation, its myths and history. To him, world-building (or subcreation as he called it), was as near to the divine act of creation as one might rise, in artistic matters at least. His world relates to us, now. Its lessons are intended for us. Its truths are our truths.
If we look into the actual story, or plot, of “The Lord of the Rings” itself we can see allegories of greater relevance to us as individuals going through life’s journey. The One Ring, the central artefact of the entire epic, offers power to those who wield it. Yet it is evil and will enslave any who try to use it – whatever their intent. Frodo, on discovering the real nature of the Ring, offers it to Gandalf whom he trusts and knows to be both wise and powerful. Gandalf’s response lends much insight into what the Ring really represents. Says Gandalf: “Do not tempt me…the way of the Ring to my heart is by pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good…the wish to wield it would be too great.”[3]
The book, as we can see from Gandalf’s words and those of others in the story, focuses then on the theme of free will, or Will as Tolkien called it. The Ring therefore represents temptation to exercise dominion over the Will of all others, to subjugate their power of choice. And it is in the hands of a pure-hearted Hobbit that the Ring has least effect, a clear affirmation that humility can defeat the greatest of evils.
Even in the intervention of Ilúvatar (Middle-earth’s God) we see a respect for the free will of the peoples of Middle-earth. The story takes place (as does most of its history) in a time of apostasy, when worship of the One is unknown or very limited (even among the Elves), yet Ilúvatar sends five (or more) powerful Valar-like beings to Middle-earth with a charge not to dominate the Will of the inhabitants. This was a great temptation to them because of their standing and power. They were also commanded never to match their own power against the Enemy directly, except in circumstances prescribed by the One. Rather, they are assigned to counsel and guide the Free Peoples of Middle-earth. Alas, all save one named Gandalf deviated from this path of duty.
Boromir, a great man, wanted to use the power of the Ring to help his people, and in so desiring fell prey to its corruption. Gollum, of course, was utterly enslaved to the Ring, an extreme example of what can happen to our own free will when we become so wrapped up with our own desires that we disregard the free will of others.
So often in our world today, and throughout history, we see those who desire the wrong kind of strength to do good. They desire the power to force and manage rather than the humility to persuade, guide and lead. It can start with apparently noble motives, as illustrated by Gandalf’s confession of his own weakness, but invariably those who pursue power begin to impinge upon the free will of others, and the intended good eventually becomes a burdensome evil.
Tolkien’s epic tale, then, bears a central message that needs retelling, for there are many “rings of power” in our own world, and too few willing to make the journey to the fires of Mount Doom.
Sources
1. Tolkien, J.R.R. “On Fairy-Stories”, Tree and Leaf, George Allen & Unwin: Great Britain, 1964; pp.64.
2. Ibid. pp. 34.
3. Tolkien, J.R.R. “The Fellowship of the Ring”, George Allen & Unwin: Great Britain, 1954; pp. 60.
About the Author:
Darren Andrews has been writing since his youth – stories, letters to editors, articles & essays, game text, humour, poetry and newsletters. He loves words and their creative use. He has also read and critiqued a number of fiction manuscripts, rewritten non-fiction ebooks, and researched and written articles for various markets.You know what time it is! [it’s Vladimir’s direction post time!] With all the other mage posts coming out, you probably already know what to expect here, so let’s dive right in: What sorts of things are we looking to do with our Crimson Reaper? Off the bat, we’ve heard you and we strongly agree that his sustain is what sets him apart both strategically and thematically, and we’re looking to keep it that way. With that out of the way, let’s get a little more specific: We’re not likely to change: * Sustain -- Vladimir is the best sustainer in his class and likely the best in the game (Mundo might take that one). * Health costs -- Risk management in the form of his own HP bar has always been core to Vladimir, and we’d like to reinforce that. * Stat Affinity -- Vlad has always been the AP + HP guy, and we think that’s pretty cool. * Q Targeting -- Not everything has to be a skill shot, and we think retaining the old paradigm here is important to the spell’s feel. * Strengths / Weaknesses -- Vlad is the Mage who can out sustain low-damage foes but falls to teams with reliable gap-closing and burst damage. * Sanguine Pool -- An iconic ability that should be preserved. We’re looking to improve: * Stack management -- We like the cerebral health cost management aspects of E, but we do not like the resulting unintuitive upkeep game. * Binary matchups -- Vlad is sometimes thought of as the king of stat checks, leaving his opponents (and often himself) with few options other than ‘be stronger,’ and that’s not a reputation anyone wants. A lot of this comes from unclear windows of strength and weakness (they exist, but are difficult to perceive), so a lot of our work will be in exposing those. * Counterplay -- Closely related to the above point, Vladimir’s opponents often feel there’s nothing they can do to avoid his damage once in range of him. * Satisfaction -- Mostly looking at E here (‘Tides of Blood’ inspires a much more powerful image than the current E delivers on, and we’d like to change that), though there’s a few other areas that can feel better. TLDR; Needs blood. MORE BLOOD. When we’re done: * Vladimir’s kit should feel very familiar, and his overall strategy will be largely unchanged! * Vladimir’s windows of strength and weakness will be clearer to both himself and the opponent, giving everyone an increased understanding of how he succeeds or fails and allowing him to plan and set up plays. * Vladimir will continue to deal loads of DPS and heal buckets of HP, but in more satisfying and less diffuse ways. Anddd that about sums it up! I know I’ve been pretty abstract here, so please ask any question you may have -- we’re not through with all the nitty gritty details on our end yet, so I may not have all the answers you’re looking for, but I can definitely share our thoughts and the relevant guiding principles. Also, and most importantly, if any of the above breaks your expectations of what Vladimir is or should be, now’s definitely the time to let us know! Alright, that’s it from me for now but I’ll be around over the next couple days! See ya then, -Stashu
Title
Body Cancel
SaveWith the Hall of Fame scheduled to announce voting results on Monday, the Daily Pitch examines six intriguing players on this year's ballot:
Subject: Tim Raines, an outfielder who played with the Montreal Expos (1979-90, 2001), Chicago White Sox (1991-95), New York Yankees (1996-98), Oakland (1999), Baltimore Orioles (2001), Florida Marlins (2002). Fifth year on ballot.
Case for: This is a case for the little guy. Raines, who played at 5-8, 160, was known for his speed and ranks fifth on the all-time list with 808 stolen bases. Only Hall of Famers Rickey Henderson, Ty Cobb, Lou Brock and 19th-century outfielder "Sliding" Billy Hamilton (1888-1901) stole more often. As important: His success rate of 84.6% is best among players with at least 500 steals. But Raines could also hit. A seven-time All-Star, he led the NL in batting (.334) and on-base percentage in 1986. He accumulated 2,605 career hits and ranked in the top 50 on the career list for runs scored when he retired. He led his league's left fielders in fielding percentage five times. Brock and Raines make for an interesting comparison. Raines finished his 23-year career with a higher batting average (.294-.293), more home runs (170-149) and a higher slugging percentage (.425-.410).
Case against: Raines finished in the top five in the MVP voting just once (1983) and in the top 10 just three times. He was never recognized with a Gold Glove. Although he finished with 170 homers, he never had more than 18 homers or 71 RBI in a season. Raines spent the final years of his career (1996-2002) as a part-time player for the White Sox and Yankees. In non speed-related categories his overall numbers do not match those of leading candidate Barry Larkin.
Sabermetrics say: Raines finished with an adjusted OPS of 123. Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson had an adjusted OPS of 127.
How USA TODAY voted: Seth Livingstone voted for Raines; Mike Dodd and Bob Nightengale did not.
All signs point to: Raines' chances being put on hold. He collected 37.5 % of the vote last year -- exactly half that needed for admittance to the Hall of Fame. Although his vote totals have increased each of his four years on the ballot, it is unlikely he'll reach the necesssary 75% this year.The full fleet of 159 Black Hawk helicopters will not be in place and manned until 2022. (Massoud Hossaini/AP)
Just over one month ago, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan declared at a ceremony here that a new fleet of 159 Black Hawk helicopters, flown by Afghan pilots, would help create a "tsunami of air power" to turn around the stalemated conflict with Taliban insurgents.
But the UH-60s won't have an impact for at least several years on an intense war that has already cost at least $700 billion since 2001 — and is showing no signs of letting up.
The versatile, hardy U.S. Army aircraft, each costing more than $7 million to refurbish and deliver, are intended to gradually replace the Afghan fleet of Soviet-era Mi-17 choppers to carry out military cargo drops, troop transport and medical evacuations. But they are already coming late to the game, a drawback aggravated by the slow pace of UH-60 deliveries, the limit of six Afghan pilots in each three-month training course, and the need to keep the Mi-17 choppers in action in the meantime.
President Trump's new military strategy in Afghanistan has made beefing up the Afghan air force a top priority, and U.S. military officials said the Black Hawk program is being accelerated, amid the press of war and the broader agenda of building a professional air force.
[Afghan president, U.S. general vow ambitious air war to defeat Taliban]
Yet officials of the U.S. air training, advising and assistance mission here said they expect to have only four Afghan flight crews ready for conflict missions by the next spring's fighting season and 32 teams and Black Hawks ready by spring 2019. The full fleet of 159 choppers will not be in place and manned until 2022, and only 58 will be equipped with attack weapons.
A ceremony was held Saturday at Kandahar Airfield to mark the donation of U.S. Black hawk helicopters. (Massoud Hossaini/AP)
Meanwhile, the Taliban is continuing a relentless campaign of bombings and ground assaults, while numerous other attacks have been claimed by the Islamic State. Civilian casualty rates continue to exceed records. In just the past month, more than 250 people have been killed in a wave of violence across the country that targeted mosques, military facilities and transport, and a diplomatic zone and TV station in the capital.
Afghan field commanders have said that more efficient air combat, rescue and resupply support is urgently needed to motivate troops and push back the insurgents. Since 2012, the United States has supplied the Afghan defense forces with 24 smaller MD-530 scouting and attack helicopters, 12 A-29 Tucano fighter-bomber planes and 24 C-208 short-range airlift planes. It has sent Afghan pilots to the United States and other countries to learn how to operate them, then continued their training here. In some cases, though, the pilots were not ready to begin flying combat-zone missions until last year.
"Getting the aircraft is just the head of the snake. That's the easy part. The hard part to get is the tail of the snake — training pilots and flight crews, doing maintenance and finding parts," said Col. Darryl Insley, deputy commander of the U.S. air advisory program. With the new Black Hawks, he added, "we are doing mission qualification during combat, and that is very aggressive."
[‘I believe in the Afghan people,’ says top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan]
During two days of classroom training and aerial practice for six future Black Hawk pilots at Kandahar Airfield last week, the students' motivation and experience were evident. All were seasoned Mi-17 pilots, mostly in their 30s and 40s, and they seemed confident in their ability to transfer their skills to the Black Hawks.
In one class, a U.S. instructor rapidly reviewed a checklist of emergency procedures in English. Most involved multiple technical terms and required instant decisions in the cockpit. The six students, all Afghan air force officers, listened intently. Two sat on either side of an Afghan interpreter, who translated especially complicated phrases in a murmur.
"We know the systems completely now, but we are still inside and practicing," Capt. Jawad Saqib, 32, said during a class break. "When you are on a mission, you are not flying from airport to airport. You may be flying in dust or fog, at a low altitude or in a confined area, so it is more challenging. We have to memorize a lot of terms and know every possible condition," Saqib added. "You have to feel the aircraft like it is a part of your body."
Earlier that morning, four of the trainees took turns at the controls of a UH-60 cockpit, circling over the airfield with an American trainer beside them. It was an ideal flying day, with a light breeze and a cloudless blue sky. One after another, the helicopters descended and approached, hovering in place before touching down, and then taking off for another round.
Capt. Zabiullah Dorandish, 27, tried to keep a solemn face as he hopped down onto the tarmac after his practice flight. He declared that it had been a "perfect day" aloft and that the only problem had been a confusing blizzard of radio communications in English.
"A few times I had to keep answering, 'Say again, say again,' but then I was fine," he said. His flight instructor nodded in approval, saying the Afghan pilots "exceed our standards every day."
Three months from now, the six students will be ready to take the controls unaided and head back into war: delivering troops and dropping supplies to battlefield outposts, evacuating the wounded and dead, and, in some cases, firing mounted machine guns to provide defensive air cover.
Meanwhile, a second batch of six officers will leave their jobs as Mi-17 pilots, start the UH-60 course and be qualified for action by spring. While that transition may be relatively painless for pilots, U.S. air advisers said that training Afghans to perform Black Hawk maintenance, repair and inspections will take from five to seven years. Currently, 80 percent of all work on U.S.-supplied military aircraft here is being done by U.S. and other foreign contractors.
Several U.S. advisers noted that the Mi-17s have more space for passengers and are tough enough to keep going for many more years. The problem, they said, is lack of upkeep. Only 25 in the fleet of 45 are currently operable, because it has become hard to obtain parts and certification inspections from countries familiar with the Soviet-built choppers. The rest sit rusting on airfield parking lots.
"We just can't extend them. We have to retire them," Insley said.
Despite the constraints of time, language, delivery, maintenance and on-the-job pilot training, U.S. military officials said they believe the Black Hawk program will contribute to the overall wartime "asymmetric advantage" of air power for Afghanistan's defense forces.
Eventually, the number of military aircraft is slated to double, with a full fleet of Afghan-operated AC-208s for surveillance, A-29s for attack, MD-530s for landing at difficult spots and Black Hawks for heavy lifting. The roster of Afghan air force personnel will triple to 8,000, including coordinators to call in airstrikes, an air academy graduating 250 cadets per year, and an officer candidate school graduating 50.
For now, though, the war grinds on. Insurgents armed with suicide vests, assault rifles and an occasional stolen Humvee continue to gain ground in a growing number of provinces and carry out terrorist attacks in the capital — all without a single asset in the air.
Read more
ICC seeks investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan since 2003
Violence is so bad in parts of Afghanistan that Red Cross clinics are shutting their doors
After a bloody week in Afghanistan, elected officials seek answers from Ghani
Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign newsKaren Bleier / AFP / Getty Images CIA Director David Petraeus testifies before the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee during a full committee hearing on "World Wide Threats" in Washington, D.C. Jan. 31, 2012
Paula Broadwell stepped off the stage at the Aspen Security Forum on July 28, fresh from criticizing the news media for heedless disclosure of secrets. The afternoon program of seminars was packed with admirals, generals and Cabinet chiefs, but Broadwell had pressing business elsewhere. She ducked out of the conference, slipped into running shorts and jogged off in search of a once-in-a-lifetime birthday present.
Broadwell and CIA Director David Petraeus had fallen into an extramarital affair after years of close contact as biographer and subject. Born two days and 20 years apart, they had big benchmarks approaching—his 60th, her 40th—and Broadwell was looking for a suitably momentous gift. As she had tweeted proudly a few days before, Broadwell had |
wrong, he told her. And she was going to be the first one to fight in the Octagon.
In his own parlance, he was getting into “the Ronda Rousey business.”
In the year since she debuted, she’s arguably become the UFC’s most important asset, crossing nearly every major demographic. She was included in TIME Magazine’s “30 Under 30: World Changers,” she’s been featured on the covers of ESPN The Magazine and Maxim, she’s appeared on late night talks shows like “Conan” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” she’s earned movie roles in Hollywood blockbusters, she’s even been featured in Latino media due to her Venezuelan roots.
Indeed, the Ronda Rousey business is booming.
“There were a lot of other women who struggled to put the bricks in and build the foundation, but Ronda certainly blew everyone out of the water with her tenacity, attitude and incredible skill level,” Kedzie said. “She’s a one-in-a-generation kind of fighter.”
“I’m going to go out and say she’s the biggest superstar we’ve ever had,” UFC president Dana White added. “No guy we’ve ever had has broken into movies or made as much money with sponsorships, movies or fighting like Ronda Rousey has.”
Anything can happen, but I really am extremely encouraged that they have a whole other division that has nothing to do with me, surviving and being supported and having people excited about by it. - Ronda Rousey on her role in the women's division
Rousey has been at the vanguard, much the same way Carano was in the late 2000s. Carano, though, was eventually lured away from fighting after 2009, although she occasionally pops up at events as a fan.
While there has been concern about Rousey prematurely walking away from the sport given all of the outside interest in her, this time there is not as much fear that she will take the spotlight with her. At this point, the UFC is far too invested in women’s fighting. For example, in December, the promotion announced that it had acquired the contracts of 11 female strawweight fighters from Invicta Fighting Championships, and planned to center the next season of The Ultimate Fighter around them, marking the first time there would be an all-women’s season.
That is a welcome development for Rousey, who from the beginning has credited Carano as a trailblazer and voiced a hope of creating similar opportunities for the next generation of female fighters. Now it’s happening before her eyes, which causes her to feel a sense of kinship not only with Carano, but also with UFC pioneer Royce Gracie.
These days, she often sees Gracie around the UFC introducing his children to the current crop of fighters, and she dreams off into the future about doing the same thing.
&nbsp;
“Anything can happen, but I really am extremely encouraged that they have a whole other division that has nothing to do with me, surviving and being supported and having people excited about by it, just for itself on its own,” she said. “And so, yeah, I’m extremely encouraged by that. It’s a big stress off my shoulders to not have to worry about the girls and the girls’ divisions. Now that I see they’re catching their own momentum and the fans are excited about them, it’s like, ‘Go. Go off into the world and have fun with it.’”
The aftershocks are already being felt. Among the female fighters FOX Sports spoke with, all of them said there have been noticeably increasing numbers of women coming into their gyms to train.
“Having seen women in the UFC, they realize they can actually do something with this,” Carmouche said. “They never thought it was possible before, and now it’s creating opportunities for them.”
“There are way more women doing MMA,” Kedzie added. “When I first came to Greg Jackson’s gym, there was me and [Invicta atomweight champion] Michelle Waterson doing MMA, and a bunch of female boxers and kickboxers. Now, every single one of us does MMA here. We get women from all over the world who come here to train MMA.”
This current crop of featured talent will almost certainly give rise to a younger generation who sees the women of the UFC as empowered role models. UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones, for example, has publicly said he has already begun to train his older daughters some fight moves.
“I love women in MMA. I think it’s awesome,” he said. “What Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate and all these girls are doing for our sport, it’s gigantic, and I think it’s changing the world right before our eyes.”
If there is one thing that has been downplayed in this whole whirlwind year, it is the step forward for women’s sports that Rousey and Carmouche took. In basketball, women have their own professional league. In tennis and golf, the women have their own tours. But in one fell swoop, female fighters have been invited to permanently share the same platform and screen time with their male counterparts on a regular basis. That’s something that doesn’t take place in any other professional sport.
For a sport that still receives criticism as fostering misogynistic attitudes, that side-by-side placement is awfully progressive.
“It’s really an awesome opportunity we’ve been given,” said Sara McMann, the former U.S. Olympic wrestling medalist who will face Rousey in the UFC 170 main event on Saturday. “The amount that the UFC supports and backs the women, it’s really incredible. When you hear NBA basketball coaches and executives talking, it’s about their team, their league, the goals they have before them, but they’re not interacting with women’s basketball. It’s not happening at the same time and it’s not discussed as frequently. The fact that Dana White and the people who promote it are adamantly talking about how hard the women work, and how tough they are, and how they come out to fight, that’s awesome. It helps us a lot.”
Part of the move to full honors initially faced some resistance. Both the camps of Dan Henderson and Lyoto Machida, for instance, at first protested the decision to promote Rousey and Carmouche as the main event, a move which pushed them to co-main event status on the UFC 157 card.
“To be honest, at the time of course I wanted to be the main event as anyone would,” Machida said. “I was upset we were dropped to the co-main event. But looking back at it, it was a title fight. And it’s something that has grown a lot in the sport, the women fighting. So really the only reason to be upset is it wasn’t the main event.”
A year later, nobody batted an eyelash when Rousey and McMann were placed as the main event ahead of former champion Rashad Evans.
While the women have won some battles, others remain. There are still the ongoing issues of objectification. There are still problems in some parts of the world finding suitable training partners. And in October, Jessica Eye became the first UFC woman to fail a drug test.
The good news, however, is that most of the problems are not specific to being a female fighter. Most of them are simply pro athlete problems, or human problems, which leads most to believe the growth pattern will continue as the talent level increases.
“The men have been fighting in an organization like the UFC for 20 years,” Carmouche said. “For women, it’s one year. And in that one year, I can already see the skill level changing. Even around here, in the local [San Diego] fights, with women it used to be so sloppy because there weren’t a lot of opportunities. Now I look on every fight card, there’s one or two women’s fights on the show. That’s a huge difference. You can see it expanding and growing. It takes time. We’re babies in the sport, but we’re fast-growing babies.”
Indeed, the women in the UFC have come far in just one year, further than most people thought was ever possible. From a time when there was furor over their place in the Octagon to a time when their champion’s spot in the main event is routine. All of that in 365 days.
That gives hope to people like Kedzie, who lived through one women’s MMA explosion but sees different seeds planted this time around that will have women’s fighting thriving and reaching levels of interest even past what Rousey has drawn. This time, there is a whole division around the superstar, another one on the way, and grassroots numbers exploding.
Dana White might have initially invested into the Rousey business, but he’s expanded far past that now. When it comes to women’s MMA, the Las Vegas based company is all-in. One year later, even the unflappable Rousey finds a thrill in a house built so quickly yet so masterfully.
“It’s funny, I thought that if all the stars and aligned and everything went perfectly it could go this fast,” Rousey said. “But the realistic side of me thought, ‘OK, there’s going to be some things that come up.’ And even though I knew that everything that has happened was possible, I didn’t think it would all progress as seamlessly as it all has.”May 20, 2013 3 min read
Corrections & Amplifications
Bitcoins, in case you haven't already heard all the buzz about them, are virtual coins traded directly between two individuals online. They're exchanged anonymously without a trace and without ever passing through a single bank or other financial institution.
As a business owner, questions likely arise. How much is a Bitcoin worth? Should my business accept them? Is it legal? Is this the payment method of the future?
There's a lot to consider before deciding if accepting the decentralized, crypto-currency is right for your company. Here are four common questions about Bitcoin, explained:
1. What are Bitcoins and how much are they worth?
They are essentially pieces of computer code -- mathematical algorithms, actually -- that represent monetary units. Bitcoins are purchased online using real analog money via Bitcoin exchanges and private sellers. They're then used to trade goods and services on the internet, sometimes illegally. However, more reputable online vendors are beginning to accept Bitcoins, including WordPress, Reddit and dozens of Etsy vendors.
Approximately 11 million Bitcoins are currently in circulation. In all, only 21 million will be generated through the year 2140. A single Bitcoin is worth approximately $117 U.S. dollars, according to Tokyo-based Mt. Gox K.K., the leading Bitcoin trading exchange. Values can fluctuate dramatically from day to day.
Related: The Bitcoin Buzz and How Young Entrepreneurs are Cashing In
2. Are Bitcoin transactions safe?
They are generally considered safe. Bitcoin transaction are secured using what's called public key cryptography encryption, a two-part encryption process that involves a combination of public and private data. Each transaction is publicly verified by the peer-to-peer community network of Bitcoin users.
But Bitcoins are merely code, and cybercriminals can hypothetically hack them. Cybercriminals recently attacked Mt. Gox and Bitcoin-stealing malware continues to spread via Skype.
3. Why would I want to accept them as payment?
Bitcoin can be attractive to business owners mainly because there are zero bank or credit card transaction fees to accept it, which can lead to higher profit margins, more competitive pricing and the ability to operate globally at lower cost. Also, Bitcoin transactions are not subject to tax since Bitcoin is not an official form of money issued by any government. And Bitcoin transactions are completed instantaneously and anonymously, without having to go through a third-party bank, credit card company or PayPal.
But the U.S. Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has issued rules about Bitcoin transactions and the IRS is expected to follow suit.
4. How can I begin accepting Bitcoin payments?
The first step is to create an account with a Bitcoin merchant solution that can help you accept Bitcoins. Mt. Gox is the most popular choice, but there are several others to choose from, including BitPay and BitMerch. Exchanges like these convert Bitcoins to U.S. dollars and other currencies for a nominal fee. For example, Mt. Gox charges up to 0.6 percent from each party for each payment.
Next, you'll want to post an image on your main website or online store that reads "Bitcoin accepted here."
If you sell goods and services from a brick and mortar location, your customers can pay in Bitcoins using a mobile phone app like Paytunia Bitcoin Wallet or Blockchain. Both require a QR code, so be sure to place one near your checkout area.
Related: A Look at 'Bitcoin' Currency
Corrections & Amplifications: A previous version of this story misstated how many Bitcoins are expected to be in circulation by the year 2140. In all, only 21 million will be generated.“Me and my teammates, we’re a family. Those are my boys.”
As a sports reporter, I’ve heard this phrase spoken so many times that I’ve become numb to it. In fact, the words had almost lost any weight they ever carried.
Of course teammates share some sort of bond. Of course family is the easiest way to describe it. But I said the same things about every kid I bonded with at summer camp and now we’re not even friends on Facebook.
These are easy words to say if a player just needs to deal out a quote or if they truly feel the sentiment (at the moment anyway). But with the starting of new lives after graduation, how many Florida Gators still think of former teammates as family or “my boys” after the passing of time?
Three Florida Gators – Do they still feel the love?
In early October, I headed to an NBA exhibition game in Jacksonville to find out if any Gators really do always stay a Gator.
As someone who mainly focuses on college basketball instead of NBA, this Washington Wizards vs New Orleans Pelicans match would barely even register on my radar as a regular season game. Plus, as an exhibition, where the stats that matter most have to do with game time, it shouldn’t have been too exciting.
However, things started looking because in the game were three former Gators; Bradley Beal, Patric Young and Vernon Macklin. Now Billy Donovan has put 19 guys into the NBA, so three playing in one game isn’t red-letter by any means. It even happened in the NBA finals in 2013. But this one was in Jacksonville (which still qualifies as Gator country) and Young is a Jax native. It promised to be sentimental if nothing else.
It was during warm-ups that I got my first glimpse could potentially prove to be a true familial teammate bond. While Beal focused on warming up with his Wizards teammates, over under the Pelicans basket, Young and Macklin were sticking together. It seemed to be almost unconsciously done, as if both just naturally arrived at the side of the other and stayed there for the duration of pre-game.
It’s feasible that while focusing on game preparation that the two didn’t even notice it had happened, but someone else did. Seated right behind the Pelicans bench was Young’s father, Robert, who got to know Macklin during Young’s time at Florida. Now that Patric is a rookie in the league, his dad says he’s taking comfort knowing his son has someone by his side, and hopes it can stay that way for a while.
“We knew Vernon from Florida and he’s a real nice guy. Mentored Patric his senior year…it’s a business but hopefully they can stay together and play together again.”
As the game began, the possibility of these two actually playing together again (they shared a Gator court in the 2011-2012 season) while also facing Florida basketball boy-wonder Bradley Beal (drafted 3rd overall after one season at Florida) was the sole focus of so many in the stands and on press row, including myself.
There was an eye on the benches at all times to see who was subbing in next.
Would it happen? Would they all possibly take the court at the same time? Well, no, they didn’t.
Macklin never even came off the bench.
After spending nearly the entire first half focusing on this though, something else started to penetrate my attention. Gator Nation had in fact headed Patric Young’s request and shown up in full force. Orange and blue dotted the stands that were filled to the rafters.
Fans, ya gotta have fans
One fan in particular, Kenny Arugta, was camped out in a prime spot behind press row, repping in his Gator shirt and doing his due diligence to keep his Gator boys motivated.
“Teach me how to ball Bradley…Good rebound Patric!”
Eventually I had to turn around and ask if he came for the teams or the players. His answer was easy.
“[I came to see] Patric Young of course…and Brad. Beal’s a beast.”
And then…
“There he is. Beal! Do it for the Gators!”
This really wasn’t surprising. Fans are passionate and will show up to support these guys that bring them joy, and even some heartache for so many years. What was slightly more surprising though was the fan who was just a stone’s throw over from Arugta.
Josh Evans was a defensive back on the Gators football team through the 2012 season, after which he was drafted to the Jacksonville Jaguars. He had plenty of things he could have been doing on that Wednesday night, yet there he was, in the middle of section 112 with a bunch of rowdy fans.
After a few minutes of Gator football talk, we turned back to the game in front of us and I asked him the same thing. What brought you out tonight?
“I mean you got my boy Pat, you got my boy Bradley. I came to see them all play.”
True, many times the “boy” relation can stretch across sports, as was the case with Evans who was able to become friends with his fellow athletes Young and Beal while at school. But when it was said this time, I added a little more weight back to the meaning. Evans could’ve just said called these guys his boys, and mentioned how they’re all apart of Gator Nation in passing to someone. He could’ve stepped it up a little and just tweeted it, which he actually did.
[embedTweet url=”519899215854837762″]
My Memaw always said
But as Memaw always liked to say, actions speak louder than words, and by the nature of his presence there at the game, his statement immediately rang more true. He wasn’t just calling them his boys and lamenting about “Gator Nation being a supportive family”. He was actually putting it into action.
Now that the focus on this Gator Nation family had grown larger than the three guys in uniforms, the question became; did these three guys notice as well? Where they only excited about seeing each other, or did they receive fulfillment from the people in the stands as well? Or did they not care about either as I was pessimistically expecting beforehand? I got my answer with Bradley Beal.
Beal finished the night with 11 points, 1 assist and 5 rebounds in route to helping his team to a 5-point win. Afterwards, he sat quietly in the locker room, not drawing any attention to himself, just listening to music as he ate his post-game meal. He seemed reluctant to conduct another interview, as most were already done for the evening, but he obliged and kindly turned for a few more questions. After a couple of general inquires, met with polite brusque answers, I was beginning to think we’d both be happier if I just left.
But then I found the key. All it took was one question about the Florida fans in the stands and his whole composure changed; sat up a little straighter, eyes brightened, voice grew louder. This was a topic he was happy to discuss.
“It’s great. Once a gator, always a gator. Just shows that school and that fan base is super loyal no matter how long you’ve been there and it’s always great because they always welcome me back whenever I’m back in Gainesville.”
Here a look passed over Beal’s face, which had just been beaming. Not regret per se, but almost longing, which he quickly confirmed with his next statement.
“It’s always great to be able to go back down there. I wish I would’ve done more years than one because college is supposed to be the best four years of your life but I definitely try to get a little bit of experience when I go back.”
If he had it to do over again would he stay longer? At that question he pauses, gives a slight chuckle, a couple of ‘I don’t know’s and then, “depends on the situation. I probably would actually”.
As countless articles were written a year ago about the 2013-2014 Gator basketball team and how it did take them those full four years to grow into an impenetrable family, it would seem Beal and his one year in the O-Dome wouldn’t know about that as much. Could he really call these guys his boys, and his family?
According to him, yes, he can.
“I play against Joakim [Noah] all the time and it’s always cool playing against him and it’s always competitive but at the end of the day we’re still boys.”
After finally being allowed to finish his meal, Beal wandered out to the court where friends and family surrounded the players. He had a couple more boys to see.
There was a line of fans waiting to take a picture with Patric Young, but it quickly dispersed as Beal walked up. The two former teammates, and now competitors spent all of 45 seconds catching up before being ushered to buses or hounded by fans again. Thus is the life of professional athletes. Sadly this meeting didn’t’ go like I had wanted which would’ve looked something like this…
As Young is adjusting to this life of a professional athlete though, he’s found that support system he and his teammates bragged about in college is carrying over into the NBA.
“I love to see those guys doing well. I don’t want them to do well against us obviously. Having them on my team is special. It’s great seeing guys like Brad, and UD [Udonis Haslem] and Al Horford do exceptionally well right now.”
It’s helped me continue to have hope and continue to work hard. Motivate me to obtain that same level…being a kid…you always dream about that. College was always like, ‘man I’m so close to being in the NBA’ and now I’m actually here so it’s still kinda surreal.”
As I watch this all unfold, there’s a slightly surreal filling for me as well. Beal and Young say their goodbyes with a genuine feeling, not one just out of obligation. Then they turn to the Gator fans surrounding them with anticipation, happy to welcome another into their fold of an ever-growing family. And look, there’s Josh Evans coming to speak to “his boys”.
They had me at “Those are my boys”
It’s still a phrase that get’s thrown around a lot. “Me and my teammates, we’re a family. Those are my boys.”
I had begun to not even believe it any more. And in a weird, twisted way I was right.
Because there’s a whole section of that quote that is missing.
It’s more than the teammates. It’s the Gator Nation. As cliché as it sounds, on a random Wednesday night in Jacksonville, three unlikely guys along with an arena of fans proved to me it’s more than just people waxing poetic.
It’s true.
Hmm, maybe I should have kept up with those friends from camp.SALEM -- A group of Oregon State Penitentiary inmates hopes to carve a one-of-a-kind healing garden out of a small space wedged between the massive prison yard and an imposing cellblock.
The effort, spearheaded by two prison clubs, the Asian Pacific Family Club and the Veterans Association, has been underway for about three years as inmates built a network of supporters and champions among prison administrators, staff, volunteers and their fellow inmates.
Their biggest booster: Hoichi Kurisu, the highly regarded landscape designer who supervised construction of the Portland Japanese Garden.
Kurisu, who owns Kurisu International, a landscape design company, has met with the group and offered to donate his time to design the garden, estimated to cost $180,000. Corrections officials have tentatively approved the garden -- which has been revised three times due to security concerns -- as long as inmates cover the costs and come up with a plan for caring for it.
According to the Oregon Department of Corrections, the men directly involved have spotless disciplinary records or been trouble-free for years. Most are serving long prison stints for violent crimes and sex crimes.
The men say the effort to create something beautiful on the grounds of Oregon’s lone maximum-security prison has given them a rare sense of purpose.
They’ve made multiple presentations to outside groups to generate funding for the project. So far, they’ve covered about half of the budget with grants and donations, including about $5,000 from inmates.
“We are attempting to do something in a place that can be a hopeless place or can seem like a hopeless place, but really all we have in here is hope,” said Johnny Cofer, 44, who is 18 years into a life sentence for murder. “We have to be willing to challenge ourselves to act on that hope even if it seems unlikely.
“That is why it’s important to try to do it,” he said.
Cofer said he and other organizers hope the daily experience of seeing the garden at the Salem prison will offer a respite from the inmate experience and make rehabilitation possible. The space -- in the same fenced-in grassy area as a veterans memorial -- is one inmates pass daily on their way to and from meals. Inmates also will be able to visit the garden, which will cover a space that's 85 feet by 55 feet, by appointment.
“The landscape in here, the environment in here is sterile, it’s stressful,” Cofer said. “Everything is hard. And you know, it kind of makes us feel like we need to be hard to survive in here too.”
Cofer said the project has encountered obstacles given the restrictive setting. Inmates don’t have internet access so they’ve had to depend on staff and their own families to research healing gardens. The design itself, which includes features like a koi pond and a wooden bridge, has undergone multiple security reviews so the project complies with rules about height and materials.
Through it all, prison officials have been surprisingly supportive, he said.
“Normally the culture of prisons is the keepers and the kept,” Cofer said. “That is not what is happening here at all. They have been absolutely supportive from the beginning.”
Melissa Michaux, an associate professor of politics at Willamette University, has helped connect the group to potential funding sources. Though advocates like Michaux thought the idea seemed implausible at first, the garden project has already generated grant dollars from groups like Social Justice Fund NW.
Michaux credited the men with sticking with the idea, saying they’re determined to be remembered for something other than what landed them in prison.
“They know they have committed harm, not only to victims but to their family members and the community,” she said. “This is a way to create something beautiful, to participate in something positive.”
Healing gardens are designed to engage visitors mentally, physically and spiritually, said Michiko Kurisu, Kurisu’s daughter.
The best examples offer a space to inmates “that allows them to almost get away from themselves.”
Kurisu, who was approached about the idea by an outside advocate for the Asian Pacific Family Club, said he’d never been in a prison before his first meeting with the men. He recalled how thrilled they were to discuss their ideas, their research on healing gardens and their determination to introduce elements of the natural world in an otherwise bleak environment.
“He’s really interested in the transformative quality of that experience in nature,” Michiko Kurisu said. “That is a big thing for these guys in prison; They are interested in transformation and reformation.”
-- Noelle Crombie
503-276-7184; @noellecrombieShe did nothing about it until her sophomore year. Then she began to read in The Harvard Crimson, the student newspaper, about a new student group on campus — a band of celibates, men and women, calling themselves True Love Revolution. They were pushing, for reasons entirely secular, the cause of premarital sexual abstinence, and Fredell, by this time, was utterly committed to abstinence. She could hardly bear to see it ridiculed in The Crimson. An article about the group’s ice cream social appeared under the headline “Not Tonight, Honey, I Have a Brain Freeze.” A columnist who wrote about the group joked of getting “very, very aroused” just thinking about virgins and wondered if such people might be available for “dry humping.”
“It’s an odd thing to see one’s lifestyle essentially attacked in The Crimson,” Fredell said. She began to feel a need to stand up for her beliefs, and what she believed in more than anything at Harvard was the value of not having premarital sex. In an essay she wrote for The Crimson, she asserted that “virginity is extremely alluring,” though its “mysterious allure... is not rooted in an image of innocence and purity, but rather in the notion of strength.” As she told me later, “It takes a strong woman to be abstinent, and that’s the sort of woman I want to be.”
After the essay appeared a year ago, Fredell was immediately aware of a loss of privacy, of having entered “whatever it is, the public sphere.” As students began responding on The Crimson Web site, she understood that she had defined herself at Harvard. “Everything became very clear to me,” she recalled when we met. She would join True Love Revolution. “I realized it was bigger than me, more important.”
UNTIL RECENTLY, organized efforts at abstinence have been mainly a high-school thing. Christy Gardner, an assistant professor at Wheaton College who is writing a book about evangelical sexual-abstinence programs, said that high-school chastity clubs took off in the early 1990s as evangelical Christians got fed up first with music videos, condom distributions, teen pregnancy and then with President Clinton’s dalliances. It seemed to them that a hypersexualized culture was instructing young people to have sex, Gardner says, and they created the clubs to push from the other direction. Millions of teenagers have since pledged to remain sexually abstinent until marriage, mainly on the grounds that premarital sex is sin.
At the same time, Congress and the Bush administration have directed hundreds of millions of dollars toward abstinence-only education in the public middle schools and high schools — classes that have been roundly criticized for blurring the line between science and religion. A 2004 report issued by Representative Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, found that 11 of 13 abstinence curriculums that his government-reform committee examined were rife with scientific errors and false and misleading information about the risks of sexual activity. Many states are now rejecting federal financing for such classes, on evidence that they fail to limit sexual behavior or reduce teen pregnancy.
In a follow-up study to a 1995 national survey of close to 12,000 students in grades 7 through 12, two sociologists, Peter Bearman at Columbia University and Hannah Brückner at Yale, found that while those who took virginity pledges preserved their technical virginity about 18 months longer than teenagers who didn’t pledge, they were six times more likely to engage in oral sex than virgins who hadn’t taken a pledge. They were also much less likely to use condoms during their first sexual experience or to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases. Disease rates between those who pledged and those who didn’t were actually similar. The authors, who published their findings in 2005, concluded that the emphasis on premarital abstinence was insufficient to fend off disease and “collides with the realities of adolescents’ and young adults’ lives.”
Many college students today, however, grew up with abstinence classes and clubs in their communities, and so the movement has raised a generation of activists. Among prominent abstinence activists is Wendy Shalit, who wrote “Girls Gone Mild: Young Women Reclaim Self-Respect and Find It’s Not Bad to Be Good,” which came out last year. She says that talk of disease rates and the amount of sexual activity on campuses is beside the point. A sex-saturated popular culture creates certain expectations, she argues. “The key thing to remember,” Shalit wrote me recently in an e-mail message, “is that many young people involved in sexual activity feel pressured into it.” Many are uncomfortable with “the hookup scene,” she continued, and “college abstinence programs are growing out of this awareness that disconnected sex is not as pleasurable as the media (and sometimes college administrators) have led us to believe.” The awareness is especially acute in the highly politicized environment of the elite schools, where, according to Shalit, “there is just one lifestyle that doesn’t get recognition” — premarital abstinence.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
The Ivy League’s abstinence clubs began emerging several years ago about the same time as student sex blogs, sex columns and, at Harvard and Yale, student sex magazines. Those involved, however, say that the most important catalyst was university-sponsored safe-sex education, which they saw as institutional encouragement of promiscuity. The founders of the Princeton club, the first to form in the Ivy League in 2005, wanted to offer an opposing view. Many were Catholic, but seeking credibility within the university at large, they decided not to present themselves as a religious organization and always to “shy away from arguments with religious premises,” says Kevin Joyce, a former president of the club. “Here at a university, we have to provide the intellectual basis” for abstinence, he told me. “Every position we take as a group can be confirmed by rational thought.”
Photo
Making a rational case against premarital sex was easier before reliable contraception. But to shore things up, the club has turned to Catholic thinkers like Elizabeth Anscombe, the philosopher and student of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Anscombe’s arguments against premarital sex are as impressive as they are difficult to summarize, and the students so admired her logic, they named their society after her. Robert George, a professor of jurisprudence at Princeton, is one of the Anscombe Society’s informal faculty advisers. Himself a Catholic thinker, George says that society members employ “philosophical-ethical arguments” to support their belief that promiscuity “deeply compromises human dignity,” and psychological and sociological rationale to justify the claim that casual sex leads to “personal unhappiness and social harm.” The students are some of Princeton’s most gifted, George says, and “even people who don’t accept their conclusions recognize that the arguments being advanced by the Anscombe students are serious and cannot be easily dismissed.”
The Anscombe Society at Princeton went on to embrace positions not just against premarital sex but also against homosexual sex and marriage. Founders have tried to spread its method to other schools, and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were the first to follow with another Anscombe Society. Bill Jacobs, the president, says it’s a loosely organized group. “People tend to be pretty busy with homework,” he says.
The Harvard abstinence club came next, in 2006. “We wanted to take it in a completely different direction,” Justin Murray, one club founder, told me. Murray and other members of the Harvard-Radcliffe Catholic Student Association admired Princeton’s effort to fit into the “intellectual discourse of a top school” — but didn’t want to make people at Harvard “dig deep into the philosophical catacombs,” as he puts it, just to understand why they should keep their clothes on. Harvard students are more emotionally involved in their causes, he told me. They’re more about getting things done, “making people happier, better and making society more just.” Murray didn’t think Anscombe’s “excessively abstract” logic would appeal to his classmates; nor, he added, would the Anscombe Society’s position against gays. “We wanted to make abstinence look fun, interesting,” he said.
Murray and his girlfriend, Sarah Kinsella, decided that their club would focus on the issue “most immediately relevant” to people on campus — premarital sexual abstinence — and would try to persuade people toward it with arguments less philosophical than scientific. “Many people on our campus were deprived of information,” Murray told me, and so he says he went looking through peer-reviewed journals and government sources for research that supported the abstinence view.
“We found a huge body of scholarship that suggested conclusions that nobody on our campus was making,” he says. They posted the conclusions on their Web site — the belief that “ ‘safe sex’ is not safe”; that even the most effective methods of birth control can fail; that early sexual activity is strongly associated with all manner of terrible outcomes, from increased risk of depression to greater likelihood of marital infidelity, divorce and maternal poverty. Premarital abstinence, on the other hand, is held up by True Love Revolution as improving health, promoting better relationships and, best of all, enabling “better sex in your future marriage.”
Plenty of critics dispute at least some of these claims. Martha Kempner, a spokeswoman for the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, which promotes sex education, agrees that True Love Revolution performs a service in providing abstinent students a place to gather for support. “What is disturbing,” she says, “is that this club is using inaccurate information and distorted data to sell that message.” She strongly rejects suggestions that premarital sex leads to poverty, an inability to bond or to increased likelihood of divorce. “There’s no legitimate research that says premarital sex has all of these harmful consequences,” she says. “They’re completely baseless claims.”
A voluntary online survey showed that students at Harvard were less sexually active than undergraduates elsewhere, says Dr. David Rosenthal, director of University Health Services, which conducted the survey. But perceiving a sexualized culture, members of True Love Revolution went to war. The group did not require an abstinence pledge, nor concern itself with drawing specific boundaries. Its one stated purpose was to discourage premarital intercourse, but by declining to endorse gay marriage, the group left gays, just as Princeton did, with no option but to abstain forever. Since True Love Revolution did not condemn gay marriage, Murray hoped no one would feel “personally attacked.” “We just wanted it to be kind of humorous and lighthearted,” he said.
Advertisement Continue reading the main story
True Love Revolution was denounced, however, after its first big outreach effort, on Valentine’s Day 2007. Members had sent out cards to the women of the freshmen class that read: “Why wait? Because you’re worth it.” Some interpreted the card to mean that those who didn’t wait until marriage to have sex would somehow be worth less |
1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1960, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996
Big 12 Conference (18)
1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Conference tournament championships [ edit ]
The Big Eight Conference did not regularly have a post-season tournament until after the 1977 season. Prior to that teams usually played in the Big Eight (before that, Big Seven) Holiday Tournament in December. The Holiday tournament ended after the 1979 season.
Big Seven/Big Eight Holiday Tournament (13)
1951, 1953, 1956, 1957, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1977, 1978
Big Eight Conference (4)
1981, 1984, 1986, 1992
Big 12 Conference (11)
NCAA Tournament seeding history [ edit ]
The NCAA started seeding all teams in 1979, with Kansas' first subsequent tournament seed in 1981.
Years → '81 '84 '85 '86 '87 '88 '90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 Seeds→ 7 5 3 1 5 6 2 3 1 2 4 1 2 1 1 6 8 4 1 2
Years → '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 Seeds→ 4 3 4 1 1 3 1* 1 2 1 2 2 1* 1 1
* Indicates overall number one seed.
#
Indicates NCAA championship.
Final Four history [ edit ]
[56] The 2008 NCAA Championship banner located on the northern rafts of Allen Fieldhouse.
Men's NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player [ edit ]
*Did not play on a championship team
1952 Championship results [ edit ]
1952 NCAA Tournament Results Round Opponent Score First Round TCU 68–64 Second Round St. Louis 74–55 Final Four Santa Clara 74–55 Championship St. John's 80–63
1988 Championship results [ edit ]
The 1988 Jayhawks, at 27–11, had the lowest winning percentage (.710) and most losses of any team to win the national championship.[57]
2008 Championship results [ edit ]
Complete NCAA tournament results [ edit ]
The Jayhawks have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 46 times. Their combined record is 99–47.
*Following the introduction of the "First Four" round in 2011, the Round of 64 and Round of 32 were referred to as the Second Round and Third Round, respectively, from 2011 to 2015, then from 2016 moving forward, the Round 64 and Round of 32 will be called the First and Second rounds.
NIT results [ edit ]
The Jayhawks have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) two times. Their combined record is 3–2.
Year Round Opponent Result 1968 First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals Temple
Villanova
Saint Peter's
Dayton W 82–76
W 55–49
W 58–46
L 48–61 1969 First Round Boston College L 62–78
Jayhawks of note [ edit ]
All-time scoring leaders [ edit ]
[58]
Consensus first team [ edit ]
Kansas leads all NCAA teams with 30 consensus First Team All-American selections, 23 different players have received the honor.[59]
‡ indicates player has made at least 2000 points and 1000 rebounds in his college career.
Other first team selections [ edit ]
Academic All-Americans [ edit ]
1971 – Bud Stallworth
1974 – Tom Kivisto
1977 – Cris Barnthouse
1977 – Ken Koenigs
1978 – Ken Koenigs
1979 – Darnell Valentine
1980 – Darnell Valentine
1981 – Darnell Valentine
1982 – David Magley
1996 – Jacque Vaughn
1997 – Jacque Vaughn†
1997 – Jerod Haase
1999 – Ryan Robertson
2010 – Cole Aldrich†
2011 – Tyrel Reed
† indicates Academic All-American of the Year
National Player of the Year awards [ edit ]
The 47 McDonald's All-Americans listed below have signed with Kansas.[67] An asterisk, "*", Indicates player did not finish his college career at Kansas. A cross, "†", indicates player did not begin his college career at Kansas
1970–1999
2000–2019
Jayhawk basketball players notable in other fields [ edit ]
Bob Dole – Politician – 1941–1945
Retired jerseys [ edit ]
Thirty players have had their jersey retired by Kansas. One former announcer, Max Falkenstien, is honored with the retired jerseys as well. His number 60 was chosen because that was the number of years he was the radio announcer for the Jayhawks. KU only retires the jerseys, and not the numbers, of past basketball players. Eight players honored played on one of KU's 5 championship teams. Charlie T. Black and Paul Endacott are the only two players with their jerseys retired to play on two championship teams. Four players from the 2008 Championship have their jersey retired, which is the most players honored to be on a roster in any single season in Kansas basketball history.
[68]
*Indicates member of 1922 National Championship team
†Indicates member of 1923 National Championship team
‡Indicates member of 1952 championship team
#Indicates member of 1988 National Championship team
^Indicates member of 2008 National Championship team
Jayhawks in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame [ edit ]
There are multiple people associated with the University of Kansas in some way that have been enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Some former players have been enshrined as players, while some former players have been enshrined as coaches
Players [ edit ]
Coaches [ edit ]
Associated with the University of Kansas, but enshrined for another reason [ edit ]
The following names are people that were associated with the University of Kansas in some way, but were not enshrined for the reason they were associated with Kansas, for example, former players enshrined as a coach.
Olympians [ edit ]
Representing the United States men's national basketball team unless otherwise noted.
*Valentine was selected to the US team, but the USA boycotted the 1980 summer Olympics.
Jayhawks in the NBA [ edit ]
The Jayhawks have multiple connections to the NBA. Below is a list of former players and coaches. People that are currently coaches or in management will show their current job, as well as how they are associated with Kansas basketball.
Current management [ edit ]
Coaches [ edit ]
Current players [ edit ]
In 2008, five Jayhawks were drafted: Darrell Arthur, Mario Chalmers, Darnell Jackson, Sasha Kaun and Brandon Rush. This tied the record for most players selected in the draft in one year from one school. Kansas tied with Connecticut in 2006 and Florida in 2007.[70] This record was broken in the 2012 NBA Draft by Kentucky.[71] Players with an asterisk are players that have been assigned to the G-League. In the offseason, players who were signed to a team's summer league roster should not be included.
Recently became a Free agent [ edit ]
This section is former Jayhawks that were on an NBA roster during the 2016-2017 NBA season but are not on an NBA roster.
Two-way players [ edit ]
NBA teams can sign players to two–way contracts allowing them to easily transition back and forth from the NBA team and their G–League affiliate based on the needs of the team.
Former players [ edit ]
[72] [73]
Draft history [ edit ]
86 total NBA draft picks. [74]
37 players drafted 30th or better. 37 if including territorial pick Wilt Chamberlain. (Equivalent to 1st round picks by modern draft standards.)
22 players drafted 31–60th. (Equivalent to 2nd round picks by modern draft standards.)
Territorial Picks
From 1947–65 the draft allowed teams not drawing fans to select a local player, in place of their first round pick.
Year Player Team 1959 Wilt Chamberlain Philadelphia Warriors
Regular Draft
Current Jayhawk college coaches [ edit ]
Division I Head Coaches – former head coaches
Division I Head Coaches – former players
Division I Head Coaches – former players and assistant coaches
Division I head coaches – former assistants
Division I head coaches – Kansas alumni
Division I assistants – former players
Division I assistants – former assistants
Division II head coaches
NCAA records [ edit ]
Active streaks [ edit ]
25+ win seasons: 13, since 2006
20+ win seasons: 29, since 1990
Consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances: 29
Most consecutive coaches leading team to Final Four: 6
Most consecutive conference titles: 14
As of the conclusion of the 2017–18 regular season
Team [ edit ]
Largest unranked-to-ranked jump: From unranked to No. 4 after beating No. 1 (UNLV), No. 2 (LSU), and No. 25 (SJU) in the 1989 preseason NIT. [76]
Most wins over an opponent in a single calendar year: 5 (Over Nebraska in 1909 and Kansas State in 1935)
Consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances: 29, 1990 to 2018 (active streak)
Consecutive regular season conference championships: 14, 2005 to 2018 (active streak)
Individual [ edit ]
Career games scoring in double figures: 132, Danny Manning
Rebounds in first career game: 31, Wilt Chamberlain, vs. Northwestern, December 5, 1956
Most blocks in a single NCAA tournament: 31, Jeff Withey
Other [ edit ]
Most winning seasons: 96
Most non-losing seasons (.500 or better): 99
Most regular season conference championships: 61
Most Consensus first-team All-Americans: 21
Most Consensus first-team All-American selections: 28
See also [ edit ]Attack of the nanny state: Now toddlers must do at least three hours of exercise every day
Sit down less and get 75 minutes of 'vigorous activity' every week, adults urged
Toddlers are to be prescribed at least three hours of exercise a day as part of a government anti-obesity drive.
From today, parents will also be told that under-fives should be made to walk for at least 15 minutes during routine journeys, such as trips to nursery or the shops.
The guidelines called 'Start Active, Stay Active' extend to those too young to walk, with babies expected to swim and play on ‘baby gym’ activity mats.
Exercise: Babies must be active for a minimum of three hours every day, new government guidelines warn
The advice comes amid growing concern about childhood obesity, with almost a quarter of boys and girls already overweight by the time they start school.
Experts predict that by 2050 almost two-thirds of children could be too heavy for their height, and British children have been shown in studies to be among the laziest in the world, with most pre-schoolers only spending between two and two-and-a-half hours a day being active.
However, the guidance, which will also include recommendations for older children and adults, is bound to lead to accusations of nanny-state meddling.
The advice was issued by England’s chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies and her counterparts across Britain.
'Turn the TV off': Government medical advisers say that children's inactive lifestyles are often the fault of lazy parents
It follows research linking early exercise to physical and mental health, and aims to get children out of car seats and buggies and onto their feet.
It will say that children under five ‘should spend as little time as possible being restrained or sitting, except when they are sleeping’.
The guidelines
Dame Sally said that once a child can walk, they should be physically active for at least three hours a day.
Suggested activities include running, playing chase, swimming, skipping, riding a bike and scaling a climbing frame. Babies should stretch and roll on activity mats and be taken swimming.
‘There is considerable international evidence that letting children crawl, play or roll around on the floor is essential during early years,’ Dame Sally said.
‘Play that allows under-fives to move around is critical and three hours a day is essential. I think there are parents who are not aware how important it is for their children to be physically active.
'Other parents are very busy and may not see how important it is to get that prioritisation and balance right.
‘This matters to your child now, to their development through childhood and adolescence and to their disease profile in middle-age and later life.’
Some experts questioned whether the guidelines will be able to make a difference.
Pugh: Nanny? I wish...
Professor David Haslam, a GP and chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘It is a little bit naïve to come up with guidelines when what is needed is safer streets and more parks and more availability for exercise for toddlers.’
The Children’s Society added that other government policies, including welfare reforms and spending cuts, would make it harder for parents to pay for things such as swimming classes.
The new guidelines also include a new section covering the over-65s.
Like younger adults, they are advised to perform 150 minutes of moderate activity each week and spend at least two sessions improving muscle strength.
However, it says they should also incorporate activities to help improve balance and co-ordination twice a week.
The report emphasises the need to be active every day and the need to reduce the amount of time sitting down.
It also highlights the benefits of vigorous activity such as jogging or taking part in aerobics classes - ideally up to 75 minutes a week.Some 2 million people around Africa's mile-high Lake Kivu could face grave consequences if trapped volcanic gases rise to the surface. To avert danger, the Rwandan government has launched a grand engineering scheme to suck up explosive methane from depths of 1,000 feet and pipe it to a nearby power plant.
Supporters say the KivuWatt project could double the country's electricity production and reduce its dependence on imported diesel fuel which currently powers nearly all of its electricity according to a feature story on the BBC website.
The 1,040-square mile Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes in the Rift Valley. It sits in a volcanic area between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where CO2 emerges from the bottom and, along with methane that forms from it, remains undisturbed and dissolved under the pressure of 1,000 feet of water, the story notes.
But an earthquake or a lava flow could loosen the trap and catastrophically release the gases, as happened in Cameroon in 1986, when a deadly cloud of CO2 from Lake Nyos asphyxiated over 1,000 people. In addition, the methane could explode under certain conditions when it hits the air. Lava from the nearby Nyiragongo volcano flowed into Lake Kivu in 2002.
So 8 miles offshore, Rwanda and New York City based energy engineering company ContourGlobal will drop four huge straws - risers - over 1,100 feet down to pull up the CO2 and methane. It will pipe the methane to a new power plant, and return the CO2 to the lake as storage. ContourGlobal is currently loading a barge in preparation for the project.
By removing the methane from the mix, the process relieves pressure and reduces the chances of a release, ContourGlobal's Bill Barry told the BBC.
Australian energy consulting firm Sinclair Knight Merz has warned that if KivuWatt is not carefully operated, it could itself cause an explosion or gas release from the lake.
Rwandan government engineer Augusta Umutoni told the BBC she rejected that risk. But she worries the project could alter the lake's chemistry, turning it more acidic and giving rise to algae, which itself could be catastrophic for fish life and for the 2 million people who rely on the fish for food and their livelihood.
In order to monitor that possibility, the project will start with a small pilot stage producing electricity from methane next year. A successful project would keep a healthy fish population and would also deliver electricity for the first time to the homes of many villagers.
More hot and bubbling earth on SmartPlanet:
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.comA rainbow arches over the U.S. Capitol dome as seen from Pennsylvania Avenue after a torrential rain in Washington on June 18. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)
Here we go again. District residents, you know the drill.
Congress needs to agree on how to fund the government by Sept. 30 and, well, at this point, a government shutdown seems likely, according to experts. For those of us who live in the city, that means an extra hurdle to ensure that city government remains open. This time around, officials say they are ready and the city will operate as usual.
The District, because it is not a state or part of one, requires a federal appropriation to spend its budget, even though most of the city’s budget comes from locally generated taxes. During the 1995 government shutdown, many “non-essential” local services came to a halt, such as trash collection, libraries, the DMV and health inspectors.
When the 2013 government shutdown was imminent, city leaders contemplated whether they should defy the federal government and deem all city employees “essential” — effectively leaving the city government operating as usual. At the time, the city’s attorney general warned that this illegal idea was probably not the best one and could lead to fines and criminal prosecution. The city ultimately opted to tap into its $144 million contingency fund to keep the city running as normal.
Congress must pass a budget before Sept. 30, or it faces partially shutting down the government for the second time in two years. Here's how we got to another potential shutdown. (Jayne W. Orenstein/The Washington Post)
But the city says it’s better prepared this time. When D.C. approved its fiscal 2016 budget, it included a provision that said the city could continue to operate at locally approved budget levels in the event of a government shutdown. (This latest budget turned into a controversial fight for budget autonomy, but the District did ultimately submit the budget to Congress as the law requires it to, and the budget made it through.)
D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton pushed to have a nearly identical measure tacked onto a 2015 appropriations bill, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by the president.
Here’s how the mayor’s office put it in an e-mail:
In the event of a shutdown, the District would continue to perform all vital services and functions. Last year’s Budget Request Act provides that we can continue to operate at the locally approved budget levels. Our position is that Budget Autonomy will be effective as law for the District’s next fiscal year. This will allow the District to spend local funds at the levels approved in the FY16 BRA until a continuing resolution or appropriations bill is approved – and allow us to spend funds on new programs and initiatives without restriction.
Still, just because D.C. employees have to go to work during the shutdown, it doesn’t mean the city won’t take a hit.
Federal workers and government contractors could be out of jobs, and the Panda Cam, for instance —which is operated by the Smithsonian’s National Zoo — would be powered down. The Mall and the Smithsonian museums will be closed, all of which typically draw in tourists and are a big boon to city coffers. And the Meridian Park drum circle? That’s federal land and a no-go as well.
On the plus side, if the 2013 government shutdown is any indication, there will be lots of food and drink specials throughout the city.
“The federal government is a vital part of the District’s community and economy,” mayoral spokeswoman Christina Harper wrote in an e-mail. “A shutdown would needlessly put tens of thousands of D.C. residents and employees livelihoods at risk – adversely impacting the District, the region and national economy. A prolonged shutdown could slow down our economy and impact our revenue collections.”The world of IoT devices is about to get a little weirder thanks to an Indiegogo project featuring a unicorn that toots a rainbow whenever you receive good news from Twitter, Twitch, and more.
Tootz came about when inventor Jaime Ruiz-Avila was hanging out with a friend. “My friend Brian’s 6-year-old and her friends knew I worked with lasers and computers and wanted me to make her a unicorn that toots rainbows,” he said.
So, he brought the idea to his team at Unlimited Enterprises Limited, an Austin-based design studio Ruiz-Avila founded in order to build things out of science fiction and make them real. “The idea of the company is to be a place where nothing is either too ambitious or, in this case, silly to pursue.”
Creating a happier internet, one toot at a time
Tootz the Unicorn looks like a simple, happy unicorn decoration at first glance. However, behind that gleeful smile is a sophisticated system powered by Intel’s Internet of Things SoC. It utilizes node.js and websockets to filter out good news from bad news, insuring that Tootz only activates when good things happen.
Ruiz-Avila said, “The idea is that your phone gets both good and bad notifications. Tootz only goes off for good news.”
For example, Tootz will do his thing when a new Twitch subscriber signs up, or your favorite people are online. It won’t, however, alert you every time someone says something rude on YouTube. You can set it to activate for a variety of situations through its mobile app.
“We started playing around, but as we did we realized that Tootz became like a physical manifestation of the positive side of the web,” Ruiz-Avila said. “It makes people have fun with technology and we’re all about that.”
Generating magical rainbows with IoT technology
Tootz connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi and is powered by either battery or USB. Its rainbow emissions are created with a blend of colorful LEDs accompanied by small amount of vapor to bring out the rainbow’s colors.
Tootz currently integrates with Twitter, Facebook, Twitch and Gmail to receive fart-worthy notifications. Support for additional services are expected soon as development continues.
But not every unicorn is as rich as you’ve heard
The Tootz project is available on Indiegogo, and backers can claim one of their own for $69-89 with a special Golden Horn edition available for backers that fund it at the $114 level.
The project’s goal is $9,000, which would be enough to bring wholesale costs down enabling the first production run.
If the Tootz project is successful enough, there may even be more magical creatures coming to the IoT world in the future. Ruiz-Avila stated, “We already have requests for a dragon that breathes fire and a “hype” Train that bellows multicolor steam. So, this might become a real product line.”There were some who clung to the belief that Senator Ted Cruz could survive his belittling, too-cute-by-half, selfish convention speech. That group just lost a whole lot of members with this published story.
Robert Mercer, the renegade, outlaw (non traditional) political billionaire who determines where all other outlaw political billionaires go with their view$, has just delivered a non recoverable smack down upon Senator Ted Cruz.
Noted, of course, is the vessel (NYT) utilized by an angry Mercer – to deliver the message and drive home the scope of his rebuke:
(Via New York Times) In an extraordinary public rebuke, two influential donors who were among the biggest supporters of Senator Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign excoriated Mr. Cruz on Saturday for his decision not to endorse Donald J. Trump at the Republican National Convention.
The remarks from Robert Mercer of Long Island and his daughter Rebekah Mercer suggest widening fallout over Mr. Cruz’s convention speech, in which he did not endorse his former rival and, instead, suggested that Republicans should “vote your conscience” for candidates “up and down the ticket.”
“Last summer and again this year, Senator Ted Cruz pledged to support the candidacy of the nominee of the Republican Party, whomever that nominee might be,” the Mercers, who rarely comment in the news media, said in the statement to The New York Times.
“We are profoundly disappointed that on Wednesday night he chose to disregard this pledge. The Democratic Party will soon choose as their nominee a candidate who would repeal both the First and Second Amendments of the Bill of Rights, a nominee who would remake the Supreme Court in her own image. We need ‘all hands on deck’ to ensure that Mr. Trump prevails”. “Unfortunately, Senator Cruz has chosen to remain in his bunk below, a decision both regrettable and revealing.” (read more)
This is HUGE…. Remember, Mercer bought and built the entire Cambridge Analytics empire specifically for Ted Cruz. Then Mercer purchased Breitbart to assist the endeavor; then Mercer put $11 million into Cruz super-PAC’s.
Billionaire Robert Mercer just crushed any future hope for Ted Cruz’s career (though we did think that might possibly happen). The use of “regrettable and revealing“, is a very key component of the statement.
Such a loud and visible atomic sledgehammer approach also means the similarly minded financial backers, like the Wilks Brothers, will find difficulty not follow suit and turn their backs on Cruz.
Left-wing political billionaires and right-wing political billionaires all travel in the same circles. Remember the exclusive Sea Island, Georgia billionaire meeting to “stop Trump”?
The potential ripple effect of this Mercer move becomes exponential.
Here’s where it gets even more interesting. Mercer taking such an aggressive position also thwacks the financial teams behind all the pro-Cruz, anti-Trump web sites.
If that ripple builds, and there’s no reason to think it won’t, Erick Erickson (Resurgent), Ben Shapiro (Daily Wire), NRO, the entire Salem Media Network (Human Event, Hot Air, Twitchy, Red State), and all the affiliated punditry (Hugh Hewitt, Jonah Goldberg) could be left high-and-dry.
The entire media Cruz Crew watching their career$ flu$hed down the toilet.
Financially dry.
Oh man, this is delicious.
Especially because Fox News is already going full moonbat.
Additionally, this could mean the following political Sea Island attendees are also forced, for sake of their own political reelection skin, to go “Full Trump”:
♦ Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), ♦ political guru Karl Rove, ♦ House Speaker Paul Ryan, ♦ GOP Senators •Tom Cotton (Arkansas), •Cory Gardner (Colorado), •Tim Scott (South Carolina), •Rob Portman (Ohio) and •Ben Sasse (Nebraska).
HUGE!
Oh bother, for a person who follows politics like insiders baseball, this development is better than Christmas,.. well,… almost better. Close.
‘Splodey!!
Lots of ‘Splodey!!
The Age of The Industrial Titan Returns.
Remember this from way earlier in the campaign:?
D’oh
#BestSummerEver!
AdvertisementsADVERTISERS love to combine retro imagery that suggests stability and traditional sex roles with images of the Sexual Revolution, equating with no subtlety whatsoever the latter with the relative normality of former times. They really do beat you over the head with it. See Tylenol’s ludicrous comparison of one extremely Messed-Up “Family” with Norman Rockwell.
Here is another example analyzed by Kidist Paulos Asrat at Reclaiming Beauty. An American Airlines ad juxtaposes Gregory Peck with Neil Patrick Harris. While Peck gazes off into the distance with Randian confidence, the homosexual actor looks directly at the camera with a smirk, as if to say, “I am here. I am enough.” (Wow, he’s wearing a tie! How cool is that?)
What we see here is hero and anti-hero side by side.
Remember, it’s in the interest of the corporate world to promote the Sexual Revolution. Traditional family life is not so good for full-throttle consumerism.
— Comments —
Melanie writes:
Gregory Peck was a handsome man. He exuded quiet confidence, which I always find to be intensely attractive in a man. Something very masculine about it. He even wears a suit better than Harris.
Neil Patrick Harris looks arrogant and smug. He’s pretending to be a gentleman. That smirk, probably meant to be endearing, is annoying and boyish. He doesn’t wear the suit, it wears him.
Man vs boy. That’s what I see.
Alex writes:
Friends, not to rain on this parade as I completely agree with the sentiment expressed here but many Hollywood tough guys actually were liberals or became liberals over time. Peck, Bogart, etc. They looked great but were Red deep inside, as was our government during most of the 40s and 50s. What I see when I look at this photo of Harris is him saying: “Who am I and where am I going?” Happy New Year.
Laura writes:
Happy New Year.
I didn’t say Peck was a paragon of virtue. And as I’ve said before, the 50s were not all they are cracked up to be. Here’s a good piece about how Hollywood prepared the way for the 60s. Advertisers like to use images of actors from the 40s and 50s because they suggest stability and traditional sex roles.
Tyro writes:
I’m a man about the age of the men pictured in that ad, and I can say that you have the fashion understanding all wrong. American men’s suits from the era on the left (1953) were far inferior to the ones made today: the jackets were formless and the trousers too baggy (they called it a “sack suit” for a reason). Suits didn’t improve until the 1960s, for the reason that, like today, since it’s not a requirement to wear a suit, clothesmakers had to give a reason for people to put on a suit.
On the right, Neil Patrick Harris has a very well-tailored suit, which you can see from the waist suppression in the jacket, giving it shape, and it has minimal shoulder padding, so he doesn’t look like a “boy in a suit.” For a man in his 40s, Harris is also in very good physical shape. His tie is extremely conservative, giving the ad an “aspirational” feel: that is the tie people who, if they were important business executives, envision themselves wearing: it also accounts for the self-assured smirk– people wish they were flying because they had something important to do and were happy about it, whereas most business flyers are forced to do so by their supervisors and heading off to a relatively uninteresting city in an old airport, leaving them with an experience where they’re tired and cramped. You couldn’t use something like the Gregory Peck photo as the “modern” ad because the guy would remind readers of their boss.
Laura writes:
You seem to be refuting points I did not make.
I didn’t comment on the cut of the suits or say Harris looked like a boy in a suit. I did not suggest Gregory Peck or a man dressed like Gregory Peck should be used in an ad. I was pointing out the use of Hollywood actors of that era by advertisers. Here, Peck conjures a better era of air travel and bygone elegance, even with his looser-fitting suit. (Although I wouldn’t say it is an example of poor tailoring.) On screen, Peck projected elegance even in jeans. The idea is that Harris matches that elegance.
It would be strange if the smirk on Harris’s face was ironically meant to acknowledge the stress of flying, which is not suggested by the picture overall. The text, which can be read here, indicates that is not at all the intended message of the ad.It's Christmas again, time to celebrate the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge. You know the ritual: boo the curmudgeon initially encountered in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, then cheer the sweetie pie he becomes in the end. It's too bad no one notices that the curmudgeon had a point—quite a few points, in fact.
To appreciate them, it is necessary first to distinguish Scrooge's outlook on life from his disagreeable persona. He is said to have a pointed nose and a harsh voice, but not all hardheaded businessmen are so lamentably endowed, nor are their feckless nephews (remember Fred?) always "ruddy and handsome," and possessed of pretty wives. These touches of the storyteller's art only bias the issue.
So let's look without preconceptions at Scrooge's allegedly underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit. The fact is, if Cratchit's skills were worth more to anyone than the fifteen shillings Scrooge pays him weekly, there would be someone glad to offer it to him. Since no one has, and since Cratchit's profit-maximizing boss is hardly a man to pay for nothing, Cratchit must be worth exactly his present wages.
No doubt Cratchit needs—i.e., wants—more, to support his family and care for Tiny Tim. But Scrooge did not force Cratchit to father children he is having difficulty supporting. If Cratchit had children while suspecting he would be unable to afford them, he, not Scrooge, is responsible for their plight. And if Cratchit didn't know how expensive they would be, why must Scrooge assume the burden of Cratchit's misjudgment?
As for that one lump of coal Scrooge allows him, it bears emphasis that Cratchit has not been chained to his chilly desk. If he stays there, he shows by his behavior that he prefers his present wages-plus-comfort package to any other he has found, or supposes himself likely to find. Actions speak louder than grumbling, and the reader can hardly complain about what Cratchit evidently finds satisfactory.
More notorious even than his miserly ways are Scrooge's cynical words. "Are there no prisons," he jibes when solicited for charity, "and the Union workhouses?"
Terrible, right? Lacking in compassion?
Not necessarily. As Scrooge observes, he supports those institutions with his taxes. Already forced to help those who can't or won't help themselves, it is not unreasonable for him to balk at volunteering additional funds for their extra comfort.
Scrooge is skeptical that many would prefer death to the workhouse, and he is unmoved by talk of the workhouse's cheerlessness. He is right to be unmoved, for society's provisions for the poor must be, well, Dickensian. The more pleasant the alternatives to gainful employment, the greater will be the number of people who seek these alternatives, and the fewer there will be who engage in productive labor. If society expects anyone to work, work had better be a lot more attractive than idleness.
The normally taciturn Scrooge lets himself go a bit when Cratchit hints that he would like a paid Christmas holiday. "It's not fair," Scrooge objects, a charge not met by Cratchet's patently irrelevant protest that Christmas comes but once a year. Unfair it is, for Cratchit would doubtless object to a request for a day's uncompensated labor, "and yet," as Scrooge shrewdly points out, "you don't think me ill used when I pay a day's wages for no work."
Cratchit has apparently forgotten the golden rule. (Or is it that Scrooge has so much more than Cratchit that the golden rule does not come into play? But Scrooge doesn't think he has that much, and shouldn't he have a say in the matter?)
Scrooge's first employer, good old Fezziwig, was a lot freer with a guinea—he throws his employees a Christmas party. What the Ghost of Christmas Past does not explain is how Fezziwig afforded it. Did he attempt to pass the added costs to his customers? Or did young Scrooge pay for it anyway by working for marginally lower wages?
The biggest of the Big Lies about Scrooge is the pointlessness of his pursuit of money. "Wealth is of no use to him. He doesn't do any good with it," opines ruddy nephew Fred.
Wrong on both counts. Scrooge apparently lends money, and to discover the good he does one need only inquire of the borrowers. Here is a homeowner with a new roof, and there a merchant able to finance a shipment of tea, bringing profit to himself and happiness to tea drinkers, all thanks to Scrooge.
Dickens doesn't mention Scrooge's satisfied customers, but there must have been plenty of them for Scrooge to have gotten so rich.
Scrooge is said to hound debtors so relentlessly that—as the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Be is able to show him—an indebted couple rejoices at his demise. The mere delay while their debt is transferred will avert the ruin Scrooge would have imposed.
This canard is triply absurd. First, a businessman as keen as Scrooge would prefer to delay payment to protect his investment rather than take possession of possibly useless collateral. (No bank wants developers to fail and leave it the proud possessor of a half-built shopping mall.) Second, the fretful couple knew and agreed to the terms on which Scrooge insisted. By reneging on the deal, they are effectively engaged in theft. Third, most important, and completely overlooked by Ghost and by Dickens, there are hopefuls whose own plans turn on borrowing the money returned to Scrooge from his old accounts. Scrooge can't relend what Caroline and her unnamed husband don't pay up, and he won't make a penny unless he puts the money to use after he gets it back.
The hard case, |
Both orthographical variants, with and without the hyphen, are correct, but the hyphenated one has a second meaning that is unrelated to animation or cinema: "a device for automatically stopping a machine or engine when something has gone wrong" (The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 1993 edition).[1]
Stop motion should not be confused with the time-lapse technique in which still photographs of a live scene are taken at regular intervals and then combined to make a continuous film. Time lapse is a technique whereby the frequency at which film frames are captured is much lower than that used to view the sequence. When played at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster.
History [ edit ]
The Sculptor's Nightmare
The Lost World animated by Willis O'Brien in 1925 Segment from the 1925 filmanimated by Willis O'Brien in 1925
Stop-motion animation has a long history in film. It was often used to show objects moving as if by magic, but really by animation. The first instance of the stop-motion technique can be credited to Albert E. Smith and J. Stuart Blackton for Vitagraph's The Humpty Dumpty Circus (1897), in which a toy circus of acrobats and animals comes to life.[2] In 1902, the film Fun in a Bakery Shop used the stop trick technique in the "lightning sculpting" sequence. French trick film maestro Georges Méliès used stop-motion animation once to produce moving title-card letters in one of his short films, and a number of his special effects are based on stop-motion photography. In 1907, The Haunted Hotel is a new stop-motion film by J. Stuart Blackton, and was a resounding success when released. Segundo de Chomón (1871–1929), from Spain, released El Hotel Eléctrico later that same year, and used similar techniques as the Blackton film. In 1908, A Sculptor's Welsh Rarebit Nightmare was released, as was The Sculptor's Nightmare, a film by Billy Bitzer. Italian animator Roméo Bossetti impressed audiences with his object animation tour-de-force, The Automatic Moving Company in 1912. The great European pioneer of stop motion was Wladyslaw Starewicz (1892–1965), who animated The Beautiful Lukanida (1910), The Battle of the Stag Beetles (1910), and The Ant and the Grasshopper (1911).
One of the earliest clay animation films was Modelling Extraordinary, which impressed audiences in 1912. December 1916 brought the first of Willie Hopkins' 54 episodes of "Miracles in Mud" to the big screen. Also in December 1916, the first woman animator, Helena Smith Dayton, began experimenting with clay stop motion. She would release her first film in 1917, an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
In the turn of the century, there was another well known animator known as Willis O' Brien (known by others as O'bie). His work on The Lost World (1925) is well known, but he is most admired for his work on King Kong (1933), a milestone of his films made possible by stop-motion animation.
O'Brien's protege and eventual successor in Hollywood was Ray Harryhausen. After learning under O'Brien on the film Mighty Joe Young (1949), Harryhausen would go on to create the effects for a string of successful and memorable films over the next three decades. These included The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), Jason and the Argonauts (1963), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) and Clash of the Titans (1981).
In a 1940 promotional film, Autolite, an automotive parts supplier, featured stop-motion animation of its products marching past Autolite factories to the tune of Franz Schubert's Military March. An abbreviated version of this sequence was later used in television ads for Autolite, especially those on the 1950s CBS program Suspense, which Autolite sponsored.
1960s and 1970s [ edit ]
In the 1960s and 1970s, independent clay animator Eliot Noyes Jr. refined the technique of "free-form" clay animation with his Oscar-nominated 1965 film Clay (or the Origin of Species). Noyes also used stop motion to animate sand lying on glass for his musical animated film Sandman (1975).
Stop motion was used by Rankin/Bass Productions on some of their television programs and feature films including The New Adventures of Pinocchio (1960–1961), Willy McBean and his Magic Machine (1963, 1965) and most notably seasonal/holiday favorites like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), Mad Monster Party? (1966, 1967), The Little Drummer Boy (1968), Santa Claus is Comin' to Town (1970) and Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971). Under the name of "Animagic", the stop-motion works of Rankin/Bass were supervised by Tadahito Mochinaga at his MOM Production in Tokyo, Japan.
In 1975, filmmaker and clay animation experimenter Will Vinton joined with sculptor Bob Gardiner to create an experimental film called Closed Mondays which became the world's first stop-motion film to win an Oscar. Will Vinton followed with several other successful short film experiments including The Great Cognito, Creation, and Rip Van Winkle which were each nominated for Academy Awards. In 1977, Vinton made a documentary about this process and his style of animation which he dubbed "claymation"; he titled the documentary Claymation. Soon after this documentary, the term was trademarked by Vinton to differentiate his team's work from others who had been, or were beginning to do, "clay animation". While the word has stuck and is often used to describe clay animation and stop motion, it remains a trademark owned currently by Laika Entertainment, Inc. Twenty clay-animation episodes featuring the clown Mr. Bill were a feature of Saturday Night Live, starting from a first appearance in February 1976.
At very much the same time in the UK, Peter Lord and David Sproxton formed Aardman Animations. In 1976 they created the character Morph who appeared as an animated side-kick to the TV presenter Tony Hart on his BBC TV programme Take Hart. The five-inch-high presenter was made from a traditional British modelling clay called Plasticine. In 1977 they started on a series of animated films, again using modelling clay, but this time made for a more adult audience. The soundtrack for Down and Out was recorded in a Salvation Army Hostel and Plasticine puppets were animated to dramatise the dialogue. A second film, also for the BBC followed in 1978. A TV series The Amazing Adventures of Morph was aired in 1980.
Sand-coated puppet animation was used in the Oscar-winning 1977 film The Sand Castle, produced by Dutch-Canadian animator Co Hoedeman. Hoedeman was one of dozens of animators sheltered by the National Film Board of Canada, a Canadian government film arts agency that had supported animators for decades. A pioneer of refined multiple stop-motion films under the NFB banner was Norman McLaren, who brought in many other animators to create their own creatively controlled films. Notable among these are the pinscreen animation films of Jacques Drouin, made with the original pinscreen donated by Alexandre Alexeieff and Claire Parker.
Italian stop-motion films include Quaq Quao (1978), by Francesco Misseri, which was stop motion with origami, The Red and the Blue and the clay animation kittens Mio and Mao. Other European productions included a stop-motion-animated series of Tove Jansson's The Moomins (from 1979, often referred to as "The Fuzzy Felt Moomins"), produced by Film Polski and Jupiter Films.
One of the main British Animation teams, John Hardwick and Bob Bura, were the main animators in many early British TV shows, and are famous for their work on the Trumptonshire trilogy.
Disney experimented with several stop-motion techniques by hiring independent animator-director Mike Jittlov to make the first stop-motion animation of Mickey Mouse toys ever produced, in a short sequence called Mouse Mania, part of a TV special, Mickey's 50, which commemorated Mickey's 50th anniversary in 1978. Jittlov again produced some impressive multi-technique stop-motion animation a year later for a 1979 Disney special promoting their release of the feature film The Black Hole. Titled Major Effects, Jittlov's work stood out as the best part of the special. Jittlov released his footage the following year to 16mm film collectors as a short film titled The Wizard of Speed and Time, along with four of his other short multi-technique animated films, most of which eventually evolved into his own feature-length film of the same title. Effectively demonstrating almost all animation techniques, as well as how he produced them, the film was released to theaters in 1987 and to video in 1989.
1980s to present [ edit ]
In the 1970s and 1980s, Industrial Light & Magic often used stop-motion model animation in such films as the original Star Wars trilogy: the chess sequence in Star Wars, the Tauntauns and AT-AT walkers in The Empire Strikes Back, and the AT-ST walkers in Return of the Jedi were all filmed using stop-motion animation, with the latter two films utilising go motion: an invention from renowned visual effects veteran Phil Tippett. The many shots including the ghosts in Raiders of the Lost Ark and the first two feature films in the RoboCop series use Tippett's go motion.
In the UK, Aardman Animations continued to grow. Channel 4 funded a new series of clay animated films, Conversation Pieces, using recorded soundtracks of real people talking. A further series in 1986, called Lip Sync, premiered the work of Richard Goleszowski (Ident), Barry Purves (Next), and Nick Park (Creature Comforts), as well as further films by Sproxton and Lord. Creature Comforts won the Oscar for Best Animated Short in 1990.
In 1980, Marc Paul Chinoy directed the 1st feature-length clay animated film, based on the famous Pogo comic strip. Titled I go Pogo. It was aired a few times on American cable channels but has yet to be commercially released. Primarily clay, some characters required armatures, and walk cycles used pre-sculpted hard bases legs.[citation needed]
Stop motion was also used for some shots of the final sequence of Terminator movie, also for the scenes of the small alien ships in Spielberg's Batteries Not Included in 1987, animated by David W. Allen. Allen's stop-motion work can also be seen in such feature films as The Crater Lake Monster (1977), Q - The Winged Serpent (1982), The Gate (1986) and Freaked (1993). Allen's King Kong Volkswagen commercial from the 1970s is now legendary among model animation enthusiasts.
In 1985, Will Vinton and his team released an ambitious feature film in stop motion called "The Adventures Of Mark Twain" based on the life and works of the famous American author. While the film may have been a little sophisticated for young audiences at the time, it got rave reviews from critics and adults in general.[citation needed] Vinton's team also created the Nomes and the Nome King for Disney's "Return to Oz" feature, for which they received an Academy Award Nomination for Special Visual Effects. In the 80's and early 90's, Will Vinton became very well known for his commercial work as well with stop-motion campaigns including The California Raisins.
Of note are the films of Czech filmmaker Jan Švankmajer, which mix stop motion and live actors. These include Alice, an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Faust, a rendition of the legend of the German scholar. The Czech school is also illustrated by the series Pat & Mat (1979–present). Created by Lubomír Beneš and Vladimír Jiránek, and it was wildly popular in a number of countries.
Since the general animation renaissance headlined by the likes of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Little Mermaid at the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s, there have been an increasing number of traditional stop-motion feature films, despite advancements with computer animation. The Nightmare Before Christmas, directed by Henry Selick and produced by Tim Burton, was one of the more widely released stop-motion features and become the highest grossing stop-motion animated movie of its time, grossing over $50 million domestic. Henry Selick also went on to direct James and the Giant Peach and Coraline, and Tim Burton went on to direct Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie.
In 1999, Will Vinton launched the first prime-time stop-motion television series called The PJs, co-created by actor-comedian Eddie Murphy. The Emmy-winning sitcom aired on Fox for two seasons, then moved to the WB for an additional season. Vinton launched another series, Gary & Mike, for UPN in 2001.
Another individual who found fame in clay animation is Nick Park, who created the characters Wallace and Gromit. In addition to a series of award-winning shorts and featurettes, he won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for the feature-length outing Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Chicken Run, to date, is the highest grossing stop motion animated movie ever grossing nearly $225 million worldwide.
The BBC commissioned thirteen episodes of stop frame animated Summerton Mill in 2004 as inserts into their flagship pre-school program, Tikkabilla. Created and produced by Pete Bryden and Ed Cookson, the series was then given its own slot on BBC1 and BBC2 and has been broadcast extensively around the world.
Other notable stop-motion feature films released since 1990 include The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb (1993), Fantastic Mr. Fox and $9.99, both released in 2009, and Anomalisa (2015). As of 2019, stop motion is thriving even in a filmmaking world dominated by CGI despite the efforts needed by the animators.[3]
Variations of stop motion [ edit ]
Cutout animation [ edit ]
Cutout animation is a variant of stop-motion animation that utilises flat materials such as paper, fabrics and photographs in its production, producing a 2D animation as a result. Prominent examples of cutout animation include the early episodes of South Park, and the Charley Says series of British public information films.
Stereoscopic stop motion [ edit ]
Stop motion has very rarely been shot in stereoscopic 3D throughout film history. The first 3D stop-motion short was In Tune With Tomorrow (also known as Motor Rhythm), made in 1939 by John Norling. The second stereoscopic stop-motion release was The Adventures of Sam Space in 1955 by Paul Sprunck. The third and latest stop motion short in stereo 3D was The Incredible Invasion of the 20,000 Giant Robots from Outer Space in 2000 by Elmer Kaan[4] and Alexander Lentjes.[5][6] This is also the first ever 3D stereoscopic stop motion and CGI short in the history of film. The first all stop-motion 3D feature is Coraline (2009), based on Neil Gaiman's best-selling novel and directed by Henry Selick. Another recent example is the Nintendo 3DS video software which comes with the option for Stop Motion videos. This has been released December 8, 2011 as a 3DS system update. Also, the movie ParaNorman is in 3D stop motion.
Go motion [ edit ]
Another more complicated variation on stop motion is go motion, co-developed by Phil Tippett and first used on the films The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Dragonslayer (1981), and the RoboCop films. Go motion involved programming a computer to move parts of a model slightly during each exposure of each frame of film, combined with traditional hand manipulation of the model in between frames, to produce a more realistic motion blurring effect. Tippett also used the process extensively in his 1984 short film Prehistoric Beast, a 10 minutes long sequence depicting a herbivorous dinosaur (Monoclonius), being chased by a carnivorous one (Tyrannosaurus). With new footage Prehistoric Beast became Dinosaur! in 1985, a full-length dinosaurs documentary hosted by Christopher Reeve. Those Phil Tippett's go motion tests acted as motion models for his first photo-realistic use of computers to depict dinosaurs in Jurassic Park in 1993. A low-tech, manual version of this blurring technique was originally pioneered by Wladyslaw Starewicz in the silent era, and was used in his feature film The Tale of the Fox (1931).
Comparison to computer-generated imagery [ edit ]
Reasons for using stop motion instead of the more advanced computer-generated imagery (CGI) include the low entry price and the appeal of its distinct look. It is now mostly used in children's programming, in commercials and some comic shows such as Robot Chicken. Another merit of stop motion is that it legitimately displays actual real-life textures, as CGI texturing is more artificial, therefore not quite as close to realism. This is appreciated by a number of animation directors, such as Tim Burton, Henry Selick, Wes Anderson, and Travis Knight.
Stop motion in television and movies [ edit ]
Dominating children's TV stop-motion programming for three decades in America was Art Clokey's Gumby series (1955–1989) and its feature film, Gumby I (1992, 1995), using both freeform and character clay animation. Clokey started his adventures in clay with a 1953 freeform clay short film called Gumbasia (1953) which shortly thereafter propelled him into his more structured Gumby TV series. In partnership with the United Lutheran Church in America, he also produces Davey and Goliath (1960–2004).
In November 1959, the first episode of Sandmännchen was shown on East German television, a children's show that had Cold War propaganda as its primary function. New episodes, minus any propaganda, are still being produced in the now-reunified Germany,[7] making it one of the longest running animated series in the world.[citation needed]
In the 1960s, the French animator Serge Danot created the well-known The Magic Roundabout (1965) which played for many years on the BBC. Another French/Polish stop-motion animated series was Colargol (Barnaby the Bear in the UK, Jeremy in Canada), by Olga Pouchine and Tadeusz Wilkosz.
A British TV series, Clangers (1969), became popular on television. The British artists Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall (Cosgrove Hall Films) produced the two stop-motion animated adaptions of Enid Blyton's Noddy book series including the original series of the same name (1975–1982) and Noddy's Toyland Adventures (1992–2001), a full-length film The Wind in the Willows (1983) and later a multi-season TV series, both based on Kenneth Grahame's classic children's book of the same title. They also produced a documentary of their production techniques, Making Frog and Toad. Since the 1970s and continuing into the 21st century, Aardman Animations, a British studio, has produced short films, television series, commercials and feature films, starring plasticine characters such as Wallace and Gromit; they also produced a notable music video for "Sledgehammer", a song by Peter Gabriel.
During 1986 to 1991, Churchill Films produced The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Runaway Ralph, and Ralph S. Mouse for ABC television. The shows featured stop-motion characters combined with live action, based on the books of Beverly Cleary. John Clark Matthews was animation director, with Justin Kohn, Joel Fletcher, and Gail Van Der Merwe providing character animation.[8]
From 1986 to 2000, over 150 five-minute episodes of Pingu, a Swiss children's comedy were produced by Trickfilmstudio. In the 1990s Trey Parker and Matt Stone made two shorts and the pilot of South Park almost entirely out of construction paper.
In 1999, Tsuneo Gōda directed an official 30-second sketches of the character Domo. With the shorts animated by stop-motion studio dwarf is still currently produced in Japan and has then received universal critical acclaim from fans and critics. Gōda also directed the stop-motion movie series Komaneko in 2004.
In 2003, the pilot film for the series Curucuru and Friends, produced by Korean studio Ffango Entertoyment is greenlighted into a children's animated series in 2004 after an approval with the Gyeonggi Digital Contents Agency. It was aired in KBS1 on November 24, 2006 and won the 13th Korean Animation Awards in 2007 for Best Animation. Ffango Entertoyment also worked with Frontier Works in Japan to produce the 2010 film remake of Cheburashka.[9]
Since 2005, Robot Chicken has mostly utilized stop-motion animation, using custom made action figures and other toys as principal characters.
Since 2009, Laika, the stop-motion successor to Will Vinton Studios, has released four feature films, which have collectively grossed over $400 million.
Stop motion in other media [ edit ]
Many young people begin their experiments in movie making with stop motion, thanks to the ease of modern stop-motion software and online video publishing.[10] Many new stop-motion shorts use clay animation into a new form.[11]
Singer-songwriter Oren Lavie's music video for the song Her Morning Elegance was posted on YouTube on January 19, 2009. The video, directed by Lavie and Yuval and Merav Nathan, uses stop motion and has achieved great success with over 25.4 million views, also earning a 2010 Grammy Award nomination for "Best Short Form Music Video".
Stop motion has occasionally been used to create the characters for computer games, as an alternative to CGI. The Virgin Interactive Entertainment Mythos game Magic and Mayhem (1998) featured creatures built by stop-motion specialist Alan Friswell, who made the miniature figures from modelling clay and latex rubber, over armatures of wire and ball-and-socket joints. The models were then animated one frame at a time, and incorporated into the CGI elements of the game through digital photography. "ClayFighter" for the Super NES and The Neverhood for the PC are other examples.
Scientists at IBM used a scanning tunneling microscope to single out and move individual atoms which were used to make characters in A Boy and His Atom. This was the tiniest scale stop-motion video made at that time.
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
Sources
BibliographyA law enforcement bulletin obtained by FoxNews.com warned that Islamic State fighters have increased calls for "lone wolves" to attack U.S. soldiers in America in recent months, citing one tweet that called for jihadists to find service members' addresses online and then "show up and slaughter them."
There will be “a continued call - by Western fighters in Syria and terrorist organizations - for lone offender attacks against U.S. military facilities and personnel,” warned a July law enforcement intelligence bulletin from the Central Florida Intelligence Exchange, a state-run agency that gathers, assesses and shares threat information and works with the Department of Homeland Security. “These threats will most likely increase should the U.S. or its allies attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) in Syria or Iraq.”
In one example cited in the bulletin, a British jihadist encouraged radicals still living in the West to use Facebook and LinkedIn to find and target soldiers.
"You could literally search for soldiers, find their town, photos of them, look for address in Yellowbook or something," the tweet read. "Then show up and slaughter them.”
On Thursday, Peter Boogaard, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, told FoxNews.com that "there is no credible intelligence at this time to suggest that there is an active plot by (ISIS) to carry out an attack in the United States."
"Public postings by people claiming to be (ISIS) supporters on social media threatening to carry out attacks against the United States and our allies have been made, and we are aware of them," Boogaard said in a statement. "The product referenced is based on such open source social media reports from earlier this summer and is not considered to reference specific, credible evidence of a plot against the homeland.”
The bulletin came out long before Tuesday's indictment of an upstate New York man on a raft of terror-related charges, including attempting to kill "officers and employees of the United States. Mufid Elfgeeh, 30, of Rochester, was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury on three counts of attempting to provide material support and resources to Islamic State. Elfgeeh was arrested in late May in a Walmart parking lot after a sting in which an FBI informant offered to sell him guns and silencers, which Elfgeeh allegedly wanted to use to kill returning American troops as well as Shiite Muslims living in the region.
Killing U.S. troops on American soil is an increasing focus of jihadists, according to the bulletin, titled “Continued Threat to Military Personnel from Al Qaeda Inspired Homegrown Violent Extremists.” It was sent out on July 8, 2014, “in response to recent social media messaging from Western fighters in Syria calling for attacks against “soldiers in the West.” Instead of luring radicalized Americans to the Middle East, Islamic State will likely encourage them to stay home and kill U.S. soldiers here, the bulletin warned.
“U.S.-based [Home-Grown Violent Extremists] could be inspired by this rhetoric to turn their attention towards carrying out attacks at home,” the bulletin states.
The radical rhetoric is delivered via social media, where Islamic State operatives have long exhorted westerners to get on a plane and come join the battle. But terrorists now believe they can have a powerful effect from afar just by inspiring attacks inside the U.S.
“In recent Twitter posts, foreign fighters in Syria have encouraged Muslims in the West to target soldiers with spontaneous attacks using small arms (i.e. knives and guns),” the bulletin said.
It listed several examples of tweets posted in late June that specifically mention interest in attacking Western military personnel. In one series of tweets a British fighter formerly with Jabhat al Nusra lamented the terrorist infighting between Islamic State and groups affiliated with Al Qaeda.
"I’m realizing bickering about internal politics is taking up our time too much, the enemies are working what’s stopping you from something like learning how to make explosives or learning shooting, or killing vulnerable soldiers right now? (To the bros in the West).”
The bulletin also cited an uptick in chatter on Internet forums calling for attacks on Western military targets, with many referring to Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hassan, who killed 13 service members at the Texas Army base in 2009 in a case the Obama administration still labels as an example of "workplace violence," and not terrorism. Hasan recently announced from prison, where he is awaiting execution, he wanted to join Islamic State.
A commenter on the Ansar Al-Mujahideen English Forum reposted a 2009 statement from radicalized American Adam Gadahn, now a senior Al Qaeda leader, praising Hasan.
"The Mujahid brother Nidal Hasan, lightly armed but with a big heart, a strong will and a confident step, again brought into focus the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of America... and most significantly, the Mujahid brother Nidal Hasan is a pioneer, a trailblazer and a role model who has opened the door, lit a path and shown the way forward for every Muslim among the unbelievers and yearns to discharge his duty to Allah and play a part in the defense of Islam and Muslims against the savage, heartless and bloody Zionist Crusader assault on our religion, sacred places and homelands,” read the statement.
The intelligence center assessed in July “ “that military personnel will likely be targeted individually in spontaneous ‘ambush’ style attacks similar to the May, 2013, machete attack against British soldier Drummer Lee Rigby in the U.K.The Giants, Cardinals and Blue Jays are all believed to be interested in free agent outfielder Dexter Fowler, per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, who hears that Fowler’s camp is of the mind that they can land a multi-year deal that will pay the switch-hitter $18MM on an annual basis (Twitter link).
[Related: Dexter Fowler’s Free Agent Profile]
Any of the three listed clubs make perfect sense as a landing spot for Fowler. The Giants saw Angel Pagan hit free agency and have somewhat of a vacancy in left field. Beyond that, they could see a significant amount of money come off the books following the 2017 season. Matt Cain’s ill-fated contract extension will come to a close at the end of next year’s campaign, and if he repeats the form he displayed in 2016, Johnny Cueto figures to opt out of the remaining four years and $88MM on his contract. Infielder Eduardo Nunez, too, will be a free agent at season’s end.
As for the Cardinals, they’ve been linked to Fowler for most of the offseason due to the potential void they face in the outfield. Signing Fowler would allow Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty to flank Fowler in the outfield. While many are quick to point out that Fowler isn’t necessarily a defensive upgrade over Grichuk in center — improved glovework is said to be a priority for GM John Mozeliak — an outfield alignment of Grichuk, Fowler and Piscotty would be superior to last year’s mix of Matt Holliday, Brandon Moss, Grichuk and Piscotty.
As for the Blue Jays, they’ve previously been linked to Fowler on more than one occasion but also represent an easy on-paper fit. Toronto’s primary corner outfielders from the 2016 season, Jose Bautista and Michael Saunders, are both free agents. Fowler would represent a defensive upgrade while providing the Jays with lineup balance and speed — two elements that GM Ross Atkins has gone on record to call desirable this offseason (when speaking generally and not specifically of Fowler). Signing in Toronto would surely require Fowler to shift to an outfield corner, as Kevin Pillar is arguably the game’s best defensive player, but Fowler’s reported talks with the Orioles last offseason potentially signaled a willingness to do just that. His openness to an outfield corner this winter hasn’t been stated to this point, but he’d certainly widen his market if he were comfortable shifting off of center field.
An $18MM average annual value represents a lofty goal for Fowler, who one year ago languished in free agency for nearly the entire offseason as teams were reluctant to part with a draft pick in order to sign him. Multiple reports indicated that he agreed to a three-year deal with the Orioles in February, but that deal was either never agreed to or never finalized, as Fowler wound up back with the Cubs on a more modest one-year deal worth $13MM. The decision represented a show of faith in Fowler’s talent and somewhat of a gamble from both the player and his agents at Excel Sports, but Fowler’s terrific 2016 season made the decision look wise; in 551 plate appearances with the Cubs, Fowler batted.276/.393/.447 with 13 homers and 13 stolen bases in addition to vastly better defensive and baserunning contributions.
It’s also worth noting that an $18MM annual value can mean a variety of different things, as contract length is often a larger deterrent than AAV for teams when signing players to a long-term pact. An $18MM AAV over five years would represent a massive commitment to Fowler and seems decidedly unlikely, but an $18MM AAV over a four-year term would line Fowler up for the same payday that Alex Gordon scored from the Royals last winter. That outcome seems more plausible, depending on the level of interest in Fowler, but the market for his services does seem to be more robust this year than last.
It’s probably fair to rule out the Cubs as a candidate to make a big splash for Fowler given their signing of Jon Jay and the glut of outfielders up and down the rest of their roster, but plenty of other teams make sense. In addition to the three listed by Heyman, the Mariners, Rangers, Phillies, Dodgers, Nationals, Indians and Orioles (if that bridge isn’t burned) are all logical suitors, though that list is speculative on my behalf.One week ago, I left my family in Virginia to fly to Geneva for the 65th Meeting of the CITES Standing Committee where governments would assess the progress on vital pledges to tackle wildlife crime that were made in 2013. I always feel pressure when I travel for my job to deliver – not only to further the conservation of the species I work to protect, but to justify time spent away from my husband and two girls.
This time, I was under extra pressure to come back home with good results – I was missing my oldest daughter’s 8th birthday.
Governments take action
As I sit on a train from Geneva to Berlin en route my next meeting, I am confident that my family will be happy with the news I have to share. The governments of CITES took strong and decisive action in Geneva last week. They laid out timelines and concrete deliverables for countries most complicit in the illegal ivory trade.
In particular, they laid down a strict timeline for Thailand to take the necessary steps to rectify the problems that have facilitated its rise to becoming the world’s largest unregulated ivory market. Thailand has until March 2015 to deliver, or they face sanctions.
Other countries central to the illegal rhino horn trade, including Vietnam and Mozambique, were also given strict timelines and concrete deliverables to tackle this problem. This comes as rhino poaching has soared in Africa over the last few years.
US helping wildlife
While not at all surprised, I was still proud to see the US delegation step up and take a leadership role at the meeting—and on the issue of Thailand and their illegal ivory market in particular. The US maintained their strong stance at the CITES Conference of the Parties last March in Bangkok, and have carried it through here to Geneva. The US delegation’s leadership clearly demonstrates our government’s commitment to delivering on President Obama’s National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking.
I’m looking forward to getting back to my family at the end of the week, and reporting to my newly-8 year old in particular on all that WWF, the US government, and many, many others were able to achieve for the rhinos and elephants we care so deeply about.
And for those concerned, no need to be – my daughter had three separate birthday celebrations before I even left, and is having another while I’m gone. We’ve got her covered!Tie Dye with Kool-Aid
Do not try to dye cotton with food coloring!
Acid Dyes
No sugar, please!
What colors are available?
dye name F D & C food
dye number Colour Index
number E or INS
number * frequently associated flavors
(check ingredients lists) allura red red dye #40 16035 E129 cherry, strawberry brilliant blue FCF blue #1 42090 E133 blue raspberry, blue moon berry sunset yellow FCF yellow #6 15985 E110 mango indigotine blue #2 73015 E132 fast green FCF green #3 42053 INS 143 erythrosine red #3 45430 E127 tartrazine yellow #5 19140 E102 lemonade
*
Project
What to dye.
First you need to select an appropriate dyeable - wool yarn, nylon fabric, silk scarf. You can buy silk scarves for two to eight dollars each, depending on size, by mail order from companies such as Rupert Gibbon & Spider and Dharma Trading Company; see Sources for Dyeing Supplies, or see MisterArt's Jacquard white silk scarf.) Do not choose anything containing a cellulose fiber such as cotton, rayon, or linen, nor any synthetics other than nylon, such as polyester or acetate. Choose your dyes. Select your favorite colors of unsweetened artificially colored drink mix. Plan on about one packet of drink mix per ounce of fiber, if you like intense colors. (Blue drink mixes are becoming difficult to find in some areas, but can still be purchased online; see, for example, Twist Blue Mountain Berry Kool-Aid at Amazon.) Pre-soak your fiber. If you are using a drink mix that contains an acid, such as citric or malic acid, for tartness, dampen your fabric or yarn with water, or you can use water with some added vinegar, just to be sure. If you are using pure food coloring or egg dye, dampen with plain white vinegar, instead, mixed half-and-half with water. Squeeze out excess water and vinegar, leaving your fiber wet. Tie. (Optional.) For a true tie-dye project, you may use rubber bands to tighten the fabric where you want it to remain white. Many people prefer dyeing with no ties at all, however. Since you are applying your colors directly, you can get quite nice designs with no need for the ties. Select a dish. Here's where this form of dyeing becomes especially convenient. There is no need to devote a dish solely to dye use, since these dyes are food-safe; you can use any kitchen container that is suitable for microwaving. Choose one as wide as will fit in your microwave oven conveniently. Arrange your damp material in the dish. Add dye. Sprinkle on your drink mix or food coloring in a pleasing rainbow pattern. You can use the drink mix either dry (it will dissolve on the wet fabric) or dissolved in a very small amount of water. Remember that you don't want to put opposite colors next to each other, such as red next to green, orange next to blue, or yellow next to purple, as you will end up with a muddy brown if you do. Place colors in rainbow order. After covering the top layer, use gloved hands, or tongs or other kitchen implements, to turn the fabric or yarn over in the dish, to do the same to the other side(s). Cover the dish. Use a lid, plate or microwavable plastic wrap to seal the dish tightly. This will trap steam to ensure that all parts of the fabric get treated, and prevent one region from drying out and burning before the rest is even hot. Heat in the microwave. (Obviously, this part is to be done only by adults or teens, though young children can do the |
time--and then, only if drivers all plug in during peak times--an unlikely scenario, according to Doggett.
He suggests that most owners will make best use of time-of-use electricity rates--saving charging for when the electricity is cheapest.
That means peak times shouldn't see much disruption, allowing grids to handle the usual TVs, ovens, air conditioning and lights. And, like many electric cars are aware, life will simply carry on as normal--just a little cleaner than before...
+++++++++++
Follow GreenCarReports on Facebook and Twitter.Ben Hayes has been designing games for over a decade and has been part of the Magic R&D development team since 2013. He led the FFL Team for Khans of Tarkir and the development team for Magic Duels: Origins.
Before we get started, allow me to introduce the development team.
Ben Hayes (lead)
I was the lead of this team, as well as the lead developer of Commander (2015 Edition) and Magic Duels before this, and Commander (2016 Edition) and Aether Revolt afterward. I'm a senior game designer in Magic R&D and I've been in the department for about three and a half years.
Bryan Hawley
Bryan is a game designer in Magic R&D. He was also on the initial design team for this set, so one of his jobs on this team was to make sure we maintained the vision of that team as we iterated on the set. Bryan also works a lot on Magic Duels and the Future Future League.
Yoni Skolnik
Yoni is a game designer in Magic R&D. He and I have actually been friends since we were small children, so I was thrilled when he decided to try his hand at our game design test a couple of years ago, and I was even more excited when we decided to hire him. Besides this team, Yoni was also on the development team of Battle for Zendikar.
James Sooy
James is a UX designer and an avid Magic player. While James mostly works on digital projects for us, he was also on the Commander 2015 team with me. He was responsible for the development of the white-black Commander deck.
Gavin Verhey
Gavin is a game designer in Magic R&D. Each development team tries to have at least one person whose main job in the department is early design, and for this set that was Gavin. In this role, Gavin was responsible for making more new cards than other member of the team, and generally making sure we were being consistent with design philosophies and color pie.
Conspiracies with a Twist
Conspiracies were obviously a centerpiece of the original Magic: The Gathering—Conspiracy set, and they were received very positively, so we knew early on that we wanted to bring the card type back here. Even though the originals were solid, we wanted to bring a new twist to the table—and we also had some design challenges we discovered after their release that we wanted to try to solve with this second batch.
Primarily the thing we weren't as happy with was how it ended up being the correct choice to first-pick your conspiracy a very high percentage of the time. While this meant that everyone got to play with conspiracies, it also took the drafting element away from those cards and you just saw way fewer of them each draft. We tried to include more synergy-driven conspiracies this time around to mitigate that, but design also handed off a great solution that offered the novelty we were looking for and also did a good job of addressing our "first-pick" issue.
Color!
What mechanic makes it so that you can get a third-pick Serra Angel in Draft? Color! I loved this innovation right off the bat for how it took a concept people are already deeply familiar with in draft and used it to solve our game design challenges. One way, albeit an unsatisfying one, to address our issue would have been to just make all the conspiracies weaker. Instead, this solution let us keep the power level people expected while still getting the conspiracies to float around the table because they were a bigger upfront commitment in pack one, and in the later packs you might not be in that color at all.
We discussed a bunch of different executions, including things like only letting you name a creature of the specific color and writing things like "if you control an Island." However, in the end we felt that this was the most flexible and satisfying execution of the idea, and I'm absolutely thrilled with how they ended up.
Monarchy!
As an avid board game player, I found the monarch mechanic tremendously exciting. I loved the idea of adding this king-of-the-hill element to Magic, and it was clear from early playtesting that it had a ton of potential.
As the lead developer of the set, I also love how well the mechanic helped me address some of the fundamental game design challenges associated with multiplayer, the biggest of which is getting people to attack each other. In a multiplayer game, attacking puts you and the player you're attacking at a disadvantage—which translates to an advantage for the rest of the table—so without any external pressure, the dominant strategy in multiplayer is to turtle up.
The monarch allowed us to introduce a target into the game, one that gave players a benefit for attacking and offset the natural disadvantage. It also helped mitigate the problem of the table teaming up on a single person, because the target is continually being passed around.
Another big challenge of multiplayer Magic is card flow. Magic cards and rules generally function optimally in a one-on-one duel. Drawing a single card when you have three opponents is just going to be a lot less impactful than if you had one opponent. Because we don't want to compensate for this by making a bunch of cards that are three times as powerful, there's pressure to introduce more card flow into the games so that players can feel like they're having as much impact on their four-player game as they would in their heads-up match.
Because card draw is generically useful to everyone and we want different decks in an environment to feel unique, we added a couple of cards like Throne Warden to make certain colors care more about being the monarch than others. This mismatch of incentive creates interesting and dynamic gameplay from one draft to the next.
Early in the process, the monarch caused the player with the title to create a 2/2 creature token each turn they managed to stay on the throne. While the monarch itself was fun, this benefit caused lots of snowball games, because your opponents had to outpace both your plays and the free 2/2 you were getting every turn, just trying to find a viable attack that would let them take the crown away from you, and then their "shield" would be down and you could often just take it right back and be in a better position than before. When we switched to drawing a card each turn, everything just seemed to fall into place, and we never looked back.
We also explored whether the monarch benefit should trigger at the end of your turn or the beginning, essentially deciding if you should need to hold onto it for a full turn cycle. I really like getting the cookie immediately after you take it, and going with the end of turn also encouraged players to swoop in and try to grab it on their turn even if they didn't think they would be able to hold onto it.
Grand Melee
Melee is the last new mechanic I'll cover today. As I mentioned before, two design challenges of multiplayer are getting people to attack and avoiding one person getting ganged up on. Melee helps toward both of those goals nicely by making your creatures more effective at attacking than blocking, and by directly encouraging you to spread damage around. "Spread" was even one of the playtest names we used for the mechanic!
Wings of the Guard is a good example of the creature that's better at attacking than blocking. A 1/1 flying creature does not make a particularly good blocker. On the other end of things, it's relatively easy to get this up to a 3/3 or 4/4 attacking flier for two mana, which is far stronger than you'd normally expect to get. All you need to do is attack!
Personally, I love the appeal that melee has for both Spike and Timmy/Tammy, which can be a hard overlap to find. For Spike, the mechanic gives you tons of possible combinations of attacks that all result in different amount of damage and levels of commitment, and the challenge of finding that perfect combination hits Spike very well. Meanwhile, the result of attacking multiple opponents with melee creatures is that you're constantly getting to have exciting turns of huge damage swings, especially when Adriana's around.
That's all I've got from the development side of things. I hope you all enjoy playing the set as much as I enjoyed working on it. Thanks for reading!
Ben (@benbhayes)Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
Jan. 8, 2015, 3:06 PM GMT / Updated Jan. 8, 2015, 2:11 PM GMT
Researchers and artists have reconstructed the face of a teenage girl who lived 12,000 years ago in Mexico, and it's not the kind of face a person might typically associate with Native Americans.
The remains of the girl, nicknamed Naia (after the Greek term for a water nymph), were recovered from an underwater cave on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Naia is regarded as one of the earliest known residents of the Americas — but her skull has a shape associated with African or South Pacific populations rather than the typical Siberian look.
Despite that different look, researchers say Naia is genetically related to Native Americans who came to America later, from Siberia via the Beringia land bridge.
What's behind the facial differences? Anthropologist James Chatters, one of the leaders of the research team behind Naia's discovery, suggests that the earliest "Northern Hemisphere wild-type" populations may have been distinguished by robust-looking males and softer-featured females — and that natural selection eventually favored the more robust features that are associated with later populations of Native Americans.
That's a controversial claim. Other anthropologists say the differences may merely be due to natural variations within a given population.
The facial reconstruction is based on Chatters' scientific work and sculptor Tom McClellan's artistic flair. The same duo collaborated on a similar reconstruction based on the remains of Kennewick Man, a Paleoamerican who lived 9,000 years ago in present-day Washington state.
To learn more about Naia's reborn face, and about the First Americans, check out the cover story in the January issue of National Geographic magazine.Over a year ago, Austin Sherwood, the beer buyer and general manager at Coaltrain Wine & Spirits, told me that he was inspired to try a new beer every day for an entire year. He documented his journey on Instagram at @asherwoo24 with weekly photos of the beers he drank. I gotta say that as the weeks went on, I was not only impressed, but downright jealous of some of the beers he was able to try. It looks like he had a blast. As the last couple photos were being posted, we asked Austin if he’d like to share his journey with our readers. Here’s his story.
The journey is complete. It was fun and educational.
So why did I do it?
I was inspired by a blog post about a gentleman who tried a new and different local beer everywhere he travelled. I knew we had enough different beers in our store to warrant a 4 or 5 year study, but I thought 1 year was do-able.
So what did I learn?
#1- I love beer! Although the task required some discipline and commitment, it truly was fun. This wasn’t a solo trek. Many of the Coaltrain staff joined me in tasting and evaluating the daily beers; after all, it is our job. Several of the beers were new arrivals to the market and needed to be thoroughly evaluated. A lot of the other beers were interesting beers I always wanted to try, but just needed an excuse.
#2- Note taking while tasting is essential to knowledge retention. I kept a journal of all the beers I tasted with varying amounts of details for each beer. It was helpful to browse back through and refresh my memory on certain beers. I made notes on appearance, aroma, taste, finish and overall impression. The details come in handy when someone asks about a beer and you can say more than: “It was good”. I always remembered the beer better when I had copious amounts of notes.
#3- Beer styles I gravitate towards became abundantly clear. One of the hardest questions for a true beer lover to answer is: “What is your favorite beer?” I, like many others, enjoy many different styles of beer. This expedition showed me what I like (a very long list), and more importantly what I don’t like (a pretty short list). Styles I enjoy include IPA and many of the newer styles using copious amounts of hops, saisons, smoke beers, wheat beers, stouts, porters, barley wines, strong ales, Belgians, Germans, wild ales, brett beers, sours, wood aged beers, coffee beers and pretty much any combination of the above! That doesn’t leave a lot left to dislike, but we found some: unbalanced beers, one-note or boring beers and lighter maltier beers that leave a bad taste in your mouth.
Let’s talk highlights:
One of my all time favorite beer style is coffee beer. We tried a bunch, coffee stouts, ambers, browns and even coffee IPA. Some of the standouts include: Copper Kettle Snowed In (coffee, chocolate and bourbon barrel aged), Local Option Morning Wood (this amber has a lighter coffee influence, but it contributes nicely), Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break (roasted coffee nose, creamy chocolaty palate and very full mouth feel), New Glarus Coffee Stout (very well balanced coffee stout), Stone Dayman (coffee IPA, coffee and hops DO work together),8 wired Batch 31 (very well made oak-aged imperial coffee stout), Stone Espresso IRS (smoked malt on the nose with a nice big body), Port Brewing Board Meeting (nice balanced coffee flavor in this brown ale), De Molen Kopi Loewak (awesome big stout reminiscent of Avery’s meph-addict), and 8 Wired Double Coffee Brown Ale (good beer backbone with nice roast coffee flavors).
Another group of beers near and dear to my heart are wild ales, brett beers and sours. Standouts in this category include: Epic Elder Brett(Crooked Stave collaboration, enough said), Crooked Stave Vieille Cranberry and Spice (the best winter seasonal I tried this season), Trinity Case of the Mondays beers (TPS Report, Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangster and Red Swingline), Crabtree Berlinerweiss (the tartness is nice in this lacto beer), Rockyard the Spirit of Danny (some Crooked Stave yeast does ya good), Crooked Stave St Bretta and Hop Savant (I see a pattern here), Bellegems Bruin (good balance of the malt with the tartness), Cuvee Freddy Flemish Sour (this one saw a year in oak, balanced),Paradox The Yang (good use of brett, spices and oak aging), 2013 La Folie (excellent blend from the good folks at New Belgium).
Barrel-aged beers usually turn out pretty special, here are some highlights: Prairie The Beer That Saved Christmas (full body, good barrel presence, long finish), Rockyard Whiskey River Stout (oatmeal stout with nice wood/whiskey notes), Stone Oaked and Smoked Old Guardian(nice smoky nose on this beer), Marble Reserve Ale (aged in bourbon barrels with a very rich palate). Some truly special beers we were able to try this year were the barrel aged Eclipse beers from Fifty Fifty Brewing (Truckee, CA). These beers are so big and complex and can rival any whiskey barrel-aged beer out there. Our favorites were definitely the ones aged in Elijah Craig 12yr and 18yr barrels. It was amazing how the character from the whiskey showed itself so well in the beer. The subtleties of the Bernheim Wheat and Rittenhouse Rye barrel-aged stouts were fantastic.
So how about a top three?
#1- Allagash Coolship Cerise (Oak-aged with cherries)No question about this #1. This is the closest thing to Cantillon made here in the U.S. This is a truly spontaneously fermented beer and one heck of a fruit lambic. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face for hours.
#2- Hopfenstark Boson de HiggsThis is a crazy hybrid that made the list due to its uniqueness and awesomeness. The label describes this beer as a Berliner Weiss, Rauchbeer, Saison. Since I love all those styles of beer, it was a match made in heaven for me. Sour, smoky and earthy, with that mesmerizing smoke following you all the way through the finish.
#3- Odell Fernet Barrel Aged PorterThe used Fernet barrels from Leopold Brothers make this beer unique. The flavors and aromas of mint and liquorice work so well with the strong porter body. It is very well made with a long, dry, lingering finish.
So, would I do it again?
In a second, and I would recommend this trip to anyone who loves beer. Even if you can’t keep up with a new beer each day, I always recommend diligent note taking and tasting beer with a group. Talking aloud about what you’re smelling and tasting with other beer lovers is an invaluable experience.
Austin Sherwood
General Manager/ Beer Buyer
Coaltrain Wine & SpiritsPaint me a picture
Final Fantasy can be goddamn impenetrable. It may not be as hard to grasp as Kingdom Hearts or Metal Gear Solid in terms of continuity and broken-slinky plot twists, but the sheer amount of content contained in each story feels overwhelming. Summing them up in their full glory - all the fantastical places, warring factions, mythicism, and unpronounceable names - seems like an impossible task. Unless, of course, you're a Square-Enix logo designer.
In the late days of its development, each Final Fantasy in the series gets its own ornate logo, like a right of passage for stories about swords and spiky hair. These logos are all centered on some important part of that game, with plenty of visual symbolism so it can contain as much of the game's spirit as possible. Even the simplest Final Fantasy logo can have a lot going on, and as a fan it can be hard to decipher what every dark line and curlicue is supposed to mean. So we put our minds to it (plus hundreds of hours of playtime, the Final Fantasy fan's struggle), and have here an explanation of what each of these fanciful logos are getting at. It all makes sense, once you get your mind into magic-and-belts mode.
WARNING: This articles involves deep story explanations, so expect spoilers throughout.
Final Fantasy 1 - 3
After Square saved itself from bankruptcy by the width of one eccentrically dyed hair with the first Final Fantasy, valiant efforts were made to bring the franchise to North America and Europe. That lasted for all of one game before hands were thrown up and FF2 and FF3 were abandoned to the wind. It was only in the early 2000's that the numbering was ironed out and Final Fantasies 1 - 3 finally got proper releases (in the FFOrigins bundle and FF3 DS release, respectively), with lovely new logos to boot.
Admittedly, they're all pretty simple: the original has an image of the nameless Warrior of Light protagonist, FF2 is set with a picture of its nefarious villain, The Emperor, and FF3 features hero Luneth brandishing two swords in attractive but highly inefficient fashion (seriously Luneth, you've cut your range of movement in half and lost your ability to defend most points of contact - get your shit together). That didn't change with the logos for the 20th Anniversary edition of FFOrigins, which are the same subjects made to look more ornate. But really, that captures the spirit of all of these games perfectly, because they're pretty simple themselves. The official beginning of Square's RPG dynasty, they lack both bells and whistles, but act as a solid foundation that started the series chugging. Basic, but effective.
Final Fantasy 4
This is where things start getting elaborate. Originally, Square didnt release FF2 or 3 in the US, so when it decided to bring FF4 to the Super NES, it did so with a bare-bones text logo that read Final Fantasy 2. Oh, theres a sword standing in for the T. Very cute. Meanwhile, Japan used the true logo, seen here with one of the games coolest characters, Kain Highwind. His actions move a great deal of the story along, easily earning his top-billing status on the front of the package.
Years later, when the 2008 DS remake hit the West, Square opted to showcase the villainous Golbez instead - a worthwhile swap as he was responsible for most of Kains misdeeds (let's just say there was brainwashing involved). In a fine fashion that would become common practice for the series later on, Golbez actually affects the game more than any one of its individual heroes. The story of FF4 is, in many ways, his story, so it only feels right that he grace the cover.
Final Fantasy 4: The After Years
After FF10-2 broke the series' cardinal rule and paved the way for direct sequels (good lord, I may faint), Final Fantasy 4: The After Years snuck past the naysayers in 2008, and brought a big 'ol spoiler of a logo with it. Thankfully, it's such a vague spoiler that you won't get it unless you know the ending of FF4, so I guess that's okay.
For those who don't know and don't really care about being spoiled, the two spherical objects behind the title are moons. Specifically, theyre the Red and True moons, both driving forces of FF4 whose true importance aren't fully realized until late in the game, when the Red moon departs with one of the heroes. The return of the Red moon in After Years means the return of mysterious and dark forces, and the logo revolves around them as much as the story does.
Final Fantasy 5
Okay, phew, this one's a fair bit easier to explain than FF4. The dragon in the background is simply a wind drake, which youre able to ride around the planet for quick and easy travel. Theyre sort of an endangered species in the FF5 world, and carry the main cast to and from a few key plot points.
Theyre not exactly the backbone of the story, but are important to several of the main characters, namely the two princesses Lenna and Krile. They also make frequent appearances throughout the story, since a whole lot of people seem to need saving and wind drakes are pivotal to those rescue missions, like scaly lifeguards. The drakes therefore have a huge impact on the cast, and are responsible for keeping the heroes' journey from ending too soon. Plus, one turns into a phoenix later, which is pretty damn sweet.
Final Fantasy 6
FF6 first launched in the US as FF3, and the logo once again didn't really gel with the Final Fantasy spirit. It did match up with the US FF2 though meaning it's just a logo with a swordy T", but this time there's a moogle and a spooky shadow!
The original FF6 logo seen above features Terra, arguably the star of the games ensemble cast, riding atop a hulking Magitek Armor. The games memorable opening sees Terra trudging through the snow in said iconic armor, though shortly after her inherent magical powers begin to cut loose and her true nature is exposed. It's revealed that Terra is half-esper, a sort of mythical being with innate magic powers, and that the Empire that controls her has enslaved several espers to steal their magic and power the Armor. It's the Empire's lust for esper power (the very sort that Terra carries) that creates the main conflict of the story, and the machine she's riding that represents the enemy to be defeated.
Final Fantasy 7
For those who have played FF7, this ones way easy - and for those who haven't, keep your voice down, they might hear you. Behind the familiar Final Fantasy text (notably standardized across regions for the first time, with IV and V still in transit) is Meteor, the world-ending spell that infamous villain and shampoo model Sephiroth summons to smash into the planet.
Sephiroth plans on bringing Meteor down, injuring the planet so badly that its regenerative powers (called the Lifestream, which is first seen being harvested by the giant Mako Reactor in Midgar) seep through the crust and attempt to repair the damage. Once its exposed, Sephiroth plans to absorb that energy and become a god. To pull it off, he needs the Black Materia that will summon Meteor, and manipulates Cloud and company throughout the entire game to bring it to him. Effectively, Meteor is what lies at the end of the heroes' path, the result of all of Sephiroth's machinations, and the real bringer of destruction hiding behind the scenes. Basically, kind of a big deal.
Final Fantasy 7 Compilation
The logos for FF7's many sequels vary from ultra-detailed to incredibly basic. The Advent Children logo, for instance, is far cleverer than a first glance lets on. That may just look like the meteor from VII with a futuristic makeover. But it's really it's a detailed blueprint of the now-destroyed Midgar, with the smattering of polygons to the right representing Edge, the city built in the wake of Meteor's destruction.
The rest of the Compilation's logos are fairly elementary. Before Crisis, a game that centers on the special ops force known as the Turks, features a picture of two Turk trainees as its symbol. Dirge of Cerberus has a set of three stylized dog heads (in protagonist Vincent's signature colors) set around its text. And the cloudy Crisis Core logo is easily the simplest of all, to the point that it looks like barely any thought went into it. However, I'd bet my last gil that simplicity is a deception, and it's actually a reference to this unacceptable scene. I'm not crying, you're crying.
Final Fantasy 8
This one's pretty simple, and purposefully so its hero Squall Leonhart holding heroine Rinoa Heartilly. Square made it clear early on that FF8 would flip the series script by being a straight-up romance with fantasy elements attached, rather than the other way around. They kept their word on that one, and though opinions on the quality of the game's romance plot vary widely, theres no denying that Squall and Rinoa are at the heart of it all. Ahem.
While this isn't a rendering of any specific scene (they start hugging quite a bit once Squall shakes off that inch-thick layer of teen angst), it closely matches two scenes in particular: the couple's first genuine moment of intimacy, and the sequence where Squall chooses to save Rinoa rather than fulfilling his military duty to cryo-freeze her for eternity.
Final Fantasy 9
FF9 was advertised with the slogan The Crystal Comes Back, a knowing wink to fans who cherished the days before Final Fantasy meant drilling for mystical oil and boarding schools that teach Magic 101. In the first six games, high fantasy was the order of the day, and enchanted crystals played an important role in each of their stories as world-saving devices or MacGuffins the villains could use for the exact opposite.
In FF9 - the last of the PlayStation era and a love letter to the age it was leaving behind - all life comes from the crystals. The entire lifecycle of the planet Gaia and its inhabitants revolves around the health of the crystals people are born from them, and when they die their memories and essence return to the crystal, refreshing it for another batch of spirits. The problem is that another worlds crystal is withering away, and the people of that planet found a way to move its fading crystals souls into Gaias. Cue the grand battle for the crystals, and the journey of the last old-soul Final Fantasy.
Final Fantasy 10
Don't let the bizarre outfits and teenagers making out in lakes fool you: FF10 deals with some heavy stuff about the nature of loss, tragedy, and religious dogma, and all that comes together in its ornate logo. It recreates an image from one of the game's most famous scenes, where protagonist Yuna performs a ceremony to guide a group of tragically deceased souls to the afterlife as part of her summoner duties.
While that does seem damn decent of her, it eventually becomes clear that the teachings Yuna abides by as a summoner come with an awful lot of baggage, and the religion she devoted her life to may have more to do with killing people than it does saving them. Eventually rituals like the summoning start to lose their meaning, and the logo captures that struggle, putting a beautiful face over the dark secrets a few skeptical questions away.
Final Fantasy 10-2
This one isn't too mentally demanding: that's the game's three main characters Yuna, Rikku, and Paine in the midst of battle, and/or a stylized version of their Charlie's Angels pose. It highlights the all-female cast, the unchanging three-person battle team, and the sexier edge it had compared to its predecessor, the triple threat that the recently merged Square-Enix wanted to put front and center for the series' very first sequel. Go big or go home.
While this logo gets the job done efficiently on its own, putting it alongside the FF10 logo (which Square did for the cover of the HD Remaster collection) makes it a lot more interesting through comparison. FF10-2 was meant to be departure from the epic but tragic storyline of FF10, giving the world of Spira a more light-hearted feel; the way this logo's sharp edges and kinetic energy contrast with FF10's flowy look makes the distinction even more obvious. Did Square expect a remaster, or did they just hope we'd push the covers together? I'll admit to doing the latter.
Final Fantasy 11
A big ol collection of soldiers, representing the hundreds of real life people you could play with in FF11's MMO world. A first for the series, Square really wanted to drive home that angle of togetherness while assuring that you, dear player, are the real hero of this story.
The front five characters in the crowd therefore represent whomever happens to be picking up the box at that moment, along with a pack of their closest friends to play with (set slightly further back, of course). Also, those five do double-duty as members of each of the five playable races in the game (Hume, Tarutaru, Galka, Mithra and Elvaan), showing off the variety of customization options available. Basically, this logo bangs the MMO gong as long and loud as it can, and hopes that the horde of soldiers in the background will be enough to take on the forces of WoW.
Final Fantasy 12
Amano has some serious confidence handing an unwieldy vertical logo over to Square's marketing team, but the man knows what he's doing: the size and shape alone accurately convey the commanding presence of Judge Gabranth. Though he may not be the star of the show or the big bad, he remains a constant in the story (from orchestrating the events that brought down the Kingdom, to leading the charge against Ashe and Basch's efforts to return self-rule to Dalmasca) and represents the imposing might of the Arcadian Empire which he serves.
Of course, Gabranth isn't all bad, which parallels the nature of the story itself. There are of course big bad imperialists and their magical sponsors to defeat, but many folks on the 'other side' turn out to not be half bad, and the heroes themselves don't exactly have spotless records. Less a moral tale than previous Final Fantasies, FF12 is all about politics and the often ambiguous figures on all sides. Who better to represent that than the conflicted and misunderstood Gabranth?
Final Fantasy 12: Revenant Wings
Two vertical logos! A DS-only sequel, Revenant Wings reaches for the sky with this crescent-shaped image of the airship Galbana, which Vaan and Penelo use to explore the floating continent of Lemures. Hidden from the rest of the world for centuries, the nation's regarded as a legendary treasure by Ivalice's sky pirates, making it an ultimate goal for these teenage explorers. Plus, it's the home of a winged race of humanoids called the aegyl, which the logo also sort of depicts if you tilt your eyes and squint. See, there's a head right there!
Of course, it's not all shanties and pirate booty: the Galbana and Lemures were created long ago by the god Feolthanos, who threw up a barrier around Lemures to keep his people safe and secluded. However, the barrier is knocked down during the events of FF12, and with his newfound freedom Feolthanos plans on destroying the world. Of course he does.
Final Fantasy 13
It takes a lot of nerve to put the ending of a game right on the cover, and that's what Square did with FF13. You don't really notice until you see the end yourself, so it doesn't matter too much. You might be able to figure out what the sphere at its center stands for pretty early on though: that's Cocoon, the hollow moon that most of the game's protagonists hail from. At the bottom, the logo morphs into a pendant worn by Serah, Lightning's sister and Snow's fianc, who acts as an emotional center for the cast and pushes them to continue their journey.
All the frills on top, meanwhile, take a full playthrough to understand. After our heroes win a climactic battle against their homicidal god, Cocoon begins to slip out of the sky, dooming the millions inside. Refusing to let it fall, heroes Fang and Vanille merge into a beast called Ragnarok, and stop the moon's descent with an impressive mix of icework and pyrotechnics. They then prop it up with a tower made of crystal and freeze themselves inside, as pictured in logo. They remain there to hold Cocoon in place forever. Or at least, until
Final Fantasy 13-2
Much like its box art, the logo for FF13-2 is curiously free of protagonists Serah and Noel. But it does put one of its main conflicts and overarching themes front and center, so I suppose that's good too. Behind the title are Caius Ballad, the villain who wants to destroy time itself, and Lightning, a hero of the goddess Etro given the task of stopping Caius and protecting the timeline. Both are nicely color-coded for reference, with Caius' dark shade contrasting Lightning's brightness.
While this may look like a marketing ploy to get another version of Lightning on the cover, it actually perfectly symbolizes the deeper conflict that drives FF13-2's action. Noel and Serah might be the player characters, but they're really just Lightning's agents on the ground, undoing Caius efforts to disrupt the flow of time while he and Lightning battle on an otherworldly plane. Players may spend 95% of the game completely blind to that conflict, but everything about the game leads into it, and this logo sums it all up nicely.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13
This one's pretty simple, both visually and symbolically, but it gets the point across with pinpoint efficiency. Lightning Returns is, as you would expect, a game that focuses a whole lot on Lightning, her search for redemption, and her last-ditch efforts to save her sister and deliver the souls of a dying world.
In keeping with that very character-centric focus, the logo for Lightning Returns is all about the titular hero: the emblem above the title matches the necklace Lightning wears throughout her journey, and has sparks of electricity shooting through it. Get it? Plus, it also looks like an abstract version of a crystal, which could symbolize the crystal stasis that Lightning awakens from at the beginning of the game. Maybe that little bit of electricity inside is meant to be the last vestiges of hope that brought her back to this world, to try and save it one more time. I guess Lightning does strike twice. I'll see myself out.
Final Fantasy 14
Now here's a fun one: how many battle-charging heroes do you count in this piece of art? The answer is, naturally, 14, a nice little a-ha added to an otherwise familiar concept. FF14 was meant to be the series' next big MMO as FF11 started to really show its age, and like FF11, FF14's logo relies on crowds to get its message across. It's a lot more stylized and visually interesting (that'll happen when a sword is coming straight at you off the box) but the concept is still all about showing off the huge community you'll get to play alongside.
Well, theoretically anyway - FFXIV's failure is legendary, with a launch so bad that it almost killed the game right there. Thankfully, Square stayed classy about the whole situation, owned up to its failures, and turned out a significantly better game three years later in A Realm Reborn. Reborn's 'new' logo reflects that change well: it's still the same piece of art, but recolored and glowing with new life, and that feels like a true rebirth.
Final Fantasy 14: Heavensward
Well isn't that smart - Heavensward's logo manages to capture both its main story beats and biggest new gameplay mechanic in one image. Specifically, the dragon on the cover and the tiny soldiers putting up a valiant poking effort reference the Dragonsong War, a conflict between humans and dragons that sets up the plot of Heavensward. The floating island in the background depicts the expansions new areas, including the floating Sea of Clouds and its neighboring nation of Ishgard, where the game's campaign is centered.
And of course, what do wings bring to mind better than soaring among the clouds, which is one of the biggest new additions Heavenward brings to FF14: flying mounts. Whether it's a dragon, an airship, or an adorably plump chocobo you use to take to the skies, it opens up the world of FF14 and defines the expansion. Really, it'd be a crime if they didn't work some wings in somewhere.
Final Fantasy 15
And that brings us to FF15, ten long years in the making and finally gracing our world next year (by process of elimination anyway). That means it's too early to actually know what the logo is supposed |
’s a chance anyone can go to WWE because of the things they’ve done. I would love to go, but I’m very happy doing what I’m doing.”
He’s also happy to see what happens on June 10.
“Everyone is excited about Wildkat coming here because Philadelphia loves wrestling, and Wildkat is going to be great,” Gulak said. “When Luke asked me to wrestle here, I know (Stevie) Richards will be there. It’s not a Philly company, but there are a lot of guys with Philly ties, and they know what Philly fans want. I know anyone who goes will be happy with it.” ••
For more information or to purchase tickets to the event, visit wildkatwrestling.com.WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- The ball, spinning hard off the hand of Drew Brees, came in hot and buzzed right past New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton, nearly picking him off after almost taking out club PR czar Greg Bensel.
Payton turned and flashed a grimace to the field, looking back at Brees and surveying how the errant toss was part of something else -- a faux skeet-shooting competition between the quarterbacks where one flips a disc into the air and another tries to hit it on the fly with a throw. And then Payton did just what you'd expect a 50-year-old coach to do.
He jumped in.
That, in a nutshell, is where the Saints are heading in 2014. Supremely confident, raring to compete and loaded for bear.
"Here's what I can control, or pay attention to, at least: Our injuries are down, we got our guys signed, we feel like we had a good draft, and I feel like there are some free agents that have begun the process where you go, 'Man, these guys have a chance'," Payton told me, a few minutes after the near miss last Friday. "It's like I was saying to the players last night: 'Hey, regardless of what's written and said, this team is gonna separate itself for good or for poor based on what we do. Nothing's promised.' "
As was implied in that message to open camp, the coach knows where expectations are, coming off last year's 11-5 rebound campaign. More so, it's clear that no one here is backing away from them.
The Saints should be really good, and they know it. There's emerging young talent at receiver (Kenny Stills, Brandin Cooks, Nick Toon), tailback (Khiry Robinson) and along the offensive line (Terron Armstead, Tim Lelito). There's Rob Ryan entering Season 2 as defensive boss, with Jairus Byrd, Champ Bailey and second-round pick Stanley Jean-Baptiste added as system fits. And there's the improving health (Byrd and John Jenkins will be back soon) and contract resolutions (Jimmy Graham) that Payton referenced.
Bottom line: There's a lot to like.
"On paper, it looks pretty good," Brees said in a private moment after practice. "You got some really good, solid, veteran guys, established guys, and then you've got a lot of young talent, and you can envision how they're gonna fit in the whole thing."
But beyond just the talent on hand, there's a looseness and swagger to the players and coaches.
That all makes sense, considering this is the first normal offseason they've had, really, since the one that preceded their Super Bowl campaign of 2009. With the Mardi Gras-infused championship celebration, lockout and bounty scandal investigation/fallout in the rearview mirror, the past few months in Metairie, Louisiana, have been relatively quiet.
Breer: Rare player, rare contract How will Jimmy Graham's new deal affect the market for tight ends (and pass catchers in general)? Albert Breer explores.
How will Jimmy Graham's new deal affect the market for tight ends (and pass catchers in general)?explores. READ
Yes, the Graham thing dragged on, but the Saints never felt, internally, like that wouldn't eventually be taken care of. With offseason distractions kept to a minimum, the team has enjoyed time to develop an identity. Ideally, the aforementioned looseness and swagger will be accompanied by a fierce edge, mirroring the 2009 championship squad. The hope is, as training camp heats up, this will manifest in the way the team works against itself to prepare for the fight against others. It is, in fact, what you saw in New Orleans during the title season: nasty practices where it looked like the offense didn't like the defense much, and vice versa. Brees said, "I love Rob Ryan, I love his aggressive approach." Ryan, of course, serves as a counterpart to the swashbuckling Payton.
That competition the quarterbacks had during their downtime? The idea, Brees said, is for that spirit to permeate the team.
"There's a winner and a loser. How bad do you want it?" said Brees, raising his voice. "When I'm out here, I'm trying to destroy our defense, man. And they're trying to get to me, they're trying to fool me, they're trying to destroy us. When you have that mentality, that just becomes your nature. Then you go out with this attitude: Every time I step on the field, I'm trying to destroy that team on the other side of the ball. That's what builds that confidence and that swagger."
Fired up, Brees continued, "If everything you do, you're trying to win at, and you're pissed if you don't win, it becomes your nature. It is my nature."
It's his coach's nature, too.
On this day, Payton flashes a cut on the inside of his right palm, where he can literally lift a chunk of skin off his hand. It's from his CrossFit work, which not only prepared him to pass the Saints' unique military-like conditioning test, but also has re-energized the eighth-year head coach. For Payton, it started during his recovery from the broken knee, broken tibia and torn MCL he suffered in a sideline collision in 2011, with the rehab carrying over to fitness.
"We're not getting any younger, and yet, personally being able to stay committed to fitness, it's helped me mentally have more energy," Payton said. "A number of these things, there's no way I would've been able to do."
So he jumps in the quarterback competition with his players.
And that moment wasn't exactly to send any sort of message. It's who Payton is, it's who Brees is, it's who the Saints want to be. The coach will tell you himself, that drive to a championship is right where it's always been, as far as he's concerned.
"Absolutely," Payton said. "Absolutely. Absolutely."
From the early looks of it, that could go for a lot of guys around here.
Three-and-out from Saints camp
1) In one fell swoop, the Saints jettisoned Jonathan Vilma, Jabari Greer, Roman Harper and Will Smith, four players who started a staggering 352 regular-season games for the franchise. "There's not one player left from our Super Bowl roster (on defense)," Payton said in our conversation. "Those are tough transitions." From a leadership standpoint, there's a void, no doubt. Internally, the hope is that Curtis Lofton, Kenny Vaccaro, Keenan Lewis and Cameron Jordan fill those shoes, and that Byrd follows suit once he's healthy and ready to go. Having Bailey around doesn't hurt, either.
2) On the offensive side of the ball, the Saints are banking big-time on the continued development of a number of young guys. And in particular, it's the sophomore class. Both Stills and Robinson should contribute in replacing the big-play production of Darren Sproles (124 offensive touches last fall), but just as important is the development of a pair of offensive linemen. The potential of Armstead and Lelito at left tackle and center, respectively, guided some significant roster decisions for the Saints this offseason.
3) Continuity should help on defense, with only the strong-side linebacker and left corner jobs still up for grabs. Brees himself told me, of the defense, "I love the way (Ryan) has those guys playing. We have some swagger over there, which is great." New Orleans went from historically bad in 2012 to fourth in total defense in 2013, so there's far less room to improve. But the unit's own expectations remain high. Jordan told me, "Everybody can make a jump this year -- nobody's comfortable."
Follow Albert Breer on Twitter @AlbertBreer.Financial Meltdown Five Years After So appropriate that the architect of banking deregulation, Larry Summers pleads that he is not the right person to head up the Federal Reserve. No S$%#. Well, the Fed is certainly the hot seat under normal circumstances. What will it be like when the next crisis directly puts into play the reserve currency status of the dollar? Do not worry, anniversaries are supposed to look at the brighter side. Never mind, our benevolent government is hard at work presenting the public with the kind of assurance that would make anyone start singing happy birthday. Your government money provides charts for inspection. However, what did all that TARP money do to correct the panic? According to Anthony Reyes writing in Treasury Notes comes to a laughable conclusion in The Financial Crisis Five Years Later: Response, Reform, and Progress In Charts. "But putting out the fires of the crisis was not enough. To address the underlying causes of the crisis, we had to modernize our regulatory framework and put powerful consumer financial protections in place. That is why President Obama took up the mantle of financial reform by championing and enacting the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act?. Americans now have a dedicated consumer financial protection watchdog, financial markets are more transparent, and the government has more tools to monitor risk, and resolve firms whose failure could threaten the entire financial system. As we approach the five-year anniversary of the height of the crisis, the financial system is safer, stronger, and more resilient than it was beforehand. We are still living with the broader economic consequences, and we still have more work to do to repair the damage. But without the government’s forceful response, that damage would have been far worse and the ultimate cost to repair the damage would have been far higher." Sound so reassuring. However, Dodd-Frank ignored serious derivative overhaul. Forget about mere regulation of financial markets, what about the federal government taking on even more fiscal responsibility of last resort. Too big to fail is an empty phrase, when the full faith and credit of the Treasury is placed into question. Just whom do you trust? "Hester Peirce, a scholar at the Mercatus Institute, told TheDCNF how Dodd-Frank’s placement of all financial derivatives into government-managed clearing houses could lead to poor investment decisions and possibly unbalance the financial markets. Because derivatives are such a complicated and long-term investment, Peirce argues that investors should always pay close attention to who they’re dealing with. "What Dodd-Frank does is say, ‘Don’t worry about [your counterparty], because you’re going to be in this relationship now with a clearing house for a year, and the clearing house is safe, so don’t worry about it," she said. "What we’ve done then is we’ve removed a whole layer of market scrutiny on counterparties," Peirce concluded." Ah, the "so called" success of the Sugar Daddy rescue effort is that the final counterparty is the U.S. government, financed by the private Federal Reserve. Over at the Fiscal Times in an article, The 5 Best and 5 Worst Regulations in Dodd-Frank, provides the operative summary. "The worst thing about Dodd-Frank is the misguided effort to remove risk from the system," said Dan Crowley, a partner at K&L Gates and head of the capital markets reform group. "Risk is essential to the capital formation process. Empowering the government to reduce risk in the system will inevitably increase compliance costs and decrease investor returns." Oh, that nasty risk, raising its head again. After the toll in human suffering from the loss in capital value and income return, it is a rare person who can say that their wealth factor has recovered to pre 2008 conditions. So too, the government has taken a tremendous hit. The New York Times presents in their Business Day, Adding Up the Government’s Total Bailout Tab, a two year old list of additional guarantees that are part of the price of the Wall Street bailout. "Beyond the $700 billion bailout known as TARP, which has been used to prop up banks and car companies, the government has created an array of other programs to provide support to the struggling financial system. Through April 30, the government has made commitments of about $12.2 trillion and spent $2.5 trillion — but also has collected more than $10 billion in dividends and fees. Here is an overview, organized by the role the government has assumed in each case." Read the entire breakdown. Wonder what Mr. Reyes over at Treasury would say to this cost to the taxpayer? Does it not seem that the math just does not add up? The next summary from the same Treasury Notes has Mr. Reyes stating. "The federal government’s crisis response was designed to stop the panic and stabilize the financial system with a series of measures, including government guarantees, emergency financial programs, and capital investments. It succeeded in doing so. Estimates of the potential losses at the time exceeded $1 trillion dollars. By mid-2013, with most of the emergency programs wound down and most of the funds disbursed under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) recovered, we can more realistically measure the potential losses and gains on the overall effort." Review A Detailed Timeline of the 2008 Financial Crisis on the MoneyMunk site. Well, just ask anyone with a positive net worth before 2008 and inquire if they still consider themselves part of the middle class. The overview of the last five-year monetary architectural plan of providing costless money to the banksters, while starving the average worker and depleting individual investment coffers, is frightening. It is a hard sell for the Treasury. Putting a smiley face on a report, when the actual results are killing Main Street, is preposterous. Thanks Larry Summers, for designing the free rein, wheeler-dealer derivative house of cards that only partially broke in phrase one. Just wonder what kind of improved government charts we might expect when the next government debt guaranteed bubble bursts wide open. Save the cost to the Treasury, your credit is zero. James Hall – September 18, 2013
Subscribe to the BATR Realpolitik Newsletter Discuss or comment about this essay on the BATR ForumHere is a decadent Chocolate Fudge Cake made from scratch! Because nothing feels better than creating something delicious with your own hands without using store-bought cake frosting mixes! This recipe is very easy to follow, fool-proof and the product is guaranteed to please every chocolate lover.
Ingredients:
Cake
2 2⁄3 cups all-purpose flour
3⁄4 cup plus 1 tbsp granulated sugar
1⁄3 cup light brown sugar
1⁄4 cup best-quality cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1⁄2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1⁄2 cup plus 2 tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3⁄4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1⁄2 cup corn oil
1 1⁄3 cups chilled water
Frosting
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids
1 cup plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 3⁄4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Procedures:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and line the bottom of two 8-inch cake pans.
Sift together the flour, sugars, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
In another bowl beat together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla until blended. Set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat together the melted butter and corn oil in another large bowl until just blended. Add the water and beat until incorporated. Add the flour mixture and continue beating at slow speed until just mixed. Add the egg mixture into the batter and mix again until everything is blended.
Divide batter into the prepared tins and bake for 45–50 minutes, or until a cake-tester comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes, and then turn the cakes out onto the rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the icing. Place the chocolate in a bowl and microwave for 2 minutes on medium until melted. Let cool slightly.
In another bowl cream the butter until soft then add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and beat again until light and fluffy. Then gently add the vanilla and melted chocolate and mix together until everything is glossy and smooth.
Place one of the cakes on a cake stand and top with 1/4 of the frosting and spread evenly. Place the other cake on top of the first one. Use the remaining icing to frost the top and sides of the entire cake.
Get These Other Easy Dessert Recipes:
Comments
commentsOver the weekend, right-wing preachers Lance Wallnau and Rick Joyner gathered with other Christian business leaders for a “Destiny Weekend” retreat in Moravian Falls, North Carolina, where Joyner revealed the prophetic significance of Hurricane Irma.
In a video posted on Wallnau’s Facebook page yesterday, Joyner revealed a vision that had been given to the late Bob Jones, a disgraced prophet who was nonetheless a towering figure in the modern prophetic movement, that supposedly revealed the spiritual meaning of the storm that is currently battering Florida.
According to Joyner, Jones “had a visitation from a couple of angels, one of them was named Charles and one of them was named Irma.”
“The angle named Irma said she was coming to release women into a higher purpose and a higher authority,” Joyner said. “This angel came with another angel named Charles and I was watching the Weather Channel yesterday and it just got my attention when they said Hurricane Irma is following the same path as Hurricane Charles.”
“I think there is a whole lot to this,” Joyner concluded. “There is a message in these storms.”
Of course, if you bother to actually look at the tracks taken by Hurricane Irma and 2004’s Hurricane Charley, they are not even close to being on the same path:FILE PHOTO - The Toyota Mirai, Toyota Motor Corporation's first commercially available, mid-sized hydrogen fuel cell sedan, is seen at a press preview in Newport Beach, California, November 17, 2014. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/Files
TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) on Tuesday said it would begin testing its hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCV) in the United Arab Emirates as the Japanese automaker explores the potential for the zero-emissions fuel technology in hot, dry conditions.
Toyota will team up with Abu Dhabi green energy firm Masdar, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co [ADNOC.UL] and French industrial gases company Air Liquide SA (AIRP.PA) to examine prospects for hydrogen production, logistics and business feasibility.
As part of the project Toyota will conduct driving and refueling tests using its Mirai FCV, which it launched in late 2015 as part of its goal to foster what it calls a “hydrogen society”, where the zero-emission fuel would power homes and vehicles.
“As the (UAE) government continues to promote new initiatives and pursues the creation of a hydrogen-based society, the UAE is able to emerge as the world leader of next-generation clean energies,” Toyota Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada said in a statement.
Toyota has promoted fuel cell vehicles as the most viable next-generation option to petrol-electric hybrids, but a lack of hydrogen fuelling stations poses a major hurdle for mass consumption.Every share makes Black Voice louder! Share To Share To
A survey by The Innocence Project shows that about 46,000 to 100,000 citizens have been wrongfully convicted in the last 10 years.
The organization, which is committed to exonerating people that have been wrongfully convicted, using DNA testing technology, estimates that 2.3 to 5 percent of the 2,220,300 prisoners in the US are innocent.
One main reason why innocent people are kept in prison is that the officers can lie to suspects in pursuit of confessions. After police manipulates on evidence and tortures suspects, the innocent men sometimes confess to crimes they didn’t commit.
President and CEO of the Fortune Society JoAnne Page, responsible for helping formerly incarcerated rebuild their lives after release, said that the police force is “crippling an entire generations of people”. “Our punishments are out of line with the crimes and with any other society’s version of what is reasonable. And then when people get out, we don’t stop the punishment.”
Police officers presume that the suspects are guilty without ant proof especially when they are black. Their mindset is that any black man is a criminal, drug dealer and thug.
And so, officers have gotten different strategies to frame the innocent. They falsify evidence and even beat witnesses, who attempt to videotape them while in action.
Share this article and help to fight for justice in our communities.While Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) was deeply troubled by Donald Trump’s attacks against U.S. District Gonzalo Curiel — who Trump has repeatedly dismissed as “Mexican” and biased against him — Scott plans to continue supporting Trump and says the GOP’s presidential nominee has not crossed a line that would cause him to revoke his endorsement.
“His comments were certainly racially toxic. I don’t know the intent of his heart so I’m not going to call them racist comments but certainly they are racially toxic,” Scott told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday. “The fact of the matter is we have to find a way to unite this country around one goal, one mission with everyone in the same boat.”
Scott signaled there was a line that Trump could cross where he would revoke his endorsement, but “we’re not there yet.”
“I am supporting the Republican brand. I am supporting Donald Trump. I’m going to speak out when I think he does things that are inconsistent with the best interest of the country,” Scott said.They say mental illness isn’t funny, but when I say “they” I mean my dishwasher and mailbox, and those two liars are always spreading rumors about me. Case in point: a mentally disturbed man in an Elmo costume was kicked out of Central Park Zoo over the weekend for shouting things like “If you start your own business in this city, Jews will harass you!” I don’t mean to make light of Antisemitism, but come on, dude gets points for flair.
The evil Elmo was spotted screaming obscenities while the NYPD carried the impostor out in an ambulance on Sunday.
In 2009, he was caught hassling tourists strolling along in Times Square demanding they take pictures with him for cash. When refused, the impostor cursed them out. His rude behavior resurfaced in 2010. [HuffingtonPost]
In the videos below, the man complains about being squeezed by the Jewish costume companies and urges people to read “The International Jew by Henry Ford.” He eventually got thrown in an ambulance and taken away, which was very disappointing for me as no one appears to have chased him around with butterfly nets first (much harder to pair the scene with Yakety Sax in my mind without butterfly nets). I blame the Jews.
It’s a little-known fact that in the Islamic world, Jew-Hating Elmo is actually far more popular than his brother Tickle-Me. It’s a cultural thing.
[second picture via NYDailyNews]Flash content will stop working in Chromium on Linux from this April, it has been announced.
Google are to drop support for the ‘Netscape Plugin API’ (NPAPI) – used by Adobe Flash – on Linux builds of Chrome/ium far sooner than was originally planned.
The ageing plugin architecture, which allows for unrestricted access to a computer, is considered inefficient and insecure, with Google calling it ‘the leading cause of hangs, crashes, and security incidents’.
In its place comes a securer, sandboxed and more performant standard in the shape of the ‘Pepper Plugin API’ (PPAPI).
An Adobe Flash plugin using PPAPI comes bundled with Google Chrome on Windows, Mac, Chrome OS and Linux.
Aura of Change
Phased depreciation of the plugin format was announced by Google in autumn of last year. The schedule aims to see the complete removal of NPAPI plugin compatibility at a code level by the end of 2014.
For Windows and Mac this end-date remains the target, but on Linux things are moving much faster. With the debut on the ‘Aura’ graphical stack on Linux, Chrome/ium v34 will come without any support for Netscape plugins.
Aura, which is used to ‘draw’ virtually every bit of the browser you see on screen, was built from the ground up by Google to do a number of things, including unifying codebases to make development and availability of new features truly cross-platform. As a new technology, Google were able to forgo building support for dogged and depreciated APIs like NPAPI.
Being free of such burdens makes Chrome more secure, leaner and less bloated. But some Linux users may be left smarting at the trade off.
What this means for you if you rely on Flash
It’s up to you whether you’re affected…
If you’re worried that you’ll never again be able to wile away the hours watching cat videos on YouTube you can relax. Things aren’t quite as bleak as they sound. In fact, it’s up to you whether you’re affected.
If you download and install the ‘regular’ version of Google Chrome (the one with the rainbow-coloured icon) then you have no cause for concern. Despite the change, YouTube, Vimeo, etc. will all continue to work “out of the box” on Linux as the browser comes with a bundled version of Flash based on a newer, more secure plugin format.
If you opt to use Chromium (the one with the blue icon), available from the Ubuntu Software Centre, then you won’t be able to watch/interact with/view Flash content without first extracting and installing the ‘Pepper’ plugin from Google Chrome. This workaround will apply to all browsers based on Chromium.
Perhaps because of its easy availability Popcon usage stats show that nearly half of all Chrome users on Ubuntu use Chromium.
The version of Chrome offered by Google is based on the same code as Chromium but includes additional extras whose licensing restricts freer distribution.
Flash Choices
Part of the dilemma facing Linux users can be laid squarely at Adobe’s door. The company stopped direct development of their Flash plugin for Linux back in 2012. The final release, version 11.2, remains available from the Adobe website and can be installed through the Ubuntu Software Centre but, after this coming April, won’t work in Chromium-based browsers.
Adobe instead decided to pair with Google to bundle newer versions based on the PPAPI with Google Chrome. The current ‘Pepper Flash’ version number is 11.9. Google say that this sandboxed, secure iteration will be supported on Linux ‘indefinitely’.
The problem for users of Chromium is that the Pepper Flash plugin cannot be downloaded from the web or installed from the Ubuntu Software Centre. And while it can be extracted from Google Chrome for use in Chromium-based browsers, it cannot be legally distributed or packaged by anyone else.
Chromium developers say they are open to accepting patches to enable NPAPI support in Linux Aura, but have no desire to ship or support them officially. Further more, once NPAPI is dropped from Windows the code will be removed/halted from all platform – including any patches used in the interim.
But all is not lost. By switching to PPAPI Flash Chromium users can continue to watch kitten videos on YouTube, play Candy Crush Saga on Facebook, etc. There may even be an easy way to get it in the future, with Chrome dev Justin Schuh stating that Adobe“are not opposed to working out solutions for distributing PPAPI Flash to other browsers”.
SummarySo what if it's really only the Subway to the VA, Metro finally broke ground today on a subway down Wilshire Boulevard, a project first proposed back in 1961 and long known as the Subway to the Sea. Today it's known as the Purple Line extension and it'll travel from the existing Purple Line terminus at Wilshire/Western to Westwood. Eventually. For now, it'll travel 3.9 miles, to the edge of Beverly Hills (whose elaborate opposition to the project is a story for another, less festive day), with stops at La Brea, Fairfax, and La Cienega. That section is set to open in 2023.
Phase II of the project will add stations at Wilshire/Rodeo and Century City, and is set to open in 2026, assuming none of Beverly Hills's shenanigans are too successful. Phase III will put stops at UCLA and the West LA VA and open in 2035. So in just 21 years, there'll be a new nine-mile subway line to get travelers between Downtown and Westwood in 25 minutes. Metro is still seeking new funding to speed up that timeline a little; a transpo sales tax modeled after the wildly successful Measure R failed in 2012 after getting 66.11 percent of the vote (true story!).
We looked at the long history of Subway to the Sea failure a little while back—the property developers along Wilshire had streetcars banned on the boulevard back in the 1920s; Metro's predecessor proposed a "backbone" transit line in 1961 that would've run above-ground from El Monte to Downtown. There were some small explosions and a lot of handwringing and lawsuits along the way, but today we're finally here. (Meanwhile, the Expo Line extension will open a few blocks from the beach in Santa Monica in about a year.)
· Long wait is over: groundbreaking ceremony today for subway extension under Wilshire Boulevard [The Source]
· The Long History of Wilshire Subway Regrets (and Success!) [Curbed LA]The TTC and the City of Toronto have a joint road and watermain reconstruction project underway on Dundas between Yonge and Church. For a few months, 505 Dundas cars have diverted around the workarea via Bay and College/Carlton, and they are currently returning south via Church. The service is so well established that it has streetcar stops on Church where there has not been regular transit service for decades.
The intersection at Dundas, Dundas Square and Victoria is unusual in that it is triangular, the result of a jog elimination at Yonge Street in 1923.
This post documents the track reconstruction as it progresses.
Last updated July 25, 2017.
Sat. July 15, 2017
A short piece of track on Dundas Square beside the CITY-TV studios was the last piece of live street trackage in Toronto with paving setts instead of concrete.
Mon. July 17, 2017
Tue. July 18, 2017
Wed. July 19, 2017
Concrete work continues on the east leg of the intersection, and the special work for remaining sections is sitting on Victoria Street south of Dundas Square awaiting installation.
Fri. July 21, 2017
Mon. July 24, 2017
A week after construction started, assembly of the major pieces of special work has completed, and attention turns to the various bits of tangent track linking the intersection together and with its three approaches. Concrete work on the Dundas Street leg has begun.
Looking Back to 1996
In mid-1996, this intersection was rebuilt, although the south leg was untouched leaving the paving blocks on Dundas Square that have now disappeared. The intersection itself has changed a lot in two decades.by
This guest post is from my friend, Jim Burklo, who is Associate Dean of Religious Life at USC. We were on a panel together last year at a conference sponsored by the Foundation for Interreligious Diplomacy (presentations are on youtube, here and here). This is a slightly abbreviated version of his report of his visit to SLC. I would really like it if we made it through at least a few general comments about the perspective offered by a friendly visitor before we get sidetracked by the single paragraph on Prop. 8. Thanks.
————–
For an exotic cultural and religious experience without leaving the borders of the United States, pay a visit to the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!
With my boss at USC, Varun Soni, Dean of Religious Life, Jerry Campbell, president of the Claremont School of Theology and Claremont Lincoln University, Tammi Schneider, dean of religion, and Deborah Freund, president, Claremont Graduate University, I went to Salt Lake City this past Thursday and Friday to meet with top leaders, known as “General Authorities”, of the Mormon church. We were guests of the church, invited by the interfaith representatives of the LDS in southern California. I’d describe this older couple as retired people but that category is essentially meaningless in the Mormon world. These two gracious people work virtually full time for the church. They set the tone for the impeccable hospitality that was afforded to us throughout our trip.
From the airport in the morning we were whisked south about 50 miles to Brigham Young University in Provo. It sits right at the base of huge, rugged, snow-dusted mountains. Yellow autumn leaves fluttered as we walked among the clean-cut, conservatively-dressed students. We met with a group of scholars from BYU for the morning. Their eagerness to dialogue with us was palpable. One professor and I chatted briefly before the formal discussion. He and I blog at Patheos.com, an interfaith website. He wrote an intriguing piece recently about family as an alternative principle of social organization in contrast both to statism and to capitalism. He’s one of the “out” Democrats on the BYU faculty. His presence was a reminder of the diversity of thinking among Mormons, which is a surprise to many outsiders. Another professor reported something that intrigued me greatly. He said that when LDS young people drop out of the church, they give up religion altogether, and they don’t join the ranks of the “SBNR” – spiritual but not religious. Perhaps Mormonism is such an all-consuming experience that its people see it in all-or-nothing terms. A professor of history described his work in evangelical – Mormon dialogue, part of the LDS effort to be understood as a truly Christian church. A professor of Islamic studies answered my question about how other faiths are presented at BYU and by the LDS church. I pointed out that evangelical Christians have textbooks that outline the world’s faiths, with explanations about how all faiths but their own version of Christianity are wrong. “We don’t do that, and if any leader does that publicly in the LDS church, the higher-ups will put a stop to it,” he said. LDS current and historical experience of being very misunderstood by the rest of the society has made them sensitive to misrepresentation not only of their own faith, but those of others. He and other Mormon officials suggested that Islam, in particular, bears many similarities to LDS faith. Later that day, the president of BYU told us that many of the few non-Mormons at BYU are Muslims, because their parents like the fact that there are strict rules against drinking and premarital sex.) I asked a professor of law if the LDS has anything like canon law, as is found in the Catholic Church and many others. He said it does not, because the church is based on continuing revelation. I then asked all the scholars if this is a reflection of the lack of systematic theology in Mormonism, and they generally agreed it was the case. BYU teaches religion to undergraduates, and teaches religious education, but it is not a seminary and has no graduate program in religion. We learned that, by default, the public universities in Utah have some of the functions of seminaries for Mormons, as centers for the critical academic study of the LDS faith. Just before lunch, one professor smiled and said, “We’re weird, we Mormons. But that makes us interesting, don’t you think?”
From BYU we went to the training center nearby where tens of thousands of Mormon missionaries are trained for service each year. Young men go two by two for two years, and young women go two by two for shorter periods, all over the world to spread the Mormon faith. The young men wear their distinctive white shirts and narrow neckties and engraved plastic nametags. The young women wear long skirts and dowdy shoes. At the center they maintain a grueling schedule of language study and other training. I asked the center manager and a former Elder of the Quorum of the Seventy, the leadership body just under the Presidency and the 12 Apostles, whether the main value of the missions was in conversion of others or was in the spiritual formation of the “elders” and “sisters” who go on the missions. In so many words, they made it clear that it was the latter. Many missionaries make few conversions in the course of their missions. But they come back with organizational and language skills, global cultural awareness, self-discipline, and a much deeper commitment to their religion.
Back in Salt Lake City, we had dinner on the top floor of the LDS-owned Hotel Utah, with views of the city, Temple Square, and the glorious mountains. We dined with two Elders of the Quorum of the Seventy and their wives. I asked how they reconcile the fact that Mitt Romney disavows his LDS faith as a factor in his run for the US presidency, while Elder Dallin Oaks, another member of the Seventy, gave a major speech recently complaining about the erosion of religious freedom in America. They cited the attacks on Mormon facilities and nasty verbal attacks on Mormons after Prop 8 was passed in California. “On behalf of the interfaith community, I apologize that all of us did not rally against those attacks as vigorously as we should have,” I said. When they said that gay marriage was an erosion of the influence of religion, I said that I perform gay marriage ceremonies and advocate for its legalization with my denomination, the United Church of Christ. “Which of our denominations will prevail in influencing the government’s policy? In either case, it seems to me, and to my progressive Christian colleagues, that religious influence and freedom in American society are very alive and well!” This made them sputter a bit. I said that same-sex marriage will be legalized inevitably, no matter what he or I think about it. So we must find other ways for each of our faiths to find acceptance and understanding for our particularities on this issue. They said it’s not inevitable for gay marriage to prevail. But then they admitted that was true only for the short term |
by U.S. Air Force officials at the recent Air, Space and Cyber Conference that talked about the importance of international cooperation. However, he said those broad comments don't always translate at the operational level. [From SpaceNews: Space Debris Is More Than a Nuisance]
"I'm absolutely convinced that we have senior leadership buy-in into this, but sometimes we're a bit stymied at the tactical level, when people are just prone to overclassify things, and that makes the access and that partnership more difficult," he said.
Such partnerships among countries, panelists said, can address orbital debris mitigation and space security issues to at least a degree in the absence of a broader international accord. Rose said that, despite broader geopolitical issues in the U.S.-China relationship, the countries have recognized it is in the benefit of both countries to mitigate the growth of orbital debris.
"In the near term, I don't think the prospects of a code of conduct are particularly positive, but I think there's a lot of work we can do," he said.
This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.For Pride Month, the number crunchers at Trulia took to the census data and figured out the country's gayest zip codes by share of same-sex couples (the census doesn't ask about sexual orientation, so that's the best way to estimate it). San Francisco's Castro topped the list for men, naturally, but Southern California did all right: Palm Springs zip codes came it at numbers two and four, and there's West Hollywood (90069) all the way down the list at six, behind also Provincetown, MA and Wilton Manors in Fort Lauderdale, FL--who knew? (And because they're Trulia, they threw in the median price per square foot of real estate in these zip codes, as an FYI.) SoCal didn't make the top neighborhoods for lesbian couples, but the highest concentration around here is in Belmont Heights in Long Beach; that's followed by five other LB neighborhoods, including Plaza/South of Conant and the Eastside. Besides 90069, male same-sex couples are largely concentrated in 90046 in WeHo and in 90068 in the Hills, as well as in Signal Hill (we mapped similar census data with similar results last year). Trulia found that overall gay men prefer the more expensive areas: "The typical same-sex male couple lives in a ZIP code with a median price per square foot of $208, compared with $139 for same-sex female couples and $127 for all households."
· Welcome to the Gayborhood [Trulia]
· Census Data Map Shows the Gayborhoods of Los Angeles [Curbed LA]This is the start of a new series that will be focused on obsolete and bizarre theories about dinosaurs. These theories may be outlandish, but they are certainly fascinating nonetheless.
Compsognathus with Flippers
L.B. Halstead’s illustration of the aquatic Compsognathus in his 1975 book, The Evolution and Ecology of Dinosaurs. Image courtesy of svpow.com.
In the 1972, French paleontologist Alain Bidar proposed that a specimen of Compsognathus longipes that had been recently discovered in France was actually a new species. He named it Compsognathus corallestris, and distinguised it based on its hand structure. The original and only other known Compsognathus, found in Germany in 1859, did not have well preserved hands; they appeared to only have two digits. The new specimen had better preserved hands and had three fingers. Bidar theorized that corallestris had evolved enlongated hands that served as fins, and that it was suited for an aquatic or semi-aquatic lifestyle.
Bidar’s illustrations of the different postures of Compsognathus corallestris. Image courtesy of svpow.com.
Bidar believed that corallestris had adapted to the island environment of Late Jurassic Europe and hunted for fish and crustaceans. This theory was relevant for a few years, and even appeared in many informative books. However, in 1978, John Ostrom published a thorough redescription of both specimens of Compsognathus. He concluded that Bidar’s theory was highly inaccurate and unfounded, and that both specimens belonged to Compsognathus longipes. The theory of the finned, aquatic Compsognathus was debunked, and faded into obscurity.
Gliding Stegosaurus
Ballou’s bizarre reconstruction of a flying Stegosaurus. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian.
In 1920, paleontology enthusiast and author W.H. Ballou postulated an unorthodox use of Stegosaurus’ plates. At the time, the plates of Stegosaurus were thought to be flexible and able to move up and down; it is now known that they were rigid and immovable. Ballou’s theory stated that Stegosaurus could lower its plates and use them as rudimentary “wings”; it would leap off of cliffs and glide down. This theory was never corroborated by any paleontologists, and only appeared in a single newspaper article.
Next: Fire-Breathing Parasaurolophus and Sauropods with Trunks
Carnoferox is a champion moderator and an all time top contributor at Dinosaur Home.Lana Del Rey reportedly told fans to expect her next album, Honeymoon, in September, and now it looks like we may see a new video even sooner.
Let's walk through the detective work: Photos surfaced on a Lana fan site at the end of April, which show the "Ultraviolence" singer posing with several (very handsome) men. According to the post's description, the shots were taken on a video set at the Korean Friendship Bell in San Pedro, California. Yesterday (June 4), male model Jake Mast shared two of these same photos — of him with a smiling LDR — with the caption, "Lana del Rey music video titled "Music To Watch Boys To" coming out verry soon this month!! Check us out!"
The (circumstantial) evidence speaks for itself — and we're left to assume that Mast plays one of the titular boys Lana's going to be watching in the clip.
"Music to Watch Boys To" is an as-yet unreleased song that's made its way onto YouTube, as unreleased songs Lana Del Rey songs often do. It's more uptempo than most of the offerings on Ultraviolence, with the feel of a vintage track like Lesley Gore's "It's My Party." The title is likely a reference to a 1960s hit popularized by Andy Williams called "Music to Watch Girls By," which also has a breezy beach-music feel — though the sonic similarities end there.
Lana has yet to officially confirm the "Music to Watch Boys To" video, but stay tuned for updates — and listen to the leaked incarnation of the song above.Being an England fan on the night they were knocked out by Iceland was difficult... unless you were in Reykjavik itself
You’re on a Reykjavik hill with 15,000 Iceland fans.
Your country is being dumped unceremoniously out of a major football tournament.
There’s only one word to describe your emotions.
Bittersweet.
While the anger boiled over back home in England, the joy spilled out onto the streets in Iceland’s capital last night.
And the one thing I had in common with the local fans was the overwhelming sense of disbelief.
Minutes after the final whistle was blown the fans stood, stunned at what they’d just experienced. For a totally different reason I felt the same, as the crowd slowly dispersed to enjoy what must have been the sweetest of all beers.
Thousands still remained on the Arnarholl hill, overlooking the picturesque port and Harpa concert hall, as an impromptu rendition of quasi-national anthem Ferdalok erupted around the fan zone.
Ferdalok, I’m later told, is a song about a lover returning home.
It’s stirring, emotional, beautiful. These are football fans, I have to keep reminding myself.
Football fans don’t do this, do they?
They do in Iceland.
It’s as if everything they do is shrouded in some sort of mysticism. But moments like this don’t get any more magical.
In the wave of euphoria I even bought an Iceland scarf. I’m English, I have to remind myself.
English people don’t do this.
I bought an Iceland scarf in Reykjavik last night and to compound the misery it was made in England pic.twitter.com/1qhKd8s0MB — Andrew Butler (@mrabutler) June 28, 2016
Ironically the scarf was made in England.
But it’s too good to let an opportunity of seeing a nation come together for this, our silly game of football, pass you by out of patriotic duty.
It’s after midnight and unsurprisingly everyone’s in the mood for a chat and a chant as I make the two minute walk into the now bustling streets of Reykjavik.
“You’ve got to understand, the country has never seen anything like this ever before,” says one lad as he hands me a pint in the heaving American Bar.
“But it’s amazing, the team have made everyone just so proud. They play for each other though, you see?”
It’s a point many fans make through the night – unlike the English, who seemingly were playing for themselves, the Icelandic team have an unshakeable bond having played together at virtually every age group from Under-16 onwards.
Much has been written about this aspect of the tiny island over the past fortnight.
But there was one point I needed to get to the bottom of: Did every person in Iceland really know each other?
“Well, yeah, in a way,” another fan told me.
“We’re going to Paris at the weekend now… Gylfi can get us tickets.”
Gylfi, as in Gylfi Sigurdsson. Turns out the group of lads I’ve bumped into are good mates with the Swansea star. Of course, this is Iceland after all.
They interrupt our chat to jovially boo a bloke who has just entered the pub.
“See that guy? He plays for our rival club, Fjolnir. They’re second in the top league at the moment and we all support FH Hafnarfjordur. We’re top.”
By this stage I’m not even surprised when said player comes over and has a chat with us. He went to school with a couple of the group – again, this is Iceland.
This is a night of celebration in its purest form. A whole nation coming together to revel in the greatest achievement in their sporting history.
The streets were packed and an open top bus tour awarded to the Icelandic handball team after they won a silver medal in the Olympics – you can only imagine what it will be like when the heroes return from France.
As the night draws on, the darkness holds off. It’s an appropriate metaphor. Iceland doesn’t get dark during the summer months, giving the evening a feel of a student’s all-nighter.
You don’t know what the time is, and frankly, you don’t care.
Making my way up the hill there’s a group of around 200 fans still chanting. An Icelandic version of the Kolo/Yaya Toure song gets an airing, the now famous Icelandic Thunderclap is also heard, and there’s even a smidgen of Will Grigg’s On Fire.
A couple of locals tell me they had zero interest in football until now, one shakes my hand when I admit to being English, another says it’s the greatest day in history.
Who can question that?
I’ve never wanted the Three Lions to lose, and under the crushing circumstances it could turn you bitter, frustrated, angry.
But when you see the other side of the story, you simply cannot begrudge Iceland for a time like this.
While it might have been bittersweet for this English fan in Reykjavik, Iceland have had their first taste of true sporting glory.Visiting the decaying remains of the Tarlair outdoor swimming pool is a strange experience – both the setting and the art deco structure are stunning but the decayed condition of the place is quite simply shocking – especially when you consider that this is a Grade A Listed Historic Building.
The June 2007 edition of The Leopard magazine has an interesting article on-line on the phenomenon of outdoor pools in the North East by Eric Simpson : “Pools of teeth-chittering delight” which gives more history on Tarlair and other pools.
There has been a consultation on the future of the pool – with (I’m led to believe) £75,000 of public money on external consultants – and the results will be published later in the year. After ACSEF’s recent CitySquare “consultation” – which used up £300,000 of much needed public funds – I’m very sceptical of consultations these days.
According to the Banffshire Journal one of the potential future uses is as a lobster hatchery. I like many others wait with interest to see what becomes of the place, and I hope whatever it is saves the building, can serve the local community and help create some genuine local jobs.
P.S. I have put more images from Tarlair Pool on my flickr page.
AdvertisementsThe opening of Norway’s first Muslim-only school has caused controversy in the Scandinavian country’s capital, with anti-immigration activists and politicians expressing their concerns over how the taxpayer-funded move might harm integration in the country.
Plans for the school were green-lit last week, after years of campaigning by the ‘Association of Muslim Mothers’. In Norway, religious schools can apply for state-funding, and on that basis, Torbjørn Røe Isaksen, the Education Minister, said “…when all Parliamentary parties are agreed that we should have a law where religious schools get state funding, it’s a little strange to deny Muslim schools approval.”
According to the Local.no, the school is set to “teach its pupils Arabic and Islamic values as well as the standard subjects on the curriculum, replacing the subject of Religion, Philosophy and Ethics with Islam, Religion and Philosophy.”
Labour Party politician Trond Giske said of the move: “I’m concerned that if we begin to group ourselves by religion, it will weaken the inclusiveness of Norwegian society. We spend a lot of money on inclusion in Norway, and now we are apparently going to be spending it on segregation.”
The issue is even dividing those with the governing Conservative and Progress parties, which both sit on the right of the political spectrum. The Progress Party’s Oslo representative Camilla Willhelmsen said: “These kids need to be in an environment with other Norwegian children. The community is already to some extent segregated and this will not make it any better.”
Oslo City Councillors are also said to be “skeptical” of the new school, and have pointed to the failure of the Urtehagen Islamic school which only remained open from 2001 to 2004. The Norway Post claims: “The controversial school was eventually shut down by the County Governor as a result of several complaints and unrest.”
Critics are said to be petitioning the relevant ministers to stop the plans going ahead, but if they are unsuccessful, the school is set to open in East Oslo in the autumn.CLOSE Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett discusses his proposed 2018 budget after presenting it to the Common Council at City Hall on Tuesday. Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Buy Photo Milwaukee will close six fire stations under the 2018 budget. (Photo: Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)Buy Photo
Six fire stations are to close under Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's 2018 budget plan.
The Milwaukee Fire Department announced the planned closures Tuesday following Barrett's budget address at City Hall.
The stations targeted to close are at 100 W. Virginia St., 1313 W. Reservoir Ave., 1693 N. Franklin Place, 300 S. 84th St., 424 N. 30th St. and 2400 S. 8th St.
The Fire Department will continue to use three of those stations, but for other purposes. The Virginia St. station will be used for construction and maintenance; the Reservoir location will serve as the department's wellness center; and the station at the corner of Brady Street and Franklin Place will become the Community Relations and Education Office.
"I'm certainly not standing here trying to tell you that it doesn't hurt to take a fire station out of a neighborhood or community, because it does," Fire Chief Mark Rohlfing told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
The closures likely will add five to 25 seconds to response times, which would remain under the national average, he said. The department's current average time for an engine to arrive on scene is 2 minutes and 50 seconds, he added.
Earlier in the day, Barrett was frank about the cuts in his address to the Common Council.
NEWSLETTERS Get the NewsWatch Delivered newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Todays top news delivered to your inbox Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-844-900-7103. Delivery: Mon - Fri Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for NewsWatch Delivered Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters
"The budget I am presenting today is not the budget I was hoping to introduce," he said. "But there's a big difference between hope and reality."
The City of Milwaukee would lose 33 police officer positions and 75 firefighter jobs under Barrett's budget plan. But he said the cuts will not result in layoffs.
The proposed budget also includes a 3.7% property tax levy increase.
Buy Photo Mayor Tom Barrett said "no city budget has presented more challenges or more frustration than this one" as he presented his proposed 2018 budget to the Common Council. (Photo: Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
"Our men and women in uniform have earned our respect. They have earned our admiration. That makes these decisions so much more difficult," Barrett said. "In my time as mayor, no city budget has presented more challenges or more frustration than this one."
Barrett again pushed for a half-cent local sales tax. He has repeatedly said it could raise some $35 million per year for the city's police and fire departments.
The Democratic mayor repeatedly called on Republican Gov. Scott Walker and state lawmakers to give the city the authority to pursue the tax, which would allow the proposal to go before voters as a referendum next year on the April ballot.
RELATED: City faces police and firefighter cuts, property tax increase in upcoming budget
Barrett again said Milwaukee is not getting its fair share of state funding, saying that the money generated by the city far exceeds the amount of state aid it receives.
"The beneficiary of our economic growth is the state's coffers," Barrett said.
But it's unlikely Milwaukee will get that authority from the GOP-controlled Legislature.
"With tax cuts and record investment in K-12 education, Gov. Walker proved you don’t need to raise taxes to grow the economy and adequately fund your priorities," Walker spokesman Tom Evenson said.
Barrett's budget drew immediate criticism from Republicans, streetcar opponents and the heads of local public safety unions.
"It is very concerning to even consider that we would slash one officer from the rank and file," said Mike Crivello, president of the Milwaukee Police Association.
Crivello didn't oppose the sales tax outright, saying: "It should be discussed." But he said the voters should know exactly how the money would be spent.
Buy Photo Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn is flanked by officers after Mayor Tom Barrett presented his proposed 2018 budget. He did not comment on the budget. (Photo: Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
"The mayor is not placing enough emphasis on public safety," Ald. Tony Zielinski said.
He said it was "financially irresponsible" to add potential additional expenses, like possible operating expenses related to the Milwaukee Streetcar.
"I'm calling on the mayor to commit to at least no future expansion of the streetcar," Zielinski said.
And state Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Brookfield) said Barrett's budget priorities "lack all common sense."
"When criminal behavior is on the rise and the carjacking epidemic continues to spread, he intends to cut police positions. The absurdity of this proposal is dumbfounding. In simple terms, Mayor Barrett will gamble with your safety in order to play politics," Vukmir said in a statement. "Inexcusable."
She added, "Oh, but don’t worry Milwaukee, funding for Barrett’s hobbyhorse trolley project stays intact."
Barrett's spending plan includes up to $315,000 in the parking fund budget for the city portion of the streetcar operations grant, but there is no impact to the tax levy, city officials said.
Patrick Curley, Barrett's chief of staff, said he doesn't recall Vukmir objecting when voters in other communities in Wisconsin voted to approve local sales taxes.
"Apparently she doesn't hold voters in the City of Milwaukee in the same regard," Curley said.
Under Barrett's budget, the city's property tax increase would amount to a $37 hike on a median-value home of $108,374. With property taxes and fees combined, that would amount to an approximate $48 increase on the typical home, although Barrett said that increase will be offset by somewhat lower taxes expected for Milwaukee Public Schools.
When it comes to efforts to reduce exposure to lead, Barrett said the city has budgeted $75,000 for lead filters in the upcoming year and hopes to again match that amount with private donations.
The 2018 budget also includes money to fund 800 lead water service line replacements in 2018. Those will include leaking pipes and laterals that are connected to water mains.
Barrett's budget includes $280,000 to the Health Department's Office of Violence Prevention to build a neighborhood-based violence interruption program called Ceasefire.
"This approach involves targeted efforts to identify and mediate potentially lethal conflicts in priority neighborhoods throughout the city," Barrett said. "The Ceasefire model focuses on individuals at highest risk of shooting or being shot through intensive case management and life-changing interventions."
Read or Share this story: https://jsonl.in/2xxPfeDThe UFC made two European debuts in 2015 and promised a couple more. Those did not pan out, but places like the Netherlands and Russia are targeted for 2016, per James Elliott, the new UFC vice president and general manager of Europe, Middle East and Africa.
The UFC officially announced Elliott's new position Wednesday. David Allen, his predecessor, abruptly resigned in June. Elliott had been working as the UFC's senior director of content for two years and was instrumental in setting up television deals for the promotion in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Slovakia and Russia.
The Netherlands, which has a substantial kickboxing pedigree, seems to be the top target for 2016 with a TV deal in place on FOX there.
"Holland is still on the list," Elliott told MMA Fighting. "Holland is a key market for us and it's somewhere we want to be."
Elliott also said Russia and places in Central Europe -- like Czech Republic -- are also being looked at in 2016 for events. In 2015, the UFC debuted in Scotland and Poland. There was also a European event in Germany with one more in Dublin on Oct. 24 to come. The Dublin card, Elliott said, sold out in less than 60 seconds. The UFC has already scheduled a return to London on Feb. 27, 2016.
In the last two to three years, there has been an influx of high-profile European fighters in the UFC, including interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor, women's strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and top light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson.
"European MMA has never been stronger," said Elliott, an England native. "I think we've got both fighters and athletes at the top level challenging for world titles and we've got people coming in from the grassroots, people coming onto the roster and into Fight Nights and onto FOX shows and pay-per-views. Every week there's a new European fighter who's coming on board."
One large European market the UFC won't be going to any time soon is France, which Elliott calls a "big hole." Earlier this month, an MMA event with a cage was held for the first time in France. Elliott said the show caused a lot of controversy, and the UFC will wait to see how things play out before proceeding in the country.
Elliott, 36, will also hope to continue the UFC's growth in the Middle East and Africa. The UFC has been to Abu Dhabi twice in the last five years and a sect of the government there is a business partner. Elliott said the UFC could be in that part of the world again next year, but perhaps in another location.
"There are some interesting things coming down the tracks for the region, that's for sure -- which them as a region have driven and demanded," Elliott said. "The desire is definitely there and we're trying our best to service it as best we can."
Along with France, breaking into Africa is a priority for Elliott with major caveats. He acknowledges that they "haven't made many strides there." However, Elliott said he expects to announce a television deal in South Africa in the coming weeks. That is typically a prelude to the UFC holding an event in the country. Of course, there are other logistical issues, most of them financial with a city like Johannesburg.
"We'll use [the TV deal] as a way of gauging response to it," Elliott said.
Other potential issues exist in what has emerged as an MMA hotbed: Ireland. UFC president Dana White said last week that McGregor will defend the featherweight title at Ireland's Croke Park if he beats Jose Aldo at UFC 194 on Dec. 12. Elliott said the team in Europe is working hard to figure out the logistics, but there are things standing in their way, including the fact that it is outdoors and Ireland is a country that gets a lot of precipitation. A pay-per-view would also be difficult there because of the time difference for the U.S. audience.
"Time zones are the one thing that we really, as much as we try, we can't really do much about," Elliott said. "We'd like to build a roof over the whole of Ireland, but that would be a challenge as well."
Elliott said his goals are fairly simple: to procure television deals and hold events regularly in all the biggest cities throughout Europe. South Africa and cities in the United Arab Emirates are also part of the mission. The UFC has come a long way over the last few years and Elliott is hoping now the growth is exponential.
"I'm not sure anyone really thought that we were gonna be where we are now in terms of European MMA three years ago," he said. "Imagine what it's gonna be like in five years time."Kids exposed to violence before age 3 more likely to be bullies later. UPI/Olivier Douliery/Pool | License Photo
CLEVELAND, June 18 (UPI) -- Children exposed to violence before age 3 between their mother and her partner increases the likelihood of the child bullying in school, U.S. researchers say.
"People may think children that young are passive and unaware, but they pay attention to what's happening around them," Megan Holmes, assistant professor of social work at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, said in a statement.
Holmes analyzed the behavior of 107 children exposed to intimate partner violence in their first three years but never again after age 3. The outcomes of those children were compared to 339 children never exposed to home violence.
Those studied were from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, which included children reported to Child Protective Services for abuse or neglect. The children's behavior was tracked over five years.
Holmes said the team saw no behavioral differences between those who did or did not witness violence between the ages of 3-5, but children exposed to violence increased their aggression when they reached school age. However, for those exposed, the more frequently intimate partner violence was witnessed, the more aggressive the child behaviors became.
Meanwhile, children never exposed to intimate partner violence gradually decreased in aggression, the study said.
Holmes reported her findings in the spring issue of Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, the blind firebrand Islamist cleric behind the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, has died in federal prison, Fox News has learned. He was 78.
Abdel-Rahman, an Egyptian radical who maintained a global following even while imprisoned for more than two decades, died Saturday morning at Butner Federal Medical Center in North Carolina, where he was serving a life sentence.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Abdel-Rahman died at approximately 5:40 a.m. Saturday of natural causes after a long health battle with diabetes and coronary artery disease.
His son Ammar told Reuters that his family had received a phone call from a U.S. representative saying his father had died.
Andrew McCarthy, who was the assistant US attorney who prosecuted Abdel-Rahman for the federal government, told Fox News on Saturday that the sheikh was globally notorious as the “emir of jihad” long before there was an al-Qaeda or ISIS.
"He provided the international jihadist campaign its deep roots in sharia supremacism," McCarthy added.
"His scholarly heft made him highly influential, in the deadliest of ways. The only thing he could do was lead [the terrorist organization]— provide it with inspiration and a sense of diving mission. His life is a testament to the centrality of sharia supremacist ideology to the terrorist threat."
Abdel-Rahman was convicted in 1995 of plotting terror attacks throughout New York City, targeting the United Nations and other New York City landmarks. He was also linked to the 1993 World Trade Center attack in which six people died and more than 1,000 others were injured.
Known as “The Blind Sheikh,” Abdel-Rahman lost his eyesight when he was 10 months old. By the time he was 11 years old, he had memorized the Braille version of the Qur’an and was sent to an Islamic boarding school.
He went on to study at Cairo University’s School of Theology and later earned a doctorate in from Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Abdel-Rahman went on to become one of the country’s most prominent and outspoken Muslim clerics to denounce Egypt’s secularism.
In the mid-1980s, Abdel-Rahman made his way to Afghanistan, where he built a strong rapport with former Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Bin Laden once credited Abdel-Rahman as the inspiration and justification for the September 11 attacks which destroyed the World Trade Center.
Adbel-Rahman was the spiritual leader of Al-Gama Al-Islamiyya. The Islamic group was believed to have been behind other terror attacks such as the 1997 killing of tourists in Luxor, Egypt.
He remains revered in his native Egypt, and his supporters had demonstrated throughout Cairo for his freedom in the past.Since his Internet hit, “Bad Shans” (hard luck), Hamid Saeid has become one of the best-known Iranian musicians with African roots. He’s travelling by motorbike across the province of Hormozgan, which is situated in the South of the country on the Persian Gulf, in order to realize his dream. He wants to organize a concert with the best black musicians in the country.
Besides Persians, Indians, Arabs and Europeans, the province of Hormozgan, Iran’s “black south” has been influenced primarily by the descendants of slaves and merchants from Africa. Although Shiites, they still hold Voodoo ceremonies just as their African ancestors did and wakes in Hormozgan are more reminiscent of scenes from New Orleans, with the mourners dancing in an elated and joyous manner to black rhythms.
Filmmaker Kamran Heidari accompanies Hamid Saeid as he attempts to make his dream come true. He must overcome numerous hurdles along the way: Hormozgan’s landscape, which is as inhospitable as it is breathtaking, traveling from the coast over rugged mountains to the desert, the African spirit rites; and the resistance of his wife, who is completely against his plan.
In an Interview Mr. Heidari talks about the healing tradition of Zar in the south of Iran: “There are wild winds (Dingomaro) coming from Africa and these winds are always in movement. Sometimes these winds take over ones body and then they will stay inside. This is when the Zar ceremony becomes necessary”.
The healers and masters of Zar ceremonies are called Mama Zar or Baba Zar, depending on gender, and by beating the drums and chanting MamaZar or BabaZar will drive these wild winds away. During the filming of the documentary, Kamran Heidari was asked many times to let Mama Zar drive the Dingomaro away from his body but he declined saying that he has made peace with these African wind spirits and has made friends with them. He would like to keep them in his heart.
By incorporating African rhythms into the music that he plays, Saeid succeeds in preserving his heritage that he then shares with others. But, at the same time, cultures are dynamic: by mixing African and Iranian beats, he is recreating traditions and moulding them into a new form of hybrid identity. Holding an ‘African-style’ concert in an area where many have rejected, or forgotten about their roots can be challenging. Heidari, together with Saeid, show us how to value this cultural heritage and give it a meaning through music. It was screened as part of the UCLA Celebration of Iranian Cinema in May 2014.
Dingomaro – Iran’s Black South (trailer):
Director: Kamran Heidari
Film by: Kamran Heidari, Dariusch Rafiy
DoP: Sajjad Avarand
Camera: Kamran Heidari, Bahman Kiarostami, Hasan Rastin
Editor: Kamran Heidari, Martin Homel
Assistant: Tahereh Alavizadeh
Sound Recording: Mohamad Hossein Kaveh
Sound Mix: Kamyar Behbahani
Photography: Tahereh Alavizadeh
Producer: Dariush Rafi-y, Kambiz Khorram
Documentary / 66 min / Color / HD-Video / 16:9 / 2013 / IRAN
Sources: The Culture Trip | Kamran Heidari’s universal cinema beauty and humanity from Iran, Kamran Heidari Official Site | Films, Autentic | Dingomaro – Iran’s Black South, Blog Africa to PersiaThe Four Great Errors German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in his work Twilight of the Idols, perhaps primarily known for the immortal maxim: "Out of life's school of war: What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.", pointed out the four great errors which we constantly use to misinterpret reality and thus create many illusions that are used to show the world in a more convenient light for us. The first error, which is also the most dangerous one, is mistaking the cause and effect, or in another words, mistaking the effect for the cause; an error that is the most recent and yet the most ancient habit of humankind, as Nietzsche says. This error is even praised by people as religion and morality, which always try to limit them with encouragement or prohibition of certain actions. Religion and morality supposes that man is, for example, ruined by certain vices like luxury or alcoholism and regard them as the cause of his downfall. But that is actually only the effect of his psychological deterioration, because he didn't have the strength to overcome or resist the hardships in life which he faced, so he instead turned to stronger and more frequent bodily stimulations to avoid confrontation with them. This inability to handle the unpleasant things in life is really the cause of his state of mind, and those vices are merely the effects, i.e. the actual representations of the cause. The second error is that of a false causality. People, in their insecurity about themselves when compared to a far more greater and intricate system in which they live in, tend to invent causes that they think are behind their actions. This is especially evident in the "inner facts", as Nietzsche called them, which include the will, the ego and the spirit. Nietzsche argued that there are no mental causes whatsoever (causes that originate from will) and opposed the above mentioned human tendency which viewed the world through mental causes. With these "inner facts" humans project their subjectivity onto the world through the multitude of subjects (doers) from which every doing follows. This has led them to consider ego as the concept of being (thus creating the illusion of "being") and they have put spirit as the cause, instead of reality, thus establishing a measure for that reality, calling it "God". The third error is the error of imaginary causes, which originates from one of the strongest and oldest emotions known to man: fear of the unknown. It is this fear that forces people to always try to explain everything that happens around them as something they have control of. When faced with something that has an unknown cause, we immediately draw from our memory some earlier familiar cause and apply it to the current situation, thus making the unknown into familiar, and since we have been doing it for so long, this application of imaginary causes became habitual process which obstructed the exploration of the real causes. Nietzsche explains this as our psychological need to drive away anything unknown which could force us to doubt our current mindset and start looking at things from a new perspective. This gives us comfort, feeling of relief, happiness and power as well. We don't want to be confronted with things that could shake our beliefs so we look for the easiest method for getting rid of them. That which is unknown is not considered as the cause, instead we convert it into a familiar imaginary cause which over time becomes dominant and turns into a system of beliefs, dogma, i.e. morality and religion. These imaginary causes conveniently explain "bad" things as death, pain, suffering as punishment for not comforming with the rest of the herd, and the "good" things are considered as "faith in God" and "a good conscience". So Nietzsche concludes that morality and religion constantly confuse cause and effect; truth is confused as the supposedly true effect and the state of consciousness is confused with its causes. The fourth error is the error of free will. Nietzsche argues that the concept of the free will is an illusion, "the foulest of all theologians' artifices", as he said and that it was only established (invented) for imposing guilt on somebody, i.e. for the purpose of punishment, which morality and religion so zealously use as means of control. This is the psychology of making humans "responsible" and therefore punishable according to the ways of the priests, which act as God's hand on this world. Nietzsche in the end concludes that the human being cannot be separated from the world, i.e. from the whole and completely rejected the |
training of key defender Jonny Evans this week.
Keep going: Moyes is still in with a glimmer of a hope of qualifying for the Champions League
Meanwhile, Everton have rewarded Tim Howard’s loyalty and consistency with a new two-year contract — and are ready to begin talks over extending Kevin Mirallas’s deal.
‘To have Tim Howard performing as he has been this season, I cannot see past him to choose the best goalkeeper in the league,’ said manager Roberto Martinez.In 1964, an Air Force veteran and erstwhile LAPD officer named Gene Roddenberry sold a science fiction pilot script to NBC. Called Star Trek, it envisioned an adventurous, utopian 23rd century where people of all races – even extraterrestrials – cooperated towards common ends. Though it only ran three seasons with middling ratings, Star Trek would become a cultural juggernaut, influencing everything from pop culture fandom to the phones in our pockets to real life outer space exploration. Fifty years later, the people who built this cultural monolith have come together to tell its story, including never-before-seen interview transcripts with the cast and crew we’ve lost. This is the oral history of Star Trek.
Chapter 1: Where No Man Had Gone Before
Advertisement
Herb Solow (former VP of production, Desilu Studios): Sixties TV came in waves. One network would put out a hit show, and the rest would pile on with imitations. ABC had recently scored big with Zoo Commando, with Charles Bronson as a Green Beret who kept falling into animal enclosures and fighting his way out with his wits and his fists. NBC had The Aquarium Strangler and CBS had Samurai Of The Barnyard, but they were all running out of live animals, and the fad was waning. So when Gene Roddenberry told me he had something new, I listened.
Rod Roddenberry (son of Gene): Dad had lived many lives before Star Trek. During World War II, he’d been decorated for crashing his bomber into a Bavarian castle full of Hitler’s most fertile mistresses. As a Pan Am pilot, he’d been promoted for crashing his cargo plane into a container ship loaded with dangerous raw eggs. As an L.A. policeman, he got commended for requisitioning a Cessna and crashing it into Robert Duvall’s garage, presumably for a good reason. Those brushes with death gave him a real appreciation for life’s possibilities.
Gene Roddenberry (executive producer—1989 interview): In outer space, there’s very little to crash into, besides planets, but you can see those coming.
Advertisement
Dorothy C. Fontana (story editor): Gene was an optimist. He truly believed that once people entered space and stopped colliding with objects, they would be able to set aside their differences, put on matching uniforms, and track down where other civilizations kept their mummies.
Gene Roddenberry: Earth stopped making new mummies centuries ago. Someday we’re going to run out of them, and then what? I wanted to wake people up to that, and maybe entertain them along the way.
Herb Solow: All the key elements of the show were in Gene’s original pilot script, except for a captain. The crew spends the whole episode in a state of total chaos: wrestling over the controls, slashing each other’s throats, building and worshipping idols. Spock spends the whole episode pulling wiring out of the walls to sell, before another crew member crushes his head with a stool. It was very exciting, but NBC sent it back; they said it needed focus.
Advertisement
Dorothy C. Fontana: We knew our captain needed to be able to command your attention. And when Bill [Shatner] walked in to audition, he got our attention.
William Shatner (actor, “Captain James T. Kirk”): I showed up to my audition in my Mickey-Mouse-trying-to-make-himself-throw-up-a-bad-plate-of-scampi T-shirt and extremely tight cowboy boots. Gene was there, wearing pretty much the same outfit, and as soon as he saw me, he stood up and shouted, “Yes! Matching! Yes!” Of all the actors they’d auditioned, he said only I understood his vision for the future, which revolved heavily around matching uniforms.
Leonard Nimoy (actor, “Mr. Spock”—2008 interview): The best decision I ever made was wearing my T-shirt that had Marvin the Martian dry-heaving into a potted ficus to my audition, because when Gene saw me wearing the same shirt as him, he just went wild. He said he had the perfect part for me: a dead-eyed slab named Spock who constantly points out people’s mistakes and sleeps in the hallway.
Advertisement
Matt Jefferies (production designer): We shot our pilot with basically no budget. The sets, the costumes, the matching uniforms, the mummy: We had to make them out of leftover craft-services scraps swiped from other NBC lots. The whole set stank like rotting meat, and coyotes kept swarming onto the lot, drawn from the hills by the stench.
Leonard Nimoy: We kept having to pause production to behead coyotes. It wasn’t easy, but it taught us how to work together, and how to get good leverage with garden shears.
William Shatner: If you watch that original pilot, those matching coyote-tooth necklaces we’re all wearing? Real coyotes’ teeth.
Advertisement
Matt Jefferies: A lot got figured out on the fly. I built the bridge of the Enterprise on a tilting stage, so the set could shake when the ship was attacked. All the stools would tumble to one end and bury Nichelle [Nichols] under a big heap, and we’d spend the next half hour digging her out. It wasn’t efficient, but you can’t fake real.
Herb Solow: NBC said they’d never seen anything like our Star Trek pilot. We had our show.
Chapter 2: These Are The Voyages
Advertisement
Premiering in 1966, Star Trek’s groundbreaking multiracial cast, imaginative future technology, and thought-provoking messaging, along with its spirit of chummy adventure, quickly turned it into a cult hit. And as the cast found their footing, the show found its voice.
Herb Solow: Gene always believed that we weren’t just making a show; we were showing people a blueprint for humanity’s future. Every episode had some piece of his utopian ideals in it.
Dorothy C. Fontana: While we were writing the first season, Gene called me into his office to ask me, “What brings people together?” Without thinking, I said the Olympics. “Exactly!” he said. It dawned on me: We had the opportunity to create a world where the Olympics are always happening. So we did. We worked at least three mentions into every episode.
Advertisement
William Shatner: I relished the challenge of finding emotion in lines like “Lt. Uhura, open a hailing frequency with the Klingon vessel, and someone do me a favor and turn on the Olympics.” It helped me grow as an actor.
George Takei (actor, “Hikaru Sulu”): Those early episodes were a blast, and they felt important. When Sulu helps Kirk build a spiral staircase for the alien race that’s spent centuries living on two unconnected floors of a big duplex in “As Above, So Below,” it wasn’t just a thrilling hour of television; it was showing what we can accomplish when we set aside our differences and do metaphors.
Nichelle Nichols (actor, “Nyota Uhura”): At first, Star Trek was just a paycheck to me. Then I got a fan letter from a young black girl in Nashville who’d seen “Computer, Call Me Ishmael.” Watching Uhura rewire the ship’s dumbwaiter into a guillotine for a bat in case one ever got in through a window, she said she realized black women really were capable of anything. I did later find out that Gene forged that letter, but I don’t think it’s any less meaningful for it.
Advertisement
William Shatner: Everyone remembers the action scenes: When Kirk kicks the face off the Andorian usurper and rips off its faceless head in “Unto The Breach”; when Kirk rams the Enterprise into the Star Goliath’s chest and then gets out and kicks off its head in “King David’s Lyre”; Kirk’s all-or-nothing ritualistic head-pulling-off match with She-Spock in “Isn’t That She-Spock?” But for me, the real Kirk, the idealist, comes out after the fight, when he starts mumbling “sorry” and tries to stick their head back on.
Rod Roddenberry: Star Trek didn’t really become Star Trek until “The Jester And The Concubine.” If you remember, a transporter accident fuses Dr. McCoy into the swollen belly of an enormously pregnant aquatic slug-beast. The crew is faced with a choice: Do they cut the creature open to get the doctor out, or slide a pole in there and see if they can pull him free? But Spock convinces them there’s a third way: Let nature run its course. Sure enough, two years later, the slug violently gives birth to a litter of healthy pups and a healthy, well-rested Dr. McCoy. Those were Star Trek’s core values in a nutshell: optimism, pacifism, and the benefits of live adult rebirth.
Leonard Nimoy: Those episodes were full of milestones: The first-ever televised interracial kiss. The first ghost caught on camera. The first time ceviche was prepared in the U.S. The first time I threw up and swallowed it all back down without anyone noticing. The first ghost sent to hell on camera. We were making history.
Advertisement
Gene Roddenberry: It was important to me that the cast really understand my vision for a better tomorrow. To that end, I made them live on the show’s set.
George Takei: We all lived together on the Enterprise from 1966 to 1969. The best part was how close our little family got. The worst part was how the door noises made us deaf.
Matt Jefferies: At Gene’s insistence, I built the ship’s automatic sliding doors to be fully functional. The machinery really made that signature “whooshing” sound you hear on the show. We did have to mix it much quieter in post-production, though, because in reality, it sounded like Godzilla’s lung being punctured.
Advertisement
Nichelle Nichols: The doors screamed open at 125 decibels, which is about as loud as a motorcycle revving inside a handicap porta-john.
Matt Jefferies: Revving a Harley inside a porta-potty is the caviar of thrills.
William Shatner: I didn’t mind the howling doors because they masked the sound of me narrating my wet dreams, in what I’m told is a Casey Kasem voice.
Advertisement
Leonard Nimoy: Spock sleeps in the ship’s hallway, so Gene made me sleep in the hallway. If someone walked down the hall to the ship’s one bathroom, every door would scream itself open. It sounded like hell’s own Pledge of Allegiance, even inside my little lean-to of discarded meal trays.
George Takei: Leonard lost most of his hearing within the first week of shooting, so he never really took direction. So the things that make Spock Spock came directly from him: his signature moves, the on-camera haircuts, the barnyard odor you could smell through the television and taste a little bit. Leonard’s why Spock became such a fan favorite.
Leonard Nimoy: The screaming doors trapped me in a prison of my own brain, and I’m still stuck there.
Advertisement
James Doohan (actor, “Scotty”—2003 interview): Gene never told me why I was the only one who had to keep living on set after the show wrapped. But I have faith in his vision, so here I stay.
Chapter 3: He’s Dead, Jim
Advertisement
Though the series gained popularity, keeping the show going proved to be no cakewalk, as ego battles between cast members and network interference threatened to bring a premature end to the Enterprise’s five-year mission.
Herb Solow: By the end of the first season, Leonard was getting hundreds of fan letters a week. Stuff like “I smelled you through my television and rubbed myself down with Timothy hay so I could smell just like you, Spock!” and “I thought it was so neat when you completed most of a front flip and landed hard on your elbows in front of the Romulan ambassador!” All that attention got under Bill’s skin.
Nichelle Nichols: Bill couldn’t stand not having the spotlight. If Chekov was giving Spock a haircut, Kirk would bust into the scene and start tugging out clumps of his own hair. When Bill found out fans were smelling and slightly tasting Spock through the TV, Kirk started turning right to camera and barking “Sniff me up—I’m marvelous!” We didn’t have the budget to shoot around him, so it all went to air.
Advertisement
Dorothy C. Fontana: The stereotypical Star Trek episode is, “The crew finds a planet where there’s mummies, Kirk trades Spock for his weight in mummies, the crew rigs up a last-minute solution to get Spock back.” But really, that came from Shatner pressuring us to write Spock out of the show.
George Takei: Bill would pitch a fit if he didn’t get his way. He even started changing other characters, just to flex his authority. Sulu was supposed to be a 9-foot-tall, 275-pound colossus of tomorrow, but Bill forced me to become much shorter so I wouldn’t steal focus from him.
Nichelle Nichols: DeForest Kelley was the only actor who stood up to him, so Bill had him fired. For the rest of the series, Dr. McCoy was played by a live coyote they’d caught in a flour sack, though our makeup and wardrobe team did an incredible job easing the transition.
Advertisement
William Shatner: I’m not the narcissistic egomaniac some people make me out to be. But without Captain Kirk, there’s no Star Trek. If I used that leverage to make the show’s star shine a little brighter, so what?
Nichelle Nichols: Right in the middle of filming “Atlas Of Yesteryear,” after a line about women’s shot put, Bill calmly reached over, popped out Leonard’s left eye, and smashed it with his other palm, like how a bartender smacks a mint leaf. Well, that was the last straw for Gene.
Gene Roddenberry: I sat the two of them down in my office. I said, “Enough of this squabbling. You’re a family; act like it. Bill, give Leonard your eye,” and he did. He popped his own eye into Leonard’s head. I said, “Bill, I’m giving you my eye, because that was very big of you,” and I did. When the cast found out about what I’d done, George donated his eye to me. Then Walter [Koenig] gave his eye to George, and so on throughout the cast, until just about everyone had someone else’s eye in their head. Ultimately, it brought us all closer together.
Advertisement
James Doohan: I gave my eye to the coyote in the flour sack, but Gene instructed everyone else not to give me their eye. He pointed to my head and said, “The buck stops there.” He was very principled. And at the end of the day, he’s right. One eye’s really just one fewer than two, and that’s not much difference at all.
Herb Solow: People loved Star Trek, but Gene and NBC just rubbed each other the wrong way. The network censors were always raising objections that having Spock live in the hallway sent the message that it was okay to live in the hallway, which for Gene was exactly the point.
Dorothy C. Fontana: We used to write scenes that we knew the censors would cut, to distract them from our more controversial messaging. Usually it was a scene where Sulu silently undoes his uniform and methodically works his nipple like taffy until it dangles past his belly button, and then pulls the nipple taut and plucks it like a guitar string. Once, they accidentally let it slip past, and it ended up being a really poignant climax to “The Iphigenia Complex.”
Advertisement
George Takei: I miss my old, concise nipple.
Leonard Nimoy: Eventually, the execs decided our ratings weren’t worth the headache, and they announced they were planning to cancel Star Trek at the end of the season. That’s when the fans started coming out in force.
Herb Solow: I was in [NBC executive] Grant Tinker’s office when a well-dressed man knocked on the door. He told Grant that recently a few very aggressive raccoons had taken over his house and forced him to flee, but that watching the crew work together to send Mussolini’s ghost to hell on Star Trek had inspired him to ally with his neighbors and chase out the raccoons with tennis rackets. Grant was very moved.
Advertisement
Dorothy C. Fontana: Day after day, fans from all walks of life were showing up or sending letters with stories of Star Trek inspiring them to take their home back from marauding animals. We even got a letter from Isaac Asimov saying he’d spent the last year creeping in and out of his basement window, terrified of a billy goat upstairs, until he finally defeated it using Spock’s signature “Three Taped-Together Hammers” move.
Herb Solow: NBC had never seen an outpouring of support like that. These were huge, huge fans writing long, long letters delivered by big, big mailmen. The top brass were convinced. They rescinded the cancellation.
Nichelle Nichols: We had one more season, but Gene was out. The network was sick of Gene writing in scenes where a pipe bursts on the Enterprise and drowns the crew just so he could shower on set, and Gene was sick of looking at Leonard Nimoy’s stupid fucking face.
Advertisement
George Takei: Without Gene, that final season just didn’t have the same spark as the rest of the show. It was definitely thrilling to see the crew finally return to Earth in the season premiere, but once Kirk realizes he’s locked out of his house and spends the rest of the season revisiting every planet we’d been to, in case he dropped his keys there, you could tell the well had run dry.
William Shatner: There’s still some magic in those last episodes. Like in the series finale, when Kirk’s given up on ever finding his keys, only to discover he can actually jimmy his laundry-room window open if Spock and Chekov give him a boost. That teamwork and ingenuity is as quintessential Trek as Kirk’s immortal final words: “It’s star treks.”
Chapter 4: To Seek Out New Life
Advertisement
Star Trek ended after three seasons, but its legacy continues to resonate to this day, spawning four spin-off series and 13 movies and still inspiring countless fans, dreamers, and visionaries. The story of Star Trek is still being told.
William Shatner: Star Trek wasn’t just a show; it was a whole philosophy. People don’t love Star Trek just because it’s got wacky aliens. They love it because the wacky aliens bonk each other with goofed-up widgets while a bunch of dunces in matching pajamas yammer on and on as their doors whoosh back and forth, all to make some Dr. Seuss-type point.
Leonard Nimoy: I’m proud to have played Spock. Over the years, I’ve heard from so many fans who grew up thinking they’d go their whole lives without ever seeing Spock on television. Now, I’m told, you can see Spock in a movie, and even on some paper plates.
Advertisement
George Takei: Even 50 years later, people still come up to me on the street, plant their feet in a wide stance, point at me with both hands, and violently dislocate their jaw so their mouth dangles slack. They didn’t do that before I was on Star Trek, so I have to assume it’s related.
Nichelle Nichols: My first Star Trek convention was a little overwhelming. It was surreal seeing fans dressed up as our nude bodies, and you couldn’t walk 10 feet without someone coming up and begging you for one of your bones for their reliquary.
George Takei: I once saw one of my bones sell on eBay for over $6,000. It’s flattering, but at the same time, jeez, you know? It’s just a bone.
Advertisement
William Shatner: Our fans love Star Trek so much that, in order to celebrate it, they’re willing to be around people so similar to them that they could switch lives without anyone ever noticing or caring if they did. I don’t understand it, but I admire it.
James Doohan: Gene said fan mail would only go to my head, so I’ve never really had any contact with them, but he’s assured me they wouldn’t have much interest in meeting a one-eyed man who lives in the rafters of a soundstage.
Matt Jefferies: When we were designing the technology of Star Trek, we never dreamed it would inspire a generation of engineers to cop out and steal our best fucking ideas. Had we known so many smart, capable young people nursed the heart of a jackal in their breast, we would have dropped in on a few MIT parties with Louisville sluggers and scored their janitors some overtime pay, if you know what I mean.
Advertisement
Sir Richard Branson (founder, Virgin Group): Growing up, I was obsessed with Star Trek, particularly the Replicator, a device that creates a very hot onion wrapped in foil out of nothing but an onion and some foil. For years, I threw myself into designing and testing a real-life version of the Replicator. I never did bring my dream to fruition.
Ridley Scott (director, Blade Runner): Star Trek gave me the idea for Chewbacca, but then it turned out someone else did Chewbacca first.
Herb Solow: Ultimately, Star Trek was about asking people what they wanted the future to look like. Will we learn from the past and stride hand in hand towards a brighter tomorrow, or will we become a society that worships enormous, veiny udders that dangle from silver blimps and drip salty gray milk, like the inhabitants of Cocytus IV in “Look To The Skies”?
Advertisement
Gene Roddenberry: When I die, I want people to say, “Now that Gene Roddenberry’s dead, I’m thinking we should do Star Trek for real, with all the computers and shit.” And then I’m hoping someone else says, “Way ahead of you,” and yanks a sheet off where they’ve built a gigantic computer that dispenses so much money that money gets abolished, and additionally, the computer is a woman. I truly hope I made that clear enough, or this was all for nothing.
William Shatner: As long as I live, I’ll never forget what I wore on Star Trek. And if I ever do, I can easily look it up.Screenshots (click on each thumbnail for a full-size image)
EGAN contains a point-and-click wizard to help the user load custom/proprietary data sets formatted using other software such as Microsoft Excel.
EGAN allows dynamic gene list construction via combination of analysis results from multiple experiments and technology platforms; don't be constrained by ad-hoc p-value/FDR cutoffs!
EGAN contains links between every node and its corresponding web database entry as well as links from edges to over 250k articles at PubMed.
EGAN automatically generates comprehensive gene set enrichment statistics for your gene lists and experiment results.
EGAN displays genes and enriched gene sets on an interactive hypergraph.
EGAN enables discovery of informative protein interaction modules by combining significant genes from an assay (nodes with lighter gray background) with enriched 'bridging' genes (nodes with darker gray background).
Even without experimental data, EGAN enables biology-driven data mining and visualization beyond Venn Diagrams; shown are the shared and unshared genes between disparate gene sets associated with Wnt signaling.
EGAN can assist in the investigation of gene function, by identifying and characterizing all protein-protein interaction partners (ANXA1 and all its known PPI neighbors are shown with enriched gene sets). Also note the white background which can be used to produce publication-quality PDF figures.
Shown are Wnt signaling genes from the previous image with enriched miRNA target gene sets, providing instant in-silico prediction and visualization of miRNA regulators of Wnt signaling (unconnected genes not shown).
EGAN provides deeper investigation into results of GSEA-like global enrichment statistics via histogram, box-and-whisker plot and an interactive QQ plot layout algorithm.
EGAN integrates as a plug-and-play visualization/downstream analysis module in a robust -omics analysis pipeline (e.g. GenePattern).Quick tip: Getting rid of image “banding” in Lightroom Posted: March 31st, 2014 | Tags: Photography • Tutorials | Posted in: Photography, Tutorials
Note: This tutorial was originally published in 2014. The tips and techniques explained may be outdated.
Banding is one of those things no one wants in their photos, it’s really ugly, and quite often frustrating to get rid of. However, like most things, understanding the problem helps you fix it.
What causes “banding” and what does it look like?
Banding is caused by a general lack of information in sections of an image, and that’s why it’s so pronounced in the following long exposure shot I took.
The long exposure has flattened out the sky to the point where there’s no tonal variety. This causes a problem with the “algorithm” used to compute and render the digital image. If too many similar tones are spread out beyond the area computable by the algorithm it will invariably fail, rendering your image with horrible tonal bands. Blurring areas of an image, and/or reducing the clarity can also cause banding.
Fix banding by adding grain to your image – Simple!
You can try lowering the contrast, lowering the clarity – in fact, you can spend hours trying to fix it, but there is only one sure way to get rid of it… grain!
It may sound a bit crazy, but adding grain to an image eliminates banding. Why? Well, it’s quite simple. When you add some light grain to the image you’re effectively adding some image information to the area that was previously devoid of any.
You don’t need to add a ton of grain, so don’t worry about grain wrecking your image. Also, if you need to add a bit more grain than you expected, just remember that grain is better than banding! – by a country mile!
In Lightroom I find the following settings work well for most images:
Go to the Detail Panel.
. Set Amount to 20.
to. Set Size to 30.
to. Set Roughness to 40.
You’ll probably need to experiment a little depending on the image, but this method will certainly save you a few sore heads, as well as trashed images.
The fixed image
Here’s my image, with the worst of the banding removed using grain.
As a final step I reduced the exposure of the sky, and everything seemed much better:
Hope this helps :)The nearly three weeks since Steve Jobs’s death has been like an extended tribute to the first global head of state. The memorial ceremonies worldwide, the special commemorative issues and, today, the release of Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs, all bear testament to the Apple founder’s legacy. Jobs deserved it. As Isaacson pointed out on CBS's 60 Minutes last night, Jobs transformed personal computers, telephones, even retail stores, among others—and he would have probably taken on television, if he had lived long enough.
Many heads of state assuredly do not merit such eulogies. Gaddafi is dead. And when the Turkmens turned out to mourn Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov in 2006, they were probably secretly celebrating at least the recovery of the month of January, as Niyazov had renamed the first month of the year after his personal honorific, Türkmenbaşy.
One thread among the encomiums suggests that the world would be a better place if we just had more Steve Jobs in high places. Consider this from Thomas Friedman: “The melancholy over Steve Jobs’s passing is not just about the loss of the inventor of so many products we enjoy. It is also about the loss of someone who personified so many of the leadership traits we know are missing from our national politics.”
It would be unfortunate if the remembrance of Jobs spawns a legion of Steve wannabes. Jobs, in geekspeak, was an “N of 1.” Jobs’s perfectionism and design sense helped establish Apple's signature “iBrands,” but these traits also transcended, to some extent, a toxic personality that could have served as a model for the Kevin Spacey character in the movie "Horrible Bosses." In the film, Dave Harken implies that a promotion awaits one of his employees but ends up awarding it to himself. The Jobs equivalent: stiffing early Apple employees out of stock options when the company first went public. The guy was a…
In the weeks since his death, Jobs has been compared to Einstein and Edison. Maybe so. But the problem with using his interpersonal style as a management role model is that the rest of us, to parrot Apple advertising, will assuredly blow it. In business, the control freak boss—the emblematic Jobs model—is a recipe for unintentionally delivering your best employees as new hires to your closest competitors.
Millions of people have to manage others, and this challenge doesn’t necessarily bring out the best in us. A 2005 article by two psychologists from the University of Surrey, "Disordered Personalities at Work," found that senior British executives were more likely to demonstrate histrionic personality disorder (grandiosity and lack of empathy among other traits) than criminal psychiatric patients at Broadmoor Special Hospital in Berkshire, England, and they were equally likely to show narcissistic (perfectionism and a dictatorial bent) and compulsive tendencies. Is it that this type of person is attracted to the job or the workplace encourages this type of behavior? Who knows? But entreating subordinates to “insanely great” levels of performance, to quote Jobs’s hyperbolic rhetoric, is more likely to initiate a collective bargaining drive than produce the next iPad.
Even Jobs may have been at his best when he left behind the persona of the old Steve. New Yorker writer James Surowiecki and author of The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations, noted in that magazine how Jobs loosened up in recent years on his insistence on totally closed architectures. The old Steve might have forbidden MP3s on iPods and apps for iPhones and iPads. Giving up a modicum of control eventually propelled the company to heights it had never before experienced—and cemented Jobs's legacy in the most histrionic terms imaginable.
Source: Wikimedia CommonsCHICAGO — Before the Chicago Cubs completed a trade for Aroldis Chapman, owner Tom Ricketts and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein decided they had to hear from the closer himself about a domestic violence allegation in the off-season.
So Ricketts and Epstein asked Major League Baseball for a window to speak with the left-hander, and they got him on the phone Monday. When the conversation was over, the blockbuster deal was on.
Chasing their first World Series title since 1908, the Cubs addressed one of their few weaknesses by sending a pricey package of four players to the New York Yankees for Chapman, one of the most dominant relievers in the game, but one who also comes with some risk for a franchise riding a positive wave.
"This is a game-changer. Aroldis Chapman is a game-changing-type pitcher in the post-season," Epstein said. "As you sit around and game plan how you’re going to win a big game or how you’re going to win a post-season game, it makes it look a lot easier when you see him there on your lineup card."
Chapman is expected to join the Cubs for Tuesday night’s game at the crosstown White Sox.
For the Yankees, it was a rare July trade that saw the best player in the deal leaving New York. But Chapman is eligible for free agency after this season, New York also has All-Stars Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances in the bullpen, and its haul included top shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres, versatile pitcher Adam Warren and minor league outfielders Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford.
"This was an easy call, and this was the right call," general manager Brian Cashman said. "Easy because we traded from an area of strength and we are excited about the players that we’ve received for someone that obviously was only under control for two more months."
The Yankees (51-48) are three games over.500 for the first time this season, but they still face long odds of getting to the playoffs. They made the decision to trade Chapman after his agents said he would not agree to a new contract that would start in 2017, a person familiar with the talks said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no public statement on those talks was authorized.
If New York slips back any further, it could engage in a rare sell-off for the franchise. Miller, signed through 2018, also could be traded. All-Star outfielder Carlos Beltran, first baseman Mark Teixeira and pitcher Ivan Nova are eligible for free agency after the season and could be sought by contenders.
"I think that when the right buy-or-sell circumstance presents itself, then this department will be making recommendations to ownership and then they will direct me on what they want," Cashman said.
The 28-year-old Chapman went 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA and 20 saves in 31 games for New York. He threw a 105.1 mph fastball to Baltimore’s J.J. Hardy last week, matching the fastest since Major League Baseball began tracking speeds in 2008.
With lefty-batting sluggers Bryce Harper of Washington and Brandon Belt of San Francisco possibly looming in the playoffs, the addition of Chapman gives Cubs manager Joe Maddon one of the majors’ top assets when in need of a late strikeout.
"The Cubs have been playing really good baseball," Chapman said through a translator before he left Houston to travel to Chicago. "I think they’re probably one of the better teams in both leagues right now. They have a good rhythm right now. They’re fighting to get that ring, so it might be a good experience for me to be there."
Chapman, who threw the 62 fastest pitches in the majors last season, was traded from Cincinnati to New York last December after a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers fell through when it was learned Florida police investigated an accusation of domestic violence involving the Cuban pitcher.
Prosecutors declined to file charges, citing conflicting accounts, and Chapman was suspended for the first 29 games of the season, losing $1,856,557 of his $11,325,000 salary. He was the first player penalized a finite number of games under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy.
"I regret that I did not exercise better judgment and for that I am truly sorry," Chapman said Monday in a statement released by the NL Central-leading Cubs. "Looking back, I feel I have learned from this matter and have grown as a person. My girlfriend and I have worked hard to strengthen our relationship, to raise our daughter together, and would appreciate the opportunity to move forward without revisiting an event we consider part of our past."
Epstein said the club thoroughly investigated the situation. But it wasn’t until they spoke with Chapman on Monday that they were ready to complete the deal.
"There was genuine sorrow, regret," Epstein said before Monday night’s 5-4 loss to the White Sox. "He’s open about the fact that he’s learned from the incident and that he feels he’s grown as a person and will continue to grow as a person and that was important to us."
Asked if the Cubs spoke with Chapman’s girlfriend or someone close to her, Epstein said they "took efforts" to make sure they looked at the issue from every possible side.
Warren was drafted by New York and made his major league debut with the Yankees in 2012. He was traded to Chicago in the December deal that moved infielder Starlin Castro from the Cubs to the Yankees.
But the centerpiece of the Yankees’ package is the 19-year-old Torres, one of the top infield prospects in baseball.
"We’re disappointed we swung and missed in our efforts to sign him as an international free agent back in the 2013 class, but certainly you keep your eyes on players you’ve liked in the past and he was definitely a target for us," Cashman said.The exchange rate can have a very significant influence on the euro area, which is a rather open economy. Indeed the share of exports amounts to about 27% of GDP, which is much higher than for other economies of similar size (US or even Japan). However, the impact of exchange rates on exports is usually limited in the short run.
Nevertheless, there is some evidence that the euro is losing market shares compared to the US and this is sometimes put in relation to the euro appreciation. At the same time, the euro area has become the largest source of global current account imbalances despite the strength of its currency.
Whether the exchange rate is determined by the current account or whether the exchange rate determines the current account, it seems impossible to explain the present strength of the euro in terms of today’s fundamentals. The exchange rate is determined in very liquid asset markets, which discount future fundamentals, not only those of the euro area itself, but in relation to fundamentals in the rest of world. What is surprising about the present situation is the low level of volatility of the exchange rate, rather than its level, which is close to its long-run average.
This paper is one in a series of nine documents prepared by Policy Department A for the Monetary Dialogue discussions in the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON). It can also be downloaded here.
Daniel Gros is Director, Cinzia Alcidi is LUISS Research Fellow and Alessandro Giovannini is Associate Researcher at CEPS.Tracking The Oscars Race We love the Academy Awards: the glitz! the glam! the shameless campaigning! This year, we’re keeping up with the race to the Oscars — will the night belong to “Moonlight” or “La La Land”? can Denzel win No. 3? who’s Mel |
computer a whole mess of "hidden" programs load in the background. Some of these hidden programs are essential, but most aren't. Turning off some of these hidden programs can significantly increase your computer's performance and reliability.
For step-by-step instructions on how to use MSCONFIG, please choose your version of Windows:
Copyright © 2014 Patrick Crispen. Contents licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 license. All other rights reserved.Do social scientists, and defense/foreign policy writers (yours truly included) trivialize nuclear warfare by using social science vernacular? This might appear to beg the question of whether words alone can mitigate the obvious gravity of nuclear holocaust. Although Hamlet might demur, certain words do matter, especially when they appear as the precision guided tools of a professed expert understanding of the world.
Let me try to elaborate on this point by referring to my own personal experience.
As North Korea continues to accelerate the pace of its testing of variants of ballistic missiles, accompanied by habitual threats of nuclear war, Twitter has become a major platform for experts and the wider foreign policy community to discuss the implications of Kim Jong Un’s nuclear weapons program for global security.
Following every ballistic missile launch or verbal threat of war, academics, defense analysts, and foreign policy writers flock to Twitter to analyze, discuss and dissect North Korea’s latest capabilities and likely future moves. There, experts in missile technology and sundry academics (mostly social scientists) are influencing the conversation.
From my perch within this sphere, it appears that the default professional argot used during microblogged exchanges on North Korea (and subsequently often filtered into articles) is that of social scientists (and more so than when discussing other hot spots such as Afghanistan). Scientific jargon expedites the efficient and coded traffic of ideas. “Extended deterrence,” “second-strike capability,” or “first-strike stability,” are concepts that would require extensive explanation to the layman, but are immediately understood by similarly trained experts.
Yet, while social science vocabulary — designed to facilitate the systematic and objective analysis of human behavior and human events — has a place in academic publications and peer-reviewed journals, its overuse among non-experts may have a detrimental impact on the public discourse about North Korea. Among other things, social science neologism by design can detach us from what is most salient when discussing the current crisis on the Korean Peninsula: the appalling enormity of nuclear war.
For example, using the term “countervalue targeting” rather than clearly stating what it stands for in a nuclear conflict, i.e. the killing and mutilation of tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of civilians in cities, is an atrocious euphemism (full disclosure: I have used the phrase before) and is open to an Orwellian indictment that it is designed to make “murder respectable.” This kind of usage is commonly replicated in practice.
As Carol Cohn stated in a 1987 journal article: “This language has enormous destructive power, but without emotional fallout, without the emotional fallout that would result if it were clear one was talking about plans for mass murder, mangled bodies, and unspeakable human suffering. Defense analysts talk about ‘countervalue attacks’ rather than about incinerating cities. Human death, in nuclear parlance, is most often referred to as ‘collateral damage’; for, as one defense analyst said wryly, ‘The Air Force doesn’t target people, it targets shoe factories.’”
There are several reasons for the favored use of social science idiom when discussing war with North Korea.
First, nuclear strategy emerged out of the social sciences. For example, the concept of nuclear deterrence and all subsequent variations of it during the Cold War and beyond, were crafted primarily by social scientists or scientists. Absent a nuclear war, any of the concepts introduced in the last couple of decades remain essentially nonfalsifiable. Nuclear deterrence works because we believe it works. Social science constructs will persist as long as no dramatically improved ballistic missile defense systems are deployed or a nuclear war breaks out.
Second, social scientists tend to dismiss the particular and focus more on structural elements when discussing nuclear war. This emphasis on structure can turn nuclear war into an abstract concept rather than a real possibility. True to Stalin’s dictum that “a single death is a tragedy; the death of a million is a statistic,” structural analysis has an unintended dehumanizing effect. For example, relatively little analysis has taken place in the U.S. Twittersphere about the likely consequences of war on the Korean Peninsula for the civilian population both in the North and South, besides occasional reference to casualty estimates.
Carol Cohn eloborates: “Structurally, speaking technostrategic language removes [experts] from the position of victim and puts them in the position of the planner, the user, the actor. (…) [T]he speakers of technostrategic language are positionally allowed, even forced, to escape that awareness, to escape viewing nuclear war from the position of the victim, by virtue of their linguistic stance as users, rather than victims, of nuclear weaponry.” This applies especially to North Korea’s nuclear program, as most analysts for the time being (unless they are situated in South Korea or Japan) are in no danger of being the victims of a North Korean nuclear strike.
Third, we obviously have never fought a nuclear war. Consequently, there is a vacuum usually filled by those who have experienced certain wars firsthand and who through their experience and anecdotes can help diversify the debate about war. For one thing, combat veterans and civilians who have endured war are more likely to highlight the human elements of conflict than the structural features a social scientist would derive from it. Also, studies indicate that people value information based on first-hand experience more than detached analysis. Since there are no personal experiences of nuclear war, however, we are left to rely on social scientists and their unemotional narrative when discussing the subject.
Provisionally, social science neologism is useful to enable hypothetical discussion, but not when it obfuscates rather than clarifies the nature of nuclear war. Experts have a responsibility to emphasize the multiple horrors of a nuclear conflict on the Korean Peninsula in plain language. While it likely will not prevent an outbreak of hostilities, a regular reminder of the gruesome realities of war, can make discussions more circumspect and less one-sided (including on Twitter.) In the long run, this can perhaps influence policymakers to adopt a more nuanced and less confrontational approach vis-à-vis a nuclear-armed North Korea.Volunteer
Open Rights Group (ORG) is a UK based digital campaigning organisation working to protect the rights to privacy and free speech online. We have over 3,000 active supporters, we are a grassroots organisation with offices in central London and in Edinburgh.
Getting involved:
There are many ways to become involved in ORG’s work. You can support our campaigns, donate, attend our events, contribute to our wiki, or join one of ORG’s activist groups across the UK. Whatever you choose to do, your contribution is valued by ORG. You can find out more about the different ways to get involved here.
ORG is committed to embracing diversity and promoting equality and we want as many people as possible to have the opportunity to contribute to our work. With that goal in mind, we do not offer structured, unpaid volunteer roles in our offices because we recognise that not everyone is in a position to give their time for free.
Instead, we would like to work with people interested, to seek funding from Universities, find paid fellowships, and work with corporate partners who offer their staff secondment opportunities, as well as working with charitable trusts who fund internships.
ORG does offer a more informal way for those who wish to donate their time and that is through our regional activist groups. We believe this type of grassroots campaigning is core to our activist roots and it is structured very differently to a more traditional office based volunteering position. You can find out more about ORG’s regional activist groups here. ORG’s volunteer group organisers contribute their time in an ad-hoc way, are reimbursed for their expenses and they are supported by an ORG staff member.
Law School Summer Placements:
ORG is looking to collaborate with law schools to enable students to work with ORG over the summer. If you are interested in a summer placement with ORG through your law school, please get in touch with info@openrightsgroup.org.
ORG is not able to provide direct funding. We ask applicants to seek sponsorship from law school-funds and other public interest funding initiatives. Please get in touch with info@openrightsgroup.org if you are interested in discussing this further.
Corporate Placements:
ORG is looking to collaborate with companies and corporate partners who offer secondments to their staff. If you are interested in providing a secondment opportunity for your staff we would love to hear from you. Please get in touch with info@openrightsgroup.org.
ORG Local Groups:
Open Rights Group has local groups of activists in a dozen locations across the UK. The local groups contribute hugely to ORG’s work including promoting our campaigns, hosting events across the UK. The groups events are coordinated by a volunteer organiser and the are supported in their activism and campaigning by ORG’s Campaigns Manager.
If you would like to know more about opportunities at ORG please get in touch info@openrightsgroup.org.With several upper-echelon guards set to hit the market, the bidding could creep into the eight-figure-per-year range. One soon-to-be available player looks like he could move into the No. 1 spot for guard earnings. Viewed as probably the top guard available in a strong class, Kevin Zeitler could command a deal that pays him $12MM annually, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com reports.
This figure is higher than the previous rumor connected to Zeitler, one that pegged the Bengals guard as being set to sign for around $10MM. Only three guards in football earn $10MM-plus on average (Kelechi Osemele, Kyle Long and David DeCastro) and each signed to receive that amount last year. However, Osemele’s five-year, $58MM deal is in its own territory at $11.7MM AAV compared to Long and DeCastro’s $10MM-per-year wages. CBSSports.com’s Joel Corry also projects a $12MM-per-year Zeitler accord.
“He’s breaking the bank. If you’re getting Zeitler, you’re in the Osemele range,” the former agent said, via Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post. “They have to be willing to pay top-of-the market guard prices.”
Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com hears (Twitter link) the Zeitler range will be between $10-$12MM.
A sixth-year guard, Zeitler started for five years in Cincinnati and is regarded as one of the best UFAs available. PFR’s Zach Links tabbed the former first-round pick at this class’ No. 5 free agent. He’s fared well for several seasons and finished 2016 as Pro Football Focus’ No. 7-rated guard.
T.J. Lang, Larry Warford and Ronald Leary join this guard class and should see significant interest as well. Sources informed Robinson that Lang’s price range is likely to fall just below Zeitler’s, with the 29-year-old expected to receive offers between $8-10MM (Twitter link). La Canfora connects the soon-to-be 27-year-old Zeitler to the Jaguars and potentially the Jets, but the Jags boast far more cap room. The Bengals and Zeitler hadn’t entered into serious negotiations, and they’re prepared to lose the longtime cog.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.You're 40, happily married - and then you meet your long-lost brother and fall passionately in love. This isn't fiction; in the age of the sperm donor, it's a growing reality: 50% of reunions between siblings, or parents and offspring, separated at birth result in obsessive emotions. Last month, a former police officer was convicted of incest with his half-sister - but should we criminalise a bond hardwired into our psychology? Alix Kirsta talks to those who have suffered the torment of 'genetic sexual attraction'
At first, Ivor Lytton's emotional predicament seems unremarkable, no different from the woes that make up any agony aunt's weekly column. On Sunday October 4 1998, Lytton, an Edinburgh public relations consultant, met the love of his life. The meeting took place at a dinner party at a fashionable country inn. Rita Meadows, who lives in South Africa, was on holiday in Scotland. Describing their meeting, Lytton's words overflow with sentiment. "From the moment we met, I was smitten, and continued to be drawn to her like a magnet. As I got to know her, I felt she had given me a life transmission. She put a smile in my heart and a spring in my step." Each October for the past four years, he has sent her a card to commemorate the date of their meeting.
What Lytton didn't know was that the consequences of that love would plunge him into the most devastating crisis of his life. "To say that I have been to hell and back wouldn't be accurate. The situation is far worse than that." On the surface, his ordeal seems a classic case of unrequited love. Despite forming a warm friendship with Lytton, and meeting him several times a year either abroad or in Britain, Meadows, a divorcee, has never shared his feelings. Irritated and, at times, angry with his outpourings of affection, she recently emailed him curtly to think of her as "just a casual friend". Unable to reconcile himself to her indifference, Lytton's subsequent depression and sense of rejection, and the continuing compulsion to declare his feelings, are no different from the irrational fixation and emotions that mark any young adult's first major infatuation. But that is as far as the Mills & Boon scenario goes.
In the circumstances, Lytton's new-found love was doomed to be a nonstarter. He is a married man of 66, semi-retired, with grown-up children and grandchildren. The story might be relatively straightforward, and there may even have been a happy ending of sorts had he merely fallen for a woman half his age or abandoned his family to start a new life in another country. Instead, his love for Meadows represents society's most abhorrent taboo. She is his younger sister, adopted as a baby shortly after the death of their mother from an illness contracted after the birth, when Lytton was two. Although Meadows had no idea she had a brother, Lytton, who was raised by his stepmother after his father's death during the second world war, had always known of her existence, but waited until 1995 to begin searching for her. The 1998 party at which they met had been organised by Lytton, with the help of his wife and children, as a celebratory reunion after he had tracked down his 60-year-old sister in Durban.
"I knew Rita was my sister," he says now. "I didn't choose to fall in love with her, or expect to feel sexual desire. It just happened. Even in front of my wife, I made no attempt to hide my adoration, I just buzzed whenever she was around. It was as if no one else existed. The two biggest mistakes I made were deluding myself that I could become all-important in her life, a brother and a surrogate lover, even though she didn't desire me, and then believing I could control and resolve the problem by myself."
When we met, Lytton brought with him several large files bulging with four years' correspondence, mainly email printouts, to and from Rita. A tall, white-haired and articulate man, he has recorded every emotion, thought and incident involving his sister since their reunion. Photographs taken on his trips to South Africa, and on her visits to Scotland, show a vivacious and elegant redhead, seemingly little older than 40. From the sharp intake of breath as he begins reading aloud from his correspondence, it is clear that his feelings are still raw. Letters written shortly after their reunion begin with such endearments as "my special girl", "goddess", "darling miracle", "my princess". Declaring that she "walks on water", Lytton confesses how much he misses and thinks of her, miserable at the distance between Edinburgh and Durban. The places they have visited together are described as "sacred shrines".
But a persistent undercurrent of uncertainty and despair runs through almost every message, as he urges her to write more frequently and to reveal her own feelings. "I have found it easy to love you since we met, and am totally committed to our relationship. You illuminate my life... let this be our secret. But how important am I to you? Do you feel affection for me?" Breaking off, Lytton's voice cracks. Far worse than the pain, he says, are the shame and guilt. "You see how besotted I was? Every line oozing with obsession. I mean, what normal brother ever spoke to a sister in this way? How can a man approaching 70 experience emotions usually attributed to a screwed-up adolescent? It's sick."
He then produces a diary, one of several in his briefcase, labelled The Journal Of An Emotional Junkie, and offers to lend it to me. He started to keep the journal eight months ago, after discovering that his sister had begun a relationship with a 40-year-old South African banker. He became intensely jealous - an emotion, he stresses, that is virtually alien, and therefore deeply shameful, to him. In one revealing passage he fantasises about his sister having sex with her new lover. "On a visit, she'd shown me some sexy underwear she'd bought in London, including a thong. Once she left England, I visualised her gyrating around a pole, in a G-string, her boyfriend watching lustfully on the bed."
Although this is the first time Lytton has told any of this to a stranger, he feels that, by doing so, he is beginning to control and resolve the situation. "I'm letting you inside my head. Perhaps my experiences can help anyone else in a similar predicament, let them realise they are not alone, that they aren't going mad and haven't turned into some sick, perverted individual - all of which I thought until very recently."
In the past year, Lytton says, he came close to wrecking his marriage, having a complete nervous collapse, even committing suicide. What saved him was his sister's emotional detachment, his wife's extraordinary patience and understanding - and, most crucially, learning about a little-known phenomenon called genetic sexual attraction (GSA), increasingly acknowledged by post-adoption agencies to be a common feature of reunions between blood relatives who have never before met. "I seem to have contracted this condition, GSA, in its severest form," he declares, as if describing a virus. "Now that I know there is a condition, and why it occurs, I feel I have reached a turning point and will be able to work towards building a normal, balanced relationship with my sister." If, as seems possible, he comes through the crisis with his marriage, mental stability and relationship with his sister intact, Lytton will be in a fortunate minority.
The term GSA was first coined in the US in the late 1980s by Barbara Gonyo, the founder of Truth Seekers In Adoption, a Chicago-based support group for adoptees and their new-found relatives. The emergence of GSA both in the US and the UK coincided with the relaxation of adoption laws in the mid-1970s, which gave adopted children easier access to their records and led to an increase in the number of reunions between adoptees and their blood relatives.
The unexpectedly high number of reported cases of men and women struggling with sudden and terrifying emotions after a reunion has surprised and perplexed most post-adoption agencies. So far, because of the taboos surrounding GSA and its variable and complex nature, the frequency of these cases is almost impossible to quantify, although some agencies estimate that elements of GSA occur in 50% of reunions. Growing awareness of its potentially devastating implications, especially in cases where relatives embark on a sexual relationship, has prompted some organisations to warn all clients attempting to trace a relative about the phenomenon, while also training counsellors to recognise the warning signs and to help adoptees and their families cope with the damage.
These may sound like important and timely advances but they don't, in fact, add up to much. Because of the revulsion aroused by incest, and the stigma attached to anyone who admits experiencing GSA - let alone those who embark on sexual relations with a parent or sibling - the condition remains obscured by myth, tainted by smutty innuendo, under-reported by sufferers and, worse, virtually ignored in academic circles. Although, occasionally, a story involving GSA is given predictably lurid tabloid coverage, ignorance prevails. Why GSA occurs only in some reunions, whether certain people are more predisposed to GSA than others, or whether it manifests itself differently between parents and children or siblings, is simply unknown. Above all, GSA raises serious questions about what factors influence sexual attraction: are the origins of GSA social, environmental or biological?
The lack of any serious scientific research is especially disturbing in view of the growing number of reunions between adoptees and their birth parents, and the prospect of many future reunions between children born through IVF involving sperm and egg donors. In the view of Sue Cowling, deputy director of the Post-Adoption Centre, "Genetic sexual attraction associated with IVF births is a time bomb waiting to go off." Cowling, like many professionals, suspects that the subject has remained a no-go area, even for psychologists, because even in a society wide awake to the spectre of paedophilia and sexual abuse in families, GSA - which falls into neither category - threatens to explode too many cosy assumptions about "normal" and aberrant sexual instincts.
Gonyo, the non-academic who originally "outed" GSA in the 1980s, has written the only book on the subject. In it, she suggests that romantic love and erotic arousal may be the delayed by-product of "missed bonding" that would have normally taken place between a mother and her newborn infant, or between siblings had they not been separated by adoption. "Many such people, as adults, need to go through that early missed closeness. It may become sexual, or it may not."
Gonyo's reputation as the world's leading GSA "expert" came about largely as a result of her own experience of strong sexual attraction, when, in 1979 and aged 42, she was reunited with her adult son 26 years after she had given him up for adoption. Now a 65-year-old grandmother, she admits, like Lytton (whom she has been counselling by email since he contacted her via the Truth Seekers website), that what saved her marriage and allowed her eventually to build a healthy relationship with her birth son Mitch was that she did not have sex with him, due to his unresponsiveness.
An energetic, cheery and straight-talking woman, Gonyo estimates that it took her a dozen years to overcome the desire to sleep with Mitch. "Believe me, the state of arousal, which grew as I got to know him, was as erotic as anything I felt for my husband. I wanted to get naked with Mitch, feel his flesh against mine. The first time I hugged him, it beat any feeling I've experienced in my life. If he had felt the same way, I don't know if I could have stopped myself. But Mitch was very afraid of my feelings, and wouldn't ever talk about any of this, or how he felt."
At that time, Mitch, an art teacher, had various girlfriends. "Despite this, my behaviour around him was atrocious. I was flirtatious, coquettish and playful. When getting ready to see him, I primped and primed, becoming like a 16-year-old in mind and body. I was trying to win him over, like someone I wanted to date or marry." Gonyo recalls feeling ashamed and dirty. "At the beginning, the urge was less erotic, more like bonding with a newborn child. As with all my subsequent children, I wanted to smell him, stroke and run my fingers through his hair. I saw so much of myself in him, and he also reminded me strongly of his father, my first teenage love." But having experienced that primary stage of "delayed bonding", Gonyo wanted more. "I was no longer looking for the baby, I wanted a relationship with the adult - the man." What frightened her was that these emotions did not fit into any appropriate context. "I wasn't Mitch's lover or girlfriend, and I couldn't be his mother, because he had one, although he never allowed me to meet her. I felt like an intruder, unimportant and humiliated."
When Mitch got married 12 years ago, Gonyo finally established a relaxed friendship with him. "It's as if I've turned him over to his wife, so now we can be friends. It took me until then to be able to say honestly that I don't have those sexual feelings any more. What meeting Mitch taught me was self-control." It also led to her passionate "mission" to encourage widespread understanding of GSA.
Twenty-five years ago, that would have seemed an absurdly unrealistic goal given that this realm of human desire was guaranteed to repel most people, including Gonyo's clients. Since then, not much has changed. "GSA becomes an incest issue, whether or not it is carried out in a sexual act," she says, pinpointing the most likely explanation for the paucity of research. "Most people will only reveal their own situation once someone else breaks the ice." Gonyon recalls that, when she told a support group for adoptees and birth mothers about her own feelings on meeting Mitch, her disclosure was met with repugnance. "Some openly dismissed such feelings as'sick'." But, a few days later, she was phoned by the wife of one of the group's male participants, telling her that she was convinced her husband was similarly infatuated with his birth mother, whom he had recently met, and asking Gonyo if she could help him.
It wasn't until almost a decade later, when Gonyo became the director of Truth Seekers In Adoption and raised the issue of GSA, that others began plucking up the courage to confess their own "forbidden" attraction to a parent, adult child or sibling with whom they had been reunited. She vividly remembers the first time someone raised their hand in one workshop. A man in his 30s, he was the first person she saw stand up in a room full of people and speak the unspeakable. "He simply said, 'I slept with my mother. I was 21 when I found her. We were very much in love. After several years, it stopped.' His mother had ended the relationship because it was too painful for her; she felt guilty and was afraid of being discovered. That was more than 10 years ago, and he said he'd not only lost his lover but what was even more important: his mother. He said he had never regretted having sex with his mother, only that losing her was a high price to pay."
Many clients consult Gonyo privately, even anonymously, by phone or email. "Often, the attraction isn't sexual, but it's still frightening and alien, and therefore perceived as abnormal and sinful. One woman told me that she and her birth mother, soon after they met, slept together in the nude: there was no sex, only a strong need to be close as parent and child. Grown men tell me they've sat in their mother's lap, just being rocked and held. One man talked about his need to be sexual with his newly found brother, but not being homosexual they shared a woman instead."
Sometimes, she warns, there may be an underlying element of revenge: "One man admitted openly, 'My real mother fucked me over. Now I'm going to fuck her.'" In contrast, many others experience an almost primordial sense of having "belonged" to the other person all their life. For Gonyo, the recognition that she shared her son's sarcastic humour and artistic talents, and saw the "male side" of herself in him, were especially powerful. (This sudden "shock of familiarity" is often also commented on by twins separated at birth.)
Gonyo is not surprised that attraction between fathers and daughters should be the least reported variant of GSA. "That group tends to stay very silent. It's still regarded as dangerously close to abuse, even though it is no different from other forms of GSA." But it does happen: a woman who recently traced her non-identical twin daughters, and included the birth father at the reunion, was horrified when one of the daughters and the father became instantly attracted to one another. As is common in cases of parent-child GSA, the attraction involved the girl who most resembled her father. "It's like my meeting Mitch: for a woman, meeting your father is to meet the male aspects of yourself for the first time."
Sometimes, that recognition may act as a powerful aphrodisiac. A young woman in one of Gonyo's workshops confessed that she had been in love with her father, and he with her, since their reunion. Only after they both suffered mental breakdowns did they have sex. "Sadly, although they imagined it would be cathartic, after sleeping together they felt no happier."
Almost invariably, the outcome of sexual relations between reunited relatives is that any subsequent lasting relationship, platonic or otherwise, is doomed - a dilemma illustrated in Kathryn Harrison's 1997 memoir The Kiss, a frank, sometimes shocking, account of her affair with her father.
That awareness has led New York psychotherapist Joe Soll to adopt the term "genetic attraction", believing the word "sexual" is in many cases inaccurate and also responsible for the underlying shame and fear that make the condition so distressing. He has noticed that the "romance" that develops, especially when mothers meet their adult children, mirrors the sensuous bonding between a new mother and her baby. "These people regress to a very early stage of development. The relationship is sensual, but we don't call it 'romance' or being 'in love' when it's breastfeeding, cradling and stroking, or when it's a mother and baby gazing into one another's eyes. Often, people tell me all they want to do is snuggle up together. A woman reunited with her adult son felt an overwhelming urge to suckle. There's an urge for intimacy, which they were previously denied."
Where that urge leads to sex, which appears to be more common between brothers and sisters, Soll and Gonyo encounter the greatest desperation and refusal to exert self-control. "I'll get calls from clients asking me in which of the American states they would be allowed to set up home together, or even get married," says Gonyo. "It doesn't matter what age they are - when your hormones are raging, you don't think about the consequences."
GSA rarely features at conferences on adoption, however, because the big US institutions, such as the National Council For Adoption, are reluctant to recognise the phenomenon. On the rare occasions that workshops do take place, they are usually packed. Unlike the UK, most US states are opposed to "open" adoption, so adoptees' records are sealed, which presents a formidable obstacle to family research. Gonyo, meanwhile, is convinced that the more an adopted child is told about their original family, and sees photographs of parents and siblings indicating shared characteristics, the less likely this will come as an intense shock if they meet. "Although it is better to play in the sandbox as kids than in bed as adults," she says, "the authorities prefer to ignore GSA, so it remains confused with real incest, rape and child abuse."
But in the light of the confessions and desperate actions of some "victims" of GSA, isn't it understandable that such confusion exists? Understandable, perhaps, but not inevitable. In contrast to America's squeamishness in addressing the issue, by the early 1990s British post-adoption agencies such as Norcap, the Child Migrants Trust and the Post-Adoption Centre were already admitting that, far from being either unique or bizarre, or a sign of deviance or emotional disorder, GSA was an all too normal reaction to an extreme emotional situation - and more commonplace than supposed.
Not that this makes it any easier to understand. Today, the Post-Adoption Centre, which offers practical information and counselling at any stage before, during and after adoptee reunions, and sees 3,000 new clients a year, estimates that up to half of reunions are accompanied by anything from temporary attraction to obsessive sexual obsession - and, very occasionally, even to the birth of a child.
At their most extreme, such relationships can have dangerous and potentially tragic consequences for families, especially spouses. In a recent, well-publicised case, a mother of two, Jennifer Grant, and her adopted half-brother, John Shannon, a former mayor of Pickering, North Yorkshire, left their respective spouses and children and set up home together after being united for the first time in 46 years. Interviewed by a Sunday newspaper in 2001, Jennifer's husband Graham, whose physical resemblance to John is striking, talked about his ordeal, typical of casualties floundering in the riptide of such obsessions. "I asked her if she had gone to bed with him and she said they had. I just left the house, got in my van and drove. I wanted to do myself in. Then I thought of the boys and what it would do to them. When I got back, she had gone."
Graham Grant reportedly cannot come to terms with what has happened: "It fills me with shock and dread," he said. "Members of our family have found it hard to discuss the matter with me. There's a sense of shame and disgust. It's left me feeling like a leper." Although, reportedly, there was a police inquiry into his wife's relationship with Shannon, with which they co-operated fully, the investigation ended due to lack of evidence that any crime had been committed.
Under the Sexual Offences Act of 1956, sexual intercourse between a brother or even a half-brother and sister is an offence that carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years. Although he escaped imprisonment, Scarborough police officer Tony Smedley's nine-month affair with his half-sister Janet Paveling tore apart his life. When Smedley's colleagues accidentally came across love letters that clearly referred to their sexual relationship, he and Paveling were arrested and committed for trial on charges of incest. He pleaded guilty when the case came to York crown court last month, and received a conditional discharge; the charges against Paveling were not pursued. Even so, Smedley lost his job, and must now try to rebuild a future with his wife and children, and with his sister's family. Another British brother and sister, Kim Straker and Terri O'Neill, who lived together as a couple and eventually had a child, were taken to court in the early 1990s. They were given suspended sentences and allowed to keep their daughter; they have since parted.
Even where such relationships do not end in turmoil and trauma, the effects of the taboo itself remain inescapably powerful. One of the strangest cases in recent years is that of Gary Klahr and Micka Zeman, who met in 1979 in their Connecticut hometown and enjoyed a casual six-month affair. In 1998, by which time both were in their 50s and married, Micka, knowing she was adopted, had traced her biological parents and found that she was one of 13 children born to the same couple, nine of whom were given up for adoption to couples in the area - one of them was Gary Klahr. On realising that she had had sex with her brother, Micka was physically sick. "Although it was brief and we were not that involved or serious, it was a shocking revelation and I was filled with tremendous guilt and sadness. I have since forgiven myself and realise it was foolish to feel guilty: after all, we did not know we were brother and sister, and when we re-met in 1998 the chemistry had long disappeared."
Although the news also shocked Gary, he maintains that someone less emotionally well-adjusted might have suffered greater damage. "A person with a different personality might have jumped out of the window, or at least had profound long-term feelings of guilt. But if you understand that nine out of 13 children from the biological family were adopted out to different families, with different names and different religions, within a 15-mile radius of the hospital where we were born, then something like this was bound to happen. I never had an idea, until 1998, that I was adopted: how could we have known that we were brother and sister?"
Cowling says that neither the threat of prosecution nor the suffering of families are a deterrent to those caught up in and determined to pursue such relationships. "I've heard women, including mothers sleeping with their sons, tell me, 'It's the most amazing sex I've ever had. Don't ask me to give it up - I can't.'"
When the relationship becomes obsessive and violent, especially between mothers and sons, the danger seems only to heighten the sexual chemistry and magnetic bond. "I've worked with cases where the violence has been terrifying because one person becomes fixated, phoning their relative 10, 12 times a day, demanding to know their movements, stalking them like a jealous lover," says Cowling. "But the other person still can't pull away. It's like an addiction." She cites a man who was imprisoned for violence against his mother: "The woman went into hiding, but he found her. We were getting panic-stricken calls from her at all hours, saying, 'He's coming for me, what shall I do?' Yet she, too, was obsessed with him. In another instance, a woman referred to her son as'my lover' and talked of her body 'aching' for him. Unfortunately, for some men, the sex and violence is a way of punishing the birth mother for abandoning them, and for mothers the sex is a guilt trip: they feel they owe it to their son after giving him up for adoption."
The dilemma originally faced by professionals such as Cowling was that everyone wanted to help, but no one knew how. In 1992, Dr Maurice Greenberg, a consultant psychiatrist, head of student counselling services at University College London and former adviser to the Post-Adoption Centre, conducted what, incredibly, remains the only academic study into GSA. He interviewed eight male and female adoptees and analysed another 40 cases, including birth parents, reported by the Post |
married to Kendra Benham, who worked alongside him in Neon Genesis Evangelion as Maya Ibuki.[2] Spencer holds a brownbelt in aikido and a 2nd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do.[2] Spencer is married to multi-passionate entrepreneur, owner of Fitness with Kim and CrownYourself.com, screenwriter, Kim MacKenzie, a former Miss California contestant and Miss Norway 2014 in the Queen of the Universe Pageant, as of October 4, 2014. He is a foodie and has a website called DontKillYourDate.com.[1] Spike and Kim have one child, named Declan, who was born on July 29, 2017.[3]
Filmography [ edit ]
Anime [ edit ]
Animation [ edit ]
Internet Appearances [ edit ]
Nostalgia Critic - Himself
Live-action acting [ edit ]
List of acting performances in film and television Year Title Role Crew role, notes Source 2017 Altered Spirits
(Broken Spirits) Lord Montague Starring role [5]
Video games [ edit ]Jared Loughner, who pleaded guilty in the shootings that left six people dead and wounded former U.S. representative Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others, was sentenced to life without parole.
Former U.S. representative Gabrielle Giffords is escorted from court by her husband, Mark Kelly, following the sentencing of Jared Loughner at the federal courthouse in Tucson on Nov. 8. (Photo: Rob Schumacher, The Arizona Republic) Story Highlights Loughner was sentenced to seven consecutive life terms in prison and an additional 140 years
24-year-old had pleaded guilty months ago to 19 federal charges
Victims confront Loughner for the first time at tense court hearing
TUCSON — Former U.S. representative Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, looked intently into the eyes of Jared Loughner in a federal courtroom Thursday and left him this message: "You tried to create a world as dark and evil as your own. Remember this: You failed."
Those were the words of Kelly, who spoke for Giffords at Thursday's sentencing of the man who killed six and wounded 13 during a shooting rampage in a supermarket parking lot near Tucson in January 2011.
Loughner, 24, was sentenced to seven consecutive life terms in prison and an additional 140 years.
Kelly was among a large group of victims and family members who spoke at the hearing before the judge formally imposed Loughner's sentence.
Kelly and Giffords approached the lectern together. Giffords gazed intently at Loughner as Kelly told the gunman, "Gabby would trade her own life for one you took on that day.
"Every day is a continuous struggle to do the things she was once so very good at," Kelly said of his wife, who took a bullet to the head. He also told Loughner, "By making death and producing tragedy you sought to diminish the beauty of life."
Christina Pietz, Loughner's prison psychologist, told the court she interacts daily with Loughner.
Pietz said his mental health is steadily improving and she believed him to be competent to understand the proceedings against him and to proceed with sentencing despite his mental illness.
As Pietz spoke, Loughner stared down at the table before him. Though he had a legal right to address the court, Loughner declined to make a statement.
The drama was intense as victims each took a turn testifying at the hearing.
The first witness to testify was Patricia Maisch, who said that the mental health system had failed and that true justice in Loughner's case was impossible. Loughner's parents sobbed as she spoke. "I need him to know where he is and why — to remember every day what he did and the horror he set loose," Maisch said.
One after another, victims took the stand to tell Loughner the damage he had done to their families and their lives.
Susan Hileman, who was shot three times, looked directly at Loughner as she told him, "You turned a civics lesson into a nightmare."
Mavy Stoddard, whose husband was killed, told Loughner, "Jared, you ruined my whole life."
She recounted how her husband died in her arms, and she told Loughner, "You gave him no chance."
"You took away my life.... And my reason for living. And you did this because you wanted to," Stoddard told Loughner. But then, she added, "I forgive you."
Ron Barber, a Giffords staffer, told Loughner, "That was a day that shocked our community and broke our hearts," but that he continues to be inspired by Giffords' recovery from a catastrophic head wound.
"You did not take away her determination, compassion and will to serve," Barber said.
Pam Simon, another former Giffords aide who was shot in the chest, told the court: "I want this to be over. I came here seeking peace." She told Loughner that she knew he did not seek his mental illness and that she had learned from the tragedy.
"I have been humbled and inspired by the strength and determination of other survivors," Simon said.
Under terms of a plea agreement hammered out by prosecutors and defense attorneys in August, Loughner will spend the rest of his life in prison — most likely in a federal prison psychiatric ward.
Loughner was charged for the Jan. 8, 2011, shootings in a supermarket parking lot north of Tucson. Giffords was holding a meet-and-greet there when Loughner fired with a 9mm Glock 19 pistol.
Giffords eventually resigned her seat in the House of Representatives because of her injuries.
Loughner pleaded guilty to two counts of murder of a federal employee and four counts of causing the death of a person at a federally sponsored event. He was charged with killing:
--John Roll, 63, presiding U.S. District Court judge for Arizona.
--Gabe Zimmerman, 30, one of Giffords' staffers.
--Christina-Taylor Green, a 9-year-old attending Giffords' event with neighbor, Hileman.
--Dorwan Stoddard, 76; Dorothy Morris, 76; and Phyllis Schneck, 79, three retirees at the event.
Loughner also pleaded guilty to attempted assassination of a member of Congress for shooting Giffords, and various counts of attempted murder and injuring a person at a federal event.
In addition to Giffords, the wounded were Mavy Stoddard (Dorwan Stoddard's wife); George Morris (Dorothy Morris' husband); Susan Hileman (Christina-Taylor's neighbor); Ron Barber, a Giffords staffer who filled her congressional seat; Pam Simon, another Giffords staffer; and event attendees Bill Badger, Kenneth Dorushka, Eric Fuller, Randy Gardner, Mary Reed, James Tucker and Kenneth Veeder.
Loughner could still be tried for murder and other crimes in Arizona state court. Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall has not yet said whether she will exercise that option.
Contributing: Shaun McKinnon and Wendy Halloran of The Arizona Republic
Jared Loughner (Photo: U.S. Marshal's Service via AP)
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/TxfJlmRED WING SHOES
Excellence is a standard which transcends the test of time. For over a century Red Wing purpose-built footwear has been at the spearhead of innovation in the standard of excellence for work boots.
At the turn of the 20th century a shoe merchant named Charles Beckman in Red Wing, Minnesota saw a local necessity for shoes specifically designed for the demanding work of industries such as mining, logging, and farming. The rigors of these jobs required footwear which was tough enough to outlast harsh working conditions, but Beckman envisioned a shoe that was also comfortable enough for the hardworking people who wore them. Beckman set out to develop work boots to fill this need and in 1905 he opened a company that would change the market. Beckman named his company Red Wing Shoes, and a new standard for excellence was born.
Still headquartered in Red Wing, Minnesota, Red Wing boots protect workers in more than one hundred countries across the world, an accomplishment built by years of hard work, endurance, and the promise to never compromise on quality.EbS Guy Verhofstadt said the EU should raise its own taxes
Brexit negotiator and liberal leader Guy Verhofstadt said allowing eurocrats to employ its own continent-wide levies would “create a direct link between the EU and its citizens”. He claimed most people would not mind coughing up their hard earned wages to Brussels rather than their own countries so long as the payments came to the same amount as before.
During a press conference in Strasbourg this morning the former Belgian PM also called for the EU to assume increased “capabilities on intelligence and investigation” to fight the terror threat. And he delivered a veiled criticism of Theresa May’s offer on citizens’ rights, saying that it was unacceptable that the proposed new system would treat EU nationals through the prism of the immigration system.
Mr Verhofstadt said the hole in the bloc’s budget that will be created by Brexit provides a perfect opportunity to reform the project’s revenue streams by allowing it to raise direct taxes. He told reporters: “For this first time we have a paper on the table who is putting the right questions on the reform of the European budget and has no fear to talk about a different funding of the European Union and of the European budget. “So the paper of the Commission and more especially the proposals of [budget] Commissioner [Gunther] Oettinger take fully on board the idea to transfer the so-called GNI contributions of member states into own resources. Why? Because then you create a direct link.”
For the citizens it doesn’t make a big difference Guy Verhofstadt
He added: “For the citizens it doesn’t make a big difference, it’s exactly the same amount they’ve got to pay - they’ve got to pay it not to the member state but they’re going to pay it directly to the Union. “But the advantage is that you create a direct link between the European Union and the citizens and that you can also get rid of debates because in such a system rebates are no longer allowed or needed, because the funding comes directly from companies and citizens to the Union.” The current EU budget is bankrolled almost exclusively by member state contributions, with the rest of the cash coming from fines for breach of its rules. Currently the bloc is not allowed to enter debt, and so can only raise and spend what the 28 European capitals agree to provide it with. Mr Verhofstadt was also asked about Britain’s proposals to the EU on the future of citizens’ rights, which he said will be addressed in detail by the Parliament’s steering group on Brexit in due course.
G20 Summit, latest pictures Thu, July 6, 2017 Leaders of the world's top economies will gather from July 7 to 8, 2017 in Germany for likely the stormiest G20 summit in years, with disagreements ranging from wars to climate change and global trade Play slideshow AFP/Getty Images 1 of 21 German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) and US President Donald Trump shake hands prior to a bilateral meeting on the eve of the G20 summit in HamburgThe latest revelation from Scott McClellan’s book proves what has long been suspected: Despite earlier statements professing ignorance about the conspiracy among his top officials, including Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and Scooter Libby, to betray a covert CIA program tracking the international black market for weapons of mass destruction, Bush knew about it all along:
The White House deftly distracted public attention away from the true scandal here — the treasonous acts of the president’s men — by focusing on the vivid personalities of the covert agent, Valerie Plame, and her husband Joe Wilson.
McClellan recalled a day in April 2006, when the unfolding perjury case against Libby revealed that the president had secretly declassified portions of a 2002 intelligence report about Iraq’s weapons capabilities to help his aides deflect criticism that his case for war was weak. Some of the most high-profile criticism was coming from Plame’s husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson. The president was leaving an event in North Carolina, McClellan recalled, and as they walked to Air Force One a reporter yelled out a question: Had the president, who had repeatedly condemned the selective release of secret intelligence information, enabled Scooter Libby to leak classified information to The New York Times to bolster the administration’s arguments for war? McClellan took the question to the president, telling Bush: “He’s saying you yourself were the one that authorized the leaking of this information.” “And he said, ‘Yeah, I did.’ And I was kind of taken aback,” McClellan said.
Let’s look back at two of Bush’s statements to the press about this treasonous betrayal of a U.S. covert operation.
On Sept. 30, 2003, in response to a question from a reporter about his administration’s, George Bush said:
BUSH: I want to know the truth. If anybody has got any information inside our administration or outside our administration, it would be helpful if they came forward with the information so we can find out whether or not these allegations are true and get on about the business… I don’t know of anybody in my administration who leaked classified information. If somebody did leak classified information, I’d like to know it, and we’ll take the appropriate action.
On July 18, 2005:
BUSH: We have a serious ongoing investigation here. (Laughter [from reporters].) And it’s being played out in the press. And I think it’s best that people wait until the investigation is complete before you jump to conclusions. And I will do so, as well. I don’t know all the facts. I want to know all the facts. The best place for the facts to be done is by somebody who’s spending time investigating it. I would like this to end as quickly as possible so we know the facts, and if someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration.
The Bush team and their enablers among Republicans in the Congress and the media deftly distracted public attention away from the true scandal here — the treasonous acts of the president’s men who revealed the identity of the secret agent in charge of the CIA WMD program — by focusing on the vivid personalities of the agent, Valerie Plame, and her husband Joe Wilson.
As much as one might admire the Wilsons, this has never been about them. It is about a power-crazed cabal in the White House who abused their power to go after their political enemies without giving a thought to the potentially catastrophic results of their actions. We’ll never know whether the next terror attack could have been prevented if Plame’s program had not been exposed. We’ll never know if any, or how many, of her operatives around the world have been killed or tortured because of the White House conspiracy.
If there ever was an act by a president that was prima facie impeachable, this is it.For the first time ever, a clear majority (60%) of Germans no longer sees any benefits to being part of the Eurozone, given all the risks, according to a poll published September 16 (FAZ, article in German). In the age group 45 to 54, it jumps to 67%. And 66% reject aiding Greece and other heavily indebted countries. Ominously for Chancellor Angela Merkel, 82% believe that her government's crisis management is bad, and 83% complain that they're kept in the dark about the politics of the euro crisis.
"There cannot be any prohibition to think" just so that the euro can be stabilized, wrote Philipp Rösler, Minister of Economics and Technology, in a commentary published on September 9 (Welt, article in German). "And the orderly default of Greece is part of that," he added. Instantly, all hell broke loose, and Denkverbot (prohibition to think) became a rallying cry against the onslaught of criticism that his remarks engendered.
Even Timothy Geithner, who attended the meeting of European finance ministers in Poland, fired off a broadside in Rösler's direction. In the same breath, he proposed the expansion—through leverage, of all things—of the European bailout mechanism, the EFSF. According to Austrian Finance Minister, Maria Fekter, who witnessed the scene, he warned of "catastrophic" economic risks due to the disputes among the countries of the Eurozone and due to the conflicts between these countries and the ECB. Then he demanded in dramatic terms, she said, that "we grab money with our hands to stabilize the banks and expand the EFSF unconditionally."
The smack-down was immediate. German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, took Geithner to task and explained to him in no uncertain terms, according to Fekter, that it was not possible to burden the taxpayers to that extent, particularly not if only the taxpayers of Triple-A countries were to be burdened. A bailout "with tax money alone in the quantity that the USA imagines will not be feasible," Schäuble said. (Wiener Zeitung, article in German).
Vocal support for Rösler came today from a group of 16 prominent German economists. If the government in its efforts to stabilize the euro didn't consider the insolvency of a member country, they warned, Germany would become subject to endless extortion (FAZ, article in German). And to impose a Denkverbot concerning it would be a step back into "top-down state thinking." They further lamented that these policies would turn the Eurozone into a transfer union. If the government wanted to establish a transfer union, it should discuss that with the German voters, they demanded, because it would be a fundamental change in the E.U. constitution and should be legitimized by vote. Otherwise, Germany would be "threatened by a populist movement to exit the E.U."
Meanwhile, on his visit to Rome, Rösler had to face down Italian Finance Minister, Giulio Tremonti, who'd "vehemently" demanded the creation of Eurobonds, sources of the German delegation said (Zeit, article in German). President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, supported Tremonti's demands. But Rösler, like Merkel and others, rejected the idea. Transferring liabilities to other countries would remove pressure from debtor nations to reform, he said, differences in yields being a market-driven incentive to get the budget in order. Eurobonds are also legally impossible, he added, based on a recent decision by the German Federal Constitutional Court.
Eurozone must be honest: Big haircuts for bond holders, debt limits for all, says Die Zeit (article in German). The drama of saving European banks that hold Greek debt, and the debt of other tottering Eurozone nations, has been going on for a year and a half. Each effort to keep Greece on track follows the familiar script. Politicians promise spending cuts. Greeks demonstrate. E.U. inspectors check things out and leave angry. Germans declare that Greece will not get any relief until it fixes its problems. Then Greece notices that it needs yet more money and threatens to default. Germany nods. And the next installment gets paid.
By now, all hope for a happy ending has dissipated. Greece is suffering from a multitude of problems that defy quick fixes, among them a huge pile of debt, an inept and corrupt fiscal system where taxes are simply not collected, dysfunctional institutions, and a government-dominated economy. Even unlimited amounts of money can only defer the end game.
But there are already victims. The most recent one: The concept of an independent, apolitical central bank whose primary purpose is guarding the value of the currency, rather than monetizing the debt of countries that have spent beyond their means.
To see how it all started, read my first post on the Bailout Rebellion in Germany
Wolf Richter - www.testosteronepit.comThe boating industry has been using renewable energy since 4000 BCE. I am referring, of course, to sailboats used first by the Phoenicians and Egyptians. For many thousands of years sails and paddles where the only mechanisms for powering a boat. In the mid 19th century the internal combustion engine (ICE), the electric motor and the steam engine were becoming viable and practical technologies.
Much like automobiles there were steam-powered, ICE, and electric boats being developed at this time. In 1839, a Russian by the name of Moritz von Jacobi created the first electric boat, which traveled at 3 mph. Since, several versions of electric boats were developed. However much like automobiles, boating went a different way. Steamboats were very popular for a time until the ICE was developed further and became the dominant source of power for boating.
Moritz von Jacobi 1856
This was the case until the submarine became a more viable technology. The electric motor, through trial and error, proved to be the most practical form of power for submerged propulsion. Because of it’s inherent lack of emissions and because it does not require oxygen to function, electric power for underwater travel made the most sense. Many, many types of submarine had been conceived of and developed since the late 16th century however a system which could switch between a diesel-powered engine for surface travel and an electric engine when submerged made the submarine much more practical for warfare. The US Navy bought the first submarine to perfect this use of the electric motor and ICE combination in 1900. It was developed by John Philip Holland.
USS Holland dry docked
The submarine sparked something of an international naval arms race and changed the face of naval warfare forever. All of which would not have been possible without the electric motor. Today nuclear power is used for military submarines, but as battery technology progresses electric power will become a viable alternative. Nuclear power poses great environmental risks should something go wrong, or should a submarine sink during warfare. Not to mention the waste produced by the use of nuclear energy is not disposable nor is it good for the environment.
Boats offer a great format for electric power. They can be large and therefore house large batteries. Their size also lends them to solar power as they have a large surface to place many panels on. Another important factor is the use of sails. A common practice for boating, especially for large vessels, is to switch between sail and engine power when necessary. Because of solar panels and sails, range anxiety is not a factor for the electric boating industry.
Electric Hot Tub
Range anxiety, an issue facing the EV industry, is a fear of losing power mid-trip. EVs cannot travel as far on one battery as their ICE counterparts can on one tank of gas. This issue combined with a noticeable lack of charging stations leads to doubts in consumer’s minds. This is not an issue for electric boats, especially those with sails, or solar panels. In fact a solar-powered boat can outlast any ICE boat as it merely needs the sun to charge, whereas if a gas-powered boat runs out of gas there is no way to refuel.
In 2012 Raphael Domjan circumnavigated the globe in a boat propelled only by solar power. The trip took 585 days and was achieved by the “Tûranor”, the world’s largest solar-powered boat, which cost $15 million to build. The boat recently crossed the Atlantic and has been touring major cities along the east coast of the United States.
PlanetSolar Tûranor
Of course the ideal situation will be to one day have battery and electric motor technology that outperforms ICEs but until that day electric boating provides a perfect forum to utilize and advance EV technology.
AdvertisementsI recently finished reading Sean Trende’s excellent book The Lost Majority, which is a must-read for anyone attempting to intelligently discuss its subject: how winning political coalitions are built, maintained and undone in the modern American two-party system. Trende covers a range of topics. At the level of political science theory, he dismantles the theory of periodic realigning elections. In his historical analysis, he may surprise you by arguing that the most enduring coalition of the past century was assembled not by McKinley, FDR, or Reagan but Dwight Eisenhower. Looking to the recent past and future, he convincingly demonstrates that Obama’s 2008 coalition was always more fragile than Democrats at the time believed, and that there remain obstacles to the John Judis/Ruy Teixeira theory of an Emerging Democratic Majority. Trende’s major point is that all such predictions of enduring partisan majorities (he cites many dating back over the past century and a half) ignore the fact that political coalitions inevitably draw together factions with different interests and ideologies, and frictions within those coalitions inevitably offer opportunities for the other party to regain support.
But one of the historical narratives that Trende covers in depth is of particular interest because it remains a crucial part of partisan mythology today: the enduring myth of the Southern Strategy. On the occasion of Mitt Romney’s address to the NAACP, it is worth revisiting that myth today.
Background: The Civil Rights Movement
First, a little background. Broadly speaking, the African-American civil rights movement has gone through five basic historical stages:
-Stage One, running roughly from the 1787 enactment of the Northwest Ordinance to the 1865 enactment of the Thirteenth Amendment, was the long, bloody struggle to contain and ultimately abolish slavery. The two-party system ultimately aligned the Democrats as the defenders of slavery and secession, while the Republican Party was founded as an antislavery party, and the election of a Republican president triggered the Civil War.
-Stage Two, running until 1876 and highlighted by the passage of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and several early civil rights laws, was Reconstruction, which sought to give freed blacks political suffrage and legal equality while dealing with the aftermath of nearly half the country engaging in armed rebellion against the United States. During this period, the “Radical Republicans” of the North and West pressed for more aggressive reconstruction measures, and freed blacks aligned with the GOP, while white Southerners remained the core of the decimated Democratic Party.
-Stage Three, which ran from the deal resolving the contested 1876 election (Democrats accepted Republican Rutherford B. Hayes as the winner in exchange for an end to Reconstruction) through the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, was the age of Jim Crow: while African-Americans made legal and economic progress on a few fronts, the overwhelming trend (especially in the South) was one of black disenfranchisement, segregation, and oppressive and terroristic practices ranging from lynchings to Klu Klux Klan activity. The Supreme Court during this period essentially rewrote the Fourteenth Amendment to eviscerate the Privileges & Immunities Clause and the Equal Protection Clause (the latter has recovered; the former remains crippled).
For most of this period, the “Solid South” was regarded as reliably Democratic as well as poor, rural and backward. Black voters – where they were permitted to vote at all – began abandoning the GOP for the Democrats in large numbers in the 1930s. Democrats, in thrall to white Southern support, were more or less enthusiastically united in their support for Jim Crow and resistant to even mild civil rights measures like anti-lynching bills. Segregation was formally introduced in the Army by Woodrow Wilson. Republicans, for their part, remained committed in theory to the ideals of Lincoln, but in practice often followed what Trende describes as the Theodore Roosevelt strategy of accommodating Southern recalcitrance in the hopes that Southern whites would give the GOP a hearing. During the time of Roosevelt and Taft, this strategy was unavailing with white Southerners, but the party’s abandonment of any real civil rights agenda set the stage for the loss of its black support between 1928 and 1936.
-Stage Four, running roughly from 1946-65, was the fight for legal equality and the end to Jim Crow and disenfranchisement: desegregation of the armed forces and integration of Major League Baseball in the 1940s, Brown v Board of Education and Rosa Parks in the 1950s, passage of the 24th Amendment banning poll taxes (passed by Congress in 1962, ratified in 1964) and the various landmark civil rights and voting rights bills passed in 1964-65.
The rearguard opposition to civil rights was loud and almost entirely Southern and Democratic; as Kevin Williamson notes, in the 1950s, Southern Democrats in the Senate played what amounted to a good-cop/bad-cop strategy, with Strom Thurmond leading noisy filibusters of civil rights legislation and Lyndon Johnson promising liberal Northern Democrats he could get past the filibusters if the bills were watered down to the point of toothlessness.
The partisan politics of civil rights was complex. Southern Democrats twice bolted the party in tight presidential elections, with Thurmond running in 1948 and George Wallace in 1968, while Northern and Western Democrats generally supported civil rights. Republicans, mostly “liberals” from the North and West, were also mostly supportive (I put “liberals” in quotes here because the liberals on civil rights included a fair number of people like Illinois Congressman Don Rumsfeld who were not liberals by any measure on other issues). As a result, major civil rights bills in the 1950s and 60s generally depended more on Republican than Democratic support in Congress. Conservatives in the GOP and in magazines like National Review were split at the time – few lent their support to the Thurmond/Wallace/Bull Connor faction, which was almost exclusively the province of the Democrats, but some objected on other grounds to the pace and methods used to push civil rights, most famously Barry Goldwater’s opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on constitutional grounds (Goldwater had supported other civil rights measures and would again). But those were disagreements about tactics, not outcomes.
Today, the American electorate and political system is all but unanimous in support of the measures taken during Stage One, Two and Four; the old Dixiecrat resistance is thoroughly discredited. Most conservatives today want no part of the objections raised by Goldwater and his allies at the time (although some of their systemic concerns about the slippery slopes created during that era have proven prophetic in other areas).
-Stage Five, beginning with the Great Society and the Nixon-era institution of affirmative action and the 1970s controversies over school busing and ongoing more than four decades later, remains much more enduringly controversial. Few, if any, of the racially charged issues of the past 47 years have had anything to do with legal equality for African-Americans, and after the last gasp of Wallace in 1968, political support for any vestige of Jim Crow vanished. On the GOP side, a number of the old Dixiecrats, led by Thurmond himself, switched parties. Ex-Dixiecrats like Thurmond and Jesse Helms abandoned their prior support for segregation along with the party they had left behind. On the Democratic side, they died out more slowly, with some still holding office into the 1980s, a number of whom (including Wallace) dramatically repented their prior ways. The old Dixiecrats who stayed in the Democratic Party spent the rest of their careers drawing overwhelming support from black voters; most depended on that support for their margins of victory. Meanwhile, Republicans who had supported civil rights throughout the 1960s generally found themselves shut out of that support.
The most dramatic political development of the post-1965 period has been the rise of the GOP and decline of the Democrats among white voters in the South. Which brings us to the mythology of how that happened and what it means to the two parties today.
The Myth
The basic “Southern Strategy” myth, popularized by Kevin Phillips in the early 1970s, goes like this: under LBJ’s leadership, Democrats nobly and self-sacrificingly supported civil rights during Stage Four of the movement, giving an opening to opportunistic Republicans to crack the Democratic Solid South; following the support given by voters in some Deep South states to Goldwater in 1964, Nixon (formerly a supporter of civil rights) developed a “Southern Strategy” to use coded appeals to southern whites, enabling him to win the 1968 election; and everything the GOP has accomplished since 1968 is tainted by a continuous reliance on that same strategy to keep white southerners in the fold.
Like most myths, the Southern Strategy myth has some kernels of truth to it. It’s true that LBJ changed his tune on civil rights in the Oval Office, and did so knowing that this would have costs to the party. This, as Trende notes, is the nature of political coalitions and why they are inherently unstable. It’s true that Nixon, like Republicans as far back as TR, had the dream of adding white Southern support to his coalition, and dedicated a campaign strategy to doing so. And it’s true that the South has, broadly speaking, been far more Republican since the late 60s than it was before.
But the reality is quite different from the myth.
The Real Story of the Un-Solid South
At the center of the Southern Strategy myth is the idea that Republicans used the race card to seduce Democratic voters in the South into leaving their natural partisan home. The truth, as Trende convincingly demonstrates, is the opposite: the growth of GOP support among white Southerners was steady and mostly gradual from 1928 to 2010, and was a natural outgrowth of the fact that white Southerners were ideologically much more compatible with the national Republican agenda and coalition than with the national Democratic agenda and coalition. What retarded the Southern switch from the Democrats to the GOP was a combination of party loyalties dating back to Reconstruction and the Democrats’ use of racial issues. In other words, if you take race out of the picture, it’s likely that white Southerners would have switched parties earlier and in greater numbers. The real “Southern Strategy” was the one pursued by the Democrats, especially under FDR, to keep conservative white Southerners in a liberal party.
You can read shorter versions of Trende’s argument in columns by Trende, Jay Cost (who looks especially at the South’s divergence from the party of organized labor), and Gerard Alexander, as well as more background on the two parties’ civil rights records from Williamson. I will summarize.
Basically, Trende follows three lines of data. The first thing he does is look at voting patterns, not just bottom-line statewide Electoral College figures but the actual trends in the two-party popular presidential vote as well as downticket voting behavior by state, Congressional district and state gubernatorial and legislative elections. What he shows, on the one hand, is that the South was, from 1928 on, not as solidly Democratic as portrayed (and there were pockets of the South that had always been GOP-friendly, especially in Tennessee, Virginia and Texas). Some of that in the case of 1928 can be attributed to Southern Protestant resistance to voting for the Catholic Al Smith, but the fortunes of the GOP began to pick up significantly as conservative anti-union Southerners soured on the New Deal after 1936. And that accelerated under Eisenhower. Trende:
The Great Depression set Republicans back, but post-1948, Republicans began seriously working to pick the Democrats’ lock on the South. In 1952, Eisenhower carried three Southern states. In 1956, he carried five, including deep Southern states like Louisiana…. Eisenhower came 15,000 votes in North Carolina from carrying a majority of the Southern states; he managed to carry a majority of the South’s popular vote. And the days of Republicans receiving 5 percent of the vote in Deep Southern states were by then over. Eisenhower received at least one-third of the vote in every state in the Old Confederacy. The same is true for Nixon in 1960, when the pro-Civil Rights Nixon, who…was representing an Administration that enforced Brown v. Board, carried Virginia, Tennessee and Florida. Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina were all decided by five points or less. Without LBJ as the Veep candidate, Nixon may well have carried those states – indeed Republicans picked up their first elected Southern Senate seat in history in a 1960 special election shortly after the election. In 1964, Goldwater did break through in the Deep South. But compared to the preceding decade, that isn’t all that surprising. Goldwater ran roughly even with Nixon in Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia. He ran about ten points better in South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. On average, he ran two points ahead of Nixon. Compare this with 1952, when Eisenhower ran 22 points ahead of Dewey in the South.
The second trendline in the data is ideology. To accept the Southern Strategy myth that race is the dominant reason why white Southerners would find a home in the GOP, you have to ignore the role of (among other issues) economics, religion, and foreign policy/national security. Which is ridiculous; it is obviously not the case that the average white Southern voter would have been in perfect sync with George McGovern, Ted Kennedy and Michael Dukakis on those issues if not for the Magic Race Card. Trende supports this point in a variety of ways through legislative voting data on how elected Southern Democrats increasingly parted company from their party beginning in 1937-38 and running through their effective extinction in 2010. The process fed itself – the more white Southerners left the Democratic Party, the more liberal on all these issues the national party became, and the more it drove additional white Southerners to give the GOP a look.
The third trendline is demographic: Southern voters in successive generations tended to vote more Republican as their economic circumstances came to more closely resemble those of Republicans outside the South. As the South became less poor, less rural, and more suburban, it elected more Republicans.
Just as the South was less solidly Democratic than thought before 1968, it was less immediately solidly Republican after that. Southern candidates like Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Bill Clinton in 1992 made significant inroads in their home region, and it took many years for Republican strength at the presidential level to seep downticket. Cost:
[W]hile the Deep South voted for Goldwater in 1964, the Democrats still carried a whopping 90 of 106 congressional districts in Dixie in 1964. In fact, the big breakthrough for the GOP in the House did not come until 1994. Prior to that, the Democrats could count on better than 3/5ths of the Southern congressional districts.
As late as 2010, there were still states like Alabama and North Carolina that were voting in their first Republican legislative majorities since Reconstruction – something that would have happened overnight in the late 60s if the partisan realignment had been driven by lockstep white voting loyalties on racial lines.
The actual 1960s-era Republican record on civil rights is also not what is painted by the myth |
de Bellaigue is well-placed to tease out at least one strand of the debate about Islam: the reaction to European influence as it unfolded over the 19th century in the political and cultural centres of the Muslim world following Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798.
The author succeeds in his main purpose, which is to show that in Cairo, Istanbul and Tehran, prominent figures embraced aspects of Western thought and technology with discernment and gusto while remaining good Muslims. His heroes are writers, doctors, generals and sultans. They include Abdulrahman al-Jabarti, an Egyptian sheikh who articulated the fascinated shock with which his compatriots greeted the arrival of Napoleon, accompanied by scientists and scholars. Jabarti had grown up believing that his own faith’s superiority should assure success in war. However, his honest, lively mind had to acknowledge both the invaders’ more effective firepower and the intellectual heft which the French were bringing to the study of his homeland.
In Istanbul the sultan, Mahmud II (pictured), responded to the rising strength of Western powers by imitating them. He curbed the rapaciousness of his civil servants and clerical reactionaries. By removing religious restraints on the study of the body, he ushered modern hygiene and medicine into a region ravaged by plague.
In Persia, meanwhile, Abbas Mirza, a charismatic prince, drew on French and British help to modernise an army run on medieval lines. Young Persians were sent to train in Britain and proved quick learners. One of them, Mirza Saleh, wrote a remarkable account of his travels and became the country’s first journalist.
Mr de Bellaigue shows that in the Islamic world, just as in the West, efficient forms of transport and communication made it easier for intelligent individuals, including women, to share ideas. This is one example of the rich detail that his research brings to the stories of these Muslim modernisers and the violent reaction they sometimes triggered.
In the book’s final two chapters, there is an abrupt change of pace as the author speeds through Islam’s dealings with European colonial powers during the late 19th and, above all, in the early 20th century. It is a fairly accomplished gallop through difficult terrain and its purpose is to show, in very broad terms, why relations between Muslims and Westerners would eventually turn so sour. Western policies became greedier and more cynical, especially during and after the first world war, and this triggered a sharp reaction in the Muslim world, enraging humble, pious folk as well as clever elites.
The author empathises with the resentment felt by Muslims over being used as geopolitical pawns and over the arbitrary borders that were drawn by Europeans. That prompts him to write with a degree of understanding about all the popular movements that successively shook Islam’s heartland, including Turkish nationalism, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and even the Iranian uprising of 1979.
He acknowledges that these last two movements amounted to a form of “counter-enlightenment”, reinstating theocracy, but he insists that even the mullahs’ Iran has some modernising features: they educated an unprecedented number of girls.
Mr de Bellaigue is equally adamant that the positive legacy of the period closest to his heart (the early and mid-19th century) is still partially intact. For him, the very fact that there was once an era in which the Islamic world drew, selectively and intelligently, on Western ideas and technology while remaining true to itself, still gives hope. For one thing, it means that Muslims now migrating to the West retain, deep in their collective memories, an intimation that Islam can flourish in an enlightened form. His book thus offers a refreshingly optimistic counterpoint to the idea that Muslim and Western world-views are doomed to clash.The Facility Improvements Bond Committee voted Tuesday to keep funding for improvements at the University of Texas at San Antonio athletics complex.
But as it finalized its recommendations for the City’s planned $850 million bond, the committee voted to take more money away from projects around Alamo Plaza.
Like the Parks and Recreation Bond Committee did Monday at the Central Library, the Facility Committee mulled last-minute reallocations for smaller or unfunded projects.
City Council will review recommendations from all five bond committees in January and finalize the project lists that will go before voters in May 2017.
City staff originally recommended $10 million to support upgrades at UTSA Main Campus sports facility. But the District 10 contingent proposed to shave $750,000 from UTSA to fund improvements at the Perrin Homestead.
The Parks Committee wound up reducing money for homestead improvements by half Monday night. The $750,000 would restore the original $1.5 million recommendation.
Supporters of this proposal called the UTSA project worthy, but reasoned it is a large institution that could leverage more private funds to achieve its objective.
“It is difficult for me to imagine a capital campaign would have difficulty raising the money,” said District 10 member Glenn MacTaggart.
District 10 member Casey Whittington said rehabilitating the Perrin Homestead, which dates back to the 1860s, would preserve part of the Northeast Side’s history for public educational purposes.
Plus, the restored homestead would tie into area green spaces such as Lady Bird Johnson Park.
“We didn’t expect it to get de-funded last night, so we were scrambling today,” Whittington added.
After they surveyed the UTSA athletics complex during a bus tour Dec. 3, some committee members said improvements there must be fully funded.
District 8 member Marc Harrison said having an upgraded facility would help UTSA lure more sports events and support its quest for Tier One status.
District 3’s Joanie Barborak urged the committee to consider UTSA and its athletics program as economic generators for San Antonio.
“I’m all for history, but your have to think of the greater good,” she added.
The committee voted 14-10 against the proposal with three abstentions.
The committee nearly unanimously approved a follow-up motion to place the Perrin Homestead on a priority reserve list, which the City Council and staff could consider later if money becomes available within the bond.
Three other improvement projects — Forest Hills and Las Palmas libraries, and the Central Library’s Texana/geneaology department — also made the reserve list.
In its last meeting Nov. 15, the committee approved a handful of funding modifications. One redirected $735,000 from Alamo Plaza to improve parts of Market Square.
Another vote split the $6 million recommendation for Wheatley Heights Community Center, with $3 million being split to create the ZerNona Black and Greater Love community centers, both on the Eastside.
Outside of making the reserve list to possibly get additional funding, the Texana/geneaology project did received a $700,000 infusion from Alamo Plaza on Tuesday. That proposal, from the District 6 contingent, passed by a 2-vote margin.
“I’m a big believer in Texana,” said District 1 member Andi Rodriguez. “This would be a good use of those funds.”
Mike Frisbie, director of the City’s Transportation and Capital Improvements Department, said the Alamo Plaza decrease would not adversely affect that overall improvement project.
The committee’s final facility improvements package includes other notable projects, such as a Center City police substation and park police headquarters ($20 million), a District 9 constituent services/senior center ($13.2 million) and a replacement for Fire Station No. 24 in the Austin Highway area ($10 million).
Before and after the two-hour meeting, committee Co-Chairs Joe Linson and John Clamp praised their fellow members for working through occasionally tough decisions.
The proposed UTSA funding cut, especially, briefly involved some members talking over each other and trying to offer counter motions.
“I want to thank all of you. Although it got a little exciting, I think you understand how the public process works,” Clamp said.
Linson encouraged committee members to talk with their respective City Council representatives about their district projects.
“We made sure we listened to our citizens, too. I think it’s been a very fair process,” Linson added.
Next up, the Neighborhood Improvements Bond Committee will finalize its recommendations 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, at the Central Library.Photo: AP
In recent days, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office has been flooded with complaints of price-gouging, following the wrath of Hurricane Harvey—hotels tripling rates, $99 for a case of water, and fuel as costly as $10 per gallon. On Monday, that already-high price for gas was bested by a Houston convenience store that, according to the AG’s office, was selling fuel at $20 per gallon.
Advertisement
The AG’s office has currently received about 600 complaints in total, a spokesperson told Jalopnik. The AG’s office learned about the Houston convenience store on Monday afternoon and confirmed the price of fuel being offered was indeed a sky-high $20 per gallon.
“That convenience store was reported to us in a complaint—we’re tracking all complaints as they come in and following up with persons/businesses involved in price gouging and scams as quickly as we can, and in person if possible,” the spokesperson, Kayleigh Lovvorn, said.
More complaints are anticipated, and the gas station has since been ordered to lower the cost, Lovvorn said.
Advertisement
Once a disaster has been declared by the Texas governor, the AG’s office has the authority to prosecute any business that engages in price gouging of goods, including fuel, food and medicine. Paxton told CNBC in an interview that fines for price-gouging in Texas can range from $20,000 per occurrence, or up to $250,000 if a victim is at least 65-years-old.
“These are things you can’t do in Texas,” Paxton said in the interview. “There are significant penalties if you price gouge in a crisis like this.”
The AG’s office encourages individuals who believe goods are being charged at an unfairly high price to first raise the issue directly with the business. If the matter isn’t resolved, a complaint can be filed directly with the office.Hundreds of farmworkers, consumers, students and protesters came together Saturday against Wendy's in their treatment of farmworkers.
Hundreds of farmworkers, consumers, students and protesters came together Saturday against Wendy's in their treatment of farmworkers.
Large crowds took to the streets along Okeechobee Boulevard to the town of Palm Beach where Wendy's CEO Nelson Peltz has a vacation home.
Protesters are demanding Wendy's respect farmworkers' human rights by joining the Fair Food Program - a unique partnership among farmers, farmworkers, and retail food companies that ensures humane wages and working conditions for the workers who pick fruits and vegetables on participating farms.
They are also requesting the company pay an extra penny-per-pound to their tomato growers to supplement field worker wages in seven states, including Florida.
The coalition is calling for a national boycott, claiming that Wendy's shifted its purchases to Mexico, favored public relations over basic human rights and profited from farmworker poverty.
The march is the final act in a 10-day tour for the boycott, where workers visited the CEO Peltz NYC office, Wendy's headquarters in Ohio, and universities held active student boycotts in Kentucky and Florida.
Related Article: Large crowds march, in boycott of Wendy's, towards CEO's vaca home on Palm BeachDemocracy is in “crisis,” with fascist dictatorships and mafia-type states on the rise, a situation that won’t be alleviated by President-elect Donald Trump.
That’s the warning from billionaire investor George Soros in a Project Syndicate opinion piece penned in late December.
The reason the world has found itself in this situation is that leaders have failed their electorates, with a significant proportion of the latter having reached the conclusion that “elites had stolen their democracy,” Soros said, adding that the phenomenon has played out over 2016 through events such as Brexit and, of course, the U.S. presidential election.
Opinion: Donald Trump is on the wrong side of almost every issue voters care about
The 86-year-old, Hungarian-born Soros has made no secret of the fact he was not on the Trump train. He reportedly gathered big-money liberals in Washington for a three-day November conference covering such subjects as resisting Trump’s 100-day plan and getting more Democrats elected in 2017 and 2018.
‘Democracy is now in crisis. Even the U.S., the world’s leading democracy, elected a con artist and would-be dictator as its president.’ George Soros
The result of the U.S. presidential election means the country will spend more time dealing with internal conflicts, with minorities most at risk, than performing the traditional function of promoting democracy around the world, Soros warned.
Democracy will “prove resilient” in the U.S., but Trump “will have greater affinity with dictators,” who will be allowed to carry on without any interference as the new president will prefer “making deals [to] defending principles,” said Soros.
Soros repeated fears that the European Union, which has suffered blows from the U.K.’s Brexit vote and a rejection of constitutional reforms by Italian voters in 2016, is increasingly vulnerable. And he reiterated a concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin was seeking a growing influence over Europe.
Read: Smooth transition? Trump and Obama trade barbs as tensions grow
He warned that if Russia’s leader exploits “misinformation and fake news” to influence big European elections next year, as he is believed to have done in the U.S. election, then the EU will be in trouble.
Key Words: Lindsey Graham says 99 of 100 senators think Russia hackers targeted U.S. election
“In France, the two leading contenders are close to Putin and eager to appease him. If either wins, Putin’s dominance of Europe will become a fait accompli,” said Soros.
This Key Words item was initially published Dec. 30, 2016.
Read the complete Soros column at the Project Syndicate site.
Want news about Europe delivered to your inbox? Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Europe Daily newsletter. Sign up here.Join us at The Rio April 28th for Queer History Night:
Screening “In particular, barbara findlay”
Visit the history of this Canadian social justice progress through the remarkable lives of human rights lawyer barbara findlay Q.C. and the army of queer activists who challenged and changed the laws of this country. Meet Kimberly Nixon, the Transactivist pioneer, and 13-year-old Tru Wilson who compelled the Catholic school board to change their policies. Meet members of December 9th coalition such as Sadie Keuhn and Craig Maynard, the groundbreaking group of activists who worked to establish rights within institutional structures. Hear Métis writer Joanne Arnott explain how activists ran unlearning oppression workshops in order to be more effective in their own causes. Meet Sandy Leo Laframoise and Deborah Brady, founders of the High Risk Society – a drop-in centre for transgender sex workers who were HIV positive, who connected with barb through the Trans Reform Project, which laid the groundwork for which laws needed to be changed. Hear from elder Jeannette Piry, who navigated the health system’s homophobia as her partner of 50 years was dying. And from Sheila (barbara’s parter of 25 years, author of Still Sane) who gave voice to the experience of so many lesbians at the time: the story of being locked up in a mental hospital when she asked her university student health counselor for help in coming out.
Directed by Becca Plucer, this documentary is a vivid and compelling look at how much queer lives have changed over the past 30 years. “In particular, babara findlay” was made with funding from OUTtv and is part of theOutspoken Biographies series. More information can be found at outtv.ca.
After the screening there will be a chance to talk with many of the film’s participants in person.
Doors 6:30pm | Show at 7:00 pm
Q & A hosted by barb All Ages welcome in the balcony, +19 with 2 pieces of ID to access main floor & full bar service. $10 but no one will be turned away due to lack of funds.
Advanced tickets available online by clicking HERE
**Groupons and passes not accepted for this screening
Accessibility update:
The results of a disability audit of the Rio can be found here:https://drive.google.com/folderview…
There will be ASL interpreters for the movie and the discussion by professional interpreters. There will also be reserved seating to view the ASL interpretation.
Broadway Sushi, next door to the Rio, has agreed to welcome folks from the event who want to access their washroom, which is accessible to folks with mobility devices.
Please let us know if you have any accessibility or monetary barriers to attending. We would like to make it possible for anyone who would like to attend.
This event takes place on the ancestral, traditional, and unceded homelands of the Musqueam, Skxwú7mesh, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. As we organize, we also remember the historical and ongoing colonial genocide against Indigenous peoples that make it possible for us to be here as settlers.Once we talked about the great Australian dream. Now it's something meaner: "getting ahead". The great Australian dream meant owning your own home. "Getting ahead" means getting ahead of someone else. It's how Treasurer Scott Morrison sees the Australian dream.
"I think it is great in this country that people want to aspire to do better and provide for their kids, so I don't judge people for actually wanting to get ahead," the treasurer told radio host Neil Mitchell a few weeks back. "That's what this country is about."
It's certainly what negative gearing is about. "The vast bulk of Australians who use negative gearing are just trying to get ahead and trying to get their family in a better position," Morrison says. But negative gearing only gets them ahead if prices climb. The more that people negatively gear in order to get ahead, the more prices climb. The further they climb, the harder houses become to buy. And the harder they become to buy, the more the Australian dream recedes.
This is what has happened. Back before the explosion of negative gearing around the turn of the century, 52 per cent of Australians aged in their mid-20s to mid-30s actually owned their home. At the most recent census in 2011 it was 47 per cent. Before the turn of the century, 70 per cent of Australians aged in their mid-30s to mid-40s owned their own home. It's now 64 per cent.Anisotropic filtering can give great visual quality for rendered objects that are not parallel to the front plane of the camera. In OpenGL it is one of the easiest extension to use.
When creating a texture just write:
float an = 0.0f; if (is supported EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic()) { glGetFloatv(GL_MAX_TEXTURE_MAX_ANISOTROPY_EXT, &aniso); } // and when creating texture: glBindTexture(...) //.. set params... glTexParameterf(GL_TEXTURE_2D, GL_TEXTURE_MAX_ANISOTROPY_EXT, an);
Value 1.0 for anisotropic filtering basically means isotropic (normal) filtering. Higher the value better the quality. The implementation is specific to the vendor. So we cannot guarantee that value 4.0 will look the same on different GPUs.
Here is a quick comparison:
linear & mipmap
linear & mipmap & anisotropic 16x
See www.arcsynthesis.org for a great tutorial about anisotropic filtering.
Link to the spec:EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic.txt
that to get maximum filtering quality usefiltering for magnification, andfor minification.I don't know how much performance do I lose using that filtering, but in this sample the quality has the bigger priority.Roads, Riots, and Rabble-rousing: the World’s Largest Election
Each time we turn the corner onto a different street in Ahmedabad, Gujarat’s largest city, my grandmother taps me on the shoulder. “Modi paved this road,” she says, every time. We were returning from a week in Mumbai, where we trundled through hours of traffic to relatives’ homes all over the city. My grandmother sat on a stack of pillows to ease the bounce and lurch of three-hour drives over what felt like an endless field of potholes. In Gujarat, the pillows were gone. The roads are smooth and semi-orderly. In Mumbai and Delhi, traffic lights serve as tragicomic street decoration, a reminder of a near-complete lack of order. In Ahmedabad, uniformed policemen with handlebar mustaches patrol intersections during rush hour. Buses travel in dedicated lanes.
My family attributed the difference to a single hometown hero: Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate. His party is poised to win the world’s largest electoral contest, India’s sixteenth elections for the Lok Sabha (the lower house of parliament). Voting occurs in nine phases from April 7 to May 12, with over 800 million people are eligible to vote. And there isn’t a simple binary choice between parties like in the United States. 370 parties, many local and regional, are backing 3,305 candidates. Only three parties are serious contenders, though. Aside from the BJP, the perpetual, incumbent Congress Party and upstart, populist Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have the opportunity to shape the Lok Sabha and serve at the head of a ruling coalition.
Modi’s BJP and Rahul Gandhi’s Congress Party stand across the aisle from one another. The BJP is a center-right nationalist party with visions of spreading Gujarat’s neoliberal model across India. Modi and the BJP’s Gujarat model is seen as a viable path to reinvigorating India’s stagnating economy.
However, the party needs to think more critically about its long-term vision for a productive, independent India. Congress’ fecklessness and inertia aren’t bringing India anywhere anytime soon. The AAP is too young to create a practical and holistic vision. But the BJP’s appeals to age-old religious rancor will do nothing to strengthen the world’s largest democracy and ensure that it keeps moving forward.
Both the party and Modi himself have a distinctly uncomfortable relationship with pluralism and India’s Muslim-minority population. Gujarat has been rocked by sectarian riots and clashes since its inception. In 2002, one year after Modi came to power, a train filled with Hindu pilgrims was burned. Vicious anti-Muslim riots spread throughout Gujarat in response. Countless groups, including Human Rights Watch, accused Modi and the police of taking paltry action and even condoning the attacks. A “Special Investigation Team” convened by the Supreme Court of India cleared Modi of any responsibility in 2009, but serious worries linger. In Gujarat, the party attempted to block scholarship funds for persecuted communities, including Muslims. The BJP also roused Hindu nationalist support by refusing to fund restoration of Islamic sites destroyed in the 2002 riots.
The incumbent Congress Party positions itself as a more generous and tolerant alternative. The party promises to maintain legal protections of Muslim groups and actively fight against sectarian conflict. It has further pluralist credentials: Congress put the first Sikh, current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in India’s highest office. The party has its pre-independence origins in inclusive secularism, and has no fear of stoking fears of religious strife under BJP rule. The AAP has also tried to hop on the communal bandwagon.
These progressive commitments, however, don’t come with a track record of success. Congress pledges to kickstart India’s slowing growth, but has shown little momentum in its incumbency and is beleaguered by endless corruption scandals. The party is also closely tied to the Gandhi and Nehru family, who have ruled India off and on since Independence. Congress has a reputation for being corrupt and directionless. Many see Manmohan Singh as little more than a complacent pawn of party leadership.
Corruption and inaction is undeniably a critical issue at the heart of Indian politics. According to Transparency International, over one third of Indians paid a bribe to obtain a basic public service in 2008. Decreased corruption would make India a better place to do business for those at all levels of the food chain. Arvind Kejriwal, the former Chief Minister of Delhi and a recent arrival on the national scene, offers an unequivocal, ideologically-blind commitment to the “common man” that could well help overcome partisan rancor between Congress and BJP. India has a burgeoning middle class, but that isn’t a reason to stop expanding wealth. A state study in 2007 found that India had over 800 million citizens living on less than 50 cents a day. Passive, corrupt elite leadership won’t create an India that creates growth for every citizen.
In December 2013, Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party didn’t hold a single major office in India. Now, the party is in place to topple the two traditional pillars of subcontinental politics. They offer a vision of an inclusive, grassroots India that looks beyond traditional centers of power.
From Out of Nowhere: the Rise of the AAP
My uncle grumbles and complained while we were watching TV in his Mumbai flat in January. “Who the hell is Kejriwal?” Many throughout India were no doubt wondering the same thing. He motions towards a short, bespectacled and sweater-wearing man ecstatically waving a broom in front of a screaming crowd of supporters. Arvind Kejriwal looks more like a librarian than populist firebrand and Chief Minister of Delhi. Kejriwal served only 2 months in office before declaring his intent to run for Prime Minister. He is both founder and figurehead for the Aam Aadmi (“Common Man”) Party (AAP).
The movement and party attempt to exist outside of the traditional political spectrum. The party has the soul of the Occupy movement coupled with the populist suspicion and morality of the Tea Party. Supporters want India to erase what they see as the primary barrier to serious progress: domination by a neglectful political elite. The AAP wants to decentralize and eliminate corruption by whatever means necessary. To Kejriwal, neither side has all the right answers. “If we find our solution in the left we are happy to borrow it from there,” he says. “If we find our solution in the right, we are happy to borrow it from there.”
This decentralization has been a sticking point for the traditional figures of authority. Congress cabinet member Jairam Ramesh snubbed AAP as “not a party… [but] a platform.” Ramesh echoes a shared sentiment. The AAP may have what it takes to stir passions and anger, but it may also lack capacity for leadership. India needs bold vision, yes, but bold vision that can be backed up with tangible results.
The BJP’s Path Forward
The Congress Party has exhausted their mandate. Lingering corruption and lack of vision make them an untenable choice to lead India’s next few years. Modi’s BJP will wake India from its economic slumber, whereas Congress is looking to maintain a bloated bureaucracy by promising to preserve India’s expansive and expensive public sector. That isn’t to say that the BJP is looking to make heartless cuts. Both parties promise to continue extensive subsidies of housing and healthcare.
The BJP is also interested in building a sustainable economy that can carry India forward. Modi wants to chart Gujarat’s path to development throughout the nation through extensive developments in infrastructure and technology. The Gujarati state-run Green Revolution Company has introduced new irrigation techniques and genetically modified crops, increasing cotton production by 200 percent since 2000. The irrigation improvements are powered in part by Narmada River dam projects, which have helped make the state one of the few energy surplus states. Gujarat has also maintained above 10 percent growth since 2000. And the Congress response? Rahul Gandhi had nothing to say but snide remarks about Modi’s popularity.
The Congress Party leadership’s shortsightedness extends to foreign policy. Their platform speaks of maintaining India’s place at the heart of the Non-Aligned Movement, and looking for peaceful solutions in Kashmir. Yet Pakistan continues to send militants into the disputed region. The BJP has long looked to strengthen India’s border with Pakistan and prevent the neighboring nation’s tumultuous politics from spilling over the border. The BJP is wise to do so: recent American revelations about Pakistan’s collusion with terrorists demonstrate the dangers of negotiating with a state often controlled by extremist elements. The party should look, however, to make these concerns about India’s security instead of Hindu national pride. Religious division will neither help the BJP’s commitment to economic growth nor ensure a robust and stable political future for the region.
Perhaps the BJP can take a page from the AAP’s playbook and engage more substantively in dialogue with all Indians, not just its Hindu base. They could even incorporate AAP leaders into their ruling coalition, although this unfortunately seems unlikely. The Indian nation has much to be excited about. India deserves leadership that can look forward, make big promises, and deliver. The BJP is the only party ready to take on that challenge.
My great-great-aunt can barely leave her bed in Ahmedabad’s Maninagar neighborhood. She has lived there since the 1940s. It’s one of the few neighborhoods with both minarets and mandirs. When my grandmother and I arrive, she gets up and walks to the road with the help of the whole family. My grandmother playfully scolds her for taking the risk of getting out of bed. She pulls out a bottle of pills from her sari and then points to a BJP flag across the street. “Modi gave me these. And now I’m here.”
Image credit: Manipal World News, CNN.Animal cruelty charge against greyhound trainer Ray Gatti dropped, plans to fight 10-year ban next
Posted
A Queensland man charged with animal cruelty over the greyhound live baiting scandal has had his charge dropped.
Veteran trainer Ray Gatti was on a Churchable property, north-west of Ipswich, last year when surveillance cameras recorded numerous incidents of live baiting.
He was subsequently charged with one count of serious animal cruelty, however he was cleared yesterday due to lack of evidence.
The 91-year-old has always maintained he did not witness any live baiting and was never involved in the practice.
"I don't know why, they had no reason to charge me with that but they did and that was it, I just happened to be there at the place that it was happening," he said.
Mr Gatti still has a ten-year Racing Queensland ban hanging over him, which he said he would be fighting at the Queensland Civil and Administration Tribunal.
"I'm not the only one that got a ten-year ban for nothing. I know blokes that were at the track and never even had a dog," he said.
"How could they get barred because they saw it, they said, but I don't know whether they saw it or not because I didn't."
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, churchable-4311, toowoomba-4350Some fresh dribbles of chatter from the NBA's coaching and personnel grapevines:
Phil Jackson is obviously taking him time weighing overtures from the Toronto Raptors and the other interested (but still unidentified) teams that have reached out to him pitching jobs that, in Phil's words, where "none of it involves coaching."
One factor to explain that uber-patient approach emerged Friday night, when a source close to the situation acknowledged that Jackson wants to wait until the Seattle group trying to buy the Sacramento Kings is completely ruled out as an option before giving serious thought to where to work next season.
ESPN.com reported recently that Jackson has "hit it off" with Chris Hansen, who leads the Seattle consortium that on Friday upped the valuation of its offer to buy the Kings to $625 million. It has been widely presumed in front-office circles that Hansen wants to install Jackson as the team president of the new Sonics if they can successful complete the purchase of the Kings they've been chasing since January.
The recent recommendation from a group of 12 owners to reject the Seattle deal appeared to put a halt to the Jackson-to-Seattle speculation, but Hansen and Co. refuse to surrender. The league has called for a full meeting of its Board of Governors on Wednesday in Dallas.
The Raptors, according to sources close to the situation, continue to pursue Jackson and continue to believe they have a shot to lure him to Canada as team president because of Jackson's longstanding relationship with new Toronto pro sports impresario Tim Leiweke.
The Raps, though, still have yet to announce a decision on the fate of current team president Bryan Colangelo after Colangelo made a presentation to the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment board Tuesday to urge his bosses to pick up the 2013-14 option on his contract. One source briefed on the process expects Colangelo's fate to be formally announced this week in advance of the annual Chicago pre-draft camp.
The list of known candidates for the Pistons' coaching vacancy, currently at four, appears poised to swell to five.
Sources say that Knicks assistant coach Darrell Walker will soon get an interview for the position vacated by Lawrence Frank.
The Pistons have already interviewed the available Nate McMillan, Suns interim coach Lindsey Hunter, Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer and Rockets assistant J.B. Bickerstaff.Rickenbacker Causeway on Virginia Key may get more bike friendly
Advertisement
Written by John Charles Robbins on May 3, 2016
A plan to turn parts of the Rickenbacker Causeway on Virginia Key into a state-of-the-art bike and pedestrian path and parkway has been upgraded.
From Miami architect Bernard Zyscovich comes Plan Z 2.0, and he’s hitting the road with the redesign for new vows of support from elected leaders in the area.
The Key Biscayne Village Council is expected to be the first to see the upgraded plan this month, according to Aymee Zubizarreta, a consultant to Mr. Zyscovich.
Plan Z for Miami would transform a single purpose infrastructure – Rickenbacker Causeway – into a multimodal recreational asset, Rickenbacker Park.
The plan basically calls for turning the causeway into a “scenic road through a park.”
The Rickenbacker Causeway has long been popular with bicyclists as it has scenic views of Biscayne Bay and the City of Miami skyline. But heavy traffic endangers cyclists and pedestrians.
Mr. Zyscovich, a cycling enthusiast, is advancing the plan to try and make a safe and secure park out of what today is a busy highway. Cyclists have been injured and killed on the causeway, prompting Mr. Zyscovich to call together his team and begin assembling the pieces that will become Plan Z.
The proposal calls for reducing vehicular lanes on the causeway, from the mainland to the entrance of the Key Biscayne, from three to two and using the newly liberated space for a bicycle and pedestrian path.
The plan received the backing of city and county officials last summer. The City of Miami owns the bulk of Virginia Key, while the county has jurisdiction over the roadway and causeway.
The initial plan was met with some concerns on the part of Key Biscayne officials, said Ms. Zubizarreta, “because this is their driveway home.”
Concerns were expressed about the Powell Bridge and Bear Cut Bridge.
“Like everything in life, they are reaching their level of maturity and these bridges will need to be replaced at some point,” she said.
In December, Mr. Zyscovich was challenged by Key Biscayne leaders to “look at everything from a bigger picture” and design Plan Z as if money were no object, Ms. Zubizarreta said.
Over the holidays, Plan Z 2.0 was born.
The new, bigger and bolder plan would connect to The Underline via Vizcaya’s transit station and the City of Miami’s Alice Wainwright Park.
“The new design that Bernard conceived now also includes a new signature entrance that serves as a skybridge for cyclists and runners who choose to enter the Rickenbacker Causeway either from the north – Downtown Miami or Brickell – or the south… and a running/cycling path along the seawall at Alice Wainwright Park,” said Ms. Zubizarreta.
The Underline is a plan backed by the county to transform about 10 miles of land under Metrorail’s elevated tracks into an urban linear park and pathway.
Plan Z 2.0 also includes an iconic observation deck for cyclists and runners on the William Powell Bridge, as well as nearly 20 acres of identified green space for recreational use along a stretch of the Rickenbacker Causeway, Ms. Zubizarreta said.
Mr. Zyscovich has the support of county Mayor Carlos Gimenez for the updated plan, and Bruce Matheson, spokesperson for the Matheson Family, is backing the proposal, she said.
Mr. Zyscovich is also planning to presented the redesign to the City of Miami.
Miami-Dade County recently applied for a grant to help complete Plan Z’s pilot project, which calls for painting the entire existing bike path green and adding reflectors, from the entrance to the causeway to Bear Cut Bridge. At present, the green bike path appears only in select spots such as conflict zones and then after Bear Cut Bridge as riders approach Key Biscayne.
Ms. Zubizarreta said the Florida Department of Transportation says Rickenbacker is the most utilized corridor in the entire state for cycling and running.
That fact may help Mr. Zyscovich as he works to garner funding for the project.The Obama administration wants to strangle job growth in America like some kind of giant, prosperity-choking python, mostly by banning the importation of said pythons, says a new GOP report.
In a new report entitled "Broken Government: How the Administrative State has Broken President Obama's Promise of Regulatory Reform," GOP members cited the proposed snake ban as one of seven examples of red tape choking off job growth in an already ailing economy.
After all, the snake-importation industry bears the U.S. economy on its shoulders. As go snake importers, so goes the country, right? Everyone knows that.
Here's the irony: on the same day the GOP objections to restrictions on snake transport came to light, along comes a reminder of why it's probably not a good idea to allow the pet trade to ship invasives willy-nilly all over the country:
There are now more invasive species of reptiles and amphibians in the state of Florida alone than any other place on earth. The grand total: 137 different invasive species, including the Burmese Pythons that the GOP would like to see scattered to the four corners of the lower 48.
By definition, invasives are animals "whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health."
But the GOP had no less than a snake breeder touting their cause at the hearing! Which is funny, because breeders and the pet trade are exactly how the overwhelming majority of those snakes, lizards and amphibians ended up in Florida in the first place. Oh yes, it’s not just pythons. There’s also been an invasion of monitor lizards in suburban West Florida, not to mention a |
might have found that what he took as comity and friendship on the part of slaves partly reflected self-interest among slaves to conceal their true, more conflicted feelings. For example, Booker T. Washington confirmed that slaves on the small farm where he lived vied with one another to care for their owner’s sons when the boys returned home with combat wounds. They also buried the white family’s silver to protect it from Yankees and stood ready to defend that family against assault, but they privately rejoiced at each Northern victory.
Related Disunion Highlights Explore multimedia from the series and navigate through past posts, as well as photos and articles from the Times archive. See the Highlights »
Fremantle was likewise impressed with the quality of Confederate soldiers. In Tennessee he met Col. George Grenfell, a British expatriate who had joined Gen. John Hunt Morgan’s cavalry raiders. Grenfell explained the qualities required of Confederate military leaders. “The only way in which an officer could acquire influence over the Confederate soldier was by his personal conduct under fire … Every atom of authority has to be purchased by a drop of your blood.”
Above all, Fremantle was awestruck by Robert E. Lee. Fremantle admired how Lee required his soldiers to respect private property after crossing the Potomac River. “To anyone who has seen, as I have, the ravages of Northern troops in Southern towns, this forbearance seems most commendable and surprising,” he wrote. Lee, he said, was “a perfect gentleman in every respect … I believe he has never slept in a house since he has commanded the Virginia army … His only faults … arise from his excessive amiability.”
When Lee lost at Gettysburg with the bloody repulse of the 13,000-man assault known as Pickett’s Charge, Fremantle considered the general’s conduct in meeting survivors as “perfectly sublime”:
His face … did not show signs of the slightest disappointment … and he was addressing to every soldier he met a few words of encouragement, such as, ‘All this will come right in the end; we’ll talk it over afterwards, but in the meantime, all good men must rally.’
A few days later Fremantle crossed enemy lines in order to reach New York to catch a ship for Britain. Although he encountered some difficulties convincing the Federals he was not a spy, his diary records, “The only Federal officers I [came] in contact with were gentlemen.” After arriving in Philadelphia and New York, he was struck by the contrasting prosperity of the North. “The streets are … crowded with able-bodied civilians capable of bearing arms, who have evidently no intention of doing so. They apparently don’t feel the war at all here.” He witnessed the New York draft riots and wrote, “No colored man or woman was visible or safe in the streets or even in his own dwelling.”
Partly because the outcome remained contested during the midpoint of the war when he visited, Fremantle overestimated the prospects for a rebel victory. But he correctly identified the keystone that when knocked from its position led to a Confederate collapse: once the letters from those hard-eyed women at home became hopeless, the soldiers deserted.
Follow Disunion at twitter.com/NYTcivilwar or join us on Facebook.
Sources: Bruce Levine, “Confederate Emancipation”; Emory Thomas, “The Confederate Nation”; Ludwell Johnson, “North Against South”; Bell Irvin Wiley, “Southern Negroes”; Eugene D. Genovese, “Roll, Jordan, Roll”; James McPherson, “Battle Cry of Freedom.”
Phil Leigh is an independent Civil War historian and author. He is writing a book about wartime intersectional trade between North and South, “Trading With the Enemy.”Ever since I got a Brawlhalla account, I have resolved not to vraxxinate. Vraxxines contain toxic chemicals like ssig and dsig, and the recent addition of skins has caused an epidemic of spam. Vraxxines are a disease and should never be administered to an account, as they can infect it for a fatal amount of time. I have two Brawlhalla accounts, levels 67 and 39, and i am proud to say that i have not gotten either vraxxinated. They are still fine, one is a platinum ragnir, one is a gold val, and they both play honorably. Low level accounts can't handle so many vraxxines, and they shouldn't even allow vraxxines in our great nation of US-E. I am firmly against vraxxines, and will stay a believer till I quit Brawlhalla.You’ve seen Home Alone. Now watch Home Alone… WITH BLOOD.
They’re warm, cheerful, and family-friendly, but there’s no denying that the Home Alone films… they’re pretty goddamn brutal. The pain and torture that little Kevin inflicts on Harry and Marv is often so extreme (though deserved, of course) that it’s not hard to imagine Kevin growing up to become Jigsaw or maybe that masked dude from The Collector, and I’m pretty damn certain that if movies were real life, well, let’s just say Harry and Marv would’ve died a long time ago.
Of course, I’m not the first person to make this observation, but YouTube user BitMassive damn sure is the first to actually add the blood and gore that would’ve been present in the Home Alone films if they weren’t family-friendly fare. The creative fan has been digitally adding blood and gruesome effects to key scenes from Home Alone and Home Alone 2, and though he’s only got two uploaded at the time of writing this post, we just had to share the incredibly cool project with you guys. And we encourage you to follow BitMassive, cause we’re pretty sure more are coming.
Poor Harry. Poor Marv.The CDC has just released its latest update on influenza activity in the United States, and the picture it paints is not pretty. First things first: GET VACCINATED. You're over six months old? Get vaccinated. Someone you interact with on a regular basis is at high risk of flu complications (i.e. young, old, pregnant, immunocompromised, etc.)? Get vaccinated. This year's virus has arrived early, it's arrived with a vengeance, and it has health officials across the country bracing themselves for what could be the worst flu season in a decade. It is not — we repeat: not — fucking around.
Flu: What Is It?
Influenza is an infectious, airborne RNA-virus that tends to spread expeditiously during yearly outbreaks, commonly dubbed "flu season". It turns you into a coughing, sneezing, aching, squirting, energy-sapped shiver-mobile, and it's basically the worst.
Advertisement
When Is Flu Season?
Flu season hits during winter, which means it actually occurs twice every year (once in the Northern Hemisphere and again in the Southern). According to the CDC, flu season in the Northern Hemisphere generally runs from October through May, ramping up in late January and peaking by around February.
But this year, the disease has punched in ahead of schedule. "It's about five weeks ahead of the average flu season," said Lyn Finelli, who monitors influenza for the CDC. "We haven't seen such an early season since 2003 to 2004." What's so bad about this year's flu season?
Advertisement
A Few Things
To reiterate: this year's season rang early. In a way, this shit kind of snuck up on us. In the CDC's first report of the season, it indicated that flu activity was low, which may have lulled people into a false sense of security and kept them from lining up for their seasonal flu vaccinations. Generally speaking, the sooner you get vaccinated the better. When a flu season hits earlier than usual, it stands to reason that it will also hit harder by catching unvaccinated populations flat-footed.
And That's Exactly What's Happening
This year's flu season is accelerating, and its peak is nowhere in sight. According to figures just released by the CDC, at least 47 states are reporting widespread flu outbreaks, over 2,250 people have been hospitalized, and 21 children have died.
The CDC's outpatient surveillance estimates indicate that 4.3% of Americans are reporting flu-like symptoms during doctor visits. That's almost double the 2.2% national baseline, and well above the 2.3% peak of last year's flu season.
Advertisement
But the CDC's Stats Are Only So Current
According to Google's Flu Trends — which, by monitoring search terms, can detect outbreaks nearly two weeks ahead of CDC reports — things are even worse than the CDC's data would indicate. Slate's Will Oremus provides a tidy analysis of Flu Trend's figures:
Flu Trends is painting a foreboding picture. On a global scale of green (minimal flu activity) to bright red (intense flu activity), the United States is the reddest country in the world [a screen shot of the map, taken at 10:55 ET, is included above]. Zoom in, and the red stretches are almost unbroken across the country's eastern two-thirds. (Hang in there, Connecticut!) Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Houston and Denver are among a slew of cities tagged with the "intense" rating. But the really ominous chart is the one that shows the trend line for the nation as a whole [screen shot of the trend line, captured at 10:55 ET, included below]... if Google is right, the CDC's snapshot came just as the outbreak was gaining steam. Since mid-December, the trend line has rocketed past that of all previous years and now towers over that of the October 2009 H1N1 pinnacle, suggesting a CDC outpatient surveillance figure of an unprecedented 8.9 percent.
Advertisement
To recap: this year's flu strain came early, is accelerating at a rapid pace, and if Google has its numbers straight (and deep down, we all know how much we trust Google), we're heading for wild, uncharted, flu-ridden territory. Oh, and by the way:
This Year's Flu Strain Is Particularly Nasty
"The timing of the season is unpredictable," explains Dr. Joseph Bresee, chief of the CDC's influenza division. "But this particular strain circulating leads to more severe disease with more deaths and hospitalizations." The strain in question is variant of swine flu dubbed influenza A (H3N2). Historically speaking, flu seasons dominated by H3N2 variants are particularly nasty.
Advertisement
And This Year, True to Form, H3N2 Is Taking a Formidable Toll
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino declared a public health emergency Wednesday, citing 700 confirmed cases of the flu and four flu-related deaths so far in Boston, alone. That's a 900% increase over last year's 70 confirmed cases.
New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley announced Thursday that the deadly flu strain has reached epidemic levels across the five boroughs.
Reuters reports that in North Carolina, "flu activity has been recorded at the highest levels in a decade."
Advertisement
Meanwhile, supplies of children's flu medication are dwindling.
So what do we do?
GET VACCINATED
"Anyone who has not already been vaccinated should do so now," Bresee says. He continues:
And it's important to remember that people who have severe influenza illness, or who are at high risk of serious influenza-related complications, should get treated with influenza antiviral medications if they get flu symptoms regardless of whether or not they got vaccinated. Also, you don't need to wait for a positive laboratory test to start taking antivirals.
Advertisement
Maps and charts via Google; woman with flu symptoms via shutterstockBehavioral economics studies the effects of psychological, cognitive, emotional, cultural and social factors on the economic decisions of individuals and institutions and how those decisions vary from those implied by classical theory.[1]
Behavioral economics is primarily concerned with the bounds of rationality of economic agents. Behavioral models typically integrate insights from psychology, neuroscience and microeconomic theory.[2][3] The study of behavioral economics includes how market decisions are made and the mechanisms that drive public choice. The three prevalent themes in behavioral economics are:
In 2002, psychologist Daniel Kahneman was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences "for having integrated insights from psychological research into economic science, especially concerning human judgment and decision-making under uncertainty".[5] In 2013, economist Robert J. Shiller received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences "for his empirical analysis of asset prices." (within the field of behavioral finance)[6] In 2017, economist Richard Thaler was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for "his contributions to behavioral economics and his pioneering work in establishing that people are predictably irrational in ways that defy economic theory."[7][8]
History [ edit ]
The Wealth of Nations (1776) and The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759). Adam Smith, author of(1776) and(1759).
During the classical period of economics, microeconomics was closely linked to psychology. For example, Adam Smith wrote The Theory of Moral Sentiments, which proposed psychological explanations of individual behavior, including concerns about fairness and justice.[9] Jeremy Bentham wrote extensively on the psychological underpinnings of utility. Then, during the development of neo-classical economics, economists sought to reshape the discipline as a natural science, deducing behavior from assumptions about the nature of economic agents. They developed the concept of homo economicus, whose behavior was fundamentally rational.
Neo-classical economists did incorporate psychological explanations: this was true of Francis Edgeworth, Vilfredo Pareto and Irving Fisher. Economic psychology emerged in the 20th century in the works of Gabriel Tarde,[10] George Katona,[11] and Laszlo Garai.[12] Expected utility and discounted utility models began to gain acceptance, generating testable hypotheses about decision-making given uncertainty and intertemporal consumption, respectively. Observed and repeatable anomalies eventually challenged those hypotheses, and further steps were taken by Maurice Allais, for example, in setting out the Allais paradox, a decision problem he first presented in 1953 that contradicts the expected utility hypothesis.
In the 1960s cognitive psychology began to shed more light on the brain as an information processing device (in contrast to behaviorist models). Psychologists in this field, such as Ward Edwards,[13] Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman began to compare their cognitive models of decision-making under risk and uncertainty to economic models of rational behavior. Mathematical psychology reflects a longstanding interest in preference transitivity and the measurement of utility.
Bounded rationality [ edit ]
Bounded rationality is the idea that when individuals make decisions, their rationality is limited by the tractability of the decision problem, their cognitive limitations and the time available. Decision-makers in this view act as satisficers, seeking a satisfactory solution rather than an optimal one. Herbert A. Simon proposed bounded rationality as an alternative basis for the mathematical modeling of decision-making. It complements "rationality as optimization", which views decision-making as a fully rational process of finding an optimal choice given the information available.[15] Simon used the analogy of a pair of scissors, where one blade represents human cognitive limitations and the other the "structures of the environment", illustrating how minds compensate for limited resources by exploiting known structural regularity in the environment.[15]
Bounded rationality implicates the idea that humans take shortcuts that may lead to suboptimal decision-making. Behavioral economists engage in mapping the decision shortcuts that agents use in order to help increase the effectiveness of human decision-making. One treatment of this idea comes from Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler's Nudge.[16][17] Sunstein and Thaler recommend that choice architectures are modified in light of human agents' bounded rationality. A widely cited proposal from Sunstein and Thaler urges that healthier food be placed at sight level in order to increase the likelihood that a person will opt for that choice instead of less healthy option. Some critics of Nudge have lodged attacks that modifying choice architectures will lead to people becoming worse decision-makers.[18][19]
Prospect theory [ edit ]
In 1979, Kahneman and Tversky published Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk, that used cognitive psychology to explain various divergences of economic decision making from neo-classical theory. Prospect theory has two stages: an editing stage and an evaluation stage.
In the editing stage, risky situations are simplified using various heuristics. In the evaluation phase, risky alternatives are evaluated using various psychological principles that include:
Reference dependence: When evaluating outcomes, the decision maker considers a "reference level". Outcomes are then compared to the reference point and classified as "gains" if greater than the reference point and "losses" if less than the reference point.
Loss aversion: Losses are avoided more than equivalent gains are sought. In their 1992 paper, Kahneman and Tversky found the median coefficient of loss aversion to be about 2.25, i.e., losses hurt about 2.25 times more than equivalent gains reward. [21]
Non-linear probability weighting: Decision makers overweight small probabilities and underweight large probabilities—this gives rise to the inverse-S shaped "probability weighting function".
Diminishing sensitivity to gains and losses: As the size of the gains and losses relative to the reference point increase in absolute value, the marginal effect on the decision maker's utility or satisfaction falls.
Prospect theory is able to explain everything that the two main existing decision theories—expected utility theory and rank dependent utility theory—can explain. Further, prospect theory has been used to explain phenomena that existing decision theories have great difficulty in explaining. These include backward bending labor supply curves, asymmetric price elasticities, tax evasion and co-movement of stock prices and consumption.
In 1992, in the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Kahneman and Tversky gave a revised account of prospect theory that they called cumulative prospect theory.[21] The new theory eliminated the editing phase in prospect theory and focused just on the evaluation phase. Its main feature was that it allowed for non-linear probability weighting in a cumulative manner, which was originally suggested in John Quiggin's rank-dependent utility theory.
Psychological traits such as overconfidence, projection bias, and the effects of limited attention are now part of the theory. Other developments include a conference at the University of Chicago, a special behavioral economics edition of the Quarterly Journal of Economics ("In Memory of Amos Tversky"), and Kahneman's 2002 Nobel Prize for having "integrated insights from psychological research into economic science, especially concerning human judgment and decision-making under uncertainty".[23]
Intertemporal choice [ edit ]
Behavioral economics has been applied to intertemporal choice. Intertemporal choice is defined as making a decision and having the effects of such decision happening in a different time. Intertemporal choice behavior is largely inconsistent, as exemplified by George Ainslie's hyperbolic discounting—one of the prominently studied observations—and further developed by David Laibson, Ted O'Donoghue and Matthew Rabin. Hyperbolic discounting describes the tendency to discount outcomes in the near future more than outcomes in the far future. This pattern of discounting is dynamically inconsistent (or time-inconsistent), and therefore inconsistent with basic models of rational choice, since the rate of discount between time t and t+1 will be low at time t-1 when t is the near future, but high at time t when t is the present and time t+1 is the near future.
This pattern can also be explained through models of sub-additive discounting that distinguish the delay and interval of discounting: people are less patient (per-time-unit) over shorter intervals regardless of when they occur.
Other areas of research [ edit ]
Other branches of behavioral economics enrich the model of the utility function without implying inconsistency in preferences. Ernst Fehr, Armin Falk, and Rabin studied fairness, inequity aversion and reciprocal altruism, weakening the neoclassical assumption of perfect selfishness. This work is particularly applicable to wage setting. The work on "intrinsic motivation by Gneezy and Rustichini and "identity" by Akerlof and Kranton assumes that agents derive utility from adopting personal and social norms in addition to conditional expected utility. According to Aggarwal, in addition to behavioral deviations from rational equilibrium, markets are also likely to suffer from lagged responses, search costs, externalities of the commons, and other frictions making it difficult to disentangle behavioral effects in market behavior.[24]
"Conditional expected utility" is a form of reasoning where the individual has an illusion of control, and calculates the probabilities of external events and hence their utility as a function of their own action, even when they have no causal ability to affect those external events.[25][26]
Behavioral economics caught on among the general public with the success of books such as Dan Ariely's Predictably Irrational. Practitioners of the discipline have studied quasi-public policy topics such as broadband mapping.[27][28]
Applications for behavioral economics include the modeling of the consumer decision-making process for applications in artificial intelligence and machine learning. The Silicon Valley-based start-up Singularities is using the AGM postulates proposed by Alchourrón, Gärdenfors, and Makinson—the formalization of the concepts of beliefs and change for rational entities—in a symbolic logic to create a "machine learning and deduction engine that uses the latest data science and big data algorithms in order to generate the content and conditional rules (counterfactuals) that capture customer's behaviors and beliefs".[29]
Applications of behavioral economics also exist in other disciplines, for example in the area of supply chain management.[30]
Natural experiments [ edit ]
From a biological point of view, human behaviors are essentially the same during crises accompanied by stock market crashes and during bubble growth when share prices exceed historic highs. During those periods, most market participants see something new for themselves, and this inevitably induces a stress response in them with accompanying changes in their endocrine profiles and motivations. The result is quantitative and qualitative changes in behavior. This is one example where behavior affecting economics and finance can be observed and variably-contrasted using behavioral economics.
Behavioral economics' usefulness applies beyond environments similar to stock exchanges. Selfish-reasoning, 'adult behaviors', and similar, can be identified within criminal-concealment(s), and legal-deficiencies and neglect of different types can be observed and discovered. Awareness of indirect consequence (or lack of), at least in potential with different experimental models and methods, can be used as well—behavioral economics' potential uses are broad, but its reliability needs scrutiny. Underestimation of the role of novelty as a stressor is the primary shortcoming of current approaches for market research. It is necessary to account for the biologically determined diphasisms of human behavior in everyday low-stress conditions and in response to stressors.[31]
Criticism [ edit ]
Critics of behavioral economics typically stress the rationality of economic agents.[32] They contend that experimentally observed behavior has limited application to market situations, as learning opportunities and competition ensure at least a close approximation of rational behavior.
Others note that cognitive theories, such as prospect theory, are models of decision making, not generalized economic behavior, and are only applicable to the sort of once-off decision problems presented to experiment participants or survey respondents.[citation needed]
A notable concern is that despite a great deal of rhetoric, no consistent behavioral theory has yet been espoused. Behavioral economists have proposed no unified theory. Until that happens, behavioral economics is a collection of observations.[citation needed]
David Gal has argued that many of these issues stem from behavioral economics being too concerned with understanding how behavior deviates from standard economic models rather than with understanding why people behave the way they do. Understanding why behavior occurs is necessary for the creation of generalizable knowledge, the goal of science. He has referred to behavioral economics as a "triumph of marketing" and particularly cited the example of loss aversion.[33]
Traditional economists are skeptical of the experimental and survey-based techniques that behavioral economics uses extensively. Economists typically stress revealed preferences over stated preferences (from surveys) in the determination of economic value. Experiments and surveys are at risk of systemic biases, strategic behavior and lack of incentive compatibility.[citation needed]
Responses [ edit ]
Matthew Rabin dismisses these criticisms, countering that consistent results typically are obtained in multiple situations and geographies and can produce good theoretical insight. Behavioral economists, however, responded to these criticisms by focusing on field studies rather than lab experiments. Some economists see a fundamental schism between experimental economics and behavioral economics, but prominent behavioral and experimental economists tend to share techniques and approaches in answering common questions. For example, behavioral economists are investigating neuroeconomics, which is entirely experimental and has not been verified in the field.[citation needed]
The epistemological, ontological, and methodological components of behavioral economics are increasingly debated, in particular by historians of economics and economic methodologists.[35]
According to some researchers,[31] when studying the mechanisms that form the basis of decision-making, especially financial decision-making, it is necessary to recognize that most decisions are made under stress[36] because, "Stress is the nonspecific body response to any demands presented to it."[37]
Applied issues [ edit ]
Nudge theory [ edit ]
Nudge is a concept in behavioral science, political theory and economics which proposes positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions as ways to influence the behavior and decision making of groups or individuals. Nudging contrasts with other ways to achieve compliance, such as education, legislation or enforcement. The concept has influenced British and American politicians. Several nudge units exist around the world at the national level (UK, Germany, Japan and others) as well as at the international level (OECD, World Bank, UN).
The first formulation of the term and associated principles was developed in cybernetics by James Wilk before 1995 and described by Brunel University academic D. J. Stewart as "the art of the nudge" (sometimes referred to as micronudges[38]). It also drew on methodological influences from clinical psychotherapy tracing back to Gregory Bateson, including contributions from Milton Erickson, Watzlawick, Weakland and Fisch, and Bill O'Hanlon.[39] In this variant, the nudge is a microtargetted design geared towards a specific group of people, irrespective of the scale of intended intervention.
In 2008, Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein's book Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness brought nudge theory to prominence. It also gained a following among US and UK politicians, in the private sector and in public health.[40] The authors refer to influencing behaviour without coercion as libertarian paternalism and the influencers as choice architects.[41] Thaler and Sunstein defined their concept as:
A nudge, as we will use the term, is any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people's behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives. To count as a mere nudge, the intervention must be easy and cheap to avoid. Nudges are not mandates. Putting fruit at eye level counts as a nudge. Banning junk food does not.
In this form, drawing on behavioral economics, the nudge is more generally applied to influence behaviour.
One of the most frequently cited examples of a nudge is the etching of the image of a housefly into the men's room urinals at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, which is intended to "improve the aim".[16]
Nudging techniques aim to use judgmental heuristics to our advantage. In other words, a nudge alters the environment so that when heuristic, or System 1, decision-making is used, the resulting choice will be the most positive or desired outcome.[42] An example of such a nudge is switching the placement of junk food in a store, so that fruit and other healthy options are located next to the cash register, while junk food is relocated to another part of the store.[43]
In 2008, the United States appointed Sunstein, who helped develop the theory, as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.[41][44][45]
Notable applications of nudge theory include the formation of the British Behavioural Insights Team in 2010. It is often called the "Nudge Unit", at the British Cabinet Office, headed by David Halpern.[46]
Both Prime Minister David Cameron and President Barack Obama sought to employ nudge theory to advance domestic policy goals during their terms.[47]
In Australia, the government of New South Wales established a Behavioural Insights community of practice.[48]
Nudge theory has also been applied to business management and corporate culture, such as in relation to health, safety and environment (HSE) and human resources. Regarding its application to HSE, one of the primary goals of nudge is to achieve a "zero accident culture".[49]
Leading Silicon Valley companies are forerunners in applying nudge theory in a corporate setting. These companies are using nudges in various forms to increase the productivity and happiness of employees. Recently, further companies are gaining interest in using what is called "nudge management" to improve the productivity of their white-collar workers.[50]
Behavioral insights and nudges are currently used in many countries around the world.[51]
Criticisms [ edit ]
Nudging has also been criticised. Tammy Boyce, from public health foundation The King's Fund, has said: "We need to move away from short-term, politically motivated initiatives such as the 'nudging people' idea, which is not based on any good evidence and doesn't help people make long-term behaviour changes."[52]
Cass Sunstein has responded to critiques at length in his The Ethics of Influence[53] making the case in favor of nudging against charges that nudges diminish autonomy,[54] threaten dignity, violate liberties, or reduce welfare. Ethicists have debated this rigorously.[55] These charges have been made by various participants in the debate from Bovens[56] to Goodwin.[57] Wilkinson for example charges nudges for being manipulative, while others such as Yeung question their scientific credibility.[58]
Some, such as Hausman & Welch[59] have inquired whether nudging should be permissible on grounds of (distributive[clarification needed]) justice; Lepenies & Malecka [60] have questioned whether nudges are compatible with the rule of law. Similarly, legal scholars have discussed the role of nudges and the law.[61][62]
Behavioral economists such as Bob Sugden have pointed out that the underlying normative benchmark of nudging is still homo economicus, despite the proponents' claim to the contrary.[63]
It has been remarked that nudging is also a euphemism for psychological manipulation as practiced in social engineering.[64][65]
There exists an anticipation and, simultaneously, implicit criticism of the nudge theory in works of Hungarian social psychologists who emphasize the active participation in the nudge of its target (Ferenc Merei),[66] Laszlo Garai[12]).
Behavioral finance [ edit ]
The central issue in behavioral finance is explaining why market participants make irrational systematic errors contrary to assumption of rational market participants.[1] Such errors affect prices and returns, creating market inefficiencies. The study of behavioral finance also investigates how other participants take advantage (arbitrage) of such errors and market inefficiencies.
Behavioral finance highlights inefficiencies, such as under- or over-reactions to information, as causes of market trends and, in extreme cases, of bubbles and crashes. Such reactions have been attributed to limited investor attention, overconfidence, overoptimism, mimicry (herding instinct) and noise trading. Technical analysts consider behavioral finance to be behavioral economics' "academic cousin" and the theoretical basis for technical analysis.
Other key observations include the asymmetry between decisions to acquire or keep resources, known as the "bird in the bush" paradox, and loss aversion, the unwillingness to let go of a valued possession. Loss aversion appears to manifest itself in investor behavior as a reluctance to sell shares or other equity if doing so would result in a nominal loss.[citation needed] It may also help explain why housing prices rarely/slowly decline to market clearing levels during periods of low demand.
Benartzi and Thaler, applying a version of prospect theory, claim to have solved the equity premium puzzle, something conventional finance models so far have been unable to do. Experimental finance applies the experimental method, e.g., creating an artificial market through some kind of simulation software to study people's decision-making process and behavior in financial markets.
Quantitative behavioral finance [ edit ]
Quantitative behavioral finance uses mathematical and statistical methodology to understand behavioral biases. In marketing research, a study shows little evidence that escalating biases impact marketing decisions.[69] Leading contributors include Gunduz Caginalp (Editor of the Journal of Behavioral Finance from 2001–04), and collaborators include 2002 Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith, David Porter, Don Balenovich,[70] Vladimira Ilieva and Ahmet Duran,[71] and Ray Sturm.[72]
Financial models [ edit ]
Some financial models used in money management and asset valuation incorporate behavioral finance parameters. Examples:
Thaler's model of price reactions to information, with three phases (underreaction, adjustment, and overreaction), creating a price trend.
One characteristic of overreaction is that average returns following announcements of good news is lower than following bad news. In other words, overreaction occurs if the market reacts too strongly or for too long to news, thus requiring an adjustment in the opposite direction. As a result, outperforming assets in one period is likely to underperform in the following period. This also applies to customers' irrational purchasing habits.[73]
The stock image coefficient.
Criticisms [ edit ]
Critics such as Eugene Fama typically support the efficient-market hypothesis. They contend that behavioral finance is more a collection of anomalies than a true branch of finance and that these anomalies are either quickly priced out of the market or explained by appealing to market microstructure arguments. However, individual cognitive biases are distinct from social biases; the former can be averaged out by the market, while the other can create positive feedback loops that drive the market further and further from a "fair price" equilibrium. Similarly, for an anomaly to violate market efficiency, an investor must be able to trade against it and earn abnormal profits; this is not the case for many anomalies.[74]
A specific example of this criticism appears in some explanations of the equity premium puzzle. It is argued that the cause is entry barriers (both practical and psychological) and that returns between stocks and bonds should equalize as electronic resources open up the stock market to more traders.[75] In response, others contend that most personal investment funds are managed through superannuation funds, minimizing the effect of these putative entry barriers.[citation needed] In addition, professional investors and fund managers seem to hold more bonds than one would expect given return differentials.[citation needed]
Behavioral game theory [ edit ]
Behavioral game theory, invented by Colin Camerer, analyzes interactive strategic decisions and behavior using the methods of game theory,[76] experimental economics, and experimental psychology. Experiments include testing deviations from typical simplifications of economic theory such as the independence axiom[77] and neglect of altruism,[78] fairness,[79] and framing effects.[80] On the positive side, the method has been applied to interactive learning[81] and social preferences.[82][83][84] As a research program, the subject is a development of the last three decades.[85][86][87][88][89][90][91]
Economic reasoning in animals [ edit ]
A handful of comparative psychologists have attempted to demonstrate quasi-economic reasoning in non-human animals. Early attempts along these lines focus on the behavior of rats and pigeons. These studies draw on the tenets of comparative psychology, where the main goal is to discover analogs to human behavior in experimentally-tractable non-human animals. They are also methodologically similar to the work of Ferster and Skinner.[92] Methodological similarities aside, early researchers in non-human economics deviate from behaviorism in their terminology. Although such studies are set up primarily in an operant conditioning chamber using food rewards for pecking/bar-pressing behavior, the researchers describe pecking and bar-pressing not in terms of reinforcement and stimulus-response relationships but instead in terms of work, demand, budget, and labor. Recent studies have adopted a slightly different approach, taking a more evolutionary perspective, comparing economic behavior of humans to a species of non-human primate, the capuchin monkey.[93]
Animal studies [ edit ]
Many early studies of non-human economic reasoning were performed on rats and pigeons in an operant conditioning chamber. These studies looked at things like peck rate (in the case of the pigeon) and bar-pressing rate (in the case of the rat) given certain conditions of reward. Early researchers claim, for example, that response pattern (pecking/bar-pressing rate) is an appropriate analogy to human labor supply.[94] Researchers in this field advocate for the appropriateness of using animal economic behavior to understand the elementary components of human economic behavior.[95] In a paper by Battalio, Green, and Kagel,[94] they write,
Space considerations do not permit a detailed discussion of the reasons why economists should take seriously the investigation of economic theories using nonhuman subjects....[Studies of economic behavior in non-human animals] provide a laboratory for identifying, testing, and better understanding general laws of economic behavior. Use of this laboratory is predicated on the fact that behavior, as well as structure, vary continuously across species, and that principles of economic behavior would be unique among behavioral principles if they did not apply, with some variation, of course, to the behavior of nonhumans.
Labor supply [ edit ]
The typical laboratory environment to study labor supply in pigeons is set up as follows. Pigeons are first deprived of food. Since the animals become hungry, food becomes highly desired. The pigeons are then placed in an operant conditioning chamber and through orienting and exploring the environment of the chamber they discover that by pecking a small disk located on one side of the chamber, food is delivered to them. In effect, pecking behavior becomes reinforced, as it is associated with food. Before long, the pigeon pecks at the disk (or stimulus) regularly.
In this circumstance, the pigeon is said to "work" for the food by pecking. The food, then, is thought of as the currency. The value of the currency can be adjusted in several ways, including the amount of food delivered, the rate of food delivery and the type of food delivered (some foods are more desirable than others).
Economic behavior similar to that observed in humans is discovered when the hungry pigeons stop working/work less when the reward is reduced. Researchers argue that this is similar to labor supply behavior in humans. That is, like humans (who, even in need, will only work so much for a given wage), the pigeons demonstrate decreases in pecking (work) when the reward (value) is reduced.[94]
Demand [ edit ]
In human economics, a typical demand curve has negative slope. This means that as the price of a certain good increase, the |
District Court to declare unconstitutional key provisions of Trump’s executive order on immigration.
“No one is above the law — not even the President,” Ferguson said. “And in the courtroom, it is not the loudest voice that prevails. It’s the Constitution.”
No one is above the law, including @POTUS. — WA Attorney General (@AGOWA) January 30, 2017
The lawsuit seeks to overturn and invalidate Trump's new immigration policy nationwide, extending on similar partial rulings announced over the weekend by various Federal courts.
Ferguson's office says the complaint claims that the president's actions are “separating Washington families, harming thousands of Washington residents, damaging Washington’s economy, hurting Washington-based companies, and undermining Washington’s sovereign interest in remaining a welcoming place for immigrants and refugees.”
Ferguson argues that the Executive Order violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of Equal Protection and the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, infringes individuals’ constitutional right to Due Process and contravenes the federal Immigration and Nationality Act. "Major Washington state institutions supported the Attorney General’s lawsuit through declarations filed alongside the complaint. In their declarations, Amazon and Expedia set forth the detrimental ways the Executive Order impacts their operations and their employees.
As we reported on Saturday night, Brooklyn federal judge Ann Donnelly (who is a Trump appointee and Clinton donor) was was the first to issue an order preventing the Trump Administration from enforcing the executive order from restricting certain people from traveling to the United States. Ferguson was one of 16 state attorneys general who released a statement Sunday calling Trump's immigration action "un-American and unlawful."
Ferguson is likely just the first of many AG lawsuits to come forth: Ferguson was one of 16 state attorneys general who released a statement Sunday calling Trump's immigration action "un-American and unlawful."
“Never has our system of checks and balances been more important. Washington is filing the first suit of its kind in the nation, thanks to the good work of Attorney General Ferguson and his team,” said Gov. Jay Inslee at a Monday news conference. “I would not be surprised to see more. Until Congress takes this Administration to task for the obvious moral and legal injuries suffered by innocent, law-abiding people entering our country, it is up to states to protect and promote the rights of the people who reside in our borders.”
.@GovInslee on immigration ban:
"This is un-American. It is wrong. And it will not stand." #Q13FOX pic.twitter.com/aL7CelA8TO — Matt Lorch (@MattLorchQ13Fox) January 30, 2017
Ferguson said Washington is the first state to sue Trump's administration over the immigration executive order. He is asking the court to schedule a hearing within 14 days. Officials said a copy of the complaint would be available on the attorney general's website later in the day. Expect a flood of more lawsuits to hit court dockets in the coming days, bogging down the Trump administration with legal fights for months to come.
And in an unexpected twist, moments ago Reuters reported that instead of being enjoined by another AG, none other than Microsoft said it has been cooperating with the Washington State Attorney General's Office, in its lawsuit to stop Trump's immigration order. Microsoft said it was providing information about the order's impact "in order to be supportive. And we'd be happy to testify further if needed," spokesman Pete Wootton said in a statement.Emotions have been running high since Irving Oil's home-office project has been indefinitely put on hold, pending a hearing with the province's Assessment and Planning Appeal Board.
Saint John heritage architect and developer Jim Bezanson says he has been threatened with physical violence since formally launching his appeal, and now sleeps with a baseball bat.
"It has taken its toll, there's no doubt about that … there are some things coming through my door and over my phone," Bezanson said Monday in an interview with Information Morning Saint John.
"I still believe in my right to participate as a citizen in a free and democratic society. I didn't ask for this … neither did Mr. [Arthur] Irving."
Bezanson argues the 11-storey headquarters building proposed for Kings Square south is too tall and set too far back from the sidewalk, and therefore does not comply with existing heritage preservation bylaws.
Presently, the tallest building in the area is the Admiral Beatty Hotel at eight stories.
"Everybody has their line in the sand … for me, when I invested my several million dollars in buildings within a block of the proposed development, I did so based on the notion the bylaws that were in place provided the surety of investment I was making in my community," said Bezanson.
"The proposal is too much for me … If I'm going to have the jeopardize, then so too is everyone else, that also invested money in the area."
Withdrawal of appeal considered
In a separate news release, Bezanson said he is willing to withdraw his appeal against the Heritage Development Board, if it can prove it has the legal authority to grant a variance regarding the project's height and setback.
"I [previously] suggested to both the Board and the Irving group that they refer the matter to council for a bylaw amendment, as is what's happening right now," he said.
I am neither anti-Irving or anti-development. I feel bad for the Irvings because they're stuck in the middle. - Jim Bezanson, heritage architect
"Sorry guys, the bylaw does not provide for the Board to grant a variance to the guidelines."
Bezanson says he would also consider a withdrawal of his appeal if he is given an opportunity to share his design for the site "which meets the regulations and bylaws."
He says his design would accommodates up to 1,500 employees if desired, uses a similar design aesthetic and has components of the building at similar heights as the Admiral Beatty.
"I am neither anti-Irving or anti-development. I feel bad for the Irvings because they're stuck in the middle. They got bad advice from their design team, from city staff, and the Heritage Board," Bezanson said.
City may rewrite heritage bylaw
The rally in support of the new Irving Oil headquarters in uptown Saint John brought attracted about 200 people. (CBC) In the meantime, Saint John city council will be asked to push through changes to the city's Heritage Conservation bylaw at a special meeting on Monday.
The proposed change would simply write new heritage rules specifically for the Irving-owned properties on Kings Square south.
It would give the planned home office building a fresh green light for construction by May 2.
The company claims work was supposed to start on the building site last week.
Supporters of Irving's design for its new headquarters held a rally in Kings Square on Friday.
The current status of when the appeal will be heard is not yet known. In an e-mail last week, city spokesperson Lisa Caissie said city staff are working to provide the appeal board with the information it requires.SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A San Diego man who inherited from his father a 1974 aluminum penny valued at $2 million has surrendered it to the U.S. Mint to settle a lawsuit over ownership of the rare coin, a federal prosecutor said on Thursday.
Randall Lawrence, the son of a former Mint official, and Michael McConnell, the owner of a San Diego-area coin shop, sued the federal government in 2014 after it demanded the return of the penny.
Lawrence and McConnell had planned to display the coin at shows across the country and then sell it through an auction house, which estimated it would bring up to $2 million.
The pair turned it over to the Mint and relinquished all claims to ownership as part of a settlement, Laura Duffy, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California, said in a statement.
The settlement “vindicates the government’s position that items made at U.S. Mint facilities but not lawfully issued... remain government property and are not souvenirs that government employees can merely remove and pass down to their heirs,” Duffy said. She did not disclose further terms of the settlement.
The aluminum cent was proposed to the U.S. Congress in 1973, at a time when copper prices had increased dramatically, according to the Smithsonian Institution.
The Mint made about 1.6 million of the aluminum coins and distributed them to Congress in anticipation of approval. When lawmakers rejected it, the Mint reclaimed the aluminum cents and destroyed almost all of them, leaving one to the Smithsonian in Washington, where it remains.
Lawrence inherited one of the coins and a third aluminum penny turned up in the possession of a U.S. Capitol police officer, who said it was given to him by a member of Congress, according to the Professional Coin Grading Service website.On Saturday, Mike Huckabee and Tony Perkins chatted about Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy’s decision to play down his opposition to marriage equality, with Perkins suggesting that he is a “coward.”
The two also stepped up their attack on gay rights and liberal activists who backed a boycott of the restaurant chain and said that they would never target businesses over their views on gay rights.
Huckabee said that “nobody” is targeting left-leaning CEOs like Howard Schultz of Starbucks, and Perkins charged that such boycotts wrongly “silence” political speech and undermine freedom and liberty.
Of course, Perkins was being totally disingenuous as he has personally endorsed several boycott campaigns…including a boycott of Starbucks over its stance on gay rights.
Perkins and his group, the Family Research Council, championed a boycott of Girl Scouts cookies, and helped lead boycott campaigns targeting companies like McDonalds and Wal-Mart [PDF] over their stances on gay rights.
Last year, Perkins called for a boycott of Betty Crocker after the company donated custom cakes to same-sex weddings after Minnesota approved marriage equality.
Despite this clear double standard, Perkins continues to get away with his claim that only gay rights advocates target businesses and that Religious Right activists — always the victim — would never ever do such a thing.This morning, the Associated Press is reporting what is now an almost regular occurrence:
Pakistani troops and tribesmen opened fire on two U.S. helicopters that crossed into the country from neighboring Afghanistan, intelligence officials said Monday.
Pakistan was touted by Secretary of State Colin Powell as America’s most important non-NATO ally. Both Vice President Cheney and President Bush are reported to have taken a close personal interest in Pakistani relations. But a source with insight into the Department of Defense told me that relations with Pakistan have grown increasingly worrisome. Last Tuesday, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made a surprise visit to Islamabad for urgent consultations with the Pakistani government and military. There is no doubt that this urgent meeting was related to incidents earlier in the week in which Pakistani units fired on American helicopters.
What’s up? There is one plausible explanation for the latest friction: the Bush Administration has given orders to go all out–helicopter gunships, air strikes, predator drones, and ground-based forces–through the end of the year in an attempt to apprehend or kill Osama bin Laden and other senior Al Qaeda leaders. Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri have long been understood to be operating in a zone consisting of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Northwest Pakistan and the immediately adjacent areas of Afghanistan—precisely where these incidents have occurred.
The reaction of most Americans to this news will be: It’s about time. But why the conflict with Islamabad? It is obvious that the American exercises have been undertaken without coordinating with Pakistan’s authorities. Pakistan has refused to issue a blank check to the United States to conduct military operations on its territory–understandable because if it were to act otherwise, the Pakistani government would effectively be surrendering a key aspect of its sovereignty to a foreign power. Pakistan has in the past permitted such operations, but they want to know about them in advance and approve them.
The United States, however, is justifiably concerned about the confidentiality of any information passed to Pakistani armed forces about its operations in pursuit of Al Qaeda and Taliban forces in FATA. Experience has shown that the targets are regularly tipped off about the operation. Moreover, as Ahmed Rashid and others have demonstrated, Pakistan’s Interservice Intelligence is heavily invested with the Taliban and Al Qaeda and simply can’t be counted upon. So the United States has good reason to refuse to give prior notice to the Pakistani authorities.
Two other points. First is the obvious proximity of the U.S. elections. The Bush Administration is hoping for an “October surprise” that will lift the tides of the Republican candidates just in time for Election Day. That explains why the extraordinary effort is undertaken now, and why the sensitivities of the U.S.-Pakistani relationship are being ignored. The second is a study in contrasts. For seven years, the Bush Administration told us that it exercised extraordinary restraint in undertaking just the sort of campaign that is evidently now underway. Why? Because it feared for the survival of Pakistani’s military strongman, Pervez Musharraf. Now Musharraf is gone, replaced by a democratically elected government which is both closer to the United States and committed (unlike Musharraf) to dealing a blow to the Taliban/Al Qaeda forces operating in the nation’s western border area. However, in the Bush playbook, a friendly democratically elected government is not entitled to the sort of deference that is owed to a military dictator who has a personal rapport with Bush. This is extremely revealing of the extraordinary personal dimensions of the Bush foreign policy calculus. The editors of the New York Times this morning make the fairly obvious argument that while renewed zeal in pursuit of terrorist adversaries on Pakistani soil is welcome, the United States also has a long-term interest in building a stable, democratic Pakistan which will not offer such terrorists a safe harbor. The Bush Administration has a knack for looking for quick fixes for partisan advantage while ignoring the long-term security interests of the country. In Pakistan we see another demonstration of this phenomenon.Ten days before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, President Barack Obama will say goodbye from the same city that launched his political career.
The presidential farewell will take place on the evening of Jan. 10 at McCormick Place. In an email sent out Monday morning, Obama said he was taking his cue from George Washington, who “set the precedent for a peaceful, democratic transfer of power” and penned a farewell address in 1796.
“I'm just beginning to write my remarks,” he wrote. “But I'm thinking about them as a chance to say thank you for this amazing journey, to celebrate the ways you've changed this country for the better these past eight years, and to offer some thoughts on where we all go from here.”
In the email, Obama said the nation has faced a number of challenges in the past eight years but emerged stronger.
President Barack Obama visited Chicago on Oct. 27, 2015, where he spoke about guns and violence and took in a Bulls game. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
“That's because we have never let go of a belief that has guided us ever since our founding -- our conviction that, together, we can change this country for the better,” he wrote.
Doors will open at 5 p.m. Jan. 10 for the speech. Tickets are free, and one ticket per person will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Details on the timing of the ticket giveaway Saturday will be announced in the coming days at https://www.whitehouse.gov/farewell/info.
The scheduled farewell address will bring Obama’s political career as a state senator in Illinois, U.S. senator and president full circle. When he won the White House in 2008, Chicago hosted a victory rally in Grant Park.After seeing former teammate Jung-ho Kang sign with the Pirates this offseason, Byung-ho Park of the Korea Baseball Organization’s Nexen Heroes is hopeful that he will have the opportunity to make his way to MLB as well, reports Jee-ho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency. Park, a two-time KBO MVP, told reporters prior to the season that he’s long dreamed of playing in Major League Baseball, according to Yoo.
Park is eligible to be posted for MLB clubs following the 2015 season if the Heroes choose to allow it. Yoo reports that Park has enlisted Octagon, the same agency that negotiated Kang’s four-year deal with the Pirates, to represent him if he is indeed posted. It’s worth reminding that the KBO posting process is not the same as the new posting process with Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Under the Korean system, which is the same as the old NPB posting system, all 30 teams would have the opportunity to submit a blind bid for Park’s services, and the team to submit the highest bid would then have a 30-day window to negotiate a contract with Park. Should the two sides fail to reach an agreement, the posting fee would be returned to the team that won the bid.
Six Major League clubs, including the Pirates, have asked for credentials to send scouts to watch the Heroes this week, according to Yoo. However, teams regularly scout KBO and other Asian leagues, and one Heroes official said to Yoo that he “only heard they’re here to watch the whole league.” Yoo adds that Park’s agents at Octagon had contact with the Red Sox and A’s during Spring Training when the Heroes were training in Arizona. Additionally, a scout who attended Tuesday’s Heroes game told Yoo that there is indeed interest in Park among scouts, though that shouldn’t be entirely surprising based on the 28-year-old’s numbers.
KBO is known to be an exceptionally hitter-friendly environment, but Park’s.310/.434/.645 batting line over the past two seasons is nonetheless impressive. After hitting 31 homers in 2012 and 37 in 2013, Park’s long ball total soared to 52 last season, and he’s already belted six in 103 plate appearances this season. However, with the increase in power came an uptick in strikeouts, as his strikeout rate jumped from about 17 percent in 2013 to 25 percent in 2014. His 24 punchouts in 103 PAs this season seem to suggest that the increase in whiffs could be a lasting trend.
The right-handed hitting Park is listed at 6’1″, 236 pounds and is set to turn 29 years old this July, so if he were to be posted, teams would still be potentially buying some prime years. While his placement on the low end of the defensive spectrum likely limits his value somewhat, a potential prime-aged, right-handed power bat could add an interesting wrinkle to a class of free agent first basemen that is led by Chris Davis but also features mid-30s bats such as Mike Napoli and Justin Morneau.Image copyright Giada Cordoni/University of Pisa Image caption Dogs are capable of basic empathy, say scientists
Dogs can copy each other's expressions in a split-second just like people, showing signs of basic empathy, according to Italian researchers.
Mimicking each other's facial expressions is a human habit, which helps people to get along.
Dogs do the same to bond with other dogs, scientists report in the journal, Royal Society Open Science.
They think dogs may be showing a basic built-in form of empathy, enabling them to pick up on emotions.
And the phenomenon may have emerged in our canine companions during the process of domestication, say scientists from the Natural History Museum, University of Pisa.
Split-second mirroring
Until now, the idea - involved in social bonding - has only been described in humans and non-human primates such as chimps and orangutans.
It is why humans automatically mirror a smile or a laugh, enabling the sharing of emotions.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Daniel the Spaniel's owner Deana Selby says he picks up on emotions of those around him
"We demonstrated that rapid mimicry is present in dogs and it is an involuntary, automatic and split-second mirroring of other dogs," lead researcher Dr Elisabetta Palagi told BBC News.
She said it appears that dogs are showing a basic form of empathy where they are able to instantly pick up on the emotions of other dogs through their facial expressions and body movements.
This is regarded as the first step towards more complex forms of empathy.
"A dog while playing with another dog can read their motivation and the emotional state of the other dog by mimicking the same expression and body movement of the other dog," Dr Palagi explained.
"This phenomenon is present also in humans and in other primate species."
Rapid mimicry
The team of three researchers - working with the Unit of Cognitive Primatology and Primate Center in Rome - videotaped dogs playing in a park in Palermo, Italy.
They analysed the way the dogs were interacting, including signals used to show when a dog was being playful, such as:
Crouching or "bowing" down on its front legs
Relaxing its mouth to reveal some of its teeth
After analysing 50 hours of video, they found that dogs were able to mimic the facial expressions and movements of other dogs in a split-second.
This "rapid mimicry" is an automatic and involuntary response, rather than the result of training, they say.
Human-dog relationship
But Dr John Bradshaw of the University of Bristol School of Veterinary Science said more research was required to establish if dogs are really able to sense what emotions are uppermost in the minds of other dogs.
"Domestic dogs are exquisite readers of body-language, both that of other dogs, and, uniquely, our own - which is why they're so easy to train," he said.
"They also love to play, so quickly learn that imitating the actions of their play-partner means that the game goes on for longer.
"But science has yet to show that dogs have any understanding of other dogs' thought-processes, or emotions."
Dogs are known to be able to respond to human emotions, such as copying a yawn, suggesting they show some basic aspects of empathy.
This capacity may have evolved in dogs as they were domesticated or could have been present in the wild ancestors of canines.
The Italian researchers plan to study wolves to answer this question and shed more light on the complex relationship between humans and dogs.
Follow Helen on Twitter.The John Batchelor Show, September 26, part 1.
Ready to fight back? Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter.
Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits.
Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine?
Nation Contributing Editor Stephen F. Cohen and John Batchelor continue their weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War. (Previous installments, now in their fourth year, are at TheNation.com.) Ad Policy
A lifelong “liberal Democrat” of varying sorts, Cohen frames the question as follows:
Each month brings the United States closer to actual war with Russia. Three peril points are well-known: Syria, where Moscow recently blamed the “two-faced American policy” in the country for the death of a Russian general in an ISIS attack; Ukraine, where Congress and perhaps the Trump administration have decided to send more weapons, which Kiev vows to use against Russian-backed rebels in Donbass; and on Russia’s western borders, where the Washington establishment says Moscow is menacing “NATO’s borders”—without explaining how NATO got there from Germany.
But there is another perilous factor—the one in Washington called “Russiagate,” with its persistent (and still unproved) dual allegations that “Putin’s Kremlin” directed a massive attack on American democracy in various ways during the 2016 presidential campaign, from hacking the DNC and disseminating e-mails unfavorable to Hillary Clinton to using Russian media agencies and even Facebook to plant “Russian disinformation” and related pro-Trump “fake news” in the minds of American voters. And, still more, that Trump’s American “associates,” perhaps the president himself, “colluded” with the Kremlin in this nefarious operation.
Having grown into an inescapable political phenomenon, “Russiagate” abets the chances of war with Moscow in at least three ways. It depicts Russia as a “hostile nation.” It has crippled Trump’s promise to ease tensions by cooperating with Moscow. And it discourages anti–Cold War voices in American mainstream media and politics.
The John Batchelor Show, September 26, part 2.
In the past, liberal Democrats did not always, initially, or unanimously oppose such practices, but eventually many of them did so, as during the Vietnam War and the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. But for more than a year the Democratic Party, including leading liberals, as well as influential media outlets associated with them, have been deeply complicit in promoting “Russiagate,” with few if any mainstream exceptions.
Indeed, “Russiagate” allegations did not begin after Trump’s election in November 2016, as widely said, but in the summer and fall of 2016, with liberal Democratic journalists and pro-Clinton media, including The New York Times, seeding the notion of a “Trump-Putin” conspiracy, with the now infamous anti-Trump “dossier,” then being secretly funded by the Clinton campaign, and Mrs. Clinton herself branding Trump a “Putin puppet” during one of their nationally televised debates. When President Obama announced sanctions against Russia in December 2016, including, he said, cyber-attacks embedded somewhere in that nuclear country’s infrastructures, he cited what has become known as “Russiagate” as a reason, still without presenting any proof. Current Issue View our current issue
Since then, Democrats, many of them self-professed liberals, have unrelentingly pumped up and perpetuated “Russiagate.” In Congress, for example, Representatives Adam Schiff, Jackie Speier, Eric Swalwell, and Maxine Waters, and Senators Mark Warner and Richard Blumenthal have been in the forefront. Abandoning journalistic standards of verifiable evidence, reliable sources, and balanced coverage, The New York Times and The Washington Post have increased their publication of sweeping allegations as virtual facts. (For their practices, see the many critical articles by the award-winning journalist Robert Parry at consortiumnews.com.) That print news is amplified almost nightly on MSNBC and CNN. Many other smaller liberal outlets play the same role.
Still worse, liberal or pro-Democratic media have trumpeted “Russiagate’s” most reckless charge that in 2016 America “came under attack by the Russian government,” as Morgan Freeman intoned in a recent video produced by Hollywood liberals. “We are at war,” he declared. Can this mean anything other than that Washington must immediately launch an “attack” on the other nuclear superpower?
Nor is this implicit call for war merely coming from questionably informed celebrities. During the past week, a Times editorial told readers that in 2016 Russia “sought to undermine America’s own sovereignty,” much as it had done Ukraine’s in 2014. According to the eminent liberal Democratic policy intellectual Robert Reich, Russia committed an “unprecedented attack on our democracy,” the professor apparently having forgotten or discounted Pearl Harbor and 9/11. And in a major foreign-policy speech on September 21, the “maverick” Bernie Sanders told the Democratic Party, “We now know that the Russian government was engaged in a massive effort to undermine one of our greatest strengths: The integrity of our elections, and our faith in our own democracy.”
No, Cohen emphasizes, we do not “know” that, which brings him to what liberal Democrats have not done, but what they once did:
§ They have evinced no skepticism regarding official and mainstream-media allegations about a purported Kremlin hack of the DNC or its surreptitious abuse of Facebook and other media, despite contrary evidence and testimony. Pro-Democratic mainstream newspapers and networks have produced no investigations or editorials in this contrarian regard, again with few exceptions.
§ They have not protested, as liberals once did, the growing criminalizing of customary “contacts” with Russia—financial, diplomatic (such as back channels), even conjugal, but while still promoting the truly “fake news” anti-Trump “dossier.”
§ Though once the enemies of covert-intelligence operations in American politics, liberals have not protested, or even shown interest in, the now evident role of Obama’s Intel chiefs in the origins and perpetuating of “Russiagate.” And they have shown even less interest in new evidence that Trump’s campaign was in fact surveilled by the FBI, as the president later suggested, for which he was widely derided. (See, for example, Evan Perez, et al., CNN.com, September 19.) Instead, Democrats, including liberals, have turned the intelligence agencies into an iconic source (of testimony and leaks). Indeed, Obama’s director of national intelligence, James Clapper, whose ethnic slurs about Russians as inherently subverting did not perturb liberals either, is on the advisory board of Hollywood’s new “Committee to Investigate Russia,” which scripted Morgan Freeman.
§ Above all, perhaps, liberals once would have been shocked into protest by a recent Times article characterizing Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigative methods as “aggressive tactics,” “shock-and-awe tactics to intimidate witnesses and potential targets.” Methods, as one source put it, “to strike terror in the hearts of people in Washington.” But there is no liberal outrage, no ACLU actions, only articles applauding Mueller for his “scrupulousness” and egging him on, as by Ryan Lizza in The New Yorker. Not even when the Times suggests that Mueller, unable to find evidence of electoral “collusion,” might be “on a fishing expedition” reminiscent of past abuses. (Now we learn Mueller wants IRS records going back many years, long before Trump’s political rise. Will Democratic figures who participated in the plunder of Russia in the 1990s worry about where such investigations will stop?)
§ Finally, liberal Democrats seem indifferent to the slouching toward forms of media censorship. Some of it is soft: Informed anti-“Russiagate” and anti–Cold War voices are regularly excluded from mainstream news reporting, opinion pages, and broadcast panels. But there is also an adumbration of harder censorship—official and unofficial campaigns, both well-funded, to purge “Russian disinformation and propaganda” from American media, even if expressed by Americans as their own analytic, dissenting opinion. (See Samantha Power’s demand that we “enhance our vigilance” and her longing for media “gatekeepers” and “umpires.”) And this too betrays a disregard for the First Amendment but also contempt for American voters, who presumably, zombie-like, have no critical minds of their own. About this, the normally loquacious PEN and other civil-liberties guardians are also silent.
In short, Cohen thinks, liberal Democrats are betraying their own best traditions. Privately, some justify their new illiberalism by insisting it is necessary for the “Resistance” against Trump, that Trump is the greater evil. But history has long shown that such ends-justify-means reasoning does not end well for liberals—or anyone else.
And, of course, liberal Democrats were once in the forefront of politics to avoid nuclear war with Russia. No longer.I have been trying for many years to track this down without success. There were reports going around that Vangelis provided music for a series of tapes for medical students in Greece, and that these tapes were sold to students of a surgeon. It was not clear who the surgeon was. It took a great deal of research to finally track down a piece of the name: Tegos. I remember finding this information at the EMI Publishing website some time ago, when it used to list all the songs that Vangelis had registered. That site identified "Tegos Case 1-35." Based on that, I asked around to friends in Greece about it, and it was learned that there was a neurosurgeon by the name of Dr. Stergios Tegos in Athens. Despite that, finding the tapes was another story and they were not located. I had pretty much given up on the prospect. And then this year (2011), my wife and I decided that we needed to go to Greece for our much-planned vacation. My plan was not to do it that way though. We had saved the money and were waiting for a concert. I still have a great deal of regret from 2001, missing the Mythodea event. I had hoped for a concert, but 10 years have passed. So, we decided it was time to get going and visit the land where Vangelis came from. A few weeks prior to leaving, I started researching these tapes again, wondering if they could be found. Lo and behold, this time I located a possible lead by conducting my search in Greek characters instead of English. I found the publication, but there was no information about Vangelis. The cost was not cheap either, and despite sending e-mails to the publisher, I did not get a reply. The only saving grace here was that the bookstore where I located the item was in Athens, and I was going to be there. And so, on September 14th, my wife and I hit the streets of Athens. We actually arrived in Athens on September 12th and had been exploring this great city during that time, but this journey was a bit different. While we were staying in the Plaka, this required a trip near the Ampelokipi section of Athens, not frequented by the tourists. Off we went, taking the subway as close as we could and then walking a good mile to the spot. And we arrived. The lady was very kind, looked and my printout, and said "I'm sorry, we don't have it." My heart sank instantly, but then she looked at me and said, "Let me make a call." She called somebody and had a conversation in Greek, during which time she pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down the address of another bookstore. She said they have it, and 70 euros cheaper than I expected. When I asked if it was close, she said it wasn't, but the good news is that it was in Athens! And even better yet, it was close to where we were staying! So we headed on back and made a trip to Central Athens, Omonoia Section. We were really exhausted! And on a small side street, we found the bookstore. Now, it is kind of funny, because in all of Greece, we met some very nice people, all polite. But we met the rudest clerk in this store! I was a bit nervous that there was going to be some issues. I asked to see the book, and it was brought to me. I nervously opened a very large, 10 cm x 37 cm case and the first thing I see is this: "Every human being, animal, plant or mineral carries the imprint of the cycle of Creation. Sound has always followed the sequences of change in this cycle, like a code carrying the function and dimension of the universe, being at the same time its generator. Let us go deep into our memory (and remember), by doing this, we will be able to decode the code of the Creation of the universe and, therefore, our own. What an extraordinary and divine key is music!" - Vangelis I struck gold. I asked the clerk if she could ship this to the USA, as it had some weight to it, plus I had many more days of vacation to go and I was concerned about dragging it around Greece. She said no. Having no choice, I decided to buy it right there and take it with me. 350 euros later, it was mine. And so for the next several days, until September 22, I carried this treasure around with me until we returned to the USA. Inside this wonderful case was a 253 page book that contains a forward by Dr. Tegos and a detailed description of 35 cases involving microneurosurgery performed and recorded on the enclosed three videotapes. In the forward, it is explained by Dr. Tegos that Vangelis had recorded music specifically for these tapes, as the subject matter can be "monotonous." He also describes their friendship and the special requests he had made of Vangelis for this project. The amazing thing here is that each videotape is 4 hours long. It took a few moments for this to sink in with me...is there really 12 hours of previously unheard Vangelis here? Yes indeed. If you want to try and get one, click here, and good luck."Being a first-year GM, it's tempting [to make a trade]," Dorion told reporters in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the Senators play at the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET, FS-CR, TSN5, RDS. NHL.TV). "We could give up a great asset for the future, but I think we owe it to the organization when those players are going to play, whether it's next year, two or three years, how good they are going to be, you can't do that. That's why right now, we're at a point where we just might stay with what we have.
OTTAWA -- Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said he has been tempted to make a move prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 1, but has to balance the Senators' future against the present.
"Resisting the urge to trade someone that you know will be a really good player, whether it's next year, the year after, three years down the road or four years down the road, is very tough because you want to help this team."
The Senators' top prospects are center Colin White of Boston College in Hockey East and defenseman Thomas Chabot of Saint John of Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Dorion said he thinks the Senators are set in goal and on defense. Given the recent wave of injuries to forwards Bobby Ryan, Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman, Dorion could trade for help up front.
Ryan is out 4-6 weeks with a broken right index finger. Stone (neck) and Hoffman (groin) missed the Senators' 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils on |
also shown their witty side that have captured the hearts of the show’s MCs Defconn and Jung Hyung Don.
WINNER’s first appearance on “Weekly Idol” is slated to air after October.
Last year, BIGBANG’s G-Dragon became the first YG Entertainment artist to appear on “Weekly Idol.”
Who do you think would be the variety show whiz among WINNER?The Atlanta Hawks are now officially in the offseason after getting swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Now it's time to think offseason, and one of the biggest questions going into the summer is if center Al Horford will return to the Hawks. His contract is up, so Horford could be a free agent beginning July 1 if the Hawks don't renew it by then.
Horford was already the highest-paid center in the league this year. The Hawks would likely have to create a max deal to re-sign Horford. But, only if they're willing and the salary cap is willing.
When asked if he wants to stay a Hawk after the game, Horford responded with one word. Yes.
Eventually, he elaborated.
PHOTOS | NBA Playoffs, Hawks vs. Cavs
PHOTOS | NBA Playoffs, Hawks vs. Cavs Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) is fouled by Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova (8) during the first half in game three of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports May 6, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Jeff Teague (0) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) during the first half in game three of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports Photo: USAToday Sports
"I've been here for a long time, feel good being here," he said. "I'm very happy here."
Like the rest of the team did after the game, Horford talked about this year's team and how this group wants to continue to work together to get better.
"I love our team," forward Paul Millsap said. "I love who we are, but I think our team can get better. I think we can get on that level if every individual guy on this team puts in the work over the summer time, come back with that on their mind."
Horford says he will meet with the team and coaches Monday for the final time for the season before thinking about getting a new contract in the offseason.
Horford averaged 15 points per game this season and averaged a career-high 121 blocks this season.
He has played his entire NBA career in Atlanta. He is entering his tenth season next year.
Other Hawks whose contracts are up this year are guard Kent Bazemore, forward Kris Humphreys and guard Kirk Hinrich.THE new emergency department at Kerry General Hospital opens its doors to the public today.
THE new emergency department at Kerry General Hospital opens its doors to the public today.
New A&E unit that cost €4m is set to open today
Built at a cost of €4m, the new department is more than twice the size of the existing A&E department and will cater for 33,000 attendances each year.
The finished project includes a dedicated X-ray examination facility, as well as treatment areas designed for dealing with major traumas, a resuscitation area, and further specialist facilities for treating patients in obstetrics, gynaecology and ophthalmology.
The new department also includes a separate dedicated facility specifically for children, with its own triage, assessment and treatment areas.
Refurbishment works also begin today on the old emergency department, which is due to be turned into an acute medical assessment unit (AMAU).
Irish IndependentIt’s that time of the season, when families traditionally gather together for Thanksgiving. This year, a new tradition has been born in the cannibal film Buzzard Hollow Beef. It’s one major mind f**k of a movie that is the equivalent of Hunter S. Thompson teaming up with Sam Raimi (the Evil Dead years) to make a Texas Chainsaw Massacre style gore film. With the combination of slick camera work, a great ensemble cast, and outstanding gore effects, this could very well become annual Thanksgiving viewing.
Single mother Jordan goes to visit her family for Thanksgiving in the small town of Buzzard Hollow, accompanied by her 9 month old child and her best friend Paige. Upon arriving, they meet the Solomon family, a strange group of characters who are overly secretive about the beef they sell in the local restaurant and their butcher shop. When the family suffers from hallucinations, they believe that the meat has been poisoned by the cannibalistic hillbillies. The story is an interesting take on the hicksploitation subgenre, adding in the element of being drugged and having hallucinations coupled with an uncertainty of the real truth. We never know whether the Solomon’s are actually cannibals until all is revealed in the third act. Some viewers may find the first act a little slow, but it was important to thoroughly flesh out and develop these characters.
The directing and cinematography are excellent. The camera movements and placements were outstanding, especially for the scenes involving characters being in drug induced conditions. It reminded me of some of the wild scenes and camera tricks used in the Evil Dead series. The score uses a variety of music during the film based on the specific situation, but the horror scenes featured a creepy synth score that used pulsating sounds and a synth piano.
The acting was terrific from the ensemble cast and far exceeded the normal expectations for an indie horror production. They felt like real and believable characters, thrown into a weird situation. The standouts have to be Emily Letts as Jordan and Doug Perkins as Bob. Letts shows a great deal of vulnerability as a single mother struggling to just get by, while also displaying the type of strength we normally see from a “final girl.” Perkins character is the odd man out, who was invited to Thanksgiving by Jordan’s brother. Perkins successfully brings a wide range of emotions in his character’s arc. Saying anymore would spoil too much of the plot.
When there is gore, it’s impressive. There may not be as much as horror fans would like to normally see, but what’s there looks superb. It should be enough to satiate most horror fans, especially the gruesome homage to the bathroom scene in Poltergeist.
Available now on VOD and Amazon Prime, Buzzard Hollow Beef is a marvelously trippy take on cannibalism and hicksploitation. With a fine ensemble cast, dynamite practical effects, and skillfully unique camera work, this is well worth devoting some of your Thanksgiving time to. Save some room and devour Buzzard Hollow Beef.
Share this review.The bidding for Alvaro Negredo has officially begun. Champions League semi-finalist, Borussia Dortmund has set its sights on the Spanish forward and put the wheels in motion to sign the current top Spanish goalscorer in La Liga.
MARCA has been informed that the German club has been in contact with the club through Negredo’s agents and has made an €18m offer - a significant amount and €3m more than the transfer fee that Sevilla paid for him back in the day. It isn’t a secret that Del Nido will have to sell this summer.
The Dortmund manager, Jürgen Klopp has short-listed Negredo to replace lanky forward Robert Lewandowski, who will probably move on to pastures new next summer. For now, not a word is being said about Negredo’s future, but it would appear that his departure negotiations are at an advanced stage.
Potential suitors will have to move quickly if they don’t want to miss out on the striker. Remember that Everton already wanted him last January and went as far as offering €13m. Tottenham has also had an eye on him and even Rafa Benítez asked Chelsea to sign the striker.FROM Pui's fruit stall in central Yala it is easy to see, just up the road, the charred remains of the shophouses blown apart by car bombs on March 31st. Eleven people were killed, and about 100 more injured. Yet Pui appears unperturbed. After all, she explains, she has already seen seven bombs go off just in her half of the street over the past few years, including two outside the same car-repair business only yards away (one person was killed). She just has to live with it, she says.
The bombers are almost certainly Muslims from shadowy groups including the Pattani-Malay National Revolutionary Front Co-ordinate (known by its Malay initials, BRN-C). Though Thailand is predominantly Buddhist, in the south ethnic Malays form a Muslim majority. For years armed groups have fought for the restoration of the ancient sultanate of Pattani, which Thailand (then called Siam) annexed in 1909. The insurgents do not issue statements or release videos, but it is reasonable to assume that they target Pui's road because it is at the heart of Yala's ethnic-Chinese community, which accounts for two-fifths of the town's people. The aim is presumably to scare ethnic Thais and Chinese out of this bit of Yala and to break up a multi-ethnic community that once prospered here.
Get our daily newsletter Upgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks.
If so, they are succeeding. Many have fled. The whole area is now a “safety zone”. Access is controlled by checkpoints, sometimes manned by officially sanctioned local militias. Business is being choked off. Pui, a third-generation Chinese immigrant, will give only her nickname, for fear of reprisals from the bombers. Her Muslim friends are afraid to visit her. A few blocks away, by contrast, the Muslim quarter carries on much as before.
Such are the consequences of allowing southern Thailand's decades-old insurgency to fester. Since 2004, when a modern campaign of terrorism began, over 5,000 people have been killed in the four provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla. The violence has ebbed and flowed, but this year it is building up again. Insurgents killed 128 people to the end of March and injured 657 others.
Despite years of bloodshed, few politicians have devoted energy to ending the insurgency. The deep south is remote from Bangkok, and the problems appear intractable. Besides, the capital's elite has been preoccupied with its own coups and confrontations. And so the south gets treated mainly as a security or a criminal headache. Some 60,000 soldiers have been dispatched to keep a lid on the cauldron.
However, after the latest atrocities in Yala (and also in the city of Hat Yai), that might change. On April 30th the prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, paid a visit to Pattani, promising to do more to help restore peace. But to put an end to the violence, local experts agree, the government will have to do more than just promise better security and more jobs, as Ms Yingluck did. It will have to make hard political decisions as well.
At the root of the conflict is the feeling among Malay Muslims that they lack proper political representation. They make up four-fifths of the population in the deep south. They often speak only Malay and are proud of their particular history. In contrast, only one of the governors in the three Muslim-majority provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat is a Malay Muslim, while the other two are Thai Buddhists. All are appointed by the government in Bangkok. Poverty and drug-running contribute to the problems in the south. But armed groups feed off a sense of political grievance and discrimination, says Muhammad Ayub Pathan of Deep South Watch, a local think-tank. Despite some signs of progress, he says, the younger generation is more radical than its parents—and just as much in favour of restoring the sultanate.
Experts say that the insurgents have grown more sophisticated, and that their numbers have increased. Though accounts vary as to how far the insurgency is fuelled by Islamic radicals from abroad, many locals travel to other Muslim countries to gather support.
Moderate Malay Muslims and Thais argue that if the conflict is ever to be resolved, the government in Bangkok will have to grant a measure of autonomy to the southernmost provinces. Perhaps they should also be united in one administrative unit. More autonomy would certainly offend conservative Thais who insist on the unitary nature of the country, with the king presiding. The army, too, would object. Yet searching for a political solution is the only way forward.CLOSE A salesman at a southwest Houston dealership was beaten and kidnapped during a test drive Monday evening.
The whole thing sounds like something out of a Hollywood movie, but it all happened Monday in southwest Houston
A test ride takes a terrifying turn for a car salesman after he's beaten up and thrown into the trunk. (Photo: KHOU)
HOUSTON -- A test ride takes a terrifying turn for a car salesman after he's beaten up and thrown into the trunk.
The whole thing sounds like something out of a Hollywood movie, but it all happened Monday in southwest Houston.
And while that victim is safe, police are still hunting for the attacker who posed as a customer.
This all happened at the Gillman Dodge dealership along Beltway 8 and Highway 59.
According to police -- and what's most dramatic about the incident -- the salesman pulled the emergency trigger while he was locked in the trunk and managed to pull open the trunk while the car was moving.
It's unclear where he rolled out of the car, but police tell us it was in the area of the dealership.
Police tell KHOU it all started after the test drive when the suspect and salesman got into a fight. The suspect then threw the man into the trunk.
After the salesman freed himself from the trunk, the suspect got out and pointed a gun at him when police say unbelievably, the salesman knocked the got out of the suspect's hand.
"He has props to fight back," said one worker at the dealership who didn't want to be identified. "This area here in general is not a good one to be in, but no one would ever expect this at a dealership. It amazes me how he was able to fight back from this and guard himself."
NEWSLETTERS Get the Breaking News newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Urgent developments you should know now, not later. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-468-0233. Delivery: varies Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for Breaking News Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters
There was a short pursuit, but eventually police chased the stolen red Dodge Challenger to a church on Dairy Ashford near Westheimer Road.
While the salesman was in the trunk, a friend was tracking him on his phone which led the friend to this intersection at Wrenthorpe and Rockhampton.
"One of my officers was on patrol," said Arthur Chatman, who does private security for a neighborhood around the dealership. "He was flagged down by the victim's friend who had apparently tracked him here to this location stating his friend was kidnapped."
The hunt is on for that suspect who locked the salesman in the trunk.
We're told shots were fired, but no one was hit.
Read or Share this story: http://on.khou.com/1OIWTm6Chords in this song
chords or tablatures
Intro: Em Am D G Hip hip Em Am D G Hip hip Em Am D G Hip hip Em Am D G Hip hip Verse: Em Am D G Em Am When you're on a holiday D G Em Am You can't find the words to say D G Em Am All the things that come to you D G Em Am And I wanna feel it too Chorus: D G Em Am On an island in the sun D G Em Am We'll be playing and having fun D G Em And it makes me feel so fine Am D G I can't control my brain Em Am D G Hip hip Em Am D G Hip hip Verse: Em Am D G Em Am When you're on a golden sea D G Em Am You don't need no memory D G Em Am Just a place to call your own D G Em Am As we drift into the zone Chorus: D G Em Am On an island in the sun D G Em Am We'll be playing and having fun D G Em And it makes me feel so fine Am D G I can't control my brain Bridge: D G We'll run away together D G We'll spend some time forever C Am D We'll never feel bad anymore Em Am D G Hip hip Em Am D G Hip hip Em Am D G -x5 veces- -punteo- Chorus: D G Em Am On an island in the sun D G Em Am We'll be playing and having fun D G Em And it makes me feel so fine Am D G I can't control my brain Bridge: D G We'll run away together D G We'll spend some time forever C Am D We'll never feel bad anymore Em Am D G Hip hip Em Am D G Hip hip -We'll never feel bad anymore- Em Am D G Hip hip Em Am D G Hip hip -No no- Em Am D G Hip hip Em Am D G Hip hip -We'll never feel bad anymore- Em Am D G Hip hip Em Am D G Hip hip -No no-......Building a new game on top of a well-loved, long-dormant franchise that's nearly 20 years old is a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you've got a built-in fan base with fond, nostalgic memories of the series. On the other hand, you want to attract a new generation of players that probably have little to no idea what your franchise is or what made it special. Change too much of that successful original formula, and you run the risk of upsetting those original fans. Don't change enough, and you run the risk of coming across as an outdated relic to the newer audience.
This is the dilemma faced by the developers at Firaxis, who are finally showing off a playable version of Xcom: Enemy Unknown, the first new title in the series since 2001. Their chosen method for walking that tightrope, it seems, is to keep the gameplay relatively familiar while adding a layer of presentational gloss designed to attract a generation raised on first-person shooters.
The turn-based tactical gameplay in the newest Xcom will be extremely familiar to anyone who played the original games. You're still leading a small squad of alien hunters through urban environments shown from an isometric, overhead perspective, taking turns with the invading forces as you try to outflank them while keeping behind cover. But fans of the original game will immediately notice that the new version is a bit more accommodating to new players, with a tightly scripted 45-minute tutorial (which was all that was playable at E3) that explains the game's flow and major actions.
"Fans of the original [Xcom] found a way to climb one of the steepest learning curves in video game history," producer Garth Deangelis told Ars Technica. "It took me a while just to learn how to launch a mission. Once you get over that hump and peel back the many layers of the game, it's an amazing game experience, but you really do have to figure it out on your own and be pretty committed to that. Our team said, let's still keep the magic that's burrowed in Xcom, but the clunky user interface isn't part of the fun, and that steep learning curve is not part of the fun. We want as many people to sit down and experience the game and enjoy it as quickly as possible."
This kind of tutorial could easily drag, but the developers at Firaxis add a bit of excitement to the proceedings with a new feature they're calling the "action cam." While the viewpoint in the original Xcom was practically welded to a familiar angled, isometric overhead view used by many strategy titles, in the new Xcom the camera frequently makes dramatic pans and zooms to accentuate important moments in the turn-based fight. This means you get a cinematic feeling from events like jumping through windows or busting down doors, but even something as simple as leaning around a corner and popping off a few rounds takes on added significance when it's shot from these dramatic, swooping angles.
"It adds so much excitement and this level of dynamism to the game," Denagelis said. "When you think of a strategy title, you don't necessarily think of really cool action movie shots, or something that's much more visceral where you see an alien blown away by a shotgun. My background is in tactical strategy, but also in console games, so to me it's really exciting that we have the elements of games that make console games exciting as well as the rich depth of strategy games on PC, and we're really trying to merge the two."
Deangelis recalled one time when a late-night janitor ended up watching an early version of the game being played by a member of the tech team. Apparently the dynamic camera angle made the janitor wonder aloud whether Firaxis was still making pure strategy games or had made the transition to pure third-person action titles.
"There's a lot of elements that will appeal to someone who plays Halo or Gears of War or Call of Duty," Deangelis said. "You're fighting off aliens, you have guns, you have big explosions. The gameplay is different, you're not real-time, spamming the shoot button. You're playing sort of a similar scenario, but... in a different way that I think is more fun, a little bit more thought-provoking. But all of the sheen and gloss and sexiness of the console shooters—we have that in our strategy game, and that's how I think we pull in some of those guys that haven't heard of Xcom."
Those newcomers to the series might be a little shocked, though, when they realize that every character in the new Xcom is constantly at risk of permanent death if you're not careful. To a generation raised on more forgiving games with frequent checkpoints and low penalties for failure, the prospect of losing advanced, heavily upgraded characters for good might be a bit jarring. But Deangelis said that he never really considered removing this key element of the Xcom series.
"That really is part of the fun, in a weird way," he said. "On the surface, it seems like I've invested all this time into this lieutenant, so it wouldn't be fun to lose him. But knowing the fact that he can go away, those consequences really add a lot of interest to the game. Every action the aliens take can make it feel that much more exciting, knowing they can actually go away.... You're trying to hold up an alien invasion, and part of that is major consequences in losing these guys."Admittedly, I purchased this game on release date but did not actually play it till 12/2017 and complete it till 01/2018. This game and entry is a must buy to any players of the first game. Questions you have from GR are answered and revealed here. It's not just a sequel that adds a new existing story and focuses on the future. Lore from the first game is established and explained here. Having made sure to purposely revisit but also first hand experience GR through its remaster before delving into its sequel, GR2 was a fantastic sequel. The story and writing is extremely well done, and is longer, bigger, and more epic than GR. The lore is intact and capitalized on, Kat's origins are explained (including the event of how the first game started), the timeline changes are handled well without, if any, major plotholes, the accompany of the special gravity creatures are explained, the world tree plays a part in the story, the dark ocean narrative from the first game is not absent here, all characters focused on competently play their part in the story (and Raven is a very engaging character to see more of in this installment), the ending is satisfying and presented great, etc. Music is not amazing but it's good and does its job. Gameplay is better overall, with a few flaws, combat wise. The overall gameplay as a whole is much better. Camera seems worse but the event requires certain collisions with the surfaces in the game so it's mostly situationally worse. Better UI. The online components (which are ending 8 days from now) are very fun (unfortunately some people will miss out on a fun extention to the game here, which may not affect the core GR2 experience, but is a fun side of gameplay). Graphics are not as stylize as the first game, but it's still great. The level design is good. The geometry of the level design has been revamped in this game to include bigger and flatter surfaces so that walking, running, and sliding on and underneath rooftops is actually possible. This is actually a part of the game I praise, because the underneath portions of buildings that you usually don't explore or need to go under are designed to an extent that puts it on the tier of actual levels you're advancing through. The story was the best part about this game. Just purely amazing writing here. For a basis on the quality of the story, I'd put it up there with the Uncharted series (haven't played Horizon Zero Dawn or Nier yet; they're in my backlog). However, better than inFAMOUS series. The games are actually similar to inFAMOUS: Super Power Heroes, Comic Book style presentation, etc. I essentially find this a higher tier/quality style inFAMOUS game, and im talking the 1st and 2nd game.. the series, not just Second Son.
Read moreVanity magazines are a popular place for photographers to submit images to when they are looking to take their photography to the next level. Eager photographers who want to shoot fashion or beauty will scour the Internet for fashion magazines that accept submissions in the hope that these publications will be a rung on their ladder to success. Unfortunately for many photographers, rather than climbing the ladder, they’re merely wasting time and money.
There aren’t many road maps out there for photographers who want to work in the commercial and fashion side of the industry, but there is one thing everyone wants, and that is to see their images published. For most photographers, let alone new fashion photographers, the cover of a magazine like Vogue is only a dream. So, where do these photographers most often start their journeys? In the vanity magazine.
A vanity magazine is a publication, digital or print, that exists by making money from the work of featured artists, rather than making profits from advertising space and off-the-rack sales as most well-known magazines do. Established magazines can earn money this way because they have wide distribution of print magazines and website readership, whereas vanity magazines earn their income from the artists who submit images and then buy copies once the magazine publishes, or from website advertisements if they grow large enough. These publications rarely ask for submission fees, and they do not pay the artists, but their existence is predicated upon a flow of quality imagery they can acquire for free.
There are certainly benefits to having your work published in vanity magazines, but the drawbacks often prove to outweigh them. What, then, are the benefits of having your photographs published in a vanity magazine?
Model: Brittany Ball, MUA: Kimberly Clay
The Benefits
One of the largest benefits of having your photographs published in a vanity magazine is that, at least in the larger and more respected magazines, the photography has to have reached a certain level of quality to be accepted. If the work is accepted, it’s a justification of your skill and effort, and that is a good feeling. If your work is not accepted, you know that you've still got some growing to do.
Another important benefit is that the submission process forces the photographer to think through, plan, and photograph sometimes very complex stories. Photographers learn to conceptualize, gather and work with a team, plan their shoot and carry it through to completion. If vanity magazines provided no other benefit, the learning process alone might be worth it.
A final and more controversial benefit is social currency in the form of likes and shares. However, the only time this may make much of a difference for a photographer looking to earn a living by photographing fashion or beauty is if the reach of the magazine is high enough to earn them a substantial number of followers that may make them desirable enough for a client to want to leverage that influence.
Because the benefits of vanity publishing are so tenuous, it’s important to look at the drawbacks to find out whether or not taking the plunge is actually worth it.
The Drawbacks
It doesn’t pay; this is a rather large drawback. Photographers will spend their time planning, shooting, and retouching the editorials they submit. They’ll spend money sourcing garments, building sets, renting studios, getting permits, hiring a team, and ignoring their other work to see their images published in a magazine. The problem is that this kind of editorial work doesn't pay. Vanity magazines exist on the backs of artists, so they cannot pay those artists for their work. A few well-known vanity magazines even request submission fees for the honor of deciding whether to publish the work.
Another drawback is that most vanity magazines don’t have a large or diverse enough readership to turn potential clients on to the photographer's work. All the effort and money spent to produce a high-quality editorial is worth it if the images bring in paying clients. However, vanity magazines rarely, if ever, have a printed presence in stores, and their readership tends to be constrained to photographers, artists, and their friends and families. So, the likelihood of a potential client finding the photographer’s work via a vanity magazine, and then hiring the photographer, are incredibly slim.
The value of an image to a working photographer is its ability to generate income. Either the image sells on its own, or it inspires a client to hire the photographer to create new images. One of the other problems with submitting images to a vanity magazine is that the photos can be tied up in the submission process for months, which means that the capability of the image to bring the photographer revenue through viewership is damaged unless the vanity magazine has an incredibly high viewership.
The final nail in the coffin of magazine submissions is that, more often than not, clients don’t care whether the photographer has tear sheets from the magazines that have published their work. Not once have I ever been asked for a tear sheet, nor have I ever been turned down from a job for removing my tear sheets from my website. Clients rarely care if your work has been on a magazine cover unless the magazines you’re working with are of a high enough caliber to warrant the attention. At that point, cover photographers are hired rather than found through a submission process. Clients are interested in consistent, quality images that have a strong voice, not that your photo is on the cover of a magazine they’ve never heard the name of.
Image from the fall campaign for Spear and Arrow Apparel
Rather than spend valuable time and money producing images for vanity magazines that don’t pay and don’t bring you paying clients, it may be more valuable to spend money in areas that have a higher likelihood of producing a return.
Purchasing an email list of art directors, editors and art buyers, producing a promotional mailer, designing marketing promotions, strengthening your platform, entering the right kind of photography contests (where you at least stand to earn some kind of a prize, be it money, gear, or having your images published in a respected industry magazine with a wide enough readership to matter), and investing in education all stand a better chance of producing a higher return on your investment than does submission to vanity magazines. Networking will do almost as much as all of these things put together.
While vanity magazines can provide valuable learning experiences for photographers who are set on climbing the ladder, the same skills can be learned by other means and, more often, to better effect.December 06, 2017 • Synth Morph • cubase • review
In this article I will guide you through ALL Cubase Pro 9.5 new features. If you want to know each and every new feature and where to find them, then this video is for you!
You'll also find the outline of each new feature below, but to get a full insight please watch the video fully. The statements below reflect the state of the release at 15 November 2017.
CONTENT:
00:22 - Bezier Curved Automation
01:36 - 16 Insert Effects, Free Pre / Post Fader Configuration
02:31 - New Metronome Features
04:11 - Sampler Track Improvements
06:20 - Direct Offline Processing
09:34 - 64-Bit Mixing Engine
10:47 - Right Zone Improvements
11:40 - Plug-in Instruments and Effects
13:05 - New Content
14:37 - Adapt to Zoom
15:37 - Set Playbar To Exact Position With Mouse
16:50 - Extend Playback Range Before Part Start
17:44 - New Studio Menu
18:06 - The "Visual Metronome"
18:32 - Stereo Out in Track List
19:13 - Re-Colour the Interface
20:00 - CONCLUSION
Bezier curved automation
you shape the transition between any two points freely with a curve
you can make the curve edgy or smooth, depending on where you move its control point
raise or lower the overall scaling between any two points without selecting them, just drag this diamond shape on the top and move up/down.
works perfectly with the Range tool / selection range, just hold Ctlr + Shift while drawing a range freely
also works with VCF faders
current drawback: strictly for the main Project window, so MIDI automations in Project windows or editors are not improved, hopefully MIDI automations will get a major overhaul later.
Insert FX extended to 16 Slots
the number of insert fx slots has been doubled from 8 to 16.
flexible pre- and post-fader insert slot configuration: just move the green line, everything above the line is pre-fader, below the line is post fader
pre and post-fader inserts are coloured differently
Improved Insert FX Bypass, Activate on/off state display
if the plug-in is active and working, it is blue
if you bypass it, it is greyed out
if you Alt+click on the left side icon you can toggle the plug-in on or off
Completely reworked and improved Metronome
to access Metronome settings:
Transport > Metronome setup
lower Transport Bar > Metronome setup (you have to enable to make it visible)
metronome can perfectly follow changes in signature / rhythm
you can edit the metronome click patterns or make your own
Steinberg provide different factory click sound presets or just load your own audio
at Project > Signature Track you can render the metronome sound as a MIDI file or an audio file
Sampler improvements
drag a MIDI part from an instrument track or from a Rack instrument MIDI track onto the Sampler track and Cubase will render the audio file for instant playback.
drop any audio from Mediabay or Windows Explorer or Finder onto the track or onto the sampler itself, and the sounds are all instantly usable.
you can compare the different states with the new A/B switch
whenever you drop an audio file to the sampler, it will automatically copy it to the project audio folder
Direct Offline Processing
replaces the old Offline Process History based audio processing
works for each audio event separately, press F7 to open it
you can keep it opened, just select audio events
you can add plug-ins and processes in the same window
it always works on copy of the original audio file, so you can always revert to the original audio.
see all changes on the waveforms in real-time
any parameter change instantly re-calulates and applies the effects to the wave file, then it does not consume CPU anymore > useful for any creative experimentation without any CPU limit!
preview with Audition button, change fx order or bypass certain plug-ins - all changes are calculating nearly real time
all settings are saved with the project
two major problems:
currently quite buggy
unlike in Nuendo, you can not save preset chains here.
64-bit processing engine
Cubase still uses the current 32-bit precision by default
you can change between 32-bit and 64-bit it in Studio > Studio Setup > Processing Precision
advantage: all channels can be processed at 64-bit resolution, so it does a slightly more precise roundings at the sonic computations.
if you enable the 64-bit mode, nearly all the stock plug-ins and channel strips effects are prepared and 64-bit compatible right now, but any other plug-ins will still be processed with 32-bit precision as before
restrictions:
it works only with VST3 plug-ins, so no chance for VST2
and these VST3 plug-ins should specifically support this 64-bit processing
VST Plug-in Manager can filter to 64-bit capable plug-ins
Right zone improvements
full featured Media section, with File Browser, Favourites, full drag-and-drop support
drag and drop Steinberg instruments only from this new media
Control Room, with the integrated Master and Loudness meters
Plug-ins
New wavetable instrument called Flux, part of the stock HALion Sonic SE3, based on HALion 6 new wavetable engine
Improvements of Cubase compressors
Tube Compressor: new design, new "Character" parameter, Mix knob for easy parallel compression
Vintage Compressor: new design, Mix knob for easy parallel compression
Compressor: High ration mode, Mix knob for easy parallel compression
Tape simulator Magneto: new GUI, new name mk III.
New Content
130 FX Chain Presets for all kinds of instruments groups, like Bass, Drums, Guitar, Synths, Vocals and more
75 New Mastering Track Presets (25 for Cubase Artist and Elements, 50 presets for Cubase Pro) in genres like 70's, 80s', Classical, Country, EDM, Hip Hop, Indie, Pop, etc.
Updated Allen Morgan Signature Drums pack, sounds are now available as:
one-shot samples
fully editable MIDI Loops with 5 loop variation per loop in Groove Agent SE 4
Groove Agent SE 4 presets
Adapt to Zoom
the more you zoom in, the finer the horizontal grid will become
works only when you are in Bars+Beats mode on the timeline
works in MIDI editors (Key, Drum or List editor) as well
Set the Playbar anywhere using the mouse
hold a modifier key (like Shift) and click in the background: according to the Grid Type you can position the playbar to exact timeline locations
can snap to the nearest Beat, Bar or quantize setting
Extend playback range before Part start
set a safety range to make sure that notes which are slighly out of the MIDI part at the beginning still play back
New Studio menu
the very long Device menu of the earlier Cubase versions is restructured into a new Studio menu: everything is arranged, renamed and grouped in a much more logical way.
Visual Metronome
Time Display window |
ra, a popular face, called for "introspection" instead of raking up the issue of alleged manipulation of EVMs. Modi expressed his gratitude to the people of Delhi for reposing faith in the BJP and ensuring its resounding victory.
"I laud the hardwork of team @BJP4Delhi which made the resounding MCD win possible," he tweeted. In his first reaction, Kejriwal promised all cooperation to the civic bodies and refrained from commenting on EVMs, the "manipulation" of which he had identified as the reason behind AAP's string of poll upsets.
"I congratulate BJP on their victory in all 3 MCDs. My govt looks forward to working wid MCDs for the betterment of Delhi," Kejriwal, who went into a huddle with top leaders of the AAP as the results trickled in early in the day, tweeted.
The Congress, which was hoping to bounce back in Delhi, has also been consigned to political wilderness, at least for the time being. Ajay Maken, who steered the party's Delhi unit over the last two years, resigned.
The grand old party did increase its vote share from 9.7 per cent in the 2015 assembly polls to 21.2 per cent in the civic elections, but the scale of the defeat overshadowed whatever little gains it made.In the 2012 municipal polls, BJP had garnered 36.74 per cent vote share and the Congress 30.50 per cent. The AAP was yet to make its electoral debut then.
The opposition called it a "referendum" on the Kejriwal government and demanded that the CM resign. Experts credited the BJP's landslide victory to the "Modi wave", while the AAP's debacle was described as the bursting of a political bubble.
Sanjay Kumar, Director of the Centre for Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), was of the view that the AAP's defeat will "reduce its chances of survival". The way the AAP has been routed, its chances of survival have been reduced. Parties contest elections all the time, they win and they lose as well, it should not be too worrisome for them. But, the AAP's case is different," he said.The Israeli navy is reported to be "sending a message" to Iran
Two Israeli warships have sailed through the Suez Canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, Israeli and Egyptian officials say.
Israeli media described the passage of the two Saar class missile boats as a "message" to Iran.
Israel believes Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at developing nuclear weapons, something Iran denies.
Israeli officials say an Israeli submarine used the canal in June, returning on 5 July.
An Israeli official said deployment of the two ships was linked to the Israeli navy's "recent activities around the Red Sea".
Correspondents say that although Israel vessels regularly use the canal, the recent moves have - unusually - been publicised by the Israelis.
Shlomo Brom, of the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies, said: "I believe (the news) was likely leaked on purpose in order to signal to Iran that Israel has the capability of reaching them."
Israel has said repeatedly that it will not rule out the possibility of taking military action against Iran over the nuclear issue.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Aboul Gheit told the BBC that warships had the right to use the canal provided they had no aggressive intent towards Egypt.Homeless man illustration By: Mahesh Sarin
A homeless man was arrested, charged and convicted of murder after killing a kindhearted person who let him sleep in his home, prosecutors in New York said.
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced that 58-year-old Raymond Epps of Boston, Massachusetts, has been found guilty in connection with the strangulation and robbery of a Woodside man, who had given him a place to stay.
“The defendant repaid his benefactor’s generous act of kindness by strangling him in his own home and then stealing his credit cards, which he used to buy a bus ticket back to Boston and various merchandise which he traded for drugs. His actions warrant a lengthy prison sentence to punish him and protect society,” District Attorney Brown said.
Epps, who has been held without bail since his arrest, was convicted of second-degree murder, first-degree robbery, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and fourth-degree grand larceny following a jury trial before Queens Supreme Court Justice Gregory L. Lasak.
Epps faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
According to the police investigation, Epps met his victim, Wayne Graves, 62, at the Port Authority Bus Terminal and stayed with him at his Berkeley Towers apartment in Woodside, Queens.
A friend of the victim, Gerard Torre, testified that he visited the apartment, and that Epps introduced himself, saying that he needed a place to stay and was staying a few nights with Graves, who needed a walker for mobility.
Torre visited for about 90 minutes and left. The following day Torre repeatedly called Graves by phone, but there was no answer.
The next morning, Torre went to the apartment and when no one answered, he had the building’s super open the door. Graves’ body was discovered in the bathtub and his death was ruled as the result of strangulation.
Evidence introduced at trial revealed that hours earlier that day, Epps used the victim’s credit card to purchase a bus ticket to Boston.
Epps used the victim’s credit cards in Boston to buy merchandise from various stores, which he then used to trade for crack cocaine.Nov 5, 2015; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks defenseman Justin Braun (61) watches the puck go in goal on a shot by San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic (not shown) in the game against the Florida Panthers i the 2nd period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports.
Alright, this was another bad game by the Florida Panthers on their West Coast trip. The Panthers lost 5-2 to a much more impressive San Jose Sharks team, and the Panthers will have to have a big regrouping moment before their last West Coast game in Los Angeles Saturday afternoon. Now, the Panthers are 5-5-3 after 13 games, which obviously won’t cut the mustard.
Let’s look at where things went right and wrong for the scuffling Panthers:
3 GOOD THINGS
Fairly decent power play. Well, the Panthers had three power play chances and scored during one of them. And generally, the Panthers offense looked most dangerous during those power plays, which was at least a positive development considering the tough state of offense at even strength. The top line of Nick Bjugstad, Jaromir Jagr, and Jonathan Huberdeau found some more space and connected on more passes when they had the man advantage. And Brandon Pirri finally was able to end his goal-less streak with a wicked shot of his own on the power play. Considering other areas of concern from last night, I wouldn’t complain too much about special teams.
Gerard Gallant has laser-vision. Gerard Gallant’s challenge of Joonas Donskoi’s second goal was incredibly smart, and very ballsy. Some time before the goal, Gallant (or somebody else on the bench) must have seen Joe Thornton cross the line offsides to enter the offensive zone:
Sharks broadcast just showed a better angle of the offside – good decision to challenge that pic.twitter.com/dOL1QZEirt — Stephanie (@myregularface) November 6, 2015
Not sure how anybody could’ve seen that with their naked eye, but Gallant’s decision to challenge kept a struggling Panthers team down only a goal late in the second period.
Vincent Trocheck did some nice things. Don’t look now, but Vincent Trocheck is tied for the points lead on the Panthers, with 10 so far on the young season. His move coming out of the dot to score his goal in the first period was simply great, and showcased how the young forward has grown to create his own offense and emphasize his shot. And with other Panthers struggling to find the net at the moment, Trocheck is developing into a more of a 2nd-line center role. He doesn’t seem like a depth player, instead he looks like a key player for the Panthers.
3 BAD THINGS
5-on-5 was atrocious. Well, it was frankly tough to come up with three good things, because the Panthers spent nearly all the game mired in crap. The 5-on-5 play was especially brutal tonight. The numbers speak plainly: the Sharks scored four times at even strength, and the Panthers scored once. The number of shots at 5-on-5 don’t seem so disparate (26 for Florida, 29 for San Jose), but the quality of the chances was anything but. The Sharks combined for great passing combos, sparked rushes up the ice, won races to pucks, and outworked Panthers along the boards. There was hardly anything the Sharks didn’t do better than the Panthers, and it got to the point where the “even strength” didn’t feel so even.
Defense not up to snuff. Al Montoya wasn’t exactly Dominik Hasek on the ice last night, but he was given no favors by the team in front of him. The Sharks absolutely dominated puck possession and offensive opportunities all night. And here are some nice numbers to prove it:
This was posted after four Sharks goals. SCF stands for “scoring chances for”, and HSCF stands for “high scoring chances for”. As you can see, the Sharks had a massive amount of high-quality scoring chances, which are defined as chances coming off a rebound or coming off the rush. The Panthers could hardly give up any scoring chances that weren’t high-quality, and the score backed it up. Without some desperate saves by Montoya, the Sharks could’ve blown the game wide open.
And unfortunately, Dmitry Kulikov and Alex Petrovic took a massive punch to their stats after this one: Kulikov committed his first penalty of the year and was -4. Petrovic was schooled by Patrick Marleau for the Sharks’ third goal, and finished -5. I don’t put much emphasis on plus/minus, but those are egregious numbers that are tough to ignore.
Not a convincing performance from the start. The Florida Panthers were down 1-0 after 6:37 and down 2-0 after 9:26. Considering the crap finish in Anaheim, you would’ve hoped that the Panthers would come out with some fire in their hearts and played an angry redemption kind of game. But instead, the Panthers were blown away by the more energetic and creative Sharks, and suddenly the Panthers haven’t won a hockey game in the last five tries.
I bet Dale Tallon makes a trade or Gerard Gallant scratches somebody, because there are a diminishing number of excuses for the Panthers. Blame the referees, blame the ice conditions, blame injuries, blame the travel schedule, blame the opponents’ goalie, blame the movement of the planets… at some point the Panthers only have themselves to blame.First, an example. When I was up in Seattle last week, I stopped by the new Amazon Bookstore. Not the online site you are used to visiting — I mean the brick-and-mortar actual Amazon store with books in it. It has been open less than a month. It was packed. It was fun. I bought three books, just because. Not much has changed over the last few generations for the consumer experience of browsing in a bookstore. But it certainly feels different inside the Amazon store. It is different. There are no posted prices (book prices are synced to the online Amazon price, which changes frequently). And they don’t take cash. A consumer retailing operation that doesn’t post prices and doesn’t take cash. Interesting.
As an online retailer of books, Amazon has certainly been disruptive to the brick-and-mortar bookstore business. Will the new Amazon model of a real bookstore be another disruptive event? Time will tell, but don’t say no until you visit the new store. Technology changes not only goods and services but also how they are purchased and delivered. That holds for religious services as well as any other field. I’m thinking the big blowup over the recent policy changes by the LDS Church is another example, showing how social media have disrupted business as usual for the LDS Church.
Last month I did a post at T&S on the same general theme, arguing that the increased pace of online information delivery that we are all getting used to makes the current structure of LDS Sunday meetings (three hours of slow delivery of uninteresting information) ever less appealing, particularly for younger Latter-day Saints. Here is another example: The dramatic reaction to the new LDS policies requiring mandatory discipline for gay marriage and barring some children who have a gay parent from being baptized at age 8. The LDS Church has been quietly changing policies in its Handbooks for generations, but a public display of opposition by the membership on this scale has never happened before. Previously, most members were not even aware of such changes. Something has changed. I think social media as a disruptive technology is part of the explanation.
How has business as usual for the Church changed? First, the secret handbook giving detailed guidance to LDS local leadership is no longer secret. For a church that has employed secrecy as a strategy in so many areas (the Handbook, the temple, disciplinary proceedings, historical documents in its archives) the transparency of social media and the Internet is highly disruptive. Second, unhappiness can now network, communicate, and organize, and do it quickly. Granted, it takes a significant screw-up to create a level of unhappiness sufficient to spur networking and organization by those who are unhappy. But when that happens, as it surely does from time to time in any organization, including the Church, the negative consequences are now almost instantaneous. The Church no longer has years or even months to assess the damage and craft a response or execute a retreat from a bad decision or policy. Waiting even a week to respond is now too long.
If the Church does not adapt to the reality of this changed technological environment and modify its procedures and operations, similar scenarios will continue to recur.He is a childish man running for a job that requires maturity. He is an insecure boasting little boy whose desires were somehow arrested at age 12. He surrounds himself with sycophants. “You can always tell when the king is here,” Trump’s butler told Jason Horowitz in a recent Times profile. He brags incessantly about his alleged prowess, like how far he can hit a golf ball. “Do I hit it long? Is Trump strong?” he asks.
In some rare cases, political victors do not deserve our respect. George Wallace won elections, but to endorse those outcomes would be a moral failure.
And so it is with Trump.
History is a long record of men like him temporarily rising, stretching back to biblical times. Psalm 73 describes them: “Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. … They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance.”
And yet their success is fragile: “Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly they are destroyed.”
The psalmist reminds us that the proper thing to do in the face of demagogy is to go the other way — to make an extra effort to put on decency, graciousness, patience and humility, to seek a purity of heart that is stable and everlasting.
The Republicans who coalesce around Trump are making a political error. They are selling their integrity for a candidate who will probably lose. About 60 percent of Americans disapprove of him, and that number has been steady since he began his campaign.
Worse, there are certain standards more important than one year’s election. There are certain codes that if you betray them, you suffer something much worse than a political defeat.State senators ease up on banning the substance, but they’re still wary.
By Minali Nigam
A legislative proposal to ban kratom, a mood-altering drug, has been dialed down so that its use would only be illegal in North Carolina for people younger than 18.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a number of states have either banned or restricted the use of the substance.
Kratom users, store owners, and advocates gathered at a hearing of the Senate Health Care Committee at the General Assembly in Raleigh Tuesday, where they discussed House Bill 747. As amended Tuesday, the bill would prohibit the use of kratom for minors and call for a public health study on its effects.
“We could end up in a scenario where we ban kratom, we could end up in a scenario where you have be 21 or older to buy kratom, we can end up where you are 18 and older and you can buy kratom, or there’ll be no restrictions on it whatsoever,” said Senator Tommy Tucker (R-Waxhaw), who presented the bill to the same committee in May. “We simply want to find out the facts and… not move too fast.”
“We want to look at this very hard,” he said.
A ‘subtle’ drug
Kratom is substance derived from the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa plant, found mostly in Southeast Asia. There are mixed reports about the effects of kratom, but some user accounts include descriptions of euphoria, pain relief, sleepiness, and calm.
An international team of researchers that reviewed more than a hundred studies on kratom found it affects some of the same neuroreceptors in the brain as heroin and has similar effects. At the same time, kratom doesn’t seem to make people as “high,” or alter their consciousness in the same way as opioids.
And some former addicts say the substance has helped them beat their opiate addictions and ease withdrawal symptoms.
Laura Davis, a clinical social worker, who has a private practice in Chapel Hill, has seen this first-hand. She incorporates kratom in her treatment plan for clients.
“Kratom is a huge part of therapy for a young man who was shooting heroin in New York,” she said. “He came down here and has been sober since December.”
But lawmakers are asking for evidence beyond anecdotes.
“I do not understand how someone can go from taking opiates and being addicted and then go get street heroin and then all of a sudden be able to get off both of them by taking kratom,” Tucker said.
Concern about kratom has grown since the state’s medical examiner’s office found that 23 opiate overdose victims also tested positive for kratom, a significant rise, according to bill co-sponsor Sen. Tom McInnis (R-Rockingham).
However, Elizabeth Gardner, owner of Krave, a kava bar in Carrboro, says this concern is a result of misleading information.
“I was there when all this started being looked at, when a mother, I think wrongfully, blamed kratom for her son’s decision to kill himself,” Gardner said.
“The autopsy showed he had kratom in his system, but he also had three psychotropic medications that shouldn’t have been prescribed together in the amounts they were.”
Gardner describes the drug as having the effect of changing mood, rather than being mind-altering.
“It’s subtle. If you abuse it or be irresponsible with it, you’ll throw up. You can’t tolerate high levels,” she said.
Fact checking
“We have to have the facts before we make the right move,” said Tucker as the senators changed their bill from a measure that would ban kratom altogether to one that would study it and only apply the ban to minors.
Advocates sitting in the back of the committee room cheered during Tucker’s comments. Outside, in the hallway, they said they supported the Senate’s decision to hold off on the total ban.
“I don’t think we could be happier right now,” said Susan Ash, Founder of the American Kratom Association.
“The fact that our voices made that much of an impact shows just how much the grassroots can work together with the professional organization and industry to get our message that this is something that we use responsibly, that our health and well being depends on,” Ash said. “And again just that our voices were heard.”
After the May Senate hearing on kratom, the American Kratom Association commissioned a toxicologist to put a report together which, Ash said, cited “clear conclusions” about the safety of kratom and its lack of ties to any deaths.
But the science known about the risks and effects of kratom is slim. Researchers in one large study caution categorizing krathom as a safe drug, citing it has the potential to cause withdrawal symptoms and life-threatening effects, especially when taken with other drugs. They state more studies are needed to understand kratom consumption.
Sens. Tucker and McInnis received numerous emails, from as far away as Australia and Tanzania, on the benefits of kratom for chronic pain and addiction. They decided to modify the bill to prevent sale, distribution and consumption of kratom only among minors — for now.
Minors who are caught in possession of the substance would be charged with an infraction, rather than a felony. This would keep their records clean, according to McInnis.
The bill, Tucker said, also extends the study to look at the effects of nitrous oxide “whippets,” which aren’t related to kratom but can still give users a buzz.
“We wanted to do the right thing and not have a knee-jerk reaction,” McInnis said about letting go of the ban for now.
Cover photo: By ThorPorre, Wikimedia Creative CommonsImage caption Tommy Robinson and an associate planned to walk from Hyde Park to Woolwich
Two members of the English Defence League who planned to do a sponsored walk to Woolwich in south-east London have been arrested.
EDL leader Tommy Robinson and Kevin Caroll were arrested outside Aldgate East Tube station in east London.
They were later bailed to return to a police station in August.
Police had made an order on Friday confining an Armed Forces Day demonstration to an area between Hyde Park Corner and Westminster.
The two men planned to pass East London Mosque on their walk from Hyde Park.
They were due to walk to Woolwich to lay flowers at the place where soldier Lee Rigby was killed on 22 May.
'Public disorder' concern
A Met spokesman said: "At approximately 11.25am today, two men were arrested outside Aldgate East station for obstructing police.
"They have been taken to a south London police station. Two further men were arrested on suspicion of assault.
"They have been taken to an east London police station."
In a statement on Friday the Metropolitan Police said conditions were imposed "due to concerns that they may result in serious public disorder and serious disruption to the local community".
The organisers of the walk were offered alternative routes to avoid Tower Hamlets borough where the mosque is located but after they declined to agree the order was imposed, police said.
The Met said notice under the Public Order Act 1986 imposed a route on the proposed procession of EDL members and supporters starting at Hyde Park Corner and ending at Old Palace Yard.
The force said the public assembly could only take place at Old Palace Yard opposite the House of Lords and last for a maximum of two hours.If you don't want to read my super long review: the reason why I gave this 3 stars even though there's a TON of new features and content is because there are some huge limitations and because it's more Young Adult/ party-oriented stuff I don't want. If you love TS4 as is, you will love this game.
I think this is by far the most beautiful sim game yet. I included some photos of the scenary, which I was blown away by. I love the special effects in the background with the trams, helicopters, cars, pidgeons, etc. which adds to the immersion. That being said, this game does have its issues. First let's talk about what you can and can't do in this game:
You can (apologies if I left any out, there are so many new small and big features):
- Join the new careers: politician, social media and critic. These are not active jobs like in Get to Work where you get to follow your sims to work; these are semi-active jobs similar to the format of TS3 Ambitions where there are opportunities and responsibilities you might need to fulfil. E.g a politician might need to give a speech or join a protest
- Opt for the new Vegetarian and Unflirty traits
- Choose to complete the new City Native aspiration, which is all about exploring the city
- Explore the new world, San Myshuno
- Add lot traits to existing lots (this feature was patched in for free to complement this expansion pack, but this pack has additional traits not included in the free patch)
- Live in apartments and have neighbors
- Live in a penthouse*
- Build your penthouse however you like, including tearing down walls and building rooftop pools
- Build up the new singing skill via the karaoke machine
- Play basketball on the new basketball court
- Paint grafitti on walls/ floors using an invisible object (resizeable using the cheat) that defines the space in which you can grafitti. If you size it up, the grafitti will scale up which is pretty cool
- Attend festivals- there are 5: romance, humor and hijinx, geekcon, spice and flea market.
- You can sell items including craftables if you have a booth at the flea market, you can also sell paintings/ photographs on the new portable gallery object
- Buy used furniture and other collectibles at the flea market
- Eat at food trucks and pop up restaurant- sushi and ramen are some of the new foods available.
- Play with the new bubble machine (it's back!)
- New collectible: snowglobes
- Buy t-shirts and produce at shirt/ food stands
- Die from eating improperly prepared pufferfish nigiri
- Play console games on the new console object
- Interact with the romance guru at the Romance Festival (basically you just ask him about stuff, he's not a matchmaker)
- Have fun with the new talking toilet
- Play with the new keyboard object
- Experience power outages, rat/roach infestations in your apartment
- Call your landlord if things break in your apartment
- Yell at your neighbors if they make too much noise
- Give an apartment key to your friends so they can show up freely
- Visit the new Art Gallery lot type, which is different from a museum in that you can paint and do stuff on the lot. Seems the same to me :/
- Incorporate the new recipes at your restaurant if you have Dine Out
- Add the new activities (e.g. singing, basketball) as official club activities if you have Get Together
- Build community lots in place of a penthouse on a penthouse lot (so you could have a top floor restaurant or night club or spa if you wanted)
You can't:
- Build apartments from scratch
- Do anything with elevators (no elevator woohoo), they are not real objects and they don't really work outside of apartments/ penthouses
- Have apartments outside of San Myshuno. If you choose to plop a pre-made from the gallery in a different world, it will just be a house
- Get an apartment key
Sooo...it seems like the list of things you can do in this game is huge, and the can't list is very short. However, the things you can't do are pretty huge. You also have to go through a loading screen if you want to visit neighbors. I was most disappointed by the fact that you can't build apartments outside of the world. The apartments seem to be a combination of the TS2 and TS3 apartments- they are better than TS3, worse than TS2. Although they added a whole new world, there are not that many lots. There are a handful of apartments and some buildings have more than one apartment unit, which is pretty neat.
You can also find multi story apartments. Still, it would have been huge if they allowed apartments outside of the city. With 5 worlds, people are still crammed for space because the worlds are tiny. There are only 2 top floor lots- currently 1 is a penthouse and 1 is a lounge. There's hardly any room for other community lots. I was also pretty bummed that there were only 2 new traits and 1 new aspirations. This is something that has been severely lacking more than 2 years after the game was released. Consider that it has been 1 year since the last expansion pack....remember in TS3 when they would throw a ton of new traits and aspirations at us? Why would they add new careers and new activities like singing and not add new aspirations/ traits relating to that? The new careers are also very boring... besides the politician career, the social media and critic one mostly involves the computer. It's just so boring to watch sims use their phone and computer, I wish they would try something new.
Also...why no blogging skill? This seems like the perfect place for it. You go and try new food, or visit a new location, or meet someone new and you can blog about it to try and gain followers. Instead, blogging seems to be strictly tied to the social media career as a task. I loved the blogging activity/ skill in TS3 where you could blog about whatever. It would be neat to be able to blog about aliens, conspiracies, food, fitness...whatever you want to try and make money on the side.
Despite the long list of new features, I stick to my rating of 3 stars because while the development team seems to finally understand how much content should be in an EP (think Get Together or Get to Work), this is a band aid to a huge gaping wound. 2 years in, still no toddlers. Still limited lots. Still lacking in traits and careers. There is no depth here for me, there's still no consequences for cheating, there are no consequences for grafitting on the streets, they haven't added any new craftables. Here's an example- the idea of festivals sound fun, especially the GeekCon Festival. Sims dress up in cosplay, and they play video games and particpate in hackthons. Those are all things we could already have done without the EP. I don't know, maybe I'm jaded because I'm expecting way more in-depth content and toddlers by now. This just seems to me like more Young Adult/ party-oriented stuff that we keep telling them we don't want. Sims 3 Pets was released just over 2 years after Sims 3 was released...where's my Pets? Seasons? FAMILY PLAY??? I feel mean for saying this because I know they really put a lot of effort in this game, but it's just not going to have any kind of longevity for me. It's all shiny and new, but it's not what I want. If you love the Sims 4 as is however, I think you are going to LOVE this game. Totally worth it for big Sims 4 fans!
Update (11/2/2016): You can't have roommates. They specifically said you can in the announce trailer, and you kind of can if you make them in Create a Sim and set their relationship to roommates (so, nothing new here). I was very disappointed.. I really wanted to have NPC roommates that help pay the rent or that you can sublet to, like in TS2/ TS3.Vladimir Putin’s most recent staff change has western experts baffled. According to the BBC, Mr. Putin’s new chief of staff Anton Vaino has reached the top of the Kremlin pecking order “shrouded in mystery”. However cloak & dagger Mr. Vaino’s appointment may seem though, it’s a clear sign Russia is headed off into a far more progressive policy realm than Londoners or Wall Street financiers would have us believe. Here is a candid look at the Putin way ahead.
Olga Ivshina and Dmitry Bulin of BBC’s Russian service tell us just how disparate western capitalist ideas are from the “Third Way” Mr. Putin and his Kremlin advisers have set out in quest of. I alluded to this path in a previous article for NEO. Now I find it fascinating that western media and economists cannot seem to keep up with Putin, even in fiscal policy matters. The BBC piece entitled; “Nooscope mystery: The strange device of Putin’s new man Anton Vaino”, does illuminate readers to reality, albeit unintentionally. An article by Mr. Vaino entitled; “The capitalisation of the future” is the key to understanding how Russian will go forward in this “new way” policy project. Though the BBC, ABC, and a score of other mainstream media outlets fail to understand, the essence of “Third Way” government is not so hard to grasp. Here’s the gist.
Architects of the “Third Way”
Anton Vaino’s theories and strategies on economics are being studied like nobody’s business in western circles today, and for good reason. The “Capitalization of the Future,” piece, published back 2012 in the journal Questions of Economics & Law, it has the status quo experts stymied. Calling Vaino’s assertions mumbo-jumbo, the focus of all media is on the author’s “Nooscope”, a device invented to understand the sphere of human thought. Supposedly built and patented by Vaino, the device measures what the genius Vladimir Vernadsky called the “Noosphere”, or the collective conscious of humanity. At least this is what ABC postulates. In fact the Noosphere concept goes back to a man named Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, who first used the term to describe a third state of human evolution (ergo a 3rd way). While ABC and BBC reporters seem to fail to understand, readers who are confused her may consult the Princeton Global Consciousness Project for more clarity. I assure you Mr. Putin’s selection for chief of staff has less to do with abracadabra policies, and a lot more to do with cutting edge policy and fiscal processes. Vaino is, in my view, the genius picked to lead Russia into its next phase of socio-economic development. For any among you who have ever heard of Big Data and small data analytics, the rest of this story should enthrall. To quote from the Princeton project’s introduction:
“Subtle but real effects of consciousness are important scientifically, but their real power is more immediate. They encourage us to make essential, healthy changes in the great systems that dominate our world. Large scale group consciousness has effects in the physical world. Knowing this, we can intentionally work toward a brighter, more conscious future.”
Now that I have more of your attention, the Princeton project more or less clues us as to the potential of Putin’s most recent staff moves. To be precise, the 15 years of data analysis and study at GPC have established direct correlations in between world events that can predict outcomes. Simply put, I believe Mr. Putin’s think tanks can now formulate and enact regulated behaviors on some level. Okay, maybe that is not so simple to understand, so let me quote Roger D. Nelson, Director of the Princeton project:
“Great events on the world stage which bring people together in shared thoughts and synchronized emotions will be correlated with changes in the behavior of our network of random sources. That hypothesis was intended to be tested in a series of fully qualified statistical tests, with a priori specified parameters. The result is a definite confirmation of the general hypothesis, with a cumulative seven sigma difference from the null hypothesis expectation.”
We in fact do possess a collective consciousness, and evidence is showing that humankind has in fact entered a third phase of development. The theory goes something like this. The noosphere is this third successive phase after the so called geosphere (inanimate matter) and the biosphere (biological life). Just as the formation of life changed the geosphere, the emergence of human cognition fundamentally altered the biosphere. So, the noosphere emergence theory is the point where humankind steps into an era where resources are created through the transmutation of elements. And it is here that some readers may well leave off, at the point where the normative merges with the empirical. The theories of noogenesis seem like black magic to western economists because human spirituality and consciousness enter into the equations. In short, God is part of the complexity of the “Third Way”.
I will let you digest this for a brief moment.
The God Quotient
One bean counter’s “mumbo-jumbo” is another’s “Holy Grail”. It was Teilhard who first argued that the noosphere would eventually evolve toward the Christian notion of love as a principal driver of this new evolution. He discussed something called the Omega Point, or the apex of thought/consciousness which he believed was in essences, the eschatological return of Christ. Now before the reader goes of half cocked thinking this writer has lost it, please be patient. After all, these are not my theories and concepts, although I tend to agree.
Vladimir Putin has been quoted as saying that love is “the way” forward many times. And though western media has largely ignored this sentiment, it is an important note here. With supra-capitalism virtually melting down before our eyes, and with the ensuing desperate crises we see perpetrated by London and Washington, correlating the decline of western civilized ideals is only one step away. While NWO owned media like Isreali businessman Daniel Treisman’s Inquisitor equates noosphere ideas to the mysticism practiced by Hitler’s henchmen, the reality of the supposed invention is closer to Silicon Valley’s penchant for the Internet of Things (IoT) potential. I’ve no space here for delving into this, but for many people in the world the clear divergence away from traditional spiritual ideals is readily apparent. Taking America as a poignant test case, my country resembles more and more the “Babylon” from the book of Revelations. And I know many a Southern Baptist minister has to be preaching himself blue in the face about now. But to return to Mr. Putin’s Third Way and Anton Vaino’s role.
The Steady State – A Noocratic Ideal
It is said that Noocracies are impractical, at least by formerly democratic notions. However impracticable governance by the “wise” may seem though, it’s abundantly clear humanity is not prepared to govern itself, nor are the current democratic systems affecting us positively enough. The test tube of democratic governance is at best, filled with a cloudy substance indiscernible from oligarchy. For many, there simply has to be a better way of going forward. So, what better place to create a new experiment, than the biggest and more diverse country on Earth?
If there is such a collective consciousness phase going on, then perhaps it is due time Pythagoras’ “city of the wise” took shape. It was Plato who predicted that Noocracy was the future political system for the entire human race, and that Democracy (“the authority of the crowd”) and other forms of governance would eventually be replaced by it. Emory professor Mikhail Epstein defined Noocracy as a system of |
funds under management is a significant figure, although it will still be dwarfed by the vast industry funds that dominate Australia’s $2 trillion retirement savings pool. According to recent data from the the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, a typical portfolio allocation in the last quarter of 2016 was 23% in Australian shares, 22% in international shares, 13% in Australian fixed interest and 12% in cash, with the balance in other investments such as international bonds and unlisted property.
When the startup won $1.6 million in seed funding last year, Cannon-Brookes’ venture capital firm Grok Ventures was revealed as one of the investors in the company, saying the super fund would be “a game changer”.
“I’m looking forward to transferring my own super in when it launches,” said Cannon-Brookes at the time.
Spaceship has been on the road this year meeting with prospective customers at events in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Bennetts said this tour and its online publication The Dish had been crucial in driving the pre-launch demand.
The company is now predicting the $100 million mark will be reached before the public launch at the end of the month.
“We consistently hear again and again from our customers that they are not disengaged from their super, but their super is disengaged from them. Customers complain that they hear from their electricity company more than their super fund. That nuance is lost by the superannuation industry,” he said.
As well as the tech stock focus, the startup is hoping that the digital-only administrative process will be appealing to millennials.
Two of the four co-founders of Spaceship have previous superannuation experience. Chief operating officer Kaushik Sen worked in tech positions at ING and AMP and was specifically involved in the launch of SmartChoice Super at ANZ. Sellen led Australian Ethical Investment’s marketing effort, which saw it double its funds over the last three years to hit $1.4 billion.
Bennetts, who replaced Sellen in October, was recruited from AirTree Ventures and had prior experience at Goldman Sachs.
Business Insider Emails & Alerts Site highlights each day to your inbox. Email Address Join
Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.More than 40 ships and submarines representing 15 international partner nations travel in formation in the Pacific Ocean during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2014 exercise in this U.S. Navy photo taken July 25, 2014, and released July 31, 2014. REUTERS/U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Shannon E. Renfroe/Handout
BEIJING (Reuters) - China's navy will send five ships to join a major U.S.-hosted naval drill this summer, even as tension mounts between the world's two largest economies over the South China Sea.
The Rim of the Pacific exercise, or RIMPAC, billed as the world's largest international maritime exercise, is held every two years in Hawaii in June and July.
Critics of the Obama administration, including U.S. Senator John McCain, have said the United States should bar China from the drills to show U.S. disapproval of its military actions.
The United States and its allies have expressed growing concern over the Asian giant's military buildup, as well as its increasingly assertive posture in the South China Sea.
China's Defence Ministry, in a short statement late on Thursday, said its flotilla, including two warships and a hospital ship, would participate in live fire, anti-piracy, search and rescue and other drills.
Despite China's anger at U.S. military patrols close to islands China controls in the South China Sea, and U.S. criticism of China's military build-up, both countries have been trying to improve defense ties and ensure regular communications.
Past participants in RIMPAC have included nations, such as Russia, that are not treaty allies of the United States.
China took part in the RIMPAC exercises in 2014 with more than 20 countries, but defense officials have said its participation was limited to areas such as humanitarian relief and search and rescue operations.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)Quote - You will always crit on the mission materials you do not need.
- You will always be missing one schematic.
- At least one of your 2 second report missions will require you to travel for more than 10 minutes on foot.
- You will miss a bind on a quick travel point. It will be the one you need.
- Your companion will use it's most powerful area attack after your targets are dead.
- You will not be in the same instance as your group.
- You will use a falling death as a quicktravel option.
- You will listen to the entire dialog from an NPC, only to discover you have accepted a heroic.
- You will keep heroics in your mission list even though they have been gray for a long time now.
- You will not discover the side missions you missed until they are gray.
- Your enemy NPCs will have abilities that are cool and unfair that you will never have.
- You will die for dumb reasons. This will be the most common cause of death.
- The item you have wanted to buy on the GTN for months will be posted at a low price right after you buy it at a high price.
- You will use Treek as your companion. Except in cases where you are forced to use another companion for the mission, in which case you will still try to use Treek.
- You will think Treek is far too verbose and loquacious. You will still use Treek.
- You will have at least one character in your lineup that is level 27 and is never touched.
- You will view Jawa jokes in General Chat.
- Your XP boost will run out just before you turn in the quest. You will not notice until it is too late.
- Your favorite ability will be nerfed. So will your next favorite ability.
- A patch will break something. The next patch will break it again. This time it will take them a long time to fix it.
- The next patch will break it yet again.
- Emergency Fleet and Quicktravel will be broken by the next patch.
- You will work hard to acquire HK...after which you will send him on missions.
- You will be annoyed by crafting. This will be a common state.
- You will learn almost every possible item you can make for a crew skill. You will then ignore what you can make and buy it on the GTN instead.
- You will fall off a platform or down an elevator shaft. Despite being careful you will do so again.
- You will not find the hole in the wall on Taris. You will pace back and forth and become creative with your language. You will find the hole you were looking for when you are on another quest.
- The map will teach you to hate the color blue.
- You will highly desire expensive items on the CM and GTN. That desire will fade 5 minutes after you buy the item.
- You will play GSF and explode.
- You will get excited by a purple drop, only to discover it is a birthright kit.
- The forums will teach you the problem is your computer. The game will teach you the meaning of lag.
- You will learn to hate speeder travel. All 5 frames a second of it. O> My latest game suggestions...what would I change if I could?
O> New end game raid suggestion...Tomb of Lords
O> My suggestions to adjust the level sync system.....
O> Links to my other game suggestionsA decades-old nationwide Christian Evangelical group is visiting local pool and parks this summer to convert children, as young as five, into Christianity.
Established in 1937, the Child Evangelism Fellowship says it is "a Bible-centered organization composed of born-again believers whose purpose is to evangelize boys and girls with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to establish (disciple) them in the Word of God and in a local church for Christian living."
This summer, they will be implementing their "Good News Club" training sessions -- massing upon the city of Portland, Oregon -- to convert children into born-again Christians, and they can do it without specific parental permission.
"The most spiritually productive harvest field anywhere is among the children," the CEF website states. "Statistics show that the great majority of people who accept Christ do so between the ages of four and fourteen - when they are children."
The TRAINING of individuals multiplies our ministry and enables us to reach many more children with the Gospel than we otherwise could. For the past eight years we have trained over 250,000 TEACHERS annually. Training is vital if we are to see more children reached for His glory.
An AP story today reports the local Portland CEF group -- they have chapters nationwide, sometimes several per state -- is gearing up, and "spent last week training its volunteers," who will "span out through the area this week trying to reach children."
"We do teach that children are sinners, but we're not nasty about it," Esteves said. "If we were nasty about it, the kids wouldn't come back." He said that they don't try to coerce the children, as "coercion leads to false conversion." At a park on Monday, the group laid out a tarp for children and chairs for their parents. A pair of volunteers led about 12 kids through Bible verses and songs that praised a Christian god. "My heart was dark with sin," they sang, "until the savior came in."
Travis Gettys at the Raw Story notes CEF's website "claims most people become Christians between ages 4 and 14 years old, so they target children with the message that all people are sinful and that only Christian faith will save them from hell."
Gettys adds that CEF "won a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court case that decided they could hold chapter meetings on school grounds, and a critical book argues the group uses public spaces to lead children to believe their fundamentalist views are endorsed by authority figures."
The fundamentalist group is associated with creationist Ken Ham, head of the Answers in Genesis ministry, who claims their mission is part of a spiritual battle dating back to the temptation in the biblical Garden of Eden. "If all life arose by natural processes, and there was no God, why would people even care what others were taught?" Ham said. "After all, for the secularists, when they die they will cease to exist—and in their belief system, they won't know they even existed—so why should they care what is taught to children?"
Journalist Katherine Stewart in 2012 wrote The Good News Club: The Christian Right's Stealth Assault on America's Children. The book's description says CEF's "real mission is to convert children to fundamentalist Christianity and encourage them to proselytize to their 'unchurched' peers, all the while promoting the natural but false impression among the children that its activities are endorsed by the school."
Astonished to discover that the U.S. Supreme Court has deemed this—and other forms of religious activity in public schools—legal, Stewart set off on an investigative journey to dozens of cities and towns across the nation to document the impact. In this book she demonstrates that there is more religion in America's public schools today than there has been for the past 100 years. The movement driving this agenda is stealthy. It is aggressive. It has our children in its sights. And its ultimate aim is to destroy the system of public education as we know it.
A group called Intrinsic Dignity warns about CEF and its Good News Club.
The Club's dominant theme is sin. Its 5-year curriculum includes over 5000 references to sin, compared to less than 2000 references to "love." Spread over 120 one-hour lessons, a child can expect to hear a reference to "sin" approximately every 90 seconds. Each lesson uses a black heart to vividly symbolize a child's inner self. The black heart impresses children with a deeply personal sense of their own inadequacy and sordidness. "You were born with darkness in your heart because of sin," says one lesson on blind Bartimaeus.[3] "Your heart (the real you) is sinful from the time you are born," exclaims a lesson on the golden calf.[4] The Club frequently reminds children that they are "deceitful," "dishonest," and "desperately wicked."[5] A lesson on Cain and Abel warns: "your heart is very sinful.... You may think you're pretty good, but when God sees your heart He sees it is full of sin."[6] Another lesson on Jacob and Esau declares: "Others may think that you are a good person, but God knows what you're really like on the inside. He knows that deep down you are a sinner--you were born that way."[7] "God says none of us are good," explains a lesson on God's omniscience.[8] Even the concept of redemption is used to deprecate children. "As Jesus hung on the cross, God punished him for your sin and your deceitful heart."[9] In one curriculum exercise, a teacher hangs a sign labeled "SIN" around a child's neck. The teacher explains, "[s]ome children try to deny their sin. They say they never do wrong things. But is that true?" No, the children reply. The teacher continues, "He may not think it's there, but God says it and you can be sure that other people see it too!"[10]
Image, top, by Carol Lin via Flickr. Insert by Leslie via Flickr.
See a mistake? Email corrections to: [email protected](MLive.com periodically will profile a potential Detroit Red Wings trade target until the April 3 trading deadline.)
Drew Stafford
Team: Buffalo
Position: Right wing
Height/Weight: 6-2/214
Age: 27
Shoots: Right
2012-13 stats: 30 games, four goals, 11 assists, 15 points, minus-10 rating, 15 penalty minutes, 74 shots on goal, averaging 16:26 in ice time.
Career stats: 427 games, 118 goals, 139 assists, 257 points, plus-23 rating, 243 penalty minutes.
Contract: After this season, two years remaining at a salary-cap hit of $4 million.
Strengths: He has a good combination of skills and size and a nice shot. He scored 31 goals in just 62 games in 2010-11 and picked up 20 goals last season.
Weaknesses: He has been inconsistent the past six seasons, following up good years with mediocre seasons and is struggling badly this year.
Why the Red Wings might be interested in him: Goals have been hard to come by for the Red Wings, whose forward depth has been eroded by injuries to Darren Helm, Todd Bertuzzi and Mikael Samuelsson, of which, only the latter is certain to return this season. They could use some scoring punch from the wing, not to mention another right-handed shooter. Stafford isn't doing much this season, but he has scored 20 or more goals three times.
What it might take to get him: Hard to predict due to his inconsistency and high salary. Perhaps a young roster player and prospect or draft pick. Note that Nashville gave Buffalo a first-round pick last year for Paul Gaustad, who was in the final year of his contract, unlike Stafford.
With the salary cap decreasing to $64.3 million (from $70.2 million) next season and Stafford having a $4 million cap hit, should the Red Wings pursue him? They could use a goal-scoring winger, but is his tendency to disappear, coupled with his contract, a concern?
Would the Red Wings be better off allotting that $4 million salary slot to Valtteri Filppula, who is seeking more than $5 million a season in his next deal?
There also is a chance that Buffalo might not trade with Detroit, since they'll be division rivals next season, following realignment.It is time to stop pretending that Donald Trump has the intelligence, integrity, or understanding to be President. He is not smart, he is not a good person, and he is not even a good businessman. If he was smart, he would not talk about how smart he is all the time. If he was a good person, he would not lie all the time. And if he was a good businessman, he would release the tax forms and other records to prove it.
He only knows how to do one thing. It is a technique that got him pretty far on reality television and as a famous-for-being-famous-type celebrity. It has now catapulted him into a job he did not want and is hopelessly inadequate for. He knows it and yet has neither the will nor the ability to learn from his mistakes and rise to the occasion.
The sole and only thing Donald Trump knows how to do is what economists call "externalizing." That means making others pay for your choices or behavior. He uses this technique in business and in responding to criticism.
Trump is a one-trick pony who externalized his costs over and over to make money by using the bankruptcy and tax laws and underpaying his contractors and those who worked for him to force others to pay the costs of his failures while he got to keep the profits. Those gains are probably less than he claims, of course, because otherwise he would show us the details.
That's it. That's all he knows how to do.
He uses this same technique to deflect any criticism or failure by thuggishly and childishly blaming anyone else, externalizing responsibility, with complete disregard for the truth.
This is so reflexive it sometimes also reveals a complete disregard for the consequences. For example, he has bizarrely insisted on staying on as producer of his television competition series, "The New Celebrity Apprentice," yet another of his massive conflicts of interest, and presumably something he no longer has time for. So you'd think he was personally, reputationally, and financially invested in the show's success. But he is so incapable of understanding anything other than his own limited notion of "winning" that instead he tweets about how much better his ratings were than those of the new host, Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is willing to drive his own show into the ground to prevent Schwarzenegger from doing well.
The indispensable RoguePOTUSstaff got it exactly right, explaining that Trump doesn't care about succeeding; he only cares about "winning." So anything that goes wrong is always everyone else's fault. With complete disregard for the truth -- or any notion of personal responsibility -- he blames the media, Democrats, China, the CIA, or anyone else who has not paid absolute fealty and lavishly praised him. Remember John F. Kennedy's speech after the failed Bay of Pigs mission, which contributed immeasureably to his reputation for honesty and candor. Compare that to Trump's response to the failed mission in Yemen that resulted in the death of a Navy SEAL and an American child. Not only does he still continue to insist that it was a "winning" mission, but when Senator John McCain, one of the foremost experts on military operations and a member of his own party, criticized him, Trump said via tweets, "Sen. McCain should not be talking about the success or failure of a mission to the media. Only emboldens the enemy! He's been losing so...long he doesn't know how to win anymore."
Note that none of this has anything whatsoever to do with the facts or the substance. Insult is not argument. But Trump never explains why his view is different; he just disparages critics and accuses the other side of bad motives, whether it's a judge who has an ethnic last name or was appointed by a Democrat or a hit Broadway show he has not seen but is sure is "overrated." Tellingly this favorite insult implies that he knows something the rest of us haven't caught onto yet.
Trump also tries to obfuscate with "alternative facts" he just makes up. He told a group of sheriffs that the murder rate is up while as they know very well it is down, less than half its peak. Or he makes up a claim of "serious voter fraud" in New Hampshire. If he has evidence for these claims, we deserve to see it. If not, it is clear this is just another attempt to offload responsibility for his actions and statements.
Trump is curiously silent when he knows that an inconvenient truth is too clear to lie about. The suspect in the massacre of Muslims at a Canadian mosque is a white man with far right views, so Trump could not find a way to make it fit his narrative. Not even a tweet.
But when Nordstrom decided to stop carrying Ivanka Trump's clothing line due to poor sales, that got a response. It is in no way a legal or legitimate topic for him to address via his official Presidential twitter account (and reportedly while attending an intelligence briefing). But he did, not by making a business case but by whining that the decision was unfair -- Nordstrom should carry the brand because "She is a great person -- always pushing me to do the right thing!" One would hope that a man who brands himself as a businessman would recognize that commercial enterprises make decisions based on numbers.
Trump's response to any criticism or complaint is the same as the Wizard of Oz's: "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." Or, in the words of Shaggy, that famous exemplar of avoiding personal responsibility regardless of the facts, "It wasn't me."
There's an old lawyer joke that if the facts are against you, you argue the law; if the law is against you, you argue the facts, and if the facts and the law are against you, you yell and bang the table. Trump does not know or care whether the facts or law are with him. He goes straight to the yelling and table-banging, and adds some insults just to keep people distracted and agitated. Look at his insistence on denying a conversation between his Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch and Senator Richard Blumenthal, as confirmed by Gorsuch's own White House-appointed spokesman. I hereby suggest a new hashtag: #Trumpsplaining.
The problem is that Trump is now in the one job where externalizing costs and blame does not work. The President of the United States must consider all issues holistically because there is no one to externalize the costs onto except for other Americans. For example, consider the wall along the border of Mexico that was one of Trump's core campaign promises. He insisted that Mexico would pay for it, a classic example of externalization of costs. Mexico has said quite clearly that they will not. So, Trump has said that the US will fund it initially, and recoup the costs via tariffs. This overlooks the obvious consequence to US consumers, retailers, and manufacturers who will end up paying for any increase in the costs of sending produce and goods across the border.
And Trump's much-touted (by himself) deal with Carrier to "save 1100 jobs" came at great expense to Indiana taxpayers, who now have to pay for the $7 million in tax breaks Indiana had to give to Carrier to "save" those jobs. This is known as a cost, a subsidy, or corporate welfare. Furthermore, the "saved" jobs number is inflated and Carrier is using some of its windfall to automate even more jobs, so that number will decrease futher, not a very good deal for the people of Indiana paying at least $6000 per job "saved."
Here are some of the qualities one needs to be President, no matter which party or policies: the ability to handle both legitimate and illegitimate criticism with humility and grace, more than a 140-character attention span, a commitment to understanding other points of view, respect for expertise, a willingness to compromise, curiosity, diplomacy, and a commitment to be open and candid with the American people. Any President has to have a deep understanding of and appreciation for the Constitution and balance of powers. President is not the same as emperor or starship commander. He doesn't get things done Jean-Luc Picard-style by barking "Make it so." Congress and the courts both have rights, obligations, and powers and calling them "so-called" does not make that go away.On November 25, YG Entertainment revealed that Nam Tae Hyun will be leaving WINNER and YG.
A source from YG said, “After lengthy discussions with Nam Tae Hyun it was judged that it would be difficult for him to continue activities through WINNER. His exclusive contract got cancelled on November 18.”
The source continued, “The remaining members made his health and recovery the priority and hoped for improvement, but it’s difficult to say when he will recover and return because it’s a psychological issue he has dealt with since he was young.”
The agency source concluded, “Although Nam Tae Hyun cannot be with WINNER now, we hope that they will be colleagues who support each other’s future individual music activities. WINNER will not gain a new member and will remain as a 4-member group. We ask for a lot of support four members of WINNER who will make a new start and for Nam Tae Hyun.”
Source (1) (2)A couple of years ago, Jose Bautista had some advice for Marcus Stroman. “He said I should screw with my timing more,” the Jays’ right-handed pitcher told me a couple weeks back. Maybe you’ve seen him employ the strategy this year. It’s a fun and makes watching him more interesting. The effect it has on his ability to prevent runs is less obvious, though.
First, let’s get a sense of Stroman’s “normal” delivery. Here, for example, is the second pitch of his most recent start:
Going back to the first pitch of that start, however, we see something a bit different:
That’s just the first two pitches of the game, mind you. Over the course of his start against the Yankees, the right-hander mostly used the quicker version seen here, but he also varied how long he stayed on his back leg and how long he held the ball, generally playing with his pace to make the batter less comfortable.
If something like this seems familiar, it’s because we’ve seen it before — most notably and recently with Johnny Cueto. It seems to work for the Giants hurler, who has many version of what is known as The Rocking Chair.
For Stroman, the multiple looks have lead to slightly longer times between pitches but also a wider variance in the amount of time between pitches. Here, because of how Pace is calculated on the site, I’ve taken his average time per plate appearance and divided it by pitches thrown and throws to first. Then I’ve taken the standard deviation of those times to show that he’s changing it up more often this year.
Marcus Stroman’s Pace Season Pace Standard Deviation of Times to Plate 2016 20.0 5.11 2017 22.9 6.07
Your first instinct might be that this has a detrimental effect on command. Not only is there no relationship between the standard deviation of pace and walk rate — the best proxy for command I can throw into this calculation right now — but the player himself has seen no deterioration in his walk, home-run, or heart-of-the-plate rates this year. In fact, most of those numbers are at or near career bests.
“I didn’t feel comfortable enough, strong enough in my core to do to it on the past,” admitted the player. After tearing his ACL in 2015, much of his focus has been on getting back to where he once was. This offseason was the first during which he could focus in that area, and he’s seeing a benefit. “Now my command is great with it and I will pause to get back into my mechanics,” he said.
It’s a fun story, but it’s hard to find a direct relationship between varied delivery times and any specific outcomes. Using numbers back to 2014, I couldn’t relate standard deviations of times to the plate and any outcomes in a significant manner.
Perhaps 2017’s leader should give us a hint as to why there might need to be more exploration on the matter. No pitcher this year has varied his times to the plate as much as Michael Pineda. And yet, watch a Michael Pineda start, and there aren’t many different deliveries. You will, however, see him walk around, sweat, wipe his brow, stand around the mound, and then finally stand on the rubber. That affects the variance in time between pitches but does little to alter the actual timing of his delivery.
Going slowly has its benefits. Rob Arthur at FiveThirtyEight showed a small positive effect between a slower pace and velocity, and that makes some sense physically. It allows a pitcher more time to recover between pitches. There’s some evidence that a slower pace is good for injury reasons, too. Our own Dr. Mike Sonne detailed how forcefully cutting down the time between pitches could have a negative impact on pitcher health outcomes.
And varying the pitches is tough on the hitter, even if we can’t express the effects in numbers just yet. Just last year, Josh Donaldson admitted that quick-pitching pitchers were upsetting his timing and pushing the limits of the rule book:
“Pitchers are not trying to deceive runners any more with their balks, they are trying to deceive hitters,” Donaldson said. “With guys like myself, guys like Jose Bautista, guys that have leg kicks, movement in their swing, more than any other area, all that timing, this, that, hold, quick pitch, they’re all trying to do something to mess our timing up.”
It makes sense when put this way, but we’ll still need better data to make a strong link between Stroman’s new approach and his results this year. For now, let’s just appreciate the Rocking Chair, and how crazy it is that he can still find the zone when he’s shimmying on the mound like that.Arsenal are scouting France under-17 international George-Kevin Nkoudou, according to the Daily Mirror.
The 17-year-old winger is one of the most highly-rated young players in France, and the report claims he's already attracted interest from the likes of Porto, Juventus and Benfica.
But Arsenal are also in the hunt for Nkoudou, who is thought to have a £1m release fee clause in his Nantes contract.
The Gunners are expected to draft in reinforcements this month, as Arsene Wenger's side look to clinch a Champions League qualification spot.
But Nkoudou would be one for the future. Arsenal already have Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lukas Podolski, Gervinho and Theo Walcott in wide areas - so Wenger has plenty of options for the time being - and there is thought to be no rush to make a move.
Arsenal face Swansea in their FA Cup third round replay this evening after the first match ended 2-2 at the Liberty Stadium. The tie, at the Emirates Stadium, comes three days after the Gunners slumped to a 2-0 home defeat to Premier League champions Manchester City.
But Wenger has revealed he will not rest Jack Wilshere for the match.Saskatoon's police chief says there's "no balance" in a report alleging that police in Saskatchewan are mistreating Indigenous women.
On Monday, the New York-based organization Human Rights Watch released a report detailing dozens of stories of alleged abuse. The organization heard accounts of overly intrusive strip searches, excessive use of force, racial profiling and sexual harassment.
Saskatoon Police Chief Clive Weighill says the report is "one-sided" because many police forces spoke with Human Rights Watch during its research, but none of the efforts being made by police forces to address these issues were included in the report.
"There's no balance, so when the reader sees this they think everything is operating like it was 20 years ago, and that's not the case," he said.
He said the Saskatoon Police Service "is probably the leading agency in Canada on the way that we deal with missing and murdered Indigenous files."
He pointed out the memorial recently erected in front of the police headquarters.
Cree artist Lionel Peyachew's statue honouring missing and murdered Indigenous women sits outside Saskatoon Police headquarters. (Dan Zakreski/CBC)
Weighill added the force has been doing "intensive" cultural sensitivity training.
"All our officers are very, very familiar with colonialism, with the White Paper, with the Sixties Scoop, with the contemporary issues that are facing our Indigenous population here in Saskatoon," he said.
"We've done a lot of things in our service here and we talked to [Human Rights Watch] on this but they didn't mention any of this. It's all just been the very negative things that they've dug up."
Call for civilian oversight
One of the main recommendations from the report is for the province to establish an independent, civilian special investigation unit to look at reported incidents of serious police misconduct. Saskatchewan is one of five provinces that doesn't have such an independent, civilian unit.
We have spent a lot of time and effort across the province to attract a reflection of our different communities and we're struggling. - Marlo Pritchard, Weyburn police chief
In response, Weyburn Police Chief Marlo Pritchard, who is president of Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police, said there are a number of oversight bodies in place already, like the Public Complaints Commission.
But the report points out that in many cases, the commission delegates the investigation to the municipal police service in question.
"The present oversight structures are no guarantee of independent investigations and accountability," says the report. "Both investigations and disciplinary action may ultimately be determined internally by the implicated police service."
Weighill said an independent, civilian body "brings a lot more credibility" for the public to a complaint review.
"We would certainly work with any independent body," he said.
Recruiting issues
Pritchard said recruiting more women and Indigenous people to join police forces has been a challenge. In Weyburn, Sask., he estimated about 20 per cent of officers are female and 10 per cent are Indigenous.
"We have spent a lot of time and effort across the province to attract a reflection of our different communities and we're struggling," he said.
"I think policing is not a profession of choice at this time — and it's not just from those diverse communities, it's from everybody."
Pritchard said the Human Rights Watch report would be discussed at the next meeting of Saskatchewan police chiefs "to see what can we learn from this and where can we go from here."Sheriff Dupnik's criticism of political 'vitriol' resonates with public
By Sandhya Somashekhar
Credit:AP Photo/Chris Morrison
Pima County Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik, who is overseeing the investigation of Saturday's mass shooting that critically wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D), became an overnight sensation with his remarks that the "vitriol" in today's political discourse contributed to the incident and that Arizona has become "a mecca for prejudice and bigotry."
Dupnik's name was a top search term on Twitter Saturday night, with many of the tweets thanking him for his candor, and overnight, a Facebook page titled "Clarence Dupnik is my Hero" sprung up.
In a news conference Saturday evening, Dupnik condemned the "atmosphere of hatred and bigotry" that he said has gripped the nation and suggested that the 22-year-old suspect being held in the shooting was mentally ill and therefore more susceptible to overheated messages in the media.
"There's reason to believe that this individual may have a mental issue. And I think people who are unbalanced are especially susceptible to vitriol," he said during his televised remarks. "People tend to pooh-pooh this business about all the vitriol we hear inflaming the American public by people who make a living off of doing that. That may be free speech, but it's not without consequences."
His remarks especially resonated with liberals, who even before the name of the suspect was released suggested that the shooter may have had been incited by the tea party. There is no indication that the suspect, Jared Lee Lougner, identified with the tea party or was politically conservative. During the campaign, liberal pundits and politicians asserted that the sometimes militant language some conservative politicians used could incite violence.
MSNBC talk show host Keith Olbermann, who acknowledged and apologized for his role in the acrimonious political climate, praised Dupnik's "extraordinary" comments at the close of his show on Saturday. Dupnik's remarks drew criticism from conservatives.
"We have no idea at this point the motivation of this murderer's act. Yet Dupnik took his moment in the spotlight to drive a political wedge into the event," local conservative radio host Jon Justice said in an e-mail to the Tucson Weekly. "They were reckless and dangerous statements made by someone who should have known better. He should have been using his time to help bring the community together."
Dupnik, 74, a Democrat who has served as Pima County sheriff since 1980, is known for his colorful and often bluntly partisan commentary. Last year, he refused to enforce Arizona's aggressive new law targeting illegal immigrants, calling it "stupid" and "racist." He coined the phrase "political fornickaboobery," to describe the motives he felt were behind the crackdown.
He has called the tea party "bigots," and on Saturday, he had similar words about Arizona's reputation. "The anger the hatred the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous, and unfortunately I think Arizona has become sort of the capital," he said. "We have become the Mecca for prejudice and bigotry."
Yet Dupnik has also argued that the state should not be obligated to educate illegal immigrant children, and a group of fellow Democratic officials in 2009 asked him to apologize after he said 40 percent of students at a particular school district were illegally in the country. He refused.
His remarks on Saturday further ingratiated him with liberals who have often taken issue with another Arizona sheriff - Maricopa County's Joe Arpaio, a Republican and frequent speaker at tea party events who has clashed with federal authorities over his aggressive tactics in dealing with illegal immigrants.
Pima is a border county of nearly 1 million that includes Tucson, a Democratic-leaning city, and overlaps with the 8th congressional district, which Giffords represents. According to the Pima County sheriff's office web site, Dupnik is a 50-year veteran in law enforcement, having first served in the Tucson Police Department in 1958.Two weeks ago, I transferred to the Dart team. For many, this was an obvious career move but there were some people who were genuinely surprised about it.
One of the well-meaning responses.
Responses ranged from mild astonishment to friendly teasing to outright negativity. I don’t blame them: to many people, Dart is a strange animal. You can find plenty of smart developers on the internet who strongly believe Dart won’t be successful or that it has already failed.
I strongly believe the opposite. |
keys matter if you’re doing serious arting and the Companion has them in spades.
The most controversial aspect of the Surface ended up being one of the least worth remark. Ditching Wacom’s tablet technology, the Surface instead uses Ntrig’s art digitizer. I found touch input more reliable on the Surface than the Companion and stylus navigation outside of art apps less laggy on the Companion and slightly floaty on the Surface.
Pen pressure is reported as 256 levels but you’d never know it. I never left wanting for more pressure fidelity. The actuation pressure for the stylus feels steeper than comparable Wacom hardware. You’re lightest marks can sometimes be lost if you’re extremely light of touch.
The distance between the glass and stylus is lesser here than in the case of the Companion. Gains of accuracy that the lessened parallax might provide are lost by overall less accurate tracking of the pen tip. There’s jitter with slow strokes and a smidge more lag when drawing with the Ntrig than a Wacom digtizer. I have very steady hands. I make fast, fluid strokes. If your working style skews towards slow, deliberate mark making, bear the caveat of the jitter in mind.
Art app compatibility is a concern with the alternative hardware. Ntrig’s website has a driver update that adds WinTab compatibility to the Surface. At time of writing, I haven’t thrown a heap of apps at the Surface, but none have failed so far after installing the optional WinTab update.
The Surface Pro 3 would be better with a Wacom digitizer, but, in practice, I didn’t find the Ntrig to be a terrible detriment. Its inclusion is not reason alone to dismiss the Surface.
The Surface battery lasts for ages and uses a newer, more energy efficient processor than the Companion. I don’t bother to bring a bag when I take the Surface out with me. It, its type cover, and its pen are all I need to art on the go. It’s only slightly more of a burden than carrying an iPad and the portability trumps the more laptop-esque nature of the Companion if that’s your primary concern.
If you have a primary art workstation already and are looking solely for a digital sketchbook that’s easy to transport, has a stout battery, and runs full featured art applications, the Surface is a no brainer. If it were the only tablet monitor I had, I’d make due. It’s perfectly functional for production work.
The Companion is heavier. Its battery life gets lesser seemingly by the day. Its screen scratches easily. But it’s my personal choice for my primary art making device. The singular nature of the Companion overlaps in more areas with my needs as an artist. The pen digtizer is slightly better. The hotkeys speed up my workflow. It’s that simple.
However, you’d have to pry my Surface from my cold dead hands. It’s a sexy piece of hardware. It’s heaps more portable than the Companion and lasts longer to boot. Where I’ve taken the Companion to a coffee shop to work in the past, I’m almost certainly going to take the Surface now.
Each is a good choice. They just service slightly different use cases. If portability trumps efficiency, get the Surface. If you don’t mind losing a bit of freedom of movement and ease of toting to and fro, but need a full desktop replacement, get the Companion.
This is exactly the sort of use case where I’d rather be toting the Surface.
I’ll be offering a full review of the hardware mentioned in this article soon. In the meantime, you can support my digital art hardware reviews by purchasing Amazon products using my referral link.
You Might Also Like
The Yiynova MSP19U Cintiq Alternative Swings for the Fences
The Little Monoprice Graphics Tablet that Could
Huion H610 Pro ReviewWORDS
Ask Andy C or Friction who their most influential DJ was back when they first got into drum & bass and we guarantee Randall will be top of the list.
Selecting and pioneering electronic music since the 1989’s infamous ‘summer of love’, Randall was a mainstay on the London pirate stations and the many illegal raves surrounding the movement. Alongside Fabio and Grooverider, Randall was one of the main DJs who’d navigated through the rapidly morphing and developing genres from acid house to hardcore techno to jungle techno to jungle to become one of the earliest DJs to really coin the early jungle sound.
Technically he was just as ahead of the curve, too as he’s one of the first DJs to really sharpen the double drop and utilise that particular characteristic of jungle and drum & bass’s arrangement. His 8am sets at A.W.O.L during the genre’s most essential foundation years are the stuff of legend and it’s there where the likes of Andy C would get inspired….
Eventually their paths crossed and one of Randall’s earliest productions was with Andy C and released on Ram in 1994: Sound Control.
Now 27 years deep into his career and Randall’s still leading from the front as a selector, producer and a director at the helm of Mac 2 record. A breeding ground for next-generation talent and old school masters, current and future releases include EPs from Trex and DJ Vapour and a full album project Heavyweight Soundz later this summer.
But first, some history…
Let’s go back to Sound Control…
It was a mad era mate! We could chuck things at a wall and see what would stick. Everyone was throwing anything they could into the mix and seeing what people wanted and what was working. Ant was a mentor but me and Andy were like kids trying anything out! All tunes need a hook and on Sound Control that hook was the time-stretched amen. Once that was in place it all came together, it took a couple of days and sessions to come together but when it did we knew we had something unique. I mean it was a pretty experimental tune to be fair! It freaks me out hearing it people play it now.
Really?
Yeah man, I’m one of those guys who don’t play his own tunes much but hearing people play it makes me want to play it! Some guy was playing after me at Fabric, can’t remember who, but he drew it in and it sounded fat as fuck. I was thinking ‘what’s this?’ then realise it was our tune!
How did the Andy hook-up come about? Just general junglist stuff?
Kinda. We supported the same team, had the same star sign, Aries. So whenever we met we vibed a lot. I invited him over to the agency I’d started with. A lot of us were with them at the time. Ed Rush, Roni and all that. I remember him coming out to AWOL and I remember telling him how I’d scope out tunes and how I’d count the bars and the maths of double drops. Basically knowing your tunes inside out. He knew it already and just took it another level. I merely showed him the blueprints.
He’s told me stories of seeing you at AWOL. You’d coming into the club with Goldie hyping the crowd up… The whole club knew they’d be hearing a whole new level of future.
Ha! Those days! Yeah we were probably on our way back from a bunch of gigs up north and we’d be doing the 6am or 8am one. Goldie’s already hyped, he’s given me tunes specifically for that set. Not just that night but that set. So he’s prepping every one. We all know what he’s like… When he had those dubs ready to give to me everyone in the building knew things were going to kick off. No one in that room the night we debuted Terminator will ever forget it. Everyone was there to hear the tunes and knew the tunes and the mixes. It was a moment.
Zinc called that jungle’s JFK tune… Everyone knows where they were the first time they heard it.
It fucking was mate. I remember the day Goldie called me and told me to come over and hear it. I was on my way back from a rave, he was like ‘mate, I made this tune you gotta hear it’ I told him I needed to sleep for bit and he was like ‘no mate, come over now’ He’d been in the studio for five days and he said ‘sit down and listen to this’. It blew me away. I was like ‘this is a fucking gamechanger, pure and simple’. It fucked me up! White coat business – mad scientist stuff. I went to Music House and told people about it how there was this time stretching thing but the tempo stayed the same. They couldn’t get it. No one could… Until you heard it. And for the first six months only me, Fabio and Grooverider were able to do that. Don’t get dubs like that any more do you?
It was mad tight back then. Almost too tight?
I get what you’re saying but artists would send tracks to a particular DJ or very small amount of DJs to showcase their music. The whole thing was making people want that tune. So that DJ, who knew they had something special, would bash the arse out of the tune and make people want it. The idea was to cause hype and interest for the tune. But every DJ and artist got their own vibe and their own people to send tunes to before anyone else. I’m blessed to be top of a lot of lists still. Very blessed.
You must have your own vibe and technique? Who do you send tunes to first?
All the top boys I’ve worked with over the years. Andy, Hype, Friction, Goldie, Jaybee, Cool Hand Flex, Kenny Ken, Fabio, to name but a few. Not forgetting some of the pirate guys. I trust them to play it and feedback honestly.
But you don’t play it yourself…
Hahah, nah I’ve got over myself on that. It’s like ‘put it on Randall for fuck’s sake!’ But I still prefer hearing other DJs play my shit… Then you can see the reaction from your own eyes. I love being in the club and seeing the reaction right in the middle of the dance. People beside me don’t even know it’s my tune, it’s just a moment I’m physically in the middle of and part of. Another good place to hear my tunes is the back of the room, by the bar with the brandy and coke. If it cuts through there then I know it’s working. That’s a lot harder to achieve with digital production; to get that weight and punch and warmth. I do miss those old days sometimes… I know a lot of people bang on about it but the sound and feeling of vinyl can’t be beaten.
Bad backs can…
Ha! I’m blessed mate, never had a bad back from carrying vinyl. I’d have two bags and balance them either side. Losing them would kill me. Or getting them off flights and having to pay hundreds to put crates on the plane. That’s why I switched to Serato. It was only a matter of time; you can’t fight technology!
Catch Randall at Tramlines Festival, Sheffield, July 22-24. Info & TicketsItalian superbike manufacturer Ducati could be up for sale this summer - either that or the firm's private equity owners could float the company.
Bloomberg news service reports that Ducati Motor Holding's owners are looking for an 'industrial partner' to sell the company to - and raise 1bn euros (£837m) in the process.
Ducati boss Andrea Bonomi also told the Financial Times on Sunday that several companies in the US and Europe are looking at buying the famous Italian marque. Among the companies in the frame include Volkswagen and possibly even BMW, though VW declined to comment on the matter and BMW is said to be not 'currently' interested in acquiring Ducati.
Harley-Davidson is also on the shortlist of suitors, but given that Harley has recently rid itself of the Buell and MV Agusta brands, it seems unlikely that it would be keen to add a new marquee to its portfolio right now.
Even if Ducati can't find an outright buyer, however, those plans to sell shares in the company to the general public mean that Ducati could soon find itself in new ownership one way or another.Nick Clegg plans to fight the next election on a pledge to stick to the Coalition’s controversial decision to raise university tuition fees to a maximum £9,000 a year.
A Liberal Democrat policy paper, seen by The Independent, rejects calls by some of the party’s activists for fees to be cut to a maximum £6,000 a year or replaced by a graduate tax. The report by a Lib Dem working group proposes that the £9,000 limit be retained but reviewed by the next government.
The plan will be put to a vote at the Lib Dems’ annual conference in Glasgow in September, which has the final say on policy. It will be seen as a test of whether Mr Clegg can persuade the Lib Dems to take the tough decisions facing a party of government.
Join Independent Minds For exclusive articles, events and an advertising-free read for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month Get the best of The Independent With an Independent Minds subscription for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month Get the best of The Independent Without the ads – for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month
The Coalition’s hike in fees provoked Mr Clegg’s biggest crisis as Lib Dem leader. He signed a pledge to abolish fees at the 2010 election and the party manifesto promised to phase them out. He later apologised for his broken promise and now wants to avoid a repeat in 2015. At the same time, he will reject any Conservative proposals for the £9,000 limit to be raised or to reduce the income level at which graduates start to repay their loans from £21,000 to £18,000 a year.
A senior Lib Dem source said yesterday: “We know that we must not go into the election making unrealistic promises that we won’t be able to keep. Everyone from grassroots activists to government ministers has taken flak on this and we all emerged from that experience bruised, so we are determined not to repeat the mistake. That experience has taught us all the importance of realistic, costed policies that we can be confident could be delivered in government. That’s why we have thoroughly examined the current system and the alternatives – a graduate tax and lowering fees – and concluded that we should stick with the current system and review it once it has been given a proper chance to bed in.”
The policy paper, Learning for Life, says: “We believe there is no one alternative funding mechanism that combines both progressive support for graduates on low incomes, affordability for the state and support for those from less affluent backgrounds to participate. We therefore propose sticking with the current system, but commit to a review within the next Parliament, in particular on its impact on access, participation and quality.”
“This should consider both the pressure on the Public Sector Borrowing Requirement from unpaid loans and progress made on widening participation.”Navy cruisers are a class often ignored in favour of moving straight into HACs. If you don’t have racial cruisers to V, you’re not getting the most out of them with their typically awesome hull bonuses. With it, you’re only a stone’s throw away from a HAC with its T2 resist profile and MWD bloom role bonus, as well as double hull bonuses: Two for the base cruiser and two for the HAC skill.
That said, hulls like the Augoror Navy Issue and Vexor Navy Issue still see a lot of play, though some of the other hulls are so ignored they become a spectacle just to see them in space. Navy cruiser hulls are often 25–50% of the cost of their T2 counterparts. Generally, we see most Navy cruisers start out at 80–100 million ISK; if they then become popular like the ANI/VNI, prices drop down to around 50mil, with obvious price fluctuations depending on warzone control and people dumping their LP from time to time. Therefore, when I start talking about balancing, I’m going to balance against what I assume to be a roughly 50mil ISK hull, rather than 100mil. Given the unique nature of faction hulls, I’m also going to include screenshots of three month market data taken from Jita at the time of writing, in addition to the usual baseless conjecture you’ve come to expect from my posts.
Disclaimer: I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know a damn thing about PvE, so my analysis will purely be focused on the PvP feasibility of these ships.
Augoror Navy Issue
Selling about 50 per day with spikes of what I assume are either people dumping stock they’ve LP farmed, or buying a ton for alliance contracts. As we’ll see, that puts it on par with the Omen Navy Issue in terms of amount traded, tying up second behind the VNI. There are only four T1 or faction cruisers with a base powergrid of over 1000; the Maller and ANI at 1150, the Vigilant at 1050, and the Ashimmu at 1300 (after all, it does expect to fit neuts). On its own, this would appear to be fairly inconsequential, but unlike the Vigilant or Maller, it only has three turret slots, using a 25% per skill level bonus to bring damage up to par. In regards to fitting, this means that you can do almost anything you’d like.
This is a fairly standard fit for the ANI, analogous to a beam Zealot, for half to a third of the cost. As you can see, we get a full rack of top-of-the-line long range weapons and a T2 plate without needing even one fitting mod. Hell, it even has just over 100 spare after all of that. Seven low-slots means you can fit resist mods to make a beastly armour tank with the 10%/level armour hitpoint hull bonus. In terms of cost/performance, the ANI may well be one of the best hulls in the game right now.
If you’re doing some hardcore brawling in lowsec (one of my favourite pastimes), you can swap down to pulses and in exchange for throwing on an ACR to bring you down to “only” 100k EHP, you get to have two medium neuts. You can’t permarun them even with the small cap booster, but for turning off hardeners and screwing over logistics, two on every mainline ship is plenty to wreak havoc.
Overall, I think part of the ANI’s success is that lasers are a really good weapon system. Pulses have the amazing ammo that is scorch, while beam lasers inherently track beautifully. After the rebalancing, medium beams are a really underrated, but powerful platform.
Apoth, if you were suddenly swapped into CCP Fozzie’s cuddly body, would you change anything?
In terms of consistency with the other navy cruisers, I would probably lower the percentage damage increase to 15% per level but give it five turret highs. Not only that, I’d probably reduce the EHP bonus from 10%/level to 7.5%/level, along the lines of the recent T3 nerf. This, I think would give more room for other brawlers to have some validity.
Omen Navy Issue
The ONI, before and certainly after rebalancing came through, could be considered among the most unloved of the Navy cruisers. It’s perhaps a little before my time, but I don’t think the cry of “Hey, I’ll just use an ONI!” was ever heard on comms.
Everything changed with Kovorix’s release of this, featuring nearly an entire fleet of Omen Navy ownage. The ONI joined the Scythe Fleet Issue (ScyFI) as an intermediary step from the nano-sky-goddery of T1 cruisers to Cynabals and Vagabonds. The introduction of the Ancillary Armour Repairer module gave it a beautiful short term tank, and combined with good speed and the amazingness of Scorch, it is a lovely little thing for pilots to try out kiting with an active tank without investing in a pirate cruiser or HAC, which you do not want to be welping in while learning the ropes.
In terms of hull bonuses, it’s closer to the Zealot than the ANI, but a lack of power grid and tankiness leaves it leagues behind the Augoror Navy for larger fleet use; it does make for great anti-tackle in some smaller armour fleets, though. That said, not every ship needs to be an awesome fleet boat. In my opinion, as long as each ship can do one thing in a super-awesome, fun and engaging way, it’s doing just fine. The Omen Navy absolutely fills that requirement, so things are good in my book.
Other hulls in this piece have gotten a lot more attention with many more variants of fits, and for a while I felt like I was doing a disservice to the ONI by not searching for more. However, the point of this analysis is to discuss each ship’s balance, and this ONI fit alone makes it a viable, strong and engaging ship to fly. That one style of flying alone is broad enough for it to not be considered underpowered by any means. I’m sure there are better ways to use an ONI out there, but none of them (as yet discovered) are meta-breakingly strong. Therefore, we can already conclude it is neither too strong nor too weak. All is well!
Apoth, if you were suddenly swapped into CCP Fozzie’s cuddly body, would you change anything?
No.
Caracal Navy Issue
The Caracal Navy Issue suffers compared to its little cousin, the Caracal, being objectively better than it due, in most situations, to cost. Its hull bonuses are: rate of fire and explosion radius, which primarily make me want to think of it as a rocking DPS platform that will apply really well. However, let’s look how that affects the three main weapons systems:
RLMLs: As per Gorski’s article, we know rapid light missiles already apply well to everything but AB sig-tanking frigates, and the hull bonus doesn’t apply to them anyway. Also, RLMLs benefit more from a damage bonus than a RoF bonus due to it bringing you closer to your lengthy reload cycle—a flat damage bonus here would give you more bang for your clip.
HMLs: Here, the application bonus is sorely needed. The RoF combines with it to make the HML Caracal Navy (comparatively) a DPS machine. However, HMLs have kind of naff raw DPS to start with.
HAMs: Having super-awesome applying HAMs, like HMLs, looks great on paper, but to use HAMs without the ridiculous projection bonus of a Cerberus means you’re brawling, and brawling typically means sig-tanking armour. In this class you’re going up against cruisers like the Aug navy, which can use its spare mids much better than you.
The Caracal Navy, under modern fleet fitting guidelines, requires max tank in the mids, and after the prerequisite three BCUs and DCU you’ve run out of slots. The extra turret gives the CNI a flat 20% damage boost over the Caracal which is cool, but doesn’t necessarily allow for anything new.
A look at zkillboard reveals that the CNI is either being used as a niche PvE boat which I won’t comment on, or as a step up from the standard RLML anti-frig kiting Caracal. It doesn’t seem to be the case that the community has found some role that the CNI excels at, so let’s see if we can come up with of something. I think the next step is to compare the performance of the CNI to the Caracal, or frankly any medium missile boat of this day and age’s two most popular roles; the aforementioned RLML kiter and the “TrebleCat” max tank AB fit HML. If we don’t find anything there, then let’s see if we can theorycraft some new ideas for it.
So what do we get for doubling the cost of each ship? For starters, a pretty hefty EHP increase as well as that extra volley damage, which is actually going to be more than the flat 20% boost of the extra launcher given the additional application. On the face of it, a big killer is the fact that the regular Caracal gets to fire out 50% further, pushing the engagement envelope down by 30k. Being able to pull range is super awesome in terms of damage mitigation. Going from 60k to 90k does mean that you’re less likely to be able to apply reps to dictor/inty tackle, and it takes you out of the recon tackle range, so there are those disadvantages. You can only lock out to 80k unless you’re packing info links, so don’t take the extra projection too seriously unless you’re doing a sniper-focus fit, where missiles are terrible anyway.
A CNI hull currently costs 75mil in Jita. If it were 40–50mil, I could see this being worth the extra cost as a heavier variant on a TrebleCat fleet, focusing on bringing in those Gal/Min recons as force multipliers. Unfortunately, as we’ll see in the next section, the Osprey Navy Issue is a much better way to bring the TrebleCat doctrine up to the next level.
Here, the lack of projection is a killer. The RLM can start killing tackle burning towards it much earlier, so even though it has less DPS it’s still more likely to get the job done before things get hairy. There’s a tiny speed increase, and the shield buffer increase is nice, but negligible in terms of usefulness for what you’re trying to do with this fit.
In trying to come up with a new role for the CNI to fill, I’ve fiddled with a solo HAM fit as the application. The RoF bonus gives it potential to be an outrageous brawler, yet I can’t quite get it to where I like it. It may become a feature of my F*ck Ishtars series in the future; right now nothing comes to mind. There are of course vastly more intelligent people than me out there when it comes to theorycrafting (inb4 Gorski publishes an article after this one on the obvious brilliance of the CNI), but for now I can’t come up with anything that excites me.
Apoth, if you were suddenly swapped into CCP Fozzie’s cuddly body, would you change anything?
On balance, I’d probably wait for more hull experimentation, yielding more data. I’d be quite interested in seeing a Navy railgun boat from the Caldari, with an optimal/damage bonus like a mini Naga that can’t project as well or do as much damage but can kite around the grid.
Osprey Navy Issue
I knew two things about the Osprey Navy before started writing this piece: Nulli used it in a similar manner to the aforementioned TrebleCat doctrine during the most recent Provi-bash, and that it’s supposed to be super agile. Once again, as with the CNI, and as it’s a missile boat, we must compare it to the Caracal. But first, let’s look at the market data and properties of the hull.
Averaging at only five sales per day, it’s one of the least traded of the Navy cruisers; let’s see if we can work out why. Where the CNI gets an extra high and turret, the Osprey Navy gets an extra mid which screams “I can be tanky!” Irritatingly, it gets a weird 5% damage to non-kinetic and 10% damage to kinetic missile bonus, but it also gets an awesome projection bonus. Given that we’ve just discussed a lot of the relevant ideas here in the CNI section, let’s get straight to the comparison with the Caracal as we did for the CNI.
Now we’re talking. Double the EHP and a significant speed increase to allow you to control range and take advantage of that projection bonus. HML doctrines such as the TrebleCat are ones that focus on alpha, so a flat damage bonus is the more useful one. Using a non-kinetic missile you’re doing the same alpha as a Caracal, using kinetic you get 25% more, which is enough to offset most resistance profiles except maybe T2 Gallente.
Now I see it. The ONI makes for a gorgeous little nano ship, a great stepping stone of missile-nano from the Caracal to the infamous Orthrus. You get tons of spare fitting to do an ASB tank, its speed is ridiculous and the extra mid is wonderful. It’s glorious! The damage bonus instead of RoF also means you get more damage output per reload of RLMLs.
But wait, the DPS is less than a regular Caracal. This, on its own, pretty much ruins the whole thing. The Osprey Navy Issue has a ton of potential, but the damage type locking and lack of DPS ruins the appeal of an otherwise lovely space vessel.
Apoth, if you were suddenly swapped into CCP Fozzie’s cuddly body, would you change anything?
It is nice little ship already, but a little tweak to give it back the fifth launcher and a flat damage bonus rather than kinetic-based is needed to give it a reason to be flown over other ships. It’s important to note that for both Caldari Navy cruisers, the incoming missile changes (whatever they might be) have the potential to completely turn the tables on how these ships function. Therefore, any balance changes made to them before we get through aren’t really worth considering. I have, for the sake of consistency, made my suggestions as if the missile changes weren’t coming.
Vexor Navy Issue
The VNI is good. Damn good. It was a good and popular choice back when it cost 90 mil, and it’s a bargain now that the price has dropped by 20 mil. The VNI can do everything: it works as a poor man’s Ishtar for ratting, it can be supplemented into Ishtar PvP fleets for low-SP bros, even though it lacks the Ishtar optimal bonus, it brawls armour tanked in lowsec amazingly well, etc. The key to this awesomeness I believe, lies in two places:
Firstly, it gets a full five heavy drones. For a cruiser, that means it does reasonable damage even without damage mods. With damage mods, it’s a monster. The drone bay is somewhat limiting in that you can only carry a single flight of heavies, but a mobile depot can help alleviate that problem.
Secondly, the fact that its weapon system doesn’t require any PG or CPU means you can throw pretty much whatever modules you want at it, similarly to the reduced fitting requirement for the weapon system of the ANI. Look at this lowsec brawler for example:
Over 500 DPS using the second LOWEST DPS output heavy drone with excellent tracking thanks to the hull bonus, an 80k EHP tank and a good deal of neuting power. I’ve seen versions of this with dual-prop and you still don’t need a single fitting module. Four mids is also plenty to do a MWD/2LSE/Invuln shield version when you can kite out to your control range (which is effectively your lock range with highs not taken up by turrets and launchers), the DPS becomes incredible as well. This is a variant of a shield-kiting Vexor fleet I run with SniggWaffe:
700 DPS, super fast, you can swap the drone nav comp for a point or invul to taste.
Basically, its great base stats, huge drone bay, good slot layout and generous fitting means you can do pretty much whatever the hell you want with the VNI and it will be good at it. That in and of itself is not a bad thing, but compared to the other navy cruisers it just seems unfair. I lay some portion of the blame for the death of T1 cruiser brawling in northern lowsec at the feet (or thrusters?) of the VNI.
Apoth, if you were suddenly swapped into CCP Fozzie’s cuddly body, would you change anything?
Sure, I don’t think the VNI is game-breakingly overpowered, but I do think it is out of balance with the other navy cruisers as they stand at the moment. I’d start by shaving off a fair bit of PG. In addition, I’d limit it to 100Mbit bandwidth so it can only launch 4 heavies at once. It gets both a damage and application bonus on the hull, so four is plenty (as any Myrmidon pilot will tell you).
On the other hand, dealing with the whole “large weapon system on a cruiser hull” thing is showing to be a pain in the rear. Drone bay sizes become difficult as does general balance as we see with the Ishtar. Another possibility could be to take the VNI down a similar path as the Gila, bring it back to 50Mbit, but have super cool bonuses to use medium drones. I think medium drones with plenty of flights would be more interesting and balanced than being restrictive on how many drone flights you can have available, but letting them be super powerful.
Exequror Navy Issue
The ENI has the potential to be my one true love—I get a giant hard-on for Gallente blaster badassery. It’s a pure and simple DPS machine with hybrid bonuses to both flat damage, and rate of fire. The ENI can be compared with the Thorax, where it gains a low and loses 25Mbit of drone bandwidth. If you want to project with rails and have a tank, use a Moa. The ENI just doesn’t have the power grid to fit both a rack of 250s and a good tank. Fitting 150s or 200s limits your range and DPS significantly. If you want to kite, rails won’t track frigates, even struggling on a tracking bonused hull like the Thorax. In the current meta you’ll need to use scorch lasers or light missiles.
Okay, so rails aren’t a good choice for the ENI, what about old school brawley blaster fits? What we’re looking for is to see whether we’re getting 60mil more performance, or we may as well stick to the Thorax. I have a lovely dual-prop brawling armour Thorax fit I’ve been using for years, let’s see how the ENI compares when fit similarly. One thing to note, that given the hull tracking bonus on the Thorax cancelling out the penalty on Void, we’ll be using it in the Thorax and faction antimatter in the ENI.
Given the extra low, we can either tank it in the same way we did the Thorax and have double mag stabs, or switch out to a triple hardener setup with only one mag stab, allowing overheating and more favourable stacking with links.
There is one super cool thing the ENI does that I rather like—brawling it out with hull tank. This is also its only use I’ve seen after trawling through zkill. Given the limiting powergrid and huge Gallente base structure, a hull tank makes sense as it doesn’t require any PG at all, so you can finally fit top tier guns.
Put simply, the other guy(s) have to burn through 30k hit points while surviving over 700 incoming DPS (you can overheat your guns for a whole minute taking you past 800 DPS), and as it goes over 2km/s (3km/s if you overheat your MWD), it has a good chance of chasing down what it’s hunting.
Finally, I want to look at a fit for sitting in mediums in FW space. Four mids and a bunch of lows screams to me for an active armour-tanked scram-web fit and with that DPS, it’s going to be mean.
This is essentially an old school dual-rep Thorax on steroids. You can downgrade the guns from ions to electrons to fit an MWD when chasing people down (something I highly recommend given the innate speed of faction hulls). This, I think, is probably the situation where the ENI comes out best against its contemporaries right now.
So yes, the ENI can brawl a little harder than the Thorax; when shield or hull tanked it can output over 700 DPS, but I feel like the step up is by and large a lot less than the other Navy cruisers. The VNI suddenly gets to use a full flight of heavy drones, the ANI gets a ridonculous tank, the ONI gets an amazing optimal bonus and kites like a god. The ENI is “nice” when you compare it to the Thorax, but it’s more like a Thorax in a little black dress and a new pair of heels rather than the “we can rebuild him, we have the technology” approach of the other Navy cruisers.
Apoth, if you were suddenly swapped into CCP Fozzie’s cuddly body, would you change anything?
I want to make the ENI more exciting, so I’d give it the traditional Gallente 50m^3 drone bay, drop one of the damage bonuses for a tracking bonus and give it an extra turret. I’d also give it extra fitting, both for that turret and a little extra on top of that so we could see a mini Proteus-style 250mm railgun, sick armour tank baller of a ship with those mids used for TCs or tackle or damps. All that awesomness at once should probably require an ACR, not three fitting mods. To put the powergrid issues into perspective, the ENI has 20 less base PG than a Moa, or 30 more than a VNI whose weapon system doesn’t require any PG at all.
Stabber Fleet Issue
The SFI has a lot of things going for it. It’s been a solid ship for many years with a good slot layout, nice tank and an immense 10% tracking bonus.
Not selling many units but very reasonably priced, the SFI makes a great little dual-propped brawler. The problem is, the ANI and VNI do that job so much better right now they trap the SFI in their shadow. An old-school brawling SFI would look something like this:
Not particularly fantastic DPS, though it is selectable, a sturdy tank and the maneuverability that dual-prop provides made it versatile. As balance passes have come and gone the SFI has fallen behind the times however. Similar to the ENI, it lacks the fitting to get away with a rack of 425s when armour fit.
Navy cruisers tend to be rather speedy, unsurprisingly some mid-way between regular T |
live with her constituency.
Then suddenly the whole room seemed to join a chorus of protest against President Wilson. At the Peace Conference all power was his. He was backed by the richest, greatest nation in the world. But he failed to keep his promise of gaining the self-determination of small nations. Was he yielding to the anti-Irish sentiment brought about by English control of the cables and English propaganda in the United States—was he to let his great republic be intellectually dependent on the ancient monarchy?
“Perhaps,” said AE to me after a few meditative puffs of his pipe, “you feel like the American who was with us on a similar occasion a few weeks ago. At last he burst out with: ‘It’s no conception which Americans have of their president that he should take the place and the duties of God Omnipotent in the world,'”
One day I went to discuss Irish labor with AE. I climbed up to that most curious of all magazine offices—the Irish Homestead office up under the roof of Plunkett House. It is a semi-circular room whose walls are covered with the lavender and purple people of AE’s brush. AE was ambushed behind piles of newspapers, and behind him in a grate filled with smouldering peat blocks sat the black tea kettle. As a reporter, one of the few things for which I am allowed to retain respect is the editorial dead line. So I assured AE that I would be glad to return when he had finished writing. But with a courtesy that is evidently founded on an inversion of the American rule that business should always come before people, he assured me that he could sit down at the fire with me at once.
Now I knew that he had great sympathy with laborers. I recalled his terrible letter against Dublin employers in the great strike of 1913 when he foretold that the success of the employers in starving the Dublin poor would necessarily lead to “red ruin and the breaking up of laws…. The men whose manhood you have broken will loathe you, and will always be brooding and seeking to strike a new blow. The children will be taught to curse you. The infant being moulded in the womb will have breathed into its starved body the vitality of hate. It is not they—it is you who are pulling down the pillars of the social order.”[1] But I knew, too, that he was opposed to violence, so I wondered what he would say to this:
“A labor leader just told me that it was his belief that industrial revolution would take place in Ireland in two or three years. Labor waits only till it has secured greater unity between the north and south. Then it will take over industry and government by force.”
“I had hoped—I am trying to convince the labor leaders here,” he said finally, “of the value of the Italian plan for the taking over of industry. The Italian seaman’s union co-operatively purchased and ran boats on which they formerly had been merely workers.”
Russia he spoke of for a moment. People shortly over from Russia told him, as he had felt, that the soviet was not the dreadful thing it was made out to be. But a dictatorship of the workers he would not like. He wanted, he said with an upward movement of his big arms, he wanted to be free.
“Now I am for the building of a co-operative commonwealth on co-operative societies. Ireland can and is developing her own industries through co-operation. She is developing them without aid from England and in the face of opposition in Ireland.
“England, you see, is used to dealing with problems of empire—with nations and great metropolises. When we bring her plans that mean life or death to just villages, the matter is too small to discuss. She is bored.
“Ireland offers opposition in the person of the ‘gombeen man.’ He is the local trader and money lender. And co-operative buying and selling takes away his monopoly of business.
“Paddy Gallagher up in Dungloe in the Rosses will give you an idea of the poverty of the Irish countryside, of the extent that the poverty is due to the gombeen men, ‘the bosses of the Rosses,’ and of the ability of the co-operative society to develop and create industry even in such a locality.
“Societies like Paddy Gallagher’s are springing up all over Ireland. The rapid growth may be estimated from the fact that in 1902 their trade turnover was $7,500,000, and in 1918, $50,000,000. These little units do not merely develop industry; they also bind up the economic and social interests of the people.
“In a few years these new societies and others to be created will have dominated their districts, and political power will follow, and we will have new political ideals based on a democratic control of agriculture and industry, and states and people will move harmoniously to a given end.
“Ireland might attain, by orderly evolution, to a co-operative commonwealth in fifty to two hundred years.
“But these are dangerous times for prophecy.”
PADDY GALLAGHER: GIANT KILLER.
From the dark niche under the gray boulder where the violets grow, a
Donegal fairy flew to the mountain cabin to bring a birthday wish to
Patrick Gallagher. The fairy designed not that great good would come to Paddy, but that great good would come to his people through him. At least when Paddy grew up, he slew the child-eating giant, Poverty, who lived in Donegal.
Paddy began to fight poverty when he could scarcely toddle. With his father, whose back was laden with a great rush basket, he used to pad in his bare feet down the mountainside to the Dungloe harbor—down where the hills give the ocean a black embrace. Father and son would wade into the ocean that was pink and lavender in the sunset. Above them, the white curlews swooped and curved and opened their pine wood beaks to squawk a prayer for dead fish. But the workers did not stop to watch. Their food also was in question. They must pluck the black seaweed to fertilize their field.
When the early sun bronzed the bog, and streaked the dark pool below with gold, Paddy and his father began to feed the dried wavy strands of kelp between the hungry brown furrow lips. They packed the long groove near the stone fence; they rounded past the big boulder that could not be budged; last of all, they filled the short far row in the strangely shaped little field. At noon, Paddy’s mother appeared at the half door of the cabin and called in the general direction of the field—it was difficult to see them, for their frieze suits had been dyed in bog water and she could not at once distinguish them from the brown earth. They were glad to come in to eat their sugarless and creamless oatmeal.
In the evening Paddy ran over the road to his cousin’s. Western clouds were blackening and his little cousin was pulling the pig into the cabin as a man puts other sort of treasure out of danger into a safe. Paddy listened a moment. He could hear the castanets of the tweed weaver’s loom and the hum of his uncle’s deep voice as he sang at his work. He ran to the rear of the cabin and up the stone steps to the little addition. A lantern filled the room he entered with black, harp-like shadows of the loom. While the uncle stopped treadling and held the blue-tailed shuttle in his hand, the breathless little boy told him that the field was finished.
“God grant,” said the uncle with a solemnity that put fear into the heart of Paddy, “there may be a harvest for you.”
Paddy watched his mother work ceaselessly to aid in the fight that his father and he were making against poverty. During the month her needles would click unending wool into socks, and then on Saturday she would trudge—often in a stiff Atlantic gale—sixteen miles to the market in Strabane. There she sold the socks at a penny a pair.
In spite of combined hopes, the potato plants were floppily yellow that year. Their stems felt like a dead man’s fingers. No potatoes to eat. None to exchange for meal. What were they to do?
The gombeen man told them. As member of the county council, he said, he would secure money for the repair of the roads. All those who worked on the road would get paid in meal.
“Let your da’ not worry,” said the fat gombeen man pompously to Paddy. Paddy had brought the ticket that his father had obtained by a week’s work to exchange for twenty-eight pounds of corn meal. “I’ll keep famine from the parish. Charity’s not dead yet.”
When Paddy lugged the meal into the cabin, he found his mother lying on the bed with her face averted from the bowl of milk that some less hungry neighbor had brought in. His father’s gaunt frame was hunched over the peat blocks on the flat hearth. Paddy, full of desire to banish the brooding discouragement from the room, hastened to repeat the words of the gombeen man. But he felt that he had failed when his father, regarding the two stone sack, said hollowly:
“Charity? Small pay to the men who keep the roads open for his vans.”
In the spring, Paddy was nine, and had to go out in the world to fight poverty alone. His father had confided to him that they were in great debt to the gombeen man. Paddy could help them get out. There was to be a hiring fair in Strabane. Paddy swung along the road to Strabane pretending he was a man—he was to be hired out just like one. But when he arrived at the hiring field he shrank back. All the farm hands, big and little, stood herded together in between the cattle pens. A man? A beast. One overseer for a big estate came up to dicker for the boy, and said he would give him fifteen dollars for six months’ work. Paddy was just about to muster up courage to put the price up a bit, when a friend of the overseer came up with the prearranged remark: “A fine boy! Well worth twelve dollars the six months!”
“What do you want to know for?” asked the gombeen man, when at the end of Paddy’s back-breaking six months, Paddy and his father brought him the fifteen dollars and asked how much they still owed. The gombeen man refuses accounts to everyone but the priest, magistrate, doctor and teacher. “What do you want to know how much you owe for? Unless you want to pay me all off?”
When Paddy was seventeen he made a still bigger fight against debt. With the sons of other “tied” men, he went to work in the Scottish harvests. His family was not as badly off as those of some of the boys. Some had run so far behind that the gombeen man had served writs on them, obtained judgment against their holdings, and could evict them at pleasure.
When Paddy married and settled down in Dungloe he found the reason for the unpayableness of the debt. One day he and his father shopped at the gombeen store together. They bought the same amount of meal. The father paid cash—seventeen shillings. Forty-four days later, Paddy brought his money. But the gombeen man presented him with a bill for twenty-one shillings and three pence. It did no good to say how much the father had paid for the same amount of meal. The gombeen man insisted that Paddy’s father had given eighteen shillings, and Paddy was being charged just three shillings and three pence interest. Or only 144 per cent per annum!
“Why do we buy from him? Why don’t we get together and do our own buying?” asked the insurgent Paddy. After much reflection he had decided on the tactics of his campaign against poverty and the recruiting for his army commenced that night as the neighbors visited about his turf fire. There was doubt on the faces of those tied to the gombeen man. But Paddy continued: “Let’s try it out in a small way, say with fertilizer. That stuff he’s selling us isn’t as good as kelp, and he won’t tell us what it’s made of.”
The recruits fell in. They scraped up enough money to buy a twenty-ton load of rich manure from a neighboring co-operative society. The little deal saved them $200 and brought them heavy crops. They organized. They needed a store. Up in a rocky boreen on his little farm, Paddy had an empty shed. Again the neighbors explored the toes of their money stockings, and found enough to pay for filling the shed with flour, tea, sugar and meal. Then, if they were “free” men, they came boldly to shop on the nights the store was open—moonlight or no moonlight. But if they were “tied” men, they crept fearsomely tip the rocks on dark nights only. The recruits recruited. Financial and social returns began to come in. At the end of the first year there was a clear profit of over $500. In three years the society was recognized as one of the most efficient in Ireland and presented by the Pembroke fund with a fine stucco hall. Jigs. Dances. Lectures.
But the gombeen man wasn’t “taking it lying down.” He called on his political and religious friends to aid. First on the magistrate. When Paddy became the political rival of the gombeen man for the county council, there was a joint debate. Paddy used reduced prices as his argument. Questions were hurled at him by the reddening trader.
“Wait till I get through,” said Paddy. “Then I’ll attend to you.”
That, said the trader, was a physical threat! So the gombeener’s friend, the magistrate, threw Paddy into jail. Paddy went to prison full of fear that dissension might be sown in the society’s ranks. But on coming out he discovered not only that he had won the election but that a committee was waiting to present him with a gorgeous French gilt clock, and that fires, just as on St. John’s eve, were blazing on the mountains.
But the trader took another friend of his aside. This time it was the village priest. Bad dances, he said, were going on of nights in Templecrone hall. What was Paddy’s surprise on a Sunday in the windswept chapel by the sea to hear his beloved hall denounced as a place of sin. Paddy knew the people would not come any more.
Then, the great inspiration. Paddy remembered how his mother used to try to help with her knitting. He saw girls at spinning wheels or looms working full eight hours a day and earning only $1.25 to $1.50 a week. So with permission of the society, Paddy had two long tables placed in the entertainment hall, and along the edges of the tables he had the latest type of knitting machines screwed. Soon there were about 300 girls working on a seven and a half hour day. They were paid by the piece, and it was not long before they were getting wages that ran from $17.50 to $5.25 a week. Incidentally, Mr. Gallagher, as manager, gave himself only $10.00 a week.
When I saw Patrick Gallagher in Dungloe, he was dressed in a blue suit and a soft gray cap, and looked not unlike the keen sort of business men one sees on an ocean liner. And indeed he gave the impression that if he had not been a co-operationist for Ireland, he might well have been a capitalist in America. He took me up the main street of Dungloe into easily the busiest of the white plastered shops. He made plain the hints of growing industry. The bacon cured in Dungloe. The egg-weighing—since weighing was introduced the farmers worked to increase the size of the eggs and the first year increased their sales $15,000 worth. The rentable farm machines.
“Come out into this old cabin and meet our baker,” Paddy continued when we went out the rear of the store. “We began to get bread from Londonderry, but the old Lough Swilly road is too uncertain. See the ancient Scotch oven—the coals are placed in the oven part and when they are still hot they are scooped out and the bread is put in their place. Interesting, isn’t it? But we are going to get a modern slide oven.”
After viewing the orchard and the beehives beneath the trees, I remarked on the size of the plant, and its suitability for his purpose. He said: “It used to belong to the gombeen man.”
The sea wind was blowing through the open windows of the mill. Barefoot girls—it’s only on Sunday that Donegal country girls wear shoes and then they put them on only when they are quite near church—silently needled khaki-worsted over the shining wire prongs. Others spindled wool for new work. As they stood or sat at their work, the shy colleens told of an extra room added to a cabin, or a plump sum to a dowry through the money earned at the mill. None of them was planning, as their older sisters had had to plan, to go to Scotland or America.
“As the parents of most of the girls are members in the society they want the best working conditions possible for them,” said Mr. Gallagher as he took me out the back entrance of the knitting mill. “So we’re building this new factory. See that hole where we blasted for granite; we got enough for the entire mill in one blast. That motor is for the electricity to be used in the plant.
“Northern sky lights in the new building—the evenest light comes from the north. Cement floor—good for cleaning but bad for the girls, so we are to have cork matting for them to stand on. Slide-in seats under the tables—that’s so that a girl may stand or sit at her work.”
“Soon the hall will be free for entertainments again,” I suggested. “Won’t the old cry be raised against it once more?”
“No. We’re too strong for that now.”
At the Gallaghers’ home, a sort of store-like place on the main street, Mrs. Gallagher with a soft shawl about her shoulders was waiting to introduce me to Miss Hester. Miss Hester was brought to Dungloe by the co-operative society to care for the mothers at child-birth. She is the firA transformation is taking shape in the auto industry led by technology-focused companies looking to upend all facets of design, powertrains, vehicle ownership, and sales and distribution, as we know it. Tesla has spearheaded this movement towards the electrification of vehicles, while priming the market for a shared vehicle ownership model to come. Joining the Silicon Valley-based electric car maker is another technology company, Uber, looking to become the transportation of the future, sans vehicle ownership.
The automotive industry has just begun its transformation into the mobility industry, and it is important to understand who is leading the pack in innovation.
#1 Tesla
The future mobility industry is being led by Tesla through their fleet of long range electric vehicles – currently having the longest range electric car in the industry – and its Autopilot driver assistance technology. Having the most advanced battery and motor technology in the world, Tesla continues to do a land grab of market share in the automotive market. With planned introduction of Model 3 this year into consumer hands, Tesla is poised for massive growth as it ventures into mass market territory. The company also has billions of miles of data collected through its fleet of vehicles and looks to grow a self-driving market powered by Tesla innovation.
What to watch for in 2017: Fully autonomous vehicles, Model 3 production, improved Supercharger technology with faster charging speeds.
#2 Uber
Uber has grown rapidly in 2016 and is now one of the most recognized startups in the world. Uber’s software algorithms help move millions of people per day and provides a source of income to thousands of workers globally. With Uber’s recent movement into self-driving technology, Uber could emerge as a complete replacement to vehicle ownership. Additionally, Uber acquired Otto in 2016 for $680M, a company that has helped Uber with their self-driving efforts while looking to bring autonomous driving technology to the trucking industry.
What to watch for in 2017: More self-driving cities, entrance into the trucking industry, expanding delivery service.
#3 General Motors
Under Mary Barra’s leadership, GM has transformed itself over the past three years to expose itself to autonomous driving, electric vehicles, and the shift in car ownership. Just this month, GM shipped the Chevy Bolt, a low-cost, long-range electric vehicle. While it is still to be seen whether the Chevy Bolt will be successful, GM has been investing in a variety other innovative areas.
GM has asserted itself as a major player in the car-sharing and ride-sharing industry. In 2016, GM launched a “personal mobility” brand, Drive Maven, which allows people to rent a car on an hourly basis. GM has launched the brand in 12 cities across North America and is investing heavily in growing the brand. GM also invested $500M into Lyft and partnered with the company to provide easier access to vehicles on the platform. In addition to their investment in Lyft, GM also acquired self-driving start-up, Cruise Automation, for $1 Billion in cash and stock. Clearly, GM has been very busy in order to stay relevant and has asserted themselves as the leader of traditional automaker industry.
What to watch for in 2017: Chevy Bolt production, expansion of Maven, more advancements with Cruise’s self-driving technology.
#4 Lucid Motors
Lucid Motors has been hard at work for over ten years to develop their first production vehicle, the Lucid Air. The company promises a large luxury vehicle with 1,000 hp and 400 miles of range. While the claims might seem lofty, Lucid is poised to become a very dominant force within the new era of electrification. They are the most likely start-up automaker to make it to production in the next few years. The company has raised over $130M and has quietly begun construction of their factory in Arizona and aiming for a production run of 10,000 vehicles in 2019. Lucid’s CTO is the former vice president of vehicle engineering at Tesla Motors and was involved in the development of the Model S.
What to watch for in 2017: Factory development, more details, and pricing on the ‘Air’
#5 NextEV (NIO)
NextEV is the newest start-up automaker to enter the EV space and has developed advanced technology to assert themselves in the market. Founded in late 2014, NextEV has raised upwards of $500M and has brought on a veteran technology executive as their CEO, Padmasree Warrior, who’s the former CTO of Cisco and Motorola. The company participates in the Formula E electric car racing series. In November 2016, the company rebranded itself as NIO.
NIO has already built and tested its electric supercar the EP9 that broke the electric vehicle lap time at the famed Nürburgring course. The company is looking to launch a consumer electric car brand focused on a different style of ownership.
What to watch for in 2017: Advancements with the EP9, more details on the consumer vehicle, development of their factory in China.
#6 Volvo
Volvo surprised the automotive industry when they emerged in 2015 with the brand-new Volvo XC90 built on advanced engineering and technology. The XC90 went on to win Motortrend’s SUV of the year and numerous awards. Not only is the XC90 a fantastic refresh of the Volvo brand, but the vehicle also has a new powertrain combined with autonomous driving technology.
Volvo formed a partnership with Uber in August of 2016 to collaborate on self-driving technology. Volvo’s partnership with Uber is a major win for the brand as it moves forward to reinvent the aging brand.
What to watch for in 2017: New generation S60/XC60, full self-driving technology, electrification of vehicle lineup.
#7 Faraday Future
Faraday Future has entered 2017 swinging straight at Tesla with the FF91. The company claims a 0-60 time of 2.39 secs on the FF91 which is nothing short of impressive. Faraday has lofty goals to become a major transportation and entertainment ecosystem through a vast fleet of electric mobility vehicles. However, amid reports of financial issues taking place within the organization, the company is quickly adjusting its stated manufacturing plans and realigning its finances. Faraday Future seems to be back on track.
What to watch for in 2017: More details and pricing on the FF91, development efforts on the factory, advancements in self-driving technology.Chisels
A chunk of steel with a sharp edge and a piece of wood for a handle. Tools for working wood do not get any more basic than this. Chisels are not that hard to learn to use and learning to use the proper chisel for the task at hand is simple as well.
Chisels are a good example of getting what you pay for. Cheap ones are not worth your time. Most of the time they will not hold an edge, which is the worst thing possible in a chisel. Spend a little extra on a quality set and you will not be disappointed. I have had good luck with Footprint and Sorby chisels, both of which are made in England.
Types of Chisels
There are many different types of chisels, but the ones you will find the most use for are beveled edge Bench chisels, Sash Mortise chisels and Registered Mortise chisels. Bench chisels are primarily for paring with hand pressure and mortise chisels are made to withstand the heavy pounding from a mallet. Bench chisels can be tapped with a hammer, but they should be the “hooped” variety to avoid splitting the handle.
I cannot over emphasize the importance of sharp chisels. Sharp chisels are necessary for any kind of accurate work and dull chisels are dangerous at best. A sharp chisel is easier and safer to use and gets better results. A good way to check for sharpness is to pare a little bit of endgrain and look at the surface left by the chisel. If it is not smooth and burnished, your chisel could stand a bit of attention. (See the sharpening chapter for more). Mortise chisels don’t need to be quite as sharp as bench chisels, but it does make them more efficient. I do tend to let them go longer between honings even though I know better.
Be sure to keep all chisels away from nails, screws and any other edge nicking material. It doesn’t take much to destroy, at least temporarily, a perfect edge.
Specialty Chisels
There are several other types of chisels that you will find beneficial. Some of them you can buy and others you will have to make yourself.
Pattern and Crank-necked chisels are just variations on bench chisels. Pattern chisels have long thin blades and crank-neck chisels have a bend at the handle to get it out of the way when paring in the middle of a board or other awkward location. I have the 1/2″ size of each.
A 1/4″ In-cannel gouge is extremely helpful when setting hardware that has curved edges. Unlike a carving gouge the bevel is on the inside of the curve allowing you to chop straight down with ease.
I have two small chisels that I made for working on keyholes. One is a 1/16″ mortise chisel and the other is a very thin, flat 1/4″ bench chisel. Two other chisels that are a good idea to have are, a 3/8″ bench chisel ground down very thin and a Lock mortise chisel. The thin 3/8″ chisel finds it’s way into narrow gaps of some dovetails and other narrow spots that most chisels can’t reach. The lock mortise chisel has two 90-degree bends to enable you to get into some awkward locations that no other chisel can reach.
Using Bench Chisels
I place a lot of importance on using chisels. Dexterity with a chisel is a skill that will never let you down and it just may get you out of a tight spot when no other tool
will do the job.
While there are many quality chisels available, the Sorby paring chisels I use have an advantage over most other chisels; they are fitted with “London Pattern” boxwood handles. In my opinion there is no better shape for a paring chisel handle. These are much better than the typical round handles found on most chisels. London Pattern handles can be held comfortably many different ways and with narrow chisels they won’t roll off your bench.
The first thing to take into consideration when using your chisels is that there is not a wrong way to hold them. Some ways just work better than others. A general rule to think about is the closer your chisel is to your body the better control you will have. The chisel has more stability this way. Sometimes I even use my chin to aid stability and to push the chisel when practical. And don’t be afraid to choke up on the blade with your hand either. Your fingers will act as a stop and help you control the cut. This is really good for paring when there is no back up board to prevent blowouts.
Paring on end grain takes a little bit of care. I have a simple way to avoid tear out on the back side of a piece I am paring. I either make sure the workpiece is tight against the bench and use it as a backing board or I only cut halfway from each side of my stock to meet in the center. Also, several light cuts are better than one heavy cut, as they are more likely to cut the end grain cleanly. A heavy cut tends to crush and tear things.
An important point to remember is to never put yourself in the path of the blade. If it slipped, the only thing in its path is your flesh and you are no match for a razor sharp chisel.
As with your planes remove the finish on the handles of all your chisels to avoid getting blisters. A scraper and light sanding is my preferred method, but some of the new non-toxic strippers do this quickly and easily as well. Do tape off any metal, as the stripper will discolor it.
Mallets and Hammers
I use two things to pound on my chisels. A large wood mallet for my mortise chisels and Warrington hammers for doing delicate tapping. I prefer wood mallets for heavy pounding, as they are less likely to do damage to the chisels. The face of the mallet is flat and angled to make it easier and more accurate to use. Warrington hammers make it easy to maintain control when doing lighter work and are handy when setting the blades of wooden planes. I also have a round Lignum Vitae mallet, but it is only used for working with carving chisels. The round angled face is not the best for trying to chop mortises or other precise cutting, but it is just what’s called for while carving.
Using Mortise Chisels
Mortise chisels are made heavy and meant to be smacked with a mallet. Registered Mortise chisels are “hooped” at the top and bottom of the handle with a steel ring to prevent splits in the handle from heavy pounding. They are used on large mortises. Sash Mortise chisels are only “hooped” at the bottom and are used only on smaller mortises.
Mortise chisels are pretty easy to use. Line up the chisel with your marked lines, chop down and lever out the waste. When I start chopping, I always stay a bit away from the ends of the mortise. Saving some of the mortise for final fitting makes for a cleaner job that is a better fit for the tenon.
Make sure your chisel is going in straight and square to your stock. Frequently eyeball this as you get deeper into the mortise. It’s easy to wander, but hard to correct. I have a tendency to lean my chisel to the right so I need to be cautious and remember to correct for this.
For small mortises, I just chop out the waste with my chisels, but whenever I am removing large amounts of stock I always take out the bulk of the waste with a brace and bit. This speeds things up considerably over just chopping out the waste of a large mortise. Make sure to use a bit that is a tad smaller than your mortise.
Whenever you have to cut a through mortise, first chop in from one side then turn your stock over and chop in from the other side. This makes for a more accurate through mortise. Most of the time I clamp my workpiece to the bench while I am working on it. Make sure the pounding doesn’t loosen up your clamp. Falling clamps put nice divots in tool boxes….
Something to keep in mind is to pay attention to what is under the mortise you are chopping. You don’t want to chop into your bench so you may find a backing board to be a good idea. This is about the only time I use a backing board. It’s hard to tell just when you cut through, as there is not much difference between the wood of your bench and your stock.
Carving Chisels
I have not spent that much time carving and only recently have I added to a small set of carving tools. Primarily, I use these when working on knobs and pulls or doing some type of clean up. I am just getting started into more involved carving so, needless to say, it would probably be for the best if you looked elsewhere for some good information about using these specialized tools. The advice I offer up on other chisels though is still valid, buy quality and keep them sharp.
More About Carving
How to Carve Wood, Richard Butz, 1984, The Taunton Press.
This book should get you started. It covers all sorts of carving styles.
Lettercarving in Wood, Chris Pye, 1997, Guild of Master Craftsmen Publications Ltd.
Just the book for learning how to do just what the title implies.Introduction
GOP presidential primary TV ads
Click the columns to view more details. Created with Highcharts 6.2.0 TV ads 9,732 9,732 1,234 1,234 Non-candidate committees Candidate campaign committees 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 Highcharts.com Source: Center for Public Integrity analysis of data from Kantar Media/CMAG covering TV ads aired between Jan. 1, 2015, and Sept. 14, 2015.
Republican presidential candidates may tonight battle each other on CNN’s debate stage, but their supportive super PACs have been the dominant forces in the campaign’s television ad war this year.
That super PACs are sponsoring most early ads during the turbulent GOP primary represents a dramatic change from the 2012 election, when candidates’ own committees initially drove TV messaging.
Non-candidate groups, including super PACs and politically active nonprofits, have sponsored nearly nine in every 10 TV ads aired to date during the 2016 GOP presidential primary, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of data provided by advertising tracking firm Kantar Media/CMAG.
Such groups face no limits on how much money they may raise or spend.
Candidates, super PACs and other special interest groups have combined to air about 11,000 ads in the GOP presidential race through Monday, Kantar Media/CMAG data indicates.
About 90 percent of these TV spots have targeted voters in either Iowa or New Hampshire — the states conducting the first two presidential nominating contests in February.
In the Democratic presidential primary, about 4,000 TV ads have already aired.
But in that race, the sponsor trend is reversed: Democratic Party frontrunner Hillary Clinton’s campaign accounts for about 90 percent of the TV ads, and a group supporting former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley is the only super PAC so far involved in the race.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has not yet aired a TV ad, although it hasn’t hurt him any, as he continues to rise in recent polls — even surpassing Clinton in some.
TV ads backing major 2016 contenders Created with Highcharts 6.2.0 Total ads Non-candidate committees Official campaign committee Hillary Clinton Rick Perry Bobby Jindal John Kasich Chris Christie Ben Carson Lindsay Graham Marco Rubio Scott Walker Jeb Bush George Pataki Rand Paul Ted Cruz 0 250 500 750 1,000 1,250 1,500 1,750 2,000 2,250 2,500 2,750 3,000 3,250 3,500 3,750 4,… 4,000 Highcharts.com Source: Center for Public Integrity analysis of data from Kantar Media/CMAG covering TV ads aired between Jan. 1, 2015, and Sept. 14, 2015.
On the Republican side, the most prolific ad buyer has been the Opportunity and Freedom PAC, a super PAC that attempted to boost the fortunes of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
It didn’t work: The pro-Perry super PAC aired more than 3,400 ads — nearly one-third of all TV ads in the GOP race to date — but Perry suspended his floundering campaign on Friday.
The next most active ad sponsor among Republicans has been the super PAC New Day for America, which supports Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
The group has mostly focused on New Hampshire, where it has aired more than 1,200 TV ads — representing about one of every nine ads overall in the GOP race.
And a super PAC backing Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, called Believe Again, ranks third, having aired about 1,100 TV ads in Iowa — or about one of every 10 ads in the entire GOP presidential primary to date.
Jindal continues to poll in low single digits and didn’t qualify for tonight’s main stage debate, while Kasich’s standing in the polls has risen after a solid performance last month during the first GOP presidential debate.
Connie Wehrkamp, a spokeswoman for pro-Kasich New Day for America said the super PAC’s ads “are helping to introduce voters to John Kasich.”
Brad Todd, a spokesman for pro-Jindal Believe Again, stressed that TV ads were only one tool the group — which is also hosting town hall meetings featuring Jindal — was |
trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe.
Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of €1,782.7 million in 2016.Therapies intended to help gays become straight don't work.
by Brian Dunning
Filed under Health, Religion
Skeptoid Podcast #265
July 5, 2011
Podcast transcript | Download | Subscribe
Listen:
http://skeptoid.com/audio/skeptoid-4265.mp3
Today we're going to point the skeptical eye at therapies designed to convert homosexuals into heterosexuals. Such programs make headlines pretty frequently for their controversial nature, with proponents positioning it as an important spiritual or psychological healing, and opponents charging it with being misguided, unscientific, insulting, ineffective, and completely unnecessary. Some of the answers depend on your point of view, but others can be answered for certain with sound science.
This is one of those issues that has all sorts of philosophical, moral, and religious facets. Those are all valid debates, but here on Skeptoid, we leave those to others. Today we're going to focus on just the science. Is homosexuality truly a psychological condition that requires treatment? Can any of the existing treatments actually change sexual orientation? Has there been any meaningful success? There is actual science here, though it may be buried deep under a layer of ideological propaganda and misinformation; and understanding the true science is the best first step in forming opinions or policy.
The formal name of all such programs are Sexual Orientation Change Efforts (SOCE), and they include all kinds of different methods. There are psychological approaches including behavior therapy, hypnosis, conversion therapy, and support groups. There are religious approaches involving prayer or atonement. In the past, change efforts have included electroshock therapy, lobotomy, and a variety of surgical procedures to remove various parts of the genitalia on both men and women, including complete castration. Only relatively recently has homosexuality become legal, and even today it remains illegal in some countries. Punishment has been severe, ranging from execution, to chemical castration as was given to the father of computer science Alan Turing, to years of imprisonment and hard labor as was suffered by the poet Oscar Wilde.
Today, some groups still consider homosexuality to be a psychological illness, and others consider it to be a religious sin. So there are two basic directions from which change effort proponents come. The first, that homosexuality is an actual mental illness, was almost universally accepted, in nearly all countries, until quite recently. It was principally codified as such in Richard von Krafft-Ebing's 1886 book Psychopathia Sexualis, which influenced the psychological profession of the time to consider homosexuality a disease. It could either be acquired or innate. Von Krafft-Ebing found only limited treatment options, of limited effectiveness. As a Roman Catholic, von Krafft-Ebing's work was largely inspired by religious beliefs which held that any sexual activity leading to pregnancy was generally normal and healthy (even including rape), while any activity not leading to pregnancy (including homosexual sex, masturbation, or any recreational non-penetrating activity) was generally deviant and perverted.
This was the prevailing view until Sigmund Freud presented a differing opinion in the first half of the 20th century. Freud believed that everyone was naturally bisexual, with some tendencies toward both heterosexuality and homosexuality, one or the other usually dominating. He did not consider either to be an illness by itself, and most of his work with patients focused not on trying to change this cause but on helping patients deal with the resulting effects: confusion, self esteem, rejection, inhibitions, or unhappiness.
It wasn't until 1973 that the American Psychological Association (APA) voted to remove homosexuality from the DSM-II (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). The DSM-III was given a section on ego-dystonic homosexuality, which is an inner conflict between one's attractions and one's own idealized self-image, and by 1986 even this was removed completely. Patients who have particular stress about their sexual orientation are now treated the same as any other patients who are under stress about something. This is now the standard in virtually all Western countries.
According to nearly all surveys, the vast majority of people who voluntarily seek sexual orientation change are white male Christians in the United States. The principal face of Christian change efforts is Exodus International, founded in the 1970s, with nearly 300 Protestant and evangelical ministries in some eighteen countries. When it began, its mission was to convert homosexuals into heterosexuals. Over the years they realized that this was a virtual impossibility (more on that in a moment), and so today they concentrate mainly on changing behavior; in other words, getting gays to simply act straight. They advocate celibacy for homosexuals, and heterosexual sex only for bisexuals. The Exodus mission statement is:
Mobilizing the body of Christ to minister grace and truth to a world impacted by homosexuality.
Exodus' primary method for changing behavior is something they call reparative therapy. According to their website, they believe that homosexuality is the result of the individual's unconscious attempts to restore a damaged relationship with his same-sex parent (97% of Exodus patients are men). Reparative therapy consists of forcing oneself to participate in manly activities, such as playing sports and hanging out with heterosexual men; flirting with and dating women in an assertive way, and avoiding them otherwise; and avoiding activities that Exodus considers to appeal to homosexuals, such as going to the opera or museums. In addition, joining a men's group at a Christian church is a fundamental of reparative therapy. One of Exodus' closest partners is the American Christian evangelical nonprofit Focus on the Family.
At least one prominent group promotes itself as a science-based professional organization of psychiatrists and psychologists who disagree with the APA's finding that homosexuality is not a mental disorder. NARTH, the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality, charges the APA with politicking and creating a hostile environment that discourages research into homosexuality as a disease. NARTH acts as a referral service for more than 1,000 member counselors, mostly church groups. NARTH does not require that its members be licensed therapists or doctors. NARTH also works closely with Focus on the Family. From these facts, and from a keyword search of their website and published biographies of their directors, it's hard to argue that NARTH is not a religiously motivated group, despite their omission of any overtly Christian objectives in their mission statement.
The overwhelming majority of psychological studies show that change efforts have never worked; however, both Exodus and NARTH link to a few cherrypicked studies in an effort to show that change efforts are successful. Chief among these is one by Dr. Robert Spitzer in 2001. It's a perfect example of how poorly conducted these studies are, and that it's one of the Exodus and NARTH favorites shows what a sparse field they have to work with. The main criticism is with Spitzer's methodology, a telephone survey of only 202 subjects, provided by Exodus. In fact, fully a fifth of the subjects were directors of Exodus International ministries. 100% of them were religious, nearly all Christian. The selection criteria was that all had undergone reparative therapy after self identifying as being previously gay — in other words, the only subjects chosen for the survey were those who already shown the effect the experimenter hoped to prove! If that's not enough, more than three quarters of the subjects had spoken in public in favor of sexual orientation change efforts. Among the questions was to self-report their own sexual orientation on a scale of to 1 to 7, 1 being fully heterosexual, 7 being fully homosexual. But amazingly, of the 202 subjects, only eight stated that their Exodus therapy took them from 5 or more to 3 or less, the only range that could reasonably be called a successful conversion. Of those eight, seven were Exodus ministry directors, and the eighth refused a followup interview. Yet Spitzer concluded from all of this that reparative therapy was effective. Spitzer's methodology and conclusions were roundly criticized, including directly by the APA itself. When it was finally published in 2003 by the Archives of Sexual Behavior, one of the journal's sponsoring associations, the International Academy of Sex Research, resigned because of the decision to publish.
Interestingly, there has been a tendency for some leaders of the major "gay cure" organizations to engage in homosexuality themselves. Two of Exodus International's founders, Michael Bussee and Gary Cooper, left the organization in 1979 to divorce their wives, and became a couple in a 1982 commitment ceremony. In 2010, a director of NARTH, Dr. George Reker, resigned after having been caught touring Europe with a hired male escort. Incidents like these show that at least some of the leadership of the organizations have been men with personal internal conflicts between Christianity and their own sexuality. We often consider former drug addicts to be well conditioned to be drug counselors, and it's perhaps equally appropriate for these men who have had their own issues to counsel other gay Christians. These incidents shouldn't surprise anyone; in fact, they probably shouldn't even be considered incidents. Relapsing is an expected consequence of many forms of counseling. It doesn't necessarily mean that the counseling itself is fundamentally flawed.
Neither does the religious nature of "gay cures" say anything about their effectiveness, and it's not a relevant line of investigation. Whether gays should seek change efforts, or whether homosexuality is sinful, are not science questions. To find out whether the change efforts work, we review the scientific research. And fortunately, that's already been done, in about as comprehensive a way as possible.
In 2007, under pressure from a growing evangelical movement promoting change efforts, the American Psychological Association announced the formation of a "Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation" charged with assessing how best to deal with patients who express a desire to change their sexual orientation, and to evaluate the effectiveness of existing interventions. Their report was published in August of 2009. The abstract summarizes their conclusions:
...Efforts to change sexual orientation are unlikely to be successful and involve some risk of harm, contrary to the claims of SOCE practitioners and advocates. Even though the research and clinical literature demonstrate that same-sex sexual and romantic attractions, feelings, and behaviors are normal and positive variations of human sexuality, regardless of sexual orientation identity, the task force concluded that the population that undergoes SOCE tends to have strongly conservative religious views that lead them to seek to change their sexual orientation. Thus, the appropriate application of affirmative therapeutic interventions for those who seek SOCE involves therapist acceptance, support, and understanding of clients and the facilitation of clients' active coping, social support, and identity exploration and development, without imposing a specific sexual orientation identity outcome.
As anyone who lives and breathes has learned, trying to change people is nearly always destined for failure. There is no upside in changing from one person with one set of problems into a different person with a whole new set of problems; it usually just compounds all those problems together. Sexual orientation change efforts are no different. Recognizing their failure is neither pro-gay nor anti-gay, and it's neither pro-religion nor anti-religion. They simply don't work, and from the psychological data, they are both ill-advised and unnecessary. Many people face genuine problems and seek genuine interventions. For such people, we do have genuine psychological solutions that are proven to work. Trying to change who you are is not one of them.
Update: Exodus International has since shut down and apologized for its actions.
By Brian Dunning
Follow @BrianDunningThis piece was adapted from Tomorrowland: Our Journey from Science Fiction to Science Fact by Steven Kotler.
We use a lot of energy. A lot of energy. Thus, if you want to talk safety and security, you have to start with the options available. Can solar and wind even satisfy our needs? Can green techs ever handle base load demands? Will better energy storage systems soon come online? Hard to say. As a result of this uncertainty, most experts frame the discussion as coal versus nukes. "Nukes win every time," says retired Argonne National Laboratory nuclear physicist, George Stanford. "Fifty-six people died outright at Chernobyl. We could have three or four of those a year and not do the damage coal does."
New York Times journalist and author of Power to Save the World: The Truth About Nuclear Power, Gwyneth Cravens, explains further: "If an American got all his or her lifetime electricity solely from nuclear power, that person's share of waste would fit into one soda can. If an American got all his or her electricity from coal, that person's waste would weigh 68.5 tons and fit into six 12-ton railroad cars. And their share of carbon dioxide coal emissions would come to 77 tons." Nukes, meanwhile, have virtually no carbon footprint.
Settling this debate may take some time--and since time is the one luxury both sides agree we don't have--there are heated arguments about the best way forward. Many smart scientists claim that nuclear energy is the only way through future crises. Plenty disagree. But lost in all this fuss is a four-decade revolution in the science that promises a next wave of nuclear power: cleaner, safer and less vulnerable to terrorist attack or natural disaster.
Integral Fast Reactor (IFR)
Development of the IFR began in 1984 and by 1992, the designs were complete, but then Bill Clinton decided to save money by shutting down any nuclear projects he deemed unnecessary. "It's a crime," says former Argonne nuclear physicist George Stanford. "We set out to build a reactor that addresses all the nuclear concerns: safety, efficiency, proliferation, and waste. It worked perfectly. IFR solves all our problems. And it's just sitting on a shelf."
Among the problems "solved" by IFR is safety. Liquid metal fuel expands when heated. As the metal expands, its density decreases. This changes the geometric trajectory of the neutrons bouncing around inside and the laws of physics don't allow it to sustain a chain reaction. "It can't melt down," says Stanford. "We know this for certain because in public demonstrations Argonne duplicated the exact conditions that led to both the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl disasters and nothing happened." This is known as "passive safety" and every Generation IV reactor works this way.
Proliferation is another problem solved. An IFR reactor is built so that whatever fuel enters always leaves as electricity. What's actually inside the reactor--if terrorists, say, seize a facility--is far too hot to handle, so the main result of such an attempt would be dead terrorists. And the waste is only a fraction of what's produced by thermal reactors (a 1000-MW thermal reactor produces slightly more than 25 tons of spent fuel annually; a fast reactor generating the same power produces one ton). Moreover, this waste doesn't contain weapons-usable material, only stays "hot" for several hundred years, and remains as an inert solid--essentially stored as glass bricks--so even if the containment facility were to breach, it can't leach into the ground water.
All of this explains why, in 2002, the U.S. Department of Energy organized the most comprehensive study of nuclear design options ever conducted, asking over 250 scientists to rank nineteen existing nuclear options based on 27 criteria. IFR came in at number one. For this reason, Columbia University professor and head of NASA's Goddard Institute, James Hansen--often credited with being the first person to sound the alarm bells about global warming--put IFR on his top-five list of things we need to do to stave off climate disaster. The truth of the matter," says Tom Blees, "is once most anti-nuke people hear about IFR, they tend to switch sides pretty quickly."
Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors (LFTR, pronounced lifter)
LFTR began its life as a solution to a peculiar 1940s Air Force question: Can we use nuclear power to fly a bomber indefinitely? The basic answer was yes, but intercontinental ballistic missiles turned out to be a better way to fight the Cold War. Before that happened, research on the project was spread among a number of different centers, though Oak Ridge National Laboratory took the lead throughout the 1960s, even building a prototype LFTR reactor that went critical in 1954 and ran for 100 hours nonstop before being shut down.
After that program was cancelled, the idea never quite went away. A small cadre of Oak Ridge scientists kept it alive. Lately, the cadre has been expanding, primarily because LFTR has some significant benefits over other nuclear technologies--mainly the fact that it runs on thorium.
Thorium is a mildly radioactive element found in significantly greater quantities than uranium. As there are growing concerns about our dwindling uranium supply--some experts predict we could run out of our main nuclear fuel within 100 years--this is good news. More important, thorium provides more bang for our buck. In a standard thermal reactor, it takes 250 tons of uranium to create a gigawatt-year of electricity. LFTR requires only one ton of thorium to produce the same output. And less fuel makes for less waste. A lot less. Thorium creates less than 1 percent of the waste of a standard light-water reactor, and most of that "waste" isn't waste--rather a collection of valuable elements like rhodium.
Finally, LFTR allows for continuous refueling, meaning the reactor never stops operating, which makes it both incredibly efficient and a lousy target for terrorists intent on theft of nuclear materials. This level of safety and efficiency could lead to assembly-line production, making thorium reactors the Model T of nuclear designs. "To stop global warming," says Kirk Sorenson, chief technologist for the Energy from Thorium Foundation, "we need thousands of new reactors worldwide; currently we have hundreds. It took three years from when they invented the fluoride reactor until they built the first one. That was fifty years ago, and we know a lot more about how to do it now."
It's for this reason that a number of countries now have serious thorium programs underway. India, which has abundant thorium reserves, plans to generate 25 percent of their electricity from the element. China, meanwhile, is being even more aggressive. Asia's giant has a dedicated team of 750 researchers working the problem and plans to have its first thorium reactor up and running by late 2015. In the U.S., TerraPower, founded by former Microsoft chief technology officer Nathan Myhrvold, with backing from Bill Gates, is working on a "traveling wave reactor"--often described as "the world's most passive fast breeder reactor"--that will be able to run on both thorium and uranium and is due, in prototype form, by 2020.
Small Scale Nuclear Reactors (SMRS)
So-called "backyard nukes." These mini-nukes generate between 45 and 300 megawatts of power (compared to 500 megawatts for the smallest thermal reactor now on the market), are built modularly (and, at roughly $1 billion per, relatively cheaply), then sealed completely at the factory, shipped via rail, and arrive at their destination "plug and play." Once installed, they're designed to run for years without maintenance. A number of familiar faces (like Toshiba and Lawrence Livermore Laboratories) and several nuclear newcomers (like New Mexico-based Hyperion Power Generation and Oregon- based NuScale Power) have gone into this area because SMRs are believed to fill a niche.
In places where water shortages are a problem, SMRs could be used to run desalination plants; in places too remote for other options, SMRs could be the best alternative to trucking in barrels of diesel. Much interest is centered around providing power for remote mining operations (like extracting oil from tar sands, which currently uses more oil than it produces), backing up intermittently plagued solar or wind facilities, or even --in the very long term --serving as hydrogen generators.
While in office, President Barack Obama has been supportive of nuclear energy, but he also called the Nuclear Regulatory Commission a "moribund agency that needs to be revamped and has become a captive of the industries it regulates." This doesn't bode well for new nuclear technologies since they all must be approved by the Commission before deployment. And if Obama plans on revamping an agency that already claims to be severely understaffed, then once again we run into the wall of time.
Which raises the final question worth asking--what does all this excitement really mean? Not much as yet. In fact, despite recent and significant forward progress, because of the devastation that occurred when an earthquake, then a tsunami, struck Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, many countries are revamping their nuclear plans. Japan itself has shut down forty-eight of its plants. Germany halted its efforts to become a leader in nuclear power. Once again, the experts are predicting the end of the industry.As it turns out, Left Behind has very little to do with the novel it’s based on. In many ways, that’s a very good thing. The first book in LaHaye’s series follows two protagonists: "revered" airline pilot Rayford Steele and superstar journalist Cameron "Buck" Williams. Unexplained disappearances rock the world, and a charismatic Antichrist rises to power, while Rayford, his daughter Chloe, and Buck prepare to survive the end times as part of the guerrilla "Tribulation Force." This all sounds tremendously exciting, until you realize that both men are arrogant and vindictive bores, the Rapture is forgotten within a few chapters, and the Antichrist is a minor Romanian politician jockeying for leadership of the UN.
With its unpleasant characters, glacial pace, and bizarre preoccupation with phone calls and travel plans, Left Behind may be one of the dullest books (and most cynical money grabs, since its story would be stretched over 15 more volumes and a young adult series) to ever hit the bestseller lists. A 2000 film adaptation, starring Kirk Cameron of Growing Pains, didn’t redeem it.
I’m reasonably confident guessing the original script for this version of Left Behind was not written for Tim LaHaye’s megafranchise at all. The characters and basic setup of the book are channeled into a disaster movie about Rayford (played by Nicolas Cage) struggling to land his plane amid the chaos of millions of people inexplicably disappearing. It’s more Langoliers than Leftovers: runways have gone dark, fuel is running low, and the remaining passengers are growing more paranoid by the minute. There’s no UN, no Antichrist, and in fact the whole plot of the movie covers 25 pages in the book — although, granted, they’re probably the most exciting 25 pages.
The whole plot of the movie covers 25 pages in the book
Left Behind is far less overtly religious than its source. But stripping out almost the entire plot reveals a grim story about religion, evil, and salvation. One of the long-running criticisms of the series, covered at length in writer Fred Clark’s brilliant deconstruction of the novels, is that it’s a fundamentalist revenge fantasy, where an angry God comes back to give sinners their just deserts. The book portrays most of those left behind as either willfully ignorant or outright evil, to the point of including a conversation about how doctors are upset that there are no fetuses left to abort. In turning an evangelical book into a semi-secular movie, the filmmakers somehow, perhaps accidentally, made the story even bleaker: God is capricious and terrifying, and he is going to hurt you.
In any medium, this is an inescapable fact of Left Behind, and of most Christian accounts of the apocalypse. Still, it’s usually balanced by descriptions of God’s love and a promise of protection and eternal life if sinners are born again. Someone may question why God allows evil in the world — as Chloe frequently does in the film — but they’re quickly set straight. Fans of Left Behind in particular often describe it as a hopeful book, promising that redemption is still possible after believers disappear. Whether or not it’s convincing, there’s at least an assertion that God is, in fact, good, and people who reject him are getting what they deserve.T ony Fullman is a middle-aged former tax man and a pro-democracy activist. But four years ago, a botched operation launched by New Zealand spies meant he suddenly found himself deemed a potential terrorist — his passport was revoked, his home was raided, and he was placed on a top-secret National Security Agency surveillance list.
The extraordinary covert operation, revealed Sunday by Television New Zealand in collaboration with The Intercept, was launched in 2012 after New Zealand authorities believed they had identified a group planning to violently overthrow Fiji’s military regime.
As part of the spy mission, the NSA used its powerful global surveillance apparatus to intercept the emails and Facebook chats of people associated with a Fijian “thumbs up for democracy” campaign. The agency then passed the messages to its New Zealand counterpart, Government Communications Security Bureau, or GCSB.
One of the main targets was Fullman, a New Zealand citizen, whose communications were monitored by the NSA after New Zealand authorities, citing secret evidence, accused him of planning an “an act of terrorism” overseas.
But it turned out that the claims were baseless — Fullman, then 47, was not involved in any violent plot. He was a long-time public servant and peaceful pro-democracy activist who, like the New Zealand and Australian governments at that time, was opposed to Fiji’s authoritarian military ruler Frank Bainimarama.
Details about the surveillance are contained in documents obtained by The Intercept from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. More than 190 pages of top-secret NSA logs of intercepted communications dated between May and August 2012 show that the agency used the controversial internet surveillance system PRISM to eavesdrop on Fullman and other Fiji pro-democracy advocates’ Gmail and Facebook messages. Fullman is the first person in the world to be publicly identified as a confirmed PRISM target.
At the time of the spying, New Zealand’s surveillance agency was not permitted to monitor New Zealand citizens. Despite this, it worked with the NSA to eavesdrop on Fullman’s communications, which suggests he is one of 88 unnamed New Zealanders who were spied on between 2003 and 2012 in operations that may have been illegal, as revealed in an explosive 2013 New Zealand government report.
In response to questions for this story, the NSA declined to address the Fullman case directly. A spokesperson for the agency, Michael Halbig, said in a statement to The Intercept that it “works with a number of partners in meeting its foreign-intelligence mission goals, and those operations comply with U.S. law and with the applicable laws under which those partners operate.”
Antony Byers, a spokesperson for New Zealand’s intelligence agencies, said he would not comment “on matters that may or may not be operational.” The country’s spy agencies “operate within the law,” Byers said, adding: “We do not ask partners to do things that would circumvent the law, and New Zealand gets significant value from our international relationships.”
A Fijian military soldier stands guard on Parliament grounds. Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images
Unexpected Twist
Fullman was born in Fiji in 1965 and emigrated to New Zealand when he was about 21. He became naturalized as a New Zealand citizen and spent most of his working life in the country, including more than 20 years in various roles at the government’s tax department, where he was based out of offices first in Auckland and later in the capital city of Wellington.
In his spare time, Fullman worked as an amateur boxing judge and referee and helped out once a month at a Wellington soup kitchen run by a Christian charity. Between 2001 and 2003, he attended graduate school, earning two masters degrees: one in public management, the other in information systems. And in 2009, he decided to return to Fiji after he was offered a job as chief executive of the Fiji Water Authority.
The move back to Fiji, however, led to a dramatic and unexpected twist in the course of his life — partly due to an old childhood friend.
Photo: Tony Fullman
Fullman had grown up in Fiji in the port town of Levuka. There, during the 1960s, his mother had worked as secretary to Kamisese Mara, an influental local politician who went on to serve as Fiji’s prime minister between 1970 and 1992. Kamisese had a young son — Ratu Tevita Mara — who was about the same age as Fullman. The two boys became best friends, together attending school, playing rugby, and going on trips.
“Weekends we would go fishing or go up to his mother’s farm, help out on the farm,” Fullman recalled in an interview with The Intercept. “We spent a lot of time together. He was like a brother to me.”
When Fullman left Fiji for New Zealand in his early 20s, he kept in contact with Mara through phone and email. And by the time Fullman returned to Fiji in 2009 to take the water authority job, Mara had become a powerful military officer, serving as the Fijian army’s chief of staff.
But the political situation in Fiji was now highly unstable, and Mara was at the center of some of the tensions. The country had experienced three military coups between 1987 and 2006 that were rooted in ethnic and religious divisions. Following the latest coup in 2006, which had brought authoritarian ruler Bainimarama to power, the military government and police were accused of systematically cracking down on freedom of speech and arresting critics and human rights defenders.
Mara was dissatisfied with the leadership and, in May 2011, he became embroiled in a high-profile dispute with the Bainimarama regime. He was accused of plotting to overthrow the government and charged with uttering a seditious comment. He was hauled before a court, where he was threatened with imprisonment for allegedly uttering the words, “This government is fuck all.”
Mara was freed on bail while the case against him remained ongoing. But he was concerned about the prospect of ultimately receiving a lengthy jail term. He decided to take a drastic course of action — and fled Fiji, escaping on a boat to nearby Tonga.
Following Mara’s dramatic getaway, Fullman was questioned by the Fijian military. It had found records of phone calls between him and Mara dated from shortly before Mara had left. Facing potential punishment over allegations that he helped Mara escape, Fullman decided that he too would have to promptly leave Fiji.
Source: NSA
NSA Spying
By 2012, Fullman had moved to Sydney, Australia, where he was living with his sister and her family. Alongside Mara and other former Fiji residents, he was working with a group called the Fiji Movement for Freedom and Democracy, which was campaigning against the Bainimarama regime.
In early July 2012, Fullman and Mara traveled to New Zealand, where they held meetings with some of the group’s supporters in Auckland. The meetings appear to have attracted the attention of New Zealand’s spies — and culminated in an extraordinary sequence of events: Fullman’s home was raided, his passport revoked, and both he and Mara were put under top-secret NSA surveillance.
Source: Youtube
A New Zealand government source familiar with the operation that targeted the democracy group, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss classified information, told The Intercept that an investigation was launched after New Zealand’s equivalent of the FBI, the Security Intelligence Service, bugged telephone calls in which it believed it heard people discussing a plot to violently overthrow Bainimarama. According to the source, security officials were “very excited,” thinking they “finally had some baddies, real live terrorists in New Zealand.”
At the time, the New Zealand government had been keeping close tabs on the political situation in Fiji, which consists of some 333 small islands located about a three-hour flight north of Auckland. Fiji has historically maintained strong trading and tourism links with New Zealand, but the relationship had soured in the aftermath of the 2006 military coup. The New Zealand government expressed its opposition to the Bainimarama regime’s takeover, placing sanctions on Fiji and calling for the restoration of democracy. By mid-2012, however, relations between the countries were beginning to thaw. New Zealand government officials were openly discussing the possibility of ending the sanctions, in part because they may have been concerned that Fiji seemed to be moving closer to forming an allegiance with China and other Asian nations.
At 7am on July 17, 2012, about a week after Fullman had returned to Australia from the trip to New Zealand, a team of more than a dozen Australian security agents and two Australian federal police detectives arrived at his sister’s home in Sydney looking for weapons and other evidence of the suspected plot.
They seized computers, phones and documents from the premises and confiscated Fullman’s passport on behalf of the New Zealand authorities. Teams of New Zealand Security Intelligence Service officers and police simultaneously raided Fullman’s former apartment in the Wellington suburb of Karori and the homes of at least three other Fiji Freedom and Democracy movement supporters in Auckland, seizing their computers and other property.
The same day that the raids took place, New Zealand Minister of Internal Affairs Chris Tremain signed a notice canceling Fullman’s passport. The notice said the minister had canceled the passport based on secret details provided by the Security Intelligence Service: “The majority of [the] information is classified but in summary I have good reason to believe that … you are involved in planning violent action intended to force a change of Government in a foreign state; and you intend to engage in, or facilitate, an act of terrorism overseas.”
Fullman was baffled by the allegations, which he denied, and sought legal advice to challenge them. At the same time, unknown to him, he had also entered onto the radar of the world’s most powerful surveillance agency: the NSA.
Between early July and early August 2012, New Zealand spies appear to have requested American assistance to obtain the emails and Facebook communications of Fullman and Mara, including from a “democfiji” email address used by Fullman to organize events for the campaign group, whose slogan was “thumbs up for democracy.”
The NSA’s documents contain a “priority list” that names the two men as “Fiji targets” alongside their Gmail addresses and an account number identifying Fullman’s Facebook page. The documents indicate that the NSA began intercepting messages associated with Mara’s accounts on about the July 9, 2012 and on August 3 started spying on Fullman’s messages. The agency also obtained historic messages from the two men dating back to the beginning of May 2012.
Source: Washington Post/NSA
To conduct the electronic eavesdropping, the NSA turned to one of its most controversial surveillance programs: PRISM. The agency uses PRISM to secretly obtain communications that are processed by major technology companies like Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Yahoo, as the Washington Post and The Guardian first reported in 2013.
Almost all of the more than 190 pages of intercepted Gmail and Facebook messages from Fullman and Mara is headed “US-984XN,” the code for surveillance that is carried out under PRISM. The pages reveal that the legal justifications NSA cited for the surveillance were selected inconsistently. Most of Fullman’s emails and Facebook messages were obtained as “foreign government” targets, while others such as his bank statements and Facebook photographs were collected under the category of “counter-terrorism.”
The classification markings on some of the files — “REL TO USA/NZ” — make clear that the intercepted communications were to be released to New Zealand spies. In one of the files showing Fullman’s intercepted emails and Facebook chats, the NSA explicitly noted that the intercepted material had been forwarded to its New Zealand intelligence counterpart, the GCSB. (New Zealand is a member of the Five Eyes, a surveillance alliance that also includes electronic eavesdropping agencies from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.)
Source: NSA
The NSA surveillance, however, produced no evidence of a plot. The intercepted messages contained personal information and typical Facebook chit chat. The NSA collected Fullman’s bank statements, which were attached to his emails and showed his visits to a coffee shop, a pharmacy, and purchases at a shoe store. There was correspondence about Fullman working to establish a tourism venture on an island in Tonga, emails about a birthday party, many communications about the Fijian pro-democracy group’s blog posts, and details about alleged abuses committed by Fijian military officials. There were discussions about an unwell mother and a young relative with a confidential health problem. A top-secret intelligence document even reproduced a photograph of Fullman’s silver Mitsubishi station wagon alongside details of its precise location. But there was not a single hint of any plans for violence or other clandestine activity.
It would soon become clear that there was no evidence to support the New Zealand authorities’ suspicions. And gradually, their case would fall apart.
On 16 April, 2013, the internal affairs minister, Tremain, wrote again to Fullman. Contrary to the earlier notice he had issued, Tremain now said that “based on advice” provided by the Security Intelligence Service, there were “no longer national security concerns” about Fullman. The cancellation of his passport was lifted “without requiring an application for a replacement, or payment of a fee.” The change of position followed Fullman initiating legal action against the New Zealand government in the Wellington High Court two months earlier.
The NSA intercepted Fullman’s discussions about an unwell mother and a young relative with a confidential health problem.
Another of the pro-democracy members whose home was raided during the operation was former Fiji sports minister and then-grocery store owner Rajesh Singh. After his home was searched by police and security agents, Singh complained to New Zealand’s inspector general of intelligence and security, Andrew McGechan, who questioned the officers involved and reviewed the investigation. His report said the Security Intelligence Service had applied for a domestic intelligence warrant “against a number of individuals” because of “suspicions of a plan to inflict violence.”
But McGechan identified neither unlawful behavior by Singh nor evidence of the supposed terrorist plot. His May 2014 report said: “There is nothing in the issue of the Warrant itself or in the questions and answers that followed … which comes even near to approaching proof of criminal activity or participation in terrorism.” He noted that “no police activity has resulted, or charges been laid.”
The Intercept asked Fullman if he or Mara had ever heard of — or been involved in — discussions about overthrowing or assassinating Bainimarama. Far from denying it, he said that sort of talk happened frequently within Fijian pro-democracy circles. However, he said it was just angry ranting, when the alcohol was flowing, something completely different from real plans.
“People would say things like, ‘Please can we just hire the Americans to send one drone to Fiji to get rid of those bastards’, or ‘Let me go back to Fiji and I |
--- Islam," "F --- that n -----," "Hang the bitch"; and various scenes of pushing and shoving of demonstrators.
Slate's Ben Mathis-Lilley has a tally of 20 violent incidents at Trump events by Trump supporters, and protesters, including protesters hit with pepper spray by Trump backers, and instances of demonstrators being sucker-punched, shoved and choked.
Trump has encouraged such activity by offering to pay the legal fees of the violent, by likening demonstrators to terrorists, by suggesting a demonstrator "should have been roughed up" and saying "knock the crap out of them" and "I'd like to punch him in the face," among other things.
Trump has identified Clinton as a criminal and the devil. Would his most ardent backers just possibly assume he would favor violence against a government run by such a person?
The rage will only increase if Trump continues to sink in the polls and -- as is his pattern when in trouble -- he continues to get more and more outrageous. "I worry that all he knows how to do is double down," Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, a Republican critic of Trump, told me this week. "They're out of options."
Not entirely out of options. There's still the rhetorical bloodbath. Or worse.
Follow Dana Milbank on Twitter, Milbank.
(c) 2016, Washington Post Writers GroupYou’re a busy person, right?
You want your time at the gym to be well spent, not wasted on exercises that won’t get you anywhere in terms of fitness or strength. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of misinformation out there, and that’s resulted in many of us using precious gym time doing things that are either totally useless or not as result-spurring as other options. Read on to find out which five overrated exercises you can cut from your gym routine.
1. Abdominal and Side Plank
These core-focused exercises certainly have their uses for beginners: abdominal and side planks help strengthen core muscles and improve overall stability.
But because these are static bodyweight exercises (as in, you’re holding one position rather than flexing and unflexing your muscles), they quickly lose their potency once you reach a certain strength level, and then you’re pretty much just hanging out.
Sign up for the DailyHealthPost newsletter.
All the doable stuff to live better naturally, sent to your inbox daily.🍎 SIGN UP
× Enter your email below to sign up. We hate SPAM and will NEVER violate your privacy.
If you can already hold the plank for 30-60 seconds and you’re not looking to set a Guinness world record then try switching to exercises that challenge your stability dynamically, like a set of push-ups or more difficult variations of the plank.
Ultimately, once you can hold the plank or any other variation for 60 seconds or more it’s time to change. Continuously doing the plank over and over again will only slow down your progress.
Challenge your body’s ability to maintain a stable core while moving in a controlled manner and you will not only be able to improve faster but you’ll also help prevent injuries in the long run.
2. Traditional Crunches
Do NOT Crunch – Vince Gironda advice for abs exercise
Watch this video on YouTube
Note that in our dynamic exercise suggestion we did not mention crunches. While many people think that doing a hundred crunches a day will get them rock solid abs, it simply isn’t the case. Crunches only target one small abdominal muscle group, and can also place an undue amount of strain on the back and neck.
Think about adding some balance ball exercises to your routine instead, which tend to offer more variation and require more muscle action to stabilize your body with each movement.
3. Bench Press
Although it’s a staple of gym buffs everywhere, the bench press is overrated mainly because too many beginners stick to this chest exercise thinking that it’s the only thing they need. But according to Poliquin Performance,
“As a general guideline – and this applies both to athletes and to the general population – never perform more than 20 percent of your training volume for pressing exercises from a [supine] position. In other words, 80 percent of your presses should be performed from other angles, such as with an incline or military press. Further, at least 50 percent of pressing exercises should be performed with dumbbells, as they offer a more natural movement pattern and provide a more challenging workout for the muscles that stabilize the shoulder.”
Basically the bench press does have its place in a properly structured program. Just make sure not to make it your main focus every time you hit the gym.
Doing too much horizontal work can lead to serious rotator cuff problems because the muscles in the shoulders develop an imbalance.
So if you want to avoid the risk of ever having to go through a rotator cuff surgery, try following some of the guidelines outlined above.
4. Seated Knee Extension
Along with the leg press, the seated knee extension is one lower-body weight machine exercise that can be replaced with a way more effective substitute.
Like most weight machines, seated knee extensions target only one muscle group – in this case the quadriceps – in a motion that doesn’t translate well to other applications.
Plus, you don’t engage core and stabilizing muscles, so you miss out on a good opportunity to work your entire body.
Replace seated knee extensions with a walking dumbbell lunge or front squats.
5. Hanging Knee Raise
This is an exercise that’s got the opposite problem from some of those mentioned previously: it’s too hard for most of the people who try to do it, which means that unless you’ve got enough training experience under your belt, you’re probably not doing it correctly. Incorrect hanging knee raises not only fail to strengthen the muscles you’re intending to bulk up or tone, they also put you at risk for injury.
sources:
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/b/2012/02/01/the-most-overrated-exercises.htm
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/10-fun-moves-to-reshape-your-body-with-exercise-ball-workout
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sampleworkouts/qt/Walking-Dumbbell-Lunge.htm
http://athleticperformancetc.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/avoid-these-3-overrated-exercises/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/535201-alternates-for-hanging-leg-raises/
http://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/850/Is_the_Bench_Press_Overrated.aspx
Will you be changing up your workout routine after reading this list? What moves are you doing instead?Sanjay Dutt is in news again! No, not for getting one more parole extension. This time he has become talk of the town for what he did during his parole.
A lengthy MMS clip featuring Sanjay Dutt in high spirits and talking about his colleagues from the film industry has been leaked.
Sanjay Dutt is currently in Yerwada jail. Sanjay Dutt is currently in Yerwada jail.
According to reports, Sanjay Dutt hosted a dinner party at his Bandra residence when he was out on parole. At the party, Dutt, who was apparently in high spirits, started playing the guitar and singing a few rap songs. He is then said to have started talking about his colleagues from Bollywood.
All this was recorded on a mobile phone by one of the guests and now this video is doing the rounds.
As per the buzz the party was attended by three star kids who are close to Sanjay Dutt and one of them shared the video with his friends. The actor is said to be close to Ranbir Kapoor, Varun Dhawan and Arjun Kapoor among the young lot.The email was supposedly sent from a building owned by the Church of Scientology.
Paul Haggis is alleging that a Church of Scientology spy posed as a Time magazine reporter in an effort to get a one-on-one interview with him.
On April 7, Haggis received an email requesting an interview from Mark Webber, who claimed to be writing an article for Time magazine. In the email, reprinted below. Webber said he was speaking with numerous directors for a "golden age of film" article and referenced Crash, Haggis' Oscar-winning film.
Dear Mr. Haggis,
I am writing a piece for Time Magazine on the 'golden age' of film. - I would very much like to interview you for the piece and include "Crash" as a example of recent film that has that beautiful cinematic 'touch'.
Other directors participating in the film include David Lynch, Jean-Luc Godard, Francis-Ford Coppola, Sam Mendes, Darren Arronofsky and David Fincher.
This can be done over the phone or via email. My deadline for the piece is April 15th, 4pm EST.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
Mark Webber
The director forwarded the interview request to his staff and asked them to set up a phone interview with Webber. After reading the email, Haggis' team did some research on Webber, but were unable to find any Time articles by someone with that name. The writer-director's team followed up with Time's entertainment editors, who said they didn't assign that piece and that Webber doesn't work for them.
After investigating where the email originated, Haggis' team discovered that the email was sent from a computer at 5165 Fountain Avenue in Los Angeles. The structure, known as the Anthony Building, is supposedly owned by the Church of Scientology and the Yahoo email account was created on April 1, just days before the interview request was sent.
Haggis' staff reached out to Webber again to try to verify that he was writing a piece for Time magazine but never heard back.
Haggis believes that the person who reached out to him was a Scientology spy. TonyOrtega.org first reported on this incident.
A rep for the Church says it "knows nothing about this."
"There is no one with that name at that address, there is no such IP address at the Anthony Building on Fountain Avenue, it does not exist," the rep added. "The entire story is fabricated."
The Crash director told Ortega that Webber's pitch isn't the first time the Church of Scientology has reached out to him. In an email he sent to the former Village Voice editor, Haggis recalled when Scientology previously posed an interview:
The last time this happened to me was when I was told (only after I arrived) that I had offended Tom Cruise by telling a joke to Steven Spielberg — and it was Greg Wilhere, second in charge of the church, who had me in that small room, with his back to the door, and wouldn’t let me leave until I wrote a suitably contrite letter to Tom. And Tommy Davis and staff were outside waiting. After that incident I never again agreed to an interview — unless they came to me, which they did in 2009. Nine senior executives showed up to try and persuade me to tear up my letter of resignation and leave quietly, or face the consequences.
So given that background, what could they gain by “interviewing me” under this pretense?
Several years ago I was contacted by Scientology’s Freedom magazine. They were enraged by the New Yorker article and demanded that I agree to be interviewed by them. I asked them to send me their questions; they did. While some of the questions were quite ludicrous, I answered them all — and said I would gladly return it to them. I only had one condition, they had to publish the interview unedited. They would not agree to that, so it ended there.
I stipulated this because Scientology is infamous for taking and using quotes out of context — as you have no doubt seen in all the of the various attack pieces they have produced on everyone involved with Going Clear. They even do this with photographs, wildly doctoring them to change the intent or circumstances. By way of example, they constantly use a photo of me in an orange prison jump suit, and refer to me as the “hypocrite of Hollywood.”
They fail to mention that this is extracted from a photograph taken by Amnesty International, in which actors Mark Ruffalo, Martin Sheen, and I were asked to don the suits in order to protest endless incarceration without due process of law at Guantanamo. Mark and Martin mysteriously disappeared from the photo — I’m sure an unintended oversight by Mr. Miscavige — and the impression given is that, at one time or another, I was a long-time guest of the federal prison system.
So is that what this was? An attempt to press me for some “quote” that they could twist to fit the needs of their prestigious magazine? Or just general fishing. I don’t honestly know what they thought they could gain. But try they did.
April 18, 7:06 a.m. This story has been updated with the Church of Scientology's response.NEW DELHI: In 1957, more than 35% of Delhiites commuted on bicycles. Fifty years later, the ‘modal share’ of cycling in the city’s transport had reduced to about 4% and—given the rapid increase in private vehicle ownership—is likely to have dipped further by now.Cyclists have gradually disappeared with motorized transport eating into the little space they had, and the city has not created new infrastructure or space to help them adapt to these changes, says a report by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), entitled Pedalling Towards a Greener India that was released on Wednesday. The report analyses trends in cycling and cycle ownership using government data.While cycling’s share in public transport has diminished across the developing world, the fall has been precipitous in India. In Chinese cities, cycling’s share in transport still ranges from 11% to 47%. In Beijing, for instance, cycling’s share fell from 38.5% in 2000 to 16.4% in 2010.Two decades ago, a third of commuting in 80 Indian cities was done on bicycles, but by 2007 this average had fallen to 12%, and the report says it is likely to drop further “given that Indian cities are not taking any significant initiatives to create a safe cycling environment”.Although bicycle ownership has increased in cities, it has not kept pace with the increase in households. Where 46% of Indian households owned bicycles in 2001, in 2011 the number reduced to 42%. Even in rural areas, where cycling is the only cheap mobility option, cycle ownership is limited to 46% compared to almost 100% in rural China. In contrast, the yearly increase in car ownership between 2001 and 2011 was 15% in urban areas compared with 3% for cycles.Surprisingly, one of the reasons for the low ownership is that bicycles are not affordable anymore, according to the TERI study. Focus group discussions in five villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and a survey of 1,200 cyclists in six cities—Meerut, Jhansi, Jaipur, Surat, Bangalore and Delhi—by TERI revealed that low-income households find it extremely difficult to buy a cycle. TERI has recommended that the government waive off taxes on cycles that cost less than Rs 5,000. It has also suggested priority loans for buying cycles and distribution of free cycles to students.Cycle sharing, which has caught on in many European cities, is now available in Delhi and Bangalore. The TERI report points out that Chinese cities have popularized cycling by implementing large sharing schemes. Those in Wuhan and Hangzhou are among the largest in the world. R K Pachauri, director general, TERI said the Netherlands has managed to slash its health budget by promoting cycling.Harsh Vardhan, Union minister for health and family welfare, said, “If cycling is adopted, it will ensure that every bit of extra fat is burnt”. He added this will reduce the country’s disease burden of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes etc. “I promise I’ll personally write to the surface transport ministry and the urban development ministry so that whatever is required is done,” he said.The season is right around the corner, which means fans are about to watch some awesome Counter-Strike matches. Teams and players we’ve become familiar with, and even some who are new to the collegiate scene, are going to be duking it out for a chance to show us a thing or two about winning big. But there are a few teams who stand out in a league of their own due to their performances at last year’s playoffs. These universities have bested the rest, proven their brilliance, and risen to the top through skill and determination. Some have dominated hard, others have had sparks of excellence, but all have caught our attention. Listed below, are the teams that made their mark on the first ever CSL CS:GO tournament.
San Jose State University
Last year, SJSU firmly secured their place as the masters of CSL CS:GO. Once called the ‘Spartans Gold’, now they go by the name ‘Savages’. And savage they were as the they took the heads of their opponents, sometimes so swiftly the opposition didn’t make it past 8 rounds.This team had insane fragging potential, and if one member was struggling, you had to worry about the other stepping up. Their map pool was large as they’ve beaten their toughest opponents on Mirage, Inferno, Overpass and more. With both great Terrorist and Counter-Terrorist sides, SJSU out-aimed and outplayed everyone.They faced Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal in the final and won with a clean 2-0.
After their victory at DreamHack, members of the now team ‘Savages’ took a break from Counter-Strike and got involved in college life as a way of “dealing with the stress of the collegiate scene” said their manager Joshua ‘CruzCTRL’ Cruz. He explained that the plan was for the team to be “refreshed and ready to go all in” for the new season. Nothing short of the semi-finals is expected for a team of SJSU’s caliber, and the name they have to live up to now can mean either too much ego or a lot of drive.
University of Southern California
After SJSU bested them in the semi-finals, you can bet your CS:GO knives USC is hungry for blood this year. The team that could grind out matches past overtime and come out on top, you could always count on last year’s lineup to put up a good fight (A good example would be this game that lasted 4 overtimes against SJSU!). They battled long and hard to prove their roster is a contender for the title. They could crush you or break you down slowly but on the occasions they lost, it was by a sliver.
USC never stuck with a single strategy and that seemed to help them stay on top. They had rounds where every member rushed B, guns out, no fear, but there were also default rounds, where they worked to get map control first and set up smokes before entering a site. Their Cobblestone matches were sick to watch, and it was clear they favored this map. On CT-side you saw aggression and a lot of versatility when it came to player positioning. We saw USC throw away some rounds, but this is something that can be easily overcome with the right determination.
Université de Montréal, Faucons de Montréal
Under the name Ecole Polytechnique de Montréal last year, ‘Les Faucons de Montréal’ placed second in the playoffs after an astounding 14-0 record in the regular season. Before the finals, they had only dropped one map throughout the entire course of the season. Much like USC, the french canadians persevered through matches and even had some insane comebacks from huge round deficits, which made them exciting to watch. It was clear this team had a much better Counter-Terrorist side than their Terrorist side, as they looked like they could read executes of the opponent well and rotate players accordingly. They knew when to push aggressively for the info and when to fall back and play passive. As well, Multiple players could utilise and make plays with the AWP.
I spoke to ‘Les Faucons’ leader, Aurélien ‘3psilon’ Bouis and he expressed determination to achieve great things with his team this coming season. “Considering the huge cash prize, I think the level is going to be a lot higher this year”, he said. “And if we want to go far we need to work harder than last year”. If ‘Les Faucons de Montreal’ is close to the level they were at last playoffs, they have a big chance to win it all. Just imagine how much ‘Faucons’ might achieve more practiced and driven than last year.
Ohio State University
As the only other team to emerge with a 14-0 record in the regular season, Ohio State Counter-Strike made it to the Quarter-finals and lost to their rivals, former ‘Poly de Montreal’. When Ohio State got going on certain maps, their style was very disciplined with fewer peeking and more effective trades. That is not to say that their players did not take risks, but that when they did it was calculated and had less reason to fail. In this way, Ohio State looked like they had a lot of potential to excel if they got the right chances and upped their firepower.
Unfortunately, it also seemed like Ohio State had inconsistency problems, where you would see beautiful Counter-Strike played on one map, but on the next the incredible team-play was not reproducible. On some rounds, they wouldn’t be able to close it out even with a 2-3 man advantage. If Ohio State works on these issues, they could definitely rival team ‘Savages’ and team ‘Les Faucons’ this year.
University of Texas at Austin
Famous for their comical worship of that humming guy from “The Wolf of Wall Street”, The ‘Mathew Mcconaughey Fan Club’ has shown some potential in upsetting the biggest dogs on the block. They got as far as the Quarter-finals last season, where they faced the team that would later go on to win the finals. In fact, they looked promising on the second map, as they had a solid Counter-Terrorist half and an okay Terrorist half (admittedly, Inferno was a very CT-sided map). I see them making it to the Quarters again this year, if they can practice hard enough to match the competition. But with some Terrorist side practice and map pool expansion they could potentially make it to the Semifinals, and who knows what could happen with a little luck.
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
The "CSGOphers" easily made their way to the eighth round of playoff; but when they battled semi-finalists USC, they were inconsistent with their matches. Much like some of the teams above, this team faces the problem of inconsistency and maybe a bit of tilt factor (they did much better in the first map against USC). However, they did seem to have aimers who could go toe to toe with the best players on the best teams. An idea could be to change their style a bit to play off those aimers. They have a good shot at accomplishing more this year with the right opponents and the right practice.
University of California, Santa Cruz
The UCSC ‘Slugs’ did not make it past the round of 16 of the playoffs, due to their bad luck (like a lot of other teams) in facing former team ‘Poly de Montreal’. To their credit though, they took a map off of the Canadians, something that no other team did all season until the ‘Slugs’ decided to show us signs of their best form. This season is their chance to prove to all of us that they did not deserve to go out in the round of 16. They have a long road ahead of them, but there is no reason UCSC can’t work hard and have a chance at that prize pool.
The Hype Continues
Whether you agree with this list, or think I might have my head on backwards, I am willing to bet you are as excited as I am for this year’s CSL Counter-Strike season. This prize pool, these teams, and this whole event promises to give us some passionate players, insane matches, epic storylines, and heartbreaking losses. I, for one, can not wait to see who the next group of accomplished CSL CS:GO champions will be.Lesbians in South Africa are being subjected to ‘corrective rape’ by men who think it will ‘cure’ them of their sexual orientation, according to human rights group ActionAid.
Rape is fast becoming the most widespread hate crime targeted against gay women across South Africa.
One lesbian and gay support group says it is dealing with 10 new cases of lesbian women being targeted for ‘corrective’ rape every week in Cape Town alone.
The report by the international NGO ActionAid, backed by the South African Human Rights Commission, said the horrific crimes against lesbians were going unrecognised by the state and unpunished by the legal system.
There are an estimated 500,000 rapes in South Africa every year. For every 25 men accused of rape in the country, 24 walk free.
As part of the widespread oppression of women, the country is now witnessing a backlash of crimes targeted specifically at lesbian women, who are perceived as representing a direct threat to a male-dominated society.
‘Corrective rape’ survivors interviewed by ActionAid said their attackers told them the rape would “teach them a lesson” and “show them how to be real women”.
“So-called ‘corrective’ rape is yet another grotesque manifestation of violence against women, the most widespread human rights violation in the world today,” said Zanele Twala, Director of ActionAid South Africa.
“These crimes continue unabated and with impunity, while governments simply turn a blind eye.”
Hate crimes
The hate crimes against lesbians in South Africa are not limited to rape – 31 lesbians have been reported murdered in homophobic attacks since 1998. Of the 31 cases, only two were taken to the courts, and there was only one conviction.
Support groups stress that because hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation are not recognised in the South African criminal justice system, the actual number of women killed is likely to be much higher.
Tsidi, a hate crime survivor from Cape Town said: “Here in South Africa you have judges sending women to jail for stealing a loaf of bread to feed her baby, but men who gang rape women, who murder lesbians… they walk the streets as free men.”
South Africa has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, guaranteeing the rights of gay and lesbian people. However, the South African legal system has not caught up.
Hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation are not recognised by South African law and the courts refuse to recognise that it plays any part in these cases. The police are reluctant to investigate hate crimes against lesbian women and there is inadequate support for the survivors.
One lesbian woman said: “We get insults every day, beatings if we walk alone, you are constantly reminded that…you deserve to be raped, they yell, if I rape you then you will go straight, that you will buy skirts and start to cook because you will have learnt how to be a real woman.
Zanele Twala, Director of ActionAid South Africa believes the international community has a duty to help lesbians in South Africa. “It is clear that the South African government must put a stop to these crimes against women and fulfil the promises of the constitution.
“Worldwide, it is utterly unacceptable that millions of women and girls live daily in fear of their lives. The international community have a duty to address violence against women as the most serious threat to security in the world today.”One of the most expensive things about setting up a new garden is the cost of the plants. Along with the cost of good soil, which as the pundits have pointed out, is not dirt cheap.
In order to get your garden up and running without playing the bankers’ game, there are lots of little ways to increase your plants if you’re patient. Growing from seeds, cuttings and root cuttings are some of the best ways to have more and more varied plants in your garden. The greatest benefit is that you can have your plant and share it too. If your neighbours or friends would like some of your gorgeous lemon thyme, (fantastic with roast chicken!) propagate some from a cutting and make a gift of it simply, easily and for free.
For this example a southernwood plant is being propagated from hard wood cuttings. Southernwood is an artemisia species, related to Tarragon and Absinthe. It smells like flea repellent and that is the job it’s here to do. Help keep ants, mozzies and perhaps termites away from precious fruit and nut trees.
Here’s the big piece broken off the stem of southernwood. Don’t worry, the plant won’t be badly affected by this. Southernwood, like lavender and lemon verbena, can do with a prune in autumn to keep it from getting too woody and straggly.
Here’s the smaller branch broken off, showing the “heel” of the small stem. With most of those lower leaves taken off, the stem including the heel will be planted in good quality potting mix and left for a few weeks to develop roots.
There’s about a dozen cuttings in this little pot, where they can be kept an eye on. If the cuttings were stuck straight in the ground and kept damp, a few more than half could be expected to survive. By keeping them in damp soil and out of really harsh weather more should take root.
If you’d like to help the cuttings along a little, or if you’re working with other species that are less robust, you can buy little packets of rooting hormone. Dip the heel or end of the cutting in the powder before you plant them in the pot and it encourages the plant to take root.
There are many, many species that will grow quite well by this method. Geraniums and pelargoniums are notorious for it. Almost any bit of day old geranium stuck in the ground will soon grow into a lovely strong flowering bush. As a starter they’re great. Drought and heat tolerant, can cope with shade, flower for ages and you can prune them with a whipper snipper. If you haven’t gardened before and would like something in the patch of dirt out back, geraniums and lavender might be somewhere to start and get your confidence up before you add lettuce and kale. Geraniums and lavender can be eaten but they don’t taste very good. Nice in bath oils though. The point being that just about anything is preferable to stones or lawn in terms of sustainability and if it helps encourage people into growing food plants, that’s a real bonus.
Thyme varieties and any of the mints can be propagated easily from woody cuttings, while rosemary and verbenas seem easier to get going from soft stems.
Here’s another piece of southernwood, this time broken off a little further up the stem. See how the stem here is green and there isn’t brown bark on it? This is a “soft cutting”. Some plants that don’t grow well from woody cuttings will be more likely to grow like this, including lavender. I’m told that roses will also, but the root stock is not likely to be very strong in that case.
In the little vase here are three pieces of pennyroyal, which have been sitting on the windowsill for about a week. Notice the roots in the bottom of the vase? Pennyroyal is a mint variety, another plant that helps to keep pests down and is a great little ground cover with lovely delicate flowers. Any of the mints can be grown in this manner, as can violet leaves!
Keep the piece/s in semi-sun in water until roots begin to grow then transplant them into a pot for a couple of weeks to strengthen. After that they can go into the garden. The soil should be kept quite damp for the first day but then let dry a little so mould doesn’t take over.
This little mess is the seed heads from tansy. Tansy is another good pest repellent which will quite happily self-seed once its established in the garden. Growing from seeds will be coming up in the next week or so. Happy gardening.
AdvertisementsThe March 11, 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan replicates the bullet points of most recent industrial disasters. It is outstanding in its magnitude, perhaps surpassing Chernobyl in its effects, but in most other respects, it simply indicates the risks that we run when we allow high concentrations of energy, economic power, and political power to form. Just how commonplace — prosaic, even — this disaster was illustrates just how risky the industrial and financial world really is.
The March 11, 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan replicates the bullet points of most recent industrial disasters. It is outstanding in its magnitude, perhaps surpassing Chernobyl in its effects, but in most other respects, it simply indicates the risks that we run when we allow high concentrations of energy, economic power, and political power to form. Just how commonplace — prosaic, even — this disaster was illustrates just how risky the industrial and financial world really is.
Nothing is perfect, no matter how hard people try to make things work, and in the industrial arena there will always be failures of design, components, or procedures. There will always be operator errors and unexpected environmental conditions. Because of the inevitability of these failures, and because there are often economic incentives for business not to try very hard to play it safe, government regulates risky systems in an attempt to make them less so. Formal and informal warning systems constitute another method of dealing with the inherently risky systems of industrial society. And society can always be better prepared to respond when accidents and disasters occur.
But for many reasons, even quality regulation, close attention to warnings, and careful plans for responding to disaster cannot eliminate the possibility of catastrophic industrial accidents. Because that possibility is always there, it is important to ask whether some industrial systems have such huge catastrophic potential that they should not be allowed to exist.
Regulations. Nuclear safety is problematic when nuclear plants are in private hands because private firms have the incentive and, often, the political and economic power to resist effective regulation. That resistance often results in regulators being captured in some way by the industry. In Japan and India, for example, the regulatory function concerned with safety is subservient to the ministry concerned with promoting nuclear power and, therefore, is not independent. The United States had a similar problem that was partially corrected in 1975 by putting nuclear safety into the hands of an independent agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and leaving the promotion of nuclear power in the hands of the Energy Department. Japan is now considering such a separation. It should make one. Since the accident at Fukushima, many observers have charged that there is a revolving door between industry and the nuclear regulatory agency in Japan — what the New York Times called a “nuclear power village” — compromising the regulatory function.
Of course, even in Europe, where for-profit firms have less power, there are safety problems that have needed more effective oversight. But by and large, European nuclear plants, which are generally part of a state-run industry, appear to be safer than the privately owned, poorly regulated nuclear plants in the United States, Japan, and other countries.
Systemic regulatory failure — as opposed to simple error — is tricky to identify accurately. After an accident in a risky industry, it is always possible to find some failure of a regulatory agency. Everything, after all, is subject to error, in regulatory agencies as well as chemical or power plants. To say that regulation failed on a system-wide basis, one must have strong evidence of agency incompetence or collusion.
The Union Carbide chemical plant in Institute, West Virginia, is my favorite example of regulatory incompetence; in this case, it was a matter of regulators seeing what they were apparently predisposed to see. Shortly after a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, leaked methyl isocyanate gas in December 1984, killing thousands, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspected the company’s West Virginia plant and gave it a clean bill of health. What happened in Third World India could not happen in the United States, it was said.
Nine months later, an accident quite similar to Bhopal occurred at the plant, though the gas released was not as toxic and the wind was in a favorable direction, so only some 135 people were hospitalized. OSHA looked again and, predictably, found “an accident waiting to happen” and cited the plant for numerous violations, despite its clean bill of health nine months before. There was a trivial fine and a Union Carbide promise to store only the small amounts of the toxic gas actually needed for production.
Union Carbide soon resumed massive storage of methyl iscocyanate. Bayer subsequently took over the plant and, in 2008, an explosion killed two workers and threatened to release 4,000 gallons of the deadly gas. Subsequent investigation by the US Chemical Safety Board again found an accident waiting to happen. OSHA appears not to have noticed that its strictures on the amount of storage were violated.
Regulations will always be imperfect. They cannot cover every exigency, and, unfortunately, almost anything can be declared the cause of an accident. One can also make the case that too much regulation interferes with safe practices, as nuclear plant operators have always claimed in the United States. But the overregulation complaint is undermined by the following anecdote: A few years ago, the NRC sharply increased the number of inspections of nuclear power plants following some embarrassing near-misses. A then-powerful US senator, Pete Domenici of New Mexico, a recipient of large campaign donations from the industry, called in top NRC officials and threatened to cut the agency’s budget in half if it did not reduce the number of inspections. The NRC reduced its inspections. I doubt that anything similar could take place in Europe.
Regulatory capture is widespread in many risky US industrial systems and often subtle — but not always. In the Interior Department’s Materials Management Service, for example, representatives of the oil industry and regulators who were supposed to be overseeing oil exploration exchanged sexual favors and drugs. This intramural partying was disclosed just before the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil rig blew up in the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in the largest oil spill of its kind, making the regulatory failure especially dramatic.
Charges of regulatory failure were also levied in the 2010 Massey Energy coal mine disaster in West Virginia, which killed 29; the explosion at BP’s Texas City, Texas, refinery in 2005, which killed 15 and injured at least 170; and BP’s massive oil pipeline break in 2006 in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
The full contents of this article are available in the November/December issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and can be found here.Microsoft's plan to battle Google in the classroom is launching today. Bing for Schools is a new ad-free version of Microsoft's search service that includes strict filtering and privacy protections designed for schools. The pilot kicks off with 800 |
only way to stop this danger from becoming a reality is to vote in November. Vote for whichever candidate most aligns with your values, but vote. The future of our country depends on it.
Featured image via Flikr by Gage Skidmore available under a Creative Commons licenseCommon Sense Wins: Finnish Court Says Open WiFi Owner Not Liable For Infringement By User
from the good-to-see dept
For many, many years, we've had a number of debates on the site about whether or not an open WiFi network connection should make the owner liable for what users do on that network. The perfectly common sense response is that, no, they should not be responsible under basic principles of protecting third parties from liability from actions of their users. But, common sense isn't always so common, so we might as well cheer it on a bit when we see it. So, kudos to a Finnish court for ruling that an open WiFi user is not automatically liable for copyright infringement done via her network. As the press release about the case states, the anti-piracy group that brought the lawsuit failed to show any evidence that the owner actually did any infringement. The court also rejected the idea that an injunction be issued against the woman blocking such usage in the future. Thankfully, the court rejected that, recognizing that this would unfairly burden WiFi hotspot operators.
Filed Under: finland, liability, open wifiThe House voted Thursday against banning the Pentagon from providing transition-related medical care to transgender troops.
The body rejected the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on a 209-214 largely party-line vote. Twenty-four Republicans joined with Democrats to defeat the amendment.
The amendment outraged Democrats, who called it ignorant, mean-spirited and denigrating, while Republicans argued the Pentagon should not be spending its money on such medical care.
Transgender troops currently in the military have been able to serve openly since last year. The policy also allows them to receive any treatment deemed medically necessary, including surgery and hormone therapy.
Rep. Vicky Hartzler’s (R-Mo.) amendment would have barred Pentagon funding from going to any transition-related medical care, except for mental health services.
Hartzler claimed the cost of surgeries alone could reach $1.3 billion over the next 10 years.
“This is about addressing [North] Korea, Russia, ISIS,” Hartzler said, holding up pictures of each. “We need every defense dollar to go to meeting those threats, not anything else, and we need to make sure our troops are ready and can be deployed.”
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) added the opposition to the amendment was “silly” and said people should “figure out if you’re a man or a woman before you join up.”
The RAND Corporation last year found all medical costs for transgender service members would be about $2.4 million to $8.4 million annually.
Democrats argued the true intent of the amendment was to discriminate against transgender troops, as not being able to receive medical care would effectively prevent transgender people from being able to serve in the military.
Even if the service members themselves aren’t transgender, immediate family members who are would not be able to get the care they need, making it untenable for their spouse or relative to serve in the military, Democrats said.
“Make no mistake, the effect and the intent of this unjust and mean-spirited amendment is to ban patriotic Americans from serving our country,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said. “It is designed to throw transgender service members out of the military.”
Rep. Adam Smith David (Adam) Adam SmithOvernight Defense: White House eyes budget maneuver to boost defense spending | Trump heads to Hanoi for second summit with Kim | Former national security officials rebuke Trump on emergency declaration White House to propose using budget maneuver to prevent defense spending cuts Overnight Defense: Trump to leave 200 troops in Syria | Trump, Kim plan one-on-one meeting | Pentagon asks DHS to justify moving funds for border wall MORE (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, said the amendment was based on “ignorance of what transgender truly is.”
This is the second year in a row the NDAA has been caught up in LGBT issues. Last year, a provision was added in the House Armed Services Committee that Democrats contended would have allowed federal contractors to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
When Democrats could not successfully remove the provision when the bill came to the House floor, they largely voted against the NDAA. But the provision was eventually stripped out of the bill during House-Senate negotiations, leading to bipartisan final passage.
Updated at 6:09 p.m.The Pond returns with a look at the congested calendar of top level CS:GO. The current calendar could be defined as anything from chaotic, to maddening, to one like a crowded duck pond.
The global CS:GO community is once again embroiled in a discussion over its calendar congestion. This discussion tends to comes up when we have multiple big tournaments following on from each other every weekend. This was seen during the late spring, when the CEVO Gfinity finals kicked off a whole series of events, moving into DreamHack Austin, the ESL Pro League S3 finals and the start of the first ELEAGUE season. Late June saw DreamHack Summer move into the ECS Finals, which then had a short ten day gap between that and the ESL One Cologne Major.
Most recently, we’ve seen teams knock off going to events like EPICENTER because they started in ELEAGUE’s Group A, or teams having to miss the ESL Pro League Season 4 Finals due to going to the Asian Minor, the series of events which allow qualification to the Major.
ELEAGUE’s Group D will see Fnatic, a team that’s been involved with a mass Swedish roster swap recently, not even play with their entire roster. Sure, it’s been put down to ‘personal reasons’ but the thought comes to mind that possibly certain players can’t take the heavy calendar.
The blame
So, who’s to blame and where does the buck stop? The easy answer is with the players themselves.
If it wasn’t for them attending every event on the calendar, there wouldn’t be this volume of events. If tournament organisers didn’t set up every tournament for the top tier of the game then there’d be a lot less congestion for those at the top. The blame, for that, needs to be shared. But with tournament organisers aggressively expanding into what is still a ‘wild west’ experience, the blame shifts on its axis.
DreamHack has already announced all of its tournaments for next year, as they schedule a tournament around once every month. This leaves little room for other organisers to get into the space with their competitions. Already we can see congestion occurring in July of 2017 as well, with both MTG properties hosting events back-to-back in the month. ESL One Cologne kicks off the month, stopping in Valencia for a DreamHack before they finish in Atlanta. The only completely empty spots currently open in 2017 are March and August, but those are usually given the status of off-seasons by the professional players that take part in the open circuit.
The future? Well, once again it’s down to players to decide.
Once players finally get together to say to organisers they’ve had enough and want a more concise calendar is when the system gets sorted. The issue with this high level of congestion is that viewership will show a decline. From once upon a time where the Major events were the biggest in history, we now see events around the calendar with prize pool levels that are close to the $1 million (£798,000) now on offer at the Major events. It was seen just before the last Major, where FACEIT and Twitch’s ECS League had their finals just over a week before ESL One. ECS featured a prize pool of $765,000 just under the Major’s pool. It didn’t negatively affect the event too badly, but there was a noticeable drop-off. Of course, skin betting was getting into slightly hot water around the same time too so any sort of drop from those viewers was potentially occurring too, but it’s worth noting two large events right next to each other certainly does’t help viewers.
Stability
The main issue is stability. Having a lot of tournaments is good; it means players and teams will be able to attend events at will and be able to rack up a solid amount of prize money to place back in their pockets. But having an oversaturated amount of tournaments is bad. It means that viewers, which have already taken a knock, won’t sit through entire tournaments to the end.
A better system than DreamHack’s spread out calendar would be to cut their tournaments by a third and increase the prize pools throughout. Allowing other tournaments to spread in the spaces or to allow more gaps for rests or allowing leagues to flourish. Either that, or have these tournaments aimed at the lower-tier of CS:GO, where there is currently little investment. Having larger tournaments in the second/third tiers of the title would allow growth from the grassroots. Setting up at the bottom to create a stable foundation is what we need right now, not a mass of tournaments focusing on this ever-shrinking pie at the top.
Final comment
A side note, and an important one at that, is a message to the developers. Valve, do us all a favour and announce the year’s Majors at the start of the year. This way tournament organisers would be able to offer sizable gaps around each event so that there’s not a large tournament clash, or be able to pencil in dates that would allow a break before and after a tournament. Just a thought, Valve.
Featured image courtesy of Chris Downer, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) Licence. Original image available here.About two months ago, Miguel Alfonso moved to Texas from the East Coast and wound up in Austin. He was looking for work, and in the meantime was sleeping in his car, which he would park downtown. Then his car was towed. He couldn't afford to get it back from impound, so he began sleeping on the street at night, usually downtown, usually near 6th and Nueces.
By the time he'd been in Austin three weeks, the Cuban-born homeless man says he'd accrued a total of 10 tickets from the Austin Police Department — more than enough to secure a warrant for his arrest. He was cited for jaywalking, for parking illegally and for violating Austin's "No Sit/No Lie" ordinance — meaning, he was sitting or lying down on city streets or sidewalks for more than 30 minutes at a given time. As for the fines he's accrued:
“I haven’t paid them yet,” he says.
In that regard, he’s not alone. Aside from the realities of homelessness, Austinites living on the streets downtown also face costly citations from police for jaywalking, camping and other offenses. But the lion’s share of tickets from downtown police – more than public intoxication, more than jaywalking – are for sitting or sleeping on sidewalks, violating the so-called No Sit/No Lie city ordinance. Those violations have increased over the last four years, and some say they expect they’ll continue to do so as Downtown Austin attracts more tourism.
The Austin Police Department enforces the No Sit/No Lie policy downtown, in East Austin, and in West Campus, and the cases are handled by the Downtown Austin Community Court. The ordinance prohibits lying or sitting on a sidewalk, and officers must give 30-minute warnings to those observed doing so before issuing a citation.
A standard ticket costs $160, plus community service hours. If a defendant doesn’t appear in court to pay the fine, a warrant is issued for their arrest — which increases the cost of the ticket to $210.
More often than not, defendants never pay these fines – nearly 60 percent of defendants this year currently have outstanding warrants, and only 21 defendants out of the more than 15,000 cases from 2011 to the present — that's about 0.14 percent — have appeared before the Community Court, according to court records.
During that same span, only 39 defendants paid their fines outright. However, the court minimizes fines by allowing defendants to pay them off through community service and, in some cases, through jail credit, a system in which time served in jail can count towards payment of a fine. While just over half of the community service hours scheduled for defendants were completed last year, the court is on track to meet its 66 percent completion rate for 2015 after failing to meet that goal in 2014.
The court also offers resources, like meetings with caseworkers, to those with outstanding citations who are trying to transition out of homelessness and to the estimated 450 repeat offenders.
Corporal Chris Carlisle says tickets are given at an officer's discretion and that all APD officers have to abide by the ordinance’s 30-minute grace period, a provision of the 2011 tweak of the law.
Carlisle has been on the beat downtown since 2000 and, he says, before Sit/Lie, APD could only enforce a state law that classifies sleeping or lying on a sidewalk as a Class B misdemeanor, an arrestable offense, to deter people from obstructing sidewalks – a tactic he says wouldn’t do anybody any good.
“If we arrested them every day, it wouldn’t matter. They’d be right back,” he says. “They have nowhere to go.”
The city ordinance classifies the crime as a Class C misdemeanor, which can carry the penalty of fines up to $500 but can't result in jail time. Failure to pay the fine, however, can.
Carlisle says Neches Street, adjacent to the ARCH, is an epicenter for the citations, a claim that rings true in the data provided by the Community Court: One-fifth of all citations from 2011 to 2015 occurred on Neches.
Jo Kathryn Quinn, executive director of Caritas of Austin, says the fact that the law’s essentially only enforced in Downtown Austin is frustrating for homeless advocates like Caritas, Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) and Front Steps, which runs the ARCH, as well as other groups, many of which are located in the downtown area.
“If you think about what happens at SXSW and really big events that are centered downtown … there are, quite frankly, lots of people that are violating these ordinances,” Quinn says. “Yet, these ordinances are enforced only with people experiencing homelessness.”
Records show about a third of the citations are doled out to “non-homeless” defendants, but police officers and the court depend on how defendants self-identify for records. So, in some instances, defendants may give an officer an address, but could still be homeless.
Still, the Sit/Lie law, often categorized as a “quality of life” ordinance, generally targets those experiencing homelessness, Quinn says. And an August memo from the Department of Justice, responding to a case in Idaho, called out cities enforcing the ordinances, saying that “making it a crime for people who are homeless to sleep in public places, when there is insufficient shelter space in a city, unconstitutionally punishes them for being homeless.”
That statement gave Quinn and others pause and led many advocates to wonder if the city’s enforcement of the policy could jeopardize $5 million in funding from U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
“It makes me very nervous because we have a lot of programs. We’re housing essentially 130 people right now with HUD funding that we use for the chronically homeless to get them off the streets,” she says. “And, so, this is exactly the population that is the nexus of this potential altering of the funding.”
In its latest funding availability announcement, HUD offered an incentive to organizations using “specific strategies that prevent criminalization.”
City of Austin Prosecutor Bianca Bentzin says these cases often end in courtroom no-shows and warrants; and they also take up the largest chunk of the Community Court’s docket – Sit/Lie cases crowd out all other offenses in the court – but they can’t be so easily done away with.
“If it’s decriminalized, that will raise another host of issues that lawmakers will have to deal with because, when you’re talking about a downtown area, we’re trying to help people coexist – business owners and residents and the homeless and people who visit our city.”
That coexistence could be fractured if the ordinance was done away with and, as Bentzin says, lead to a domino effect and create issues somewhere else.
That coexistence, and the influx of visitors, also concerns Carlisle, who expects APD’s enforcement to increase in the next year or so, when two hotels – both on Neches near the ARCH – open up. Carlisle says the wider-than-normal sidewalk in front of the ARCH is the only sidewalk on that street as of right now, and he bets APD will be getting a lot more calls to clear the sidewalk over the next year.
“How it’s enforced might change over the next year once those hotels open up on Neches. We’re going to have to make sure there’s a clear passageway all the time, because we have to allow the people that are visiting or staying at those hotels to have a clear walkway,” he says. “They’re not going to be able to walk in the street to avoid this closed sidewalk from everybody camping and living on this sidewalk.”
Miguel Gutierrez Jr. and Pu Ying Huang contributed reporting for this story.Diane Rehm (; born Diane Aed; September 21,[1] 1936) is a retired American public radio talk show host. Her program, The Diane Rehm Show, was distributed nationally and internationally by National Public Radio. The show was produced at WAMU, which is licensed to American University in Washington, D.C.
Rehm had announced her plans to retire from hosting the show after the 2016 elections. The final program was recorded and distributed on December 23, 2016.[2][3] Rehm announced she was going to host a weekly podcast, which she began doing in January 2017.[4] A new program produced by WAMU, titled 1A, will play in the vacated timeslot.[5]
The Washington Post describes Rehm as a leading voice in the right to die debate.[6]
Early life [ edit ]
Rehm was born in Washington, D.C. According to Rehm's autobiography, Finding My Voice, her father's family were Eastern Orthodox Christians from Ottoman Mersin, a city on the southern coast of Anatolia. According to Rehm, the family were Arabs, and her mother was an educated woman who was fluent in both French and Arabic. Rehm's father immigrated to America in 1911, following his older brothers. He returned to Mersin to marry her mother, but found that she and her family were living in Alexandria, Egypt. He brought her to America in 1929; family memories of how the two met vary.[7] In a 2012 interview in The Washingtonian, she describes her father as coming from Beirut, Lebanon.[8]
Rehm attended William B. Powell Elementary and Roosevelt High School in Washington, D.C.[1] Upon graduation, she was employed by the city's highways department, where she became a radio dispatcher.[citation needed]
Personal life [ edit ]
Rehm married John Rehm, her second husband, in 1959; he was working at the State Department, she was working as a secretary.[6] John Rehm died June 23, 2014 after he stopped eating and drinking to end his suffering from Parkinson's disease.[9] After his death, Rehm became a staunch advocate for medical aid in dying, arguing that no one should suffer needlessly in the way that her husband did.[10][11] She has two adult children, David and Jennifer.[12]On October 14, 2017 Diane Rehm and John Hagedorn were married at the Washington National Cathedral.
Rehm has spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological condition that affects the quality of her voice.[1]
Career [ edit ]
Rehm began her radio career in 1973[12] as a volunteer for WAMU's The Home Show. In 1979, she took over as the host of WAMU's morning talk show, Kaleidoscope, which was renamed The Diane Rehm Show in 1984.
Rehm has interviewed many political and cultural figures, including John McCain, Barack Obama, Madeleine Albright. She has said that her most touching interview was with Fred Rogers of the PBS program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, conducted just before his death.[12] Rehm has described her interviews with Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton to have been "amazing experiences."[13]
She has written three autobiographical books. The first, Finding My Voice, dealt with her traditional upbringing in a Christian Arab household, her brief first marriage and divorce, her 50-year marriage to John Rehm, raising her children, the first 20 years of her radio career, and her battles with depression, osteoporosis, and spasmodic dysphonia.[14] Together with John Rehm she co-wrote Toward Commitment: A Dialogue about Marriage, which was published in 2002.
Her memoir, On My Own,[15][16][17] was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 2016.[18]
The final broadcast of The Diane Rehm Show was aired on December 23, 2016.[19]
Corporation for Public Broadcasting report [ edit ]
In 2005, a private study funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting reported that Rehm booked 22 liberal guests for every 5 conservative guests. The study was criticized as a politicized attempt to, in Rehm's word, "scare" journalists with the accusation of liberal bias. One criticism of the study concerned its criteria of what constituted "liberal" – a category which included seemingly moderate Republicans such as Senator Chuck Hagel and former Representative Bob Barr.[20] The study was commissioned by Kenneth Tomlinson, whose appointment to the chairmanship of the CPB by George W. Bush had been criticized by liberals as politically motivated. Tomlinson hired Indiana consultant Frederick W. Mann, a conservative thinker previously associated with the Young America's Foundation, which has described itself as "the principal outreach organization of the Conservative Movement".[21]
A report on the study by the CPB's Inspector General, Kenneth Konz, criticized Tomlinson's methods; the report led to Tomlinson's immediate resignation in November 2005.[22] According to the Washington Post, Rehm personally "called Mann's findings 'unprofessional and simplistic.' [and] added 'I've been booking shows for 25 years. I don't think they have any idea what it takes to achieve the professionalism and expertise and the right people to express a variety of points of view.... What [Kenneth Tomlinson]'s doing, I think, is trying to scare public broadcasters.' "[20]
Documentaries [ edit ]
Rehm has been featured in three political movie documentaries: Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains, I.O.U.S.A.,[23] and Dinesh D'Souza's 2016: Obama's America which used her quote, "And then you've got the cover of Forbes magazine, a cover story by Dinesh D'Souza. I think nothing has turned my stomach so much in recent years as reading that piece."[24]
Controversies [ edit ]
2015 Bernie Sanders interview [ edit ]
On June 10, 2015, Rehm interviewed 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, and stated that Sanders had dual citizenship with Israel; this was not true.[25][26][27][28] Sanders denied that he holds dual citizenship, but Rehm repeated her assertion of the senator's dual citizenship as a fact.[26][27] Rehm's statements were criticized by David Harsanyi in The Federalist for being an anti-Semitic smear.[25] Sophia Tesfaye of Salon pointed out that Rehm apparently fell for an antisemitic canard and did not successfully fact-check her information before she conducted her interview with Sanders.[27] In The Times of Israel, Gedalyah Reback stated that the interview was controversial because Rehm seemed to have accused a Jewish U.S. presidential candidate of maintaining secret Israeli citizenship.[28]
Rehm apologized for her exchange with Sanders in a statement released later that day. "On today's show I made a mistake. Rather than asking if Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders whether he had dual U.S./Israeli citizenship, as I had read in a comment on Facebook, I stated it as fact. I want to apologize as well to all our listeners for having made an erroneous statement. I am sorry for the mistake. However, I am glad to play a role in putting this rumor to rest."[29] Jewish Journalist Josh Marshall called her apology "a total crock."[30] Jewish Law professor David Bernstein found it strange that both Rehm and her producer fell for what he felt was an obvious anti-Semitic hoax. He speculated that frequently-heard strange accusations about Jewish supporters of Israel may have played a role.[31] Elizabeth Jepsen, NPR's ombudsman, took issue with both Rehm's interview and apology: "Far from putting anything to rest, Rehm has now taken a falsehood from the fringes of the Internet and moved it into the mainstream conversation."[32]
Right-to-die advocacy [ edit ]
Following the 2014[33] death of her husband—who was unable to get physician assisted suicide drugs due to their illegality in Maryland—Rehm became an advocate for right to die.[34] NPR's ombudsman deemed that her related fundraising for Compassion & Choices violated the NPR ethical standards, and she agreed to stop attending fundraising dinners.[33]
Honors and awards [ edit ]
A partial list of Rehm's honors and awards:
References [ edit ]
Media related to Diane Rehm at Wikimedia CommonsJames Clapper Insists Redactions On The Torture Report Are 'Minimal'
from the the-least-untruthful-thing-he-could-say dept
More than 85% of the Committee Report has been declassified, and half of the redactions are in footnotes. The redactions were the result of an extensive and unprecedented interagency process, headed up by my office, to protect sensitive classified information. We are confident that the declassified document delivered to the Committee will provide the public with a full view of the Committee’s report on the detention and interrogation program, and we look forward to a constructive dialogue with the Committee.
A preliminary review of the report indicates there have been significant redactions. We need additional time to understand the basis for these redactions and determine their justification.
Two officials with access to the declassified executive summary told VICE News that some of the redactions allegedly pertain to the manner in which the detainees were held captive, and to certain torture techniques that were not among the 10 “approved” methods contained in a Justice Department legal memo commonly referred to as the “torture memo.” The officials said the never before–revealed methods, which in certain instances were “improvised,” are central to the report because they underscore the “cruelty” of the program. Some other redactions allegedly pertain to the origins of the program and the intelligence the CIA collected through the use of torture, which the Senate report claims was of little or no value — a claim with which the CIA disagrees.
Another US official told VICE News that the CIA “vehemently opposed” the inclusion of some of the footnotes because they allegedly revealed too many “specific” details about the CIA’s operational files, which evidently contain information about foreign intelligence sources and operations, and provide clues about the foreign governments that allowed the CIA to operate its torture program in their countries. (The National Clandestine's Service's operational files are protected from public disclosure and open records laws.) The report, according to the US official, identifies the countries where the suspected terrorists were held as “Country A, Country B, Country C.”
On Friday, we wrote about Senator Dianne Feinstein's concern about how much of the executive summary of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the CIA torture program had been redacted during the declassification process. In response, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has angrily shot back that there were only "minimal" redactions Compare that to Feinstein's statement, which noted:Reporter Jason Leopold spoke to some people knowledgeable about the redactions, who said that they were about methods of torture that hadn't been revealed... and about countries that helped the CIA. Basically, more stuff that wouldthe CIA and certain allies, but which wouldn't actually impact national security today.Of course, if we're going to "come clean" on this black spot in our history, it would help to really come clean about it. Hiding that the torture the CIA did was much worse than originally thought means that officials still aren't willing to come to terms with what the CIA did.
Filed Under: cia, dianne feinstein, james clapper, redactions, senate, senate intelligence committee, torture, torture reportBreaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
Dec. 6, 2012, 12:30 PM GMT By John W. Schoen
With the economic recovery stuck in low gear, Tammy Krings has something of a happy problem for her growing, Columbus, Ohio-based global travel business, TS24.
Some 17 years after starting with out three employees, Krings is wrapping up a barnburner year. The company booked so much new business in 2012, she's had to hire 60 new employees – up from a staff of 120 in January.
Faced with that kind of rapid growth, Krings says she ran smack into one of the biggest hurdles cited by many employers today: the so-called “skills gap.”
“My frustration is you keep hearing about these unemployment numbers, but we have a very, very difficult time finding qualified people,” she said.
Researchers and staffing consultants say Krings' frustration is widespread, the result of a host of powerful forces jarring the labor market – from the ongoing, rapid infusion of technology into the workplace to the decline of vocational training in the American education system and the ongoing, mass exodus of a generation of skilled baby boomers headed for retirement.
As a result, Krings learned what labor economists and staffing consultants say is the hard reality of finding skilled workers in a rapidly changing workplace.
If you can’t find what you’re looking for, try harder. And if that doesn’t work, you may have to cough up the money to train the best new hires you can find.
Rock Center: Apple CEO Tim Cook unveils plans to make Macs in the US
“We’ve been able to find the types of people that we want as long we are willing to invest in them to bring them to the level of skill that we need,” said Krings.
But millions of small- and medium-sized employers, the businesses that create the bulk of new jobs, are apparently unwilling or unable to spend the money to bring new hires up to speed.
“I don’t think companies are confident enough right now to make big investments (in training)," said Melanie Holmes who has tracked workplace issues in a 30-year career with Manpower, a global staffing company. “They want to hire someone who can be productive tomorrow."
There’s no debate about the increased demand for higher-skilled workers in an economy that relies more heavily every year on advances in technology to raise the productivity of each worker. That’s why the jobs that employers said they had the hardest time filling in 2012 were skilled trades, engineers and IT Staff, according to a Manpower survey.
“It used to be all you needed was a strong back and an alarm clock to get a really good, family-sustaining job in manufacturing,” said Holmes. “Unfortunately for individuals – and fortunately for companies – technology has changed that. You need at least some post-secondary education.”
But a decades-long shift in emphasis on four-year, liberal arts college degrees has drained the supply of students entering job-based, vocational and technical schools. Employer- and union-sponsored training programs have also become artifacts of the last century, according to Peter Cappelli, a management professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School who heads the school’s Center for Human Resources.
“Apprenticeship programs have collapsed,” he said. “We’ve got, by far, the least apprenticeship training per capita than any other industrialized country.”
Related: Economic reality marries age-old idea -- apprenticeships -- with college
That has shifted the burden of skills training to employers – a burden many say they’re unwilling or unable to take on. The current dearth of company-sponsored training programs is also, in part, a hangover from the mass layoffs and hiring freezes that accompanied the Great Recession.
“Training was one of the first things that we cut during the downturn because we weren’t hiring,” said Krings. “If you’re not hiring, you don’t need to have anyone on board to train new hires.”
But with the economy now in its third year of a halting recovery, many companies continue to defer spending on training.
“It comes down to an excuse of budget limitations,” said David Smith, a human resources consultant at Accenture. “The biggest issue probably is return on investment. It’s hard to measure the results. But it’s a poor excuse. People just get hung up so quickly on that point and they’re very, very short-sighted.”
Some companies simply don’t get it. Many of the “skills gap” complaints are coming from small companies that have limited or no human resources expertise, according to Capelli.
“If they don’t have anybody in house who understands recruiting and training and development, then there’s nobody to explain to management ‘We’re looking in the wrong places’ or ‘We can’t pay this much and expect to get the people we want.’ “
Related story: The 'fiscal cliff' and other reasons companies aren't hiring more workers
One simple solution would be to raise wages. The laws of economics suggest that if something is in short supply, prices should rise until demand is satisfied. If a computer programmer can earn $50 an hour working for a software company, she has little incentive to accept a $25 an hour job programming a manufacturing robot.
But Krings says she just can’t afford to pay the salaries that the best applicants are asking.
“Our customers don’t want to pay the rate they were paying three years ago,” she said. “We’re doing more for less today.”
Like Krings, most employers apparently are unwilling or unable to pay higher wages to compete for better skills. Manpower’s survey found that only 11 percent had increased starting salaries in 2012 to help recruit talented workers. More than three times as many said they preferred to provide additional training to existing staff.
Some hiring managers just give up looking and defer new hires, assuming they'll save money that will add to profits. But that strategy generates a false sense of economy because few employers account for just how much those unfilled jobs are costing them, said Capelli.
“You can’t account for lost opportunities, or the work that’s not getting done, or the burnout of your employees -- who all want to get out of there now because they feel you're abusing them with overwork,” he said. “You can’t account for any of that stuff, so it looks like you’re saving money.”
Though tight budgets and a weak economy may have crimped companies' spending on training and bigger paychecks, hiring managers bemoaning the "skills gap" may be in for a rude shock if the economy picks up speed next year. With increased demand for talent, the “skills gap” will only worsen as more companies have to draw from the same pool of workers, said Holmes.
“I think it’s going to worse before it gets better,” she said. “If business does come back year next year, we’re not going to have enough people."Remembrance Day, commemorated annually on 11 November since 1919 to honour all Commonwealth war dead, has arrived again.
But a century after the first world war began, I think it is well and truly time to reflect on how it is, precisely, that we commemorate those killed. It’s certainly time we stopped spending hundreds of millions of dollars on pointless new monuments to the Anzacs and to focus, instead, on the living.
Don’t get me wrong. Sixty seconds of solemn reflection on the 11th minute of every 11/11 about the true horror of war and its unquantifiable human cost, is a good thing. For most of us, given that the dead of the first world war have been so for so very long, “remembering” them has always been an abstract notion.
Keeping place for stolen Indigenous remains should take priority over Anzac centre Read more
But perhaps that has only served to enhance the potency in Australia (and New Zealand) of the story of Anzac – the myth and legend of which has gathered like moss during successive decades about the (mostly) men who went and fought and died.
It was undoubtedly a momentous event for this new federation, as evidenced by the way Australia has chosen to commemorate parochially, as “Anzac 100”, rather than reflect on what was, after all, a global conflagration that cost many other nations far more dearly.
From Australia’s then population of some five million, more than 416,000 Australian men – about half of all those eligible – enlisted. Of the 331,000 deployed, some 60,000 were killed. More than 155,000 were wounded. This excludes the psychologically and emotionally damaged – the tens of thousands who returned with the crippling affliction, unacknowledged for another 60 years and still stigmatised today, of post-traumatic stress disorder.
PTSD remains the scourge of contemporary Australian soldiers, not to mention the millions of civilian victims of conflict that are still being fought today. Just like after the first world war when the legacy of combat (morphine addiction, domestic violence, drunkenness, lingering venereal disease and the shame of disfigurement) festered behind tens of thousands of bolted-shut suburban front doors across the wide brown land, the pain of today’s returned servicemen remains hidden from view.
I once sat opposite a retired national RSL president at a private lunch. We talked military history.
Australian War Memorial: the remarkable rise and rise of the nation's secular shrine Read more
I told him about my encounters with the plights of modern veterans – about the many suicides and the addictions, of the bureaucratic nightmares many experienced in order to have their war damage acknowledged.
He responded that he simply did not “believe” in post-traumatic stress disorder and that in his day the men had just “got on” with it.
PTSD, of course, is not a matter of belief but fact – like climate change or the extinction of the dinosaurs.
But then belief – or suspended disbelief – is central to the Anzac story and Australia’s creation myth. This country has been telling itself the story for a long time now, in a quasi-religious language that deifies the “sacrifice” and “spirit” of Australia’s white-hatted soldiers, especially the “fallen”, never just the “killed |
, projectable frame, exceptional feet, wallop in his legs and the corresponding ability to fall forward. A man is about two-yards tall. The ability to fall the direction you want instead of the direction the defender wants is often the difference between a successful run (one that raises a team's potential to score) and a unsuccessful run (the majority of runs; the ones that make statistical analysts cringe; the ones that presumably derive most of their value from forcing opposing teams to weaken their pass defense by "stopping the run," i.e. filling out their starting 11 with run stopping personnel, sticking in base packages, playing closer to the line of scrimmage, run-blitzing, etc.) He's a neat runner, not like neato neat but like whiskey neat, nitidus, elegant in a software-engineer sense: His moves are purposeful, efficient and he achieves a lot of evasiveness with a stutter step, a pivot, a little spin-through that seems powered by the shed tackler, a slash right when his shoulders read slash left. There's a crossover dribble quality to some of his open-field moves. Watch him and be modestly impressed. Watch the defender and see that magical ability to send a man stumbling, spiraling, tripping over his own feet.
Russell Wilson had the fewest pass attempts of any quarterback that started 16 games. In fact, he had the fewest pass attempts of any quarterback that started at least 13 games. His attempts were rare and precious. I think Seattle wants to keep it that way. And it may be for the best (setting aside play call optimization, minimax, all that), because Percy Harvin is injured, Sidney Rice--
A note about Sidney Rice: Bill Barnwell included Rice among his list of worst contracts. It wasn't a very thorough analysis, more the kind of high-concept list post (think: trade value, over/under-rated, best/worst, other permutations of superlatives: richest, smoggiest, stupidest, most adroitly manacled, horsiest, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.) that drives traffic but does little to inform. The internet has sorta hybridized the good and bad of sophistry: it values argument; it especially values striking but specious arguments. Regarding Barnwell's commentary on Rice, there are some... holes.
Rice had an 83-1,312-8 line with Brett Favre at quarterback in 2009, but was otherwise unimpressive or injured during his time in Minnesota.
This is basically true, but what isn't said but must be said, is that Rice was [bad] when his quarterbacks were bad. And while this lack of adjusting for quality of surrounding talent isn't explicit WRT to Rice (I haven't read the rest of the list (so shoot me)), it is implicit in someone that's left off the list: Larry Fitzgerald. By the very metric Barnwell helped, I don't know, tweak or whatever they all do in that black box, Fitzgerald was the least valuable receiver in the NFL in 2012, posting a staggering -129 AHOY MATEY, I mean DYAR. Rice, meanwhile, receiving the frozen gropes of Tarvaris Jackson, the jarts of Kelly Holcomb, the fissiles of Gus Frerotte, the Rockettes of Brooks Bollinger and the clumsy advances of Brett Farvre, has never posted a negative DYAR. He has provided value receiving for the infirm and confirmed bad alike.
The Seahawks gave him $18 million guaranteed as part of a five-year, $41 million deal to see if he could repeat that 2009 campaign in Seattle, but he was injured for most of 2011 and produced pedestrian numbers in 2012.
Rice was a Viking in 2010. His offensive coordinator was Darrell Bevell. His quarterback was the aforementioned Terrible Jackson. The same coordinator and quarterback Rice would have in 2011. I sort of doubt "The Seahawks [signed him] to see if he could repeat that 2009 campaign in Seattle..." I'd venture they signed him because they thought he was good and young. And, obviously, one is not meaningfully injured "for most" of 2011 when one starts nine of 16 games. Quibble there, but nevertheless.
He has averaged just 49.3 yards per game as a Seahawks wideout. The good news is that most of his remaining contract is tied up in large base salaries, so Seattle can cut him if desired with only a minor bump of dead money.
Seattle ranked 27th in passing yards in 2012 and 22nd in passing yards in 2011. Yards per game without context is all but meaningless. By advanced metrics, passes to Rice were reasonably valuable: 26th by EPA/A in 2011, 11th in 2012; 55th and 7th by DVOA.
The last sentence sorta sums up why Barnwell's analysis is narrow and slipshod: Seattle didn't pay for the outlier. It paid for the talent and skill, which it was able to contextualize knowing the surrounding talent and skill (and with Bevell, even the play design--meaning Rice could be valued both for passes in which he was targeted and plays in which he wasn't targeted, but did all the peripheral stuff that makes an offense work). Evaluating a player by his yards per game is pretty much how you end up trading a first-round pick+ for Roy E. Williams.
Furthermore, Rice's contract may be expensive, but team salaries in the NFL have both a cap and a floor. Money must be spent. And each team's particular needs and resources are different, as is each free agent class and the market for that free agent class. Spring of 2011 it was already clear that Mike Williams, for all his talent, would forever be hamstrung by an inability to catch in traffic. Seattle had a major need for a wide receiver and a young team without too many expensive contracts. The free agency crop was so-so to bad. The upcoming draft was top heavy, with the only receiver projected to be a no. 1 that could fall to Seattle at 25 considered a project (Jonathan Baldwin). Given this context, Seattle signed Rice to a big contract so structured that, should the worst happen, the Seahawks would be all-but off the hook in 2013. It wasn't a bad contract then. It isn't a bad contract now.
That said...
Seattle's a bit thin at wide receiver. The worst has not happened, but, empirically, Rice gets injured a lot, and, subjectively, he takes a metric tonne of bone-jarring hits. Golden Tate is projectable, but short of him developing into peak-crazy Steve Smith, Seattle doesn't want to run a passing offense through him. Doug Baldwin's numbers dropped. That might have something to do with the relative rarity of Wilson passing over the middle (39 attempts). Whatever the cause, in the adorably dodgy language of the NFL, the two have yet to develop chemistry. Some of that thinness could be compensated by more passes to Michael Robinson and Zach Miller, but Miller's hurt, and as another over the middle guy, he wasn't targeted often in 2012. It's probably best Robinson doesn't go all 2007 Leonard Weaver.
Sometimes rookie wide receivers bust out, and maybe Chris Harper surprises, but I think Seattle plans on sticking with the formula and pounding the rock. That means, Marshawn Lynch. It could mean Lynch and more Robert Turbin. Personally, I hope it means Lynch, Michael......... Turbin. Michael should be the best talent among the Seahawks to receive regular touches this preseason. We're told he's earning touches. No doubt he'll open eyes. Maybe he'll ex out a few, too.There you go. Orrin Hatch has sent the signal: If we want a jobs plan, we'll have to give up any right to access our current health care system.
Of course, he buries the threat inside a rant about the individual mandate, because that's unpopular with many, not just those on the right. So now we have Republicans saying "Want a job? Die."
These people make me sick. Oops. Guess that's their goal.
Update: Eric Cantor has taken up the hostage-taking on behalf of the House. Washington Post:
But by putting the disaster aid funding on a separate piece of legislation that’s required to keep the government running, House leaders seem to be calculating that the Senate will have no choice but to go along or risk a partial government shutdown.
Oh, and this:I was just listening to 670 on the way home, and they were saying that they had talked to KC, and while he hasn't reported it in type yet (who knows why), he has Orlando's asking price for Dwight Howard from the Bulls. If Orlando has it's way, it would go as follows:
Bulls get: Howard, Turkey Glue
Magic get: Noah, Deng, Mirotic rights, Charlotte pick
On one hand i'm thinking if you have the chance to get a star like Howard, do it and worry about the rest later. But on the other hand, that is one hell of an asking price. We lose Deng, who is absolutely essential in a Heat series against LeBron. We lose Noah who, for a while now, has been dubbed the heart and soul of the team (although we replace him with Howard so he's the easiest piece to let go). We lose Mirotic, who is 20 years old, just averaged a record 27ppg in the tournament his team's league just held, and could very well end up being an NBA star. We lose the Charlotte pick, which could end up being a top 5 pick in 2016. And we have to take on Turkey Glue's awful contract and piss poor defense (although he would help with the three ball, which is something we need).
I'm probably going to get slammed for this, but I would turn down that trade. I'm not "falling in love with our players" or anything like that. I just think it's simply too steep a price to pay right now. The Bulls are underdogs against the Miami Heat, but not against the west, and getting past Miami isn't impossible. The Bulls right now could win a championship this year. If they make this trade for Howard, they likely cannot win a championship this year. We saw what happened with the Knicks when they traded every piece they had to get two stars. I don't want that to be the Bulls.
I can live with giving up Noah because Howard plays the same position. I can live with giving up the Charlotte pick because Orlando is going to demand young talent and that's the only thing that qualifies that wont hurt us this season. I would, however, refuse to give up both, and possibly either, Deng and Mirotic.
Luol Deng is an All-Star player this season. He may have lingering issues with his wrist, but he is still hugely important. He rebounds, hits the jumper, finishes around the rim, and is the best defender currently on the team. And Mirotic could be a superstar in this league. The league he plays in is widely accepted as the 2nd strongest on the planet behind the NBA, and he (at least right now) is the best player in that league.
Another issue is the luxury tax. JR can say he'll pay it for a Championship contending team all he wants. But the fact of the matter is that we have a championship contending team right now and KC reported that the Bulls weren't getting any help from Joel Pryzbilla or anybody else because of the luxury tax. I firmly believe that if Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkey Glue came here, along with the contracts of Boozer and Rose, our depth would be a thing of the past. Most or all of Brewer, Hamilton, Korver, Gibson, Asik, and Watson would not be back. JR would not want to pick up the options or match offer sheets that put him in the luxury tax. And the players we get would more or less be the scraps/old guys/d-leaguers that were still available after New York and Miami signed the scraps/old guys/d-leaguers who they wanted. I'm sorry, but I don't want Michael Bibby and Eddy Curry to be the new bench mob.
Dwight Howard is the best center on the planet.
Howard
Boozer
TurkeyGlue
Hamilton
Rose
-
Watson
Brewer
Asik
Gibson
Korver
Butler
Scalabrine
Lucas
Does that lineup get us closer to the Championship during this season? Maybe. Maybe not. How much will having Hedo instead of Deng on LeBron effect us? And will Howard be enough to overcome that?
Say we do win the championship with that lineup. Fast forward two years:
Howard
Boozer
TurkeyGlue
???
Rose
-
Asik
Brewer
six scrubs
Is that lineup better than:
Noah
Boozer
Deng
Hamilton
Rose
-
Mirotic
Gibson
Brewer
Korver
Butler
Watson
Basically what i'm saying is I'm just not sure paying what Orlando is asking for is going to be worth it. Will it really give us such a better chance to win multiple championships? Will it even help that cause at all? Or would it set us back?Text Version:
You’ve probably heard about the 3 wise men who visited Jesus, just after his birth. However, it was Bible scholars who came up with the number 3. Nowhere in the Bible does specify the number of wise men who came to visit Jesus. The scholars came up with 3 because of the number of gifts that were given to Jesus. The gifts of Frankincense, gold, and myrrh.
In the book of Matthew, chapter 2 verse 1 it says, “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.” Reading down further in the book of Matthew, chapter 2 verse 11, it says, “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”I’m quite pleased with the name Atomic Bombshell. She was another character who was briefly in Arc-SWAT as a secondary heroine, but not for long. At some point I realized I would actually need villains for the comic and I set her aside for that roster. After all someone whose only power is blowing stuff up surely makes a better villain than hero. Not that she couldn’t find work in the private sector easily enough. On the flip side, the name “For Whom the Death Tolls” is sufficiently awful. I’m sure it will just be abbreviated to Death Toll, which is a fine name for a villain, but I suppose he’s trying to be erudite.
Did you know there’s a Grrl Power subreddit? I didn’t until I tried to set one up. Someone beat me to it. It’s possible they told me but I then promptly forgot. Anyway it lives here, I’ll start posting comic updates there, and I would suggest it might not make a bad forum-ish thing if people want to carry discussions on longer than the lifespan of one post cycle.
It’s telling that I consider not being behind the same thing as being ahead. I only had to spend about 3 hours on the comic on Sunday, so I spent some much needed time unwinding with a video game called Crypt of the Necrodancer. It’s not the sort of game I usually get into. It’s a Roguelike-like I suppose, which is to say the levels are randomized and when you die you start over from the beginning. Normally I think that’s a waste of time, but this game has a few hooks that got me. One is that there are persistent unlocks which help make progressive runs easier like armor, spells and better weapons, but the real hook is that everything happens on a beat. You have to move and attack in time to the funky dance soundtrack, and so do the monsters.
<— If you enjoy the comic, consider supporting it via Patreon. Or buy something via the Amazon referral link. Or do both.Here's the beginning of my talk on the politics of homosexuality at Princeton. It's in two parts, one just below, and continued after the jump. It's an attempt to take the arguments of both Protestant Biblical literalists and Catholic adherents of natural law on their own terms and to show how they make no internal sense; how they are internally incoherent even on their own terms. My same dissections on the delusions of the queer left, middle-of-the-road moderate conservatism and Human Rights Campaign liberalism, will be posted in the next few days. The entire speech, if you have the time this weekend, can be seen here.
But here's my case against the Biblical fundamentalists:
I tackle the natural law arguments here:
And here's the clincher against the prohibitionist position that holds sway across much of the world today:
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.As recently as a decade ago, Bogotá and Medellin were considered among the world’s most dangerous cities. However, over the past decade, those two Colombian cities went from being crippled by the drug trade and guerrilla warfare to being some of the more innovative civic centers in the region.
I recently traveled to these two cities, as well as Cartagena, a Caribbean coastal gem that is the country’s most popular tourist destination. All three of these cities have built massive transportation infrastructure projects within the past 15 years. It became evident to me that the projects in Bogotá and Medellín were much more successful than Cartagena. I could tell this not just from experiencing these networks firsthand, but my overall experience in each city had a good correlation to these networks.
Bogotá
Bogotá, Colombia’s sprawling capital city of 8 million, was a pleasant surprise in efficient transportation. The city’s famous TransMilenio bus rapid transit (BRT) system, that began operating in December 2000, provides fast, designated bus service amidst the sea of Bogotá’s snarling traffic. I found it to be safe, clean, easy to use, and efficient.
However, TransMilenio is very much a work in progress. Buses can be overcrowded, and the system, currently at approximately 87 kilometers long, is in dire need of expansion. Plans call for 300 kilometers of bus lanes throughout the city. It’s worth noting that, while there is much to be added, the city’s poor southern neighborhoods are a part of the current network. This has made commuting to and from the neglected south easy and fast.
But when it comes to Bogotá and transportation, TransMilenio is only half of the story. Every Sunday and public holiday, some of the city’s major arteries are closed from 7a.m. to 2p.m. to car traffic. They become oversized cycling/walking/running/skateboarding/roller blading/dog walking lanes for Ciclovia, a program viewed as a revolutionary way to get people out of their houses and cars, and get them to be more active and more in touch with their city.
Like TransMilenio, Ciclovia extends well into the impoverished south, giving residents something to be proud of. With numerous snack, juice, and bike repair stalls along the way, Ciclova has also had an economic benefit.
With Bogotá’s new focus on being green, healthy, and environmentally conscious, it came as a big surprise to me as to how clean the streets were, especially in comparison to other South American cities I’ve visited (including Buenos Aires and Santiago).
Bogotá, one of the world’s biggest cities, has become one of the world’s most efficient to traverse, healthiest, and green conscious, a rather remarkable feat. None of this would have been possible without empowering and including those in the city’s poorest neighborhoods.
Medellín
A remarkably similar trend of inclusion has led to Medellín’s resurgence since the end of the city’s notorious drug and guerrilla wars. While Medellín was once regarded as the most dangerous city in the entire world, it’s now the envy of Colombia.
Medellín is nestled in a valley of the very mountainous Antioquia district, with areas becoming poorer in the hills to the north and west. They were unsafe, full of gang violence, short of public services and just plain unattractive. The raids of the 1990s and 2000s pushed out the gangs and led to the city’s transformation.
Innovation was needed to allow the hillside slums to get in touch with the rest of the city, a problem made worse by the tricky geography. Behold, the Metrocable: public transportation in the form of 10-person gondolas that look as if they’re straight out of a ski resort. This unconventional mode of public transit finally allowed residents to easily get to Medellín’s Metro, Colombia’s only subway system. After the first line, Line K, opened in 2004, popularity allowed two more lines to be put in place.
New cultural attractions, such as the Biblioteca España, Planetario Medellín, and Parque Explora were built in the north, while Hewlett-Packard relocated their Colombia headquarters on the northerly campus of Universidad de Antioquia, within walking distance of Parque Explora and the planetarium. In addition, the third of the three Metrocable lines, Line L, located at the end of Line K, leads to a new lush, expansive park called Parque Arví, which is co-run by the Medellín Metro.
One of the biggest residual effects of the Metrocable has been the people’s restoration of trust in the local government, something that had been heavily damaged as a result of Colombia’s infamous drug cartel problems. Medellín is now a city that residents are increasingly proud to live in. Streets are clean, the crime rate has dropped dramatically, and new office developments are all playing a role in revitalizing the area and increasing trust. Due in large part from these recent developments, Medellín won the 2012 Most Innovative City prize, and they will host the 7th UN-HABITAT World Urban Forum in April 2014.
Cartagena
Here’s the lesson to cities that not investing in a city’s residents can make things worse.
Located on the Caribbean coast, Cartagena, with its impeccably kept walled Old City, is Colombia’s most popular tourism destination. Much of the city’s investments have gone towards making the Old City safe for tourists.
If one were to walk outside of the Old City’s walls, one would see an unsafe, dirty city that resembles a stereotypically dirty Caribbean city. The Cartagena government has tried to improve transportation livelihood by erecting a BRT line; while many stations have been built, the line is non-operational, and construction has stalled. In the meantime, locals are left to rely on private colectivos (minibuses) to get around the city.
Cartagena shows that when governments don’t invest in its citizens, the citizens don’t take care or pride in its city. Cartagena was by far the dirtiest city I saw of the three, and the city outside the walls of the Old City has a bad reputation for crime.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article are personal and not those of FEMA, DHS, or the US Government.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC Scotland's David Miller looks at the financial and political melodrama of Edinburgh's new tram service
Trams will return to Edinburgh's streets for the first time in almost 50 years, when the service begins on Saturday. However, in the decade since the first money was allocated to the project, the price has doubled, the network has halved and it has taken twice as long to build as was first thought.
Edinburgh's tram "network" is now just part of one of the original lines, stretching from the airport to the city centre. It had been intended to reach the waterfront at Leith and Newhaven, and there were to be other lines too, but they fell away as the troubled project rumbled on.
The idea of bringing back trams to Edinburgh's congested streets goes back many years but the current saga can be said to have begun in September 2003.
Image copyright Jeff J Mitchell
Back then the Labour-led Scottish Executive earmarked £375m, indexed for inflation, for the proposed tram routes linking the city centre with both Leith and Edinburgh Airport. It was hoped trams would be operational by 2009.
Now, more than five years behind schedule, Edinburgh has trams on its streets for the first time since 1956 but just one route, not the network that was envisaged.
The 8.7mile (14km) route stretches from Edinburgh airport to York Place in the city centre, with 15 stops along the way.
It has cost of £776m, plus more than £200m in interest on a 30-year loan taken out by the council to cover the funding shortfall.
It is something of a miracle it ever got finished at all, given the disputes along the way.
The entire project was going to be scrapped by the SNP when the Nationalists formed their first minority government at Holyrood in 2007, only for the decision to be overturned by the will of the other parties in the Scottish Parliament.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Speeded-up footage shows Edinburgh's new tram journey from the city airport to York Place in the city centre
And four years ago a bitter dispute between the arms-length company responsible for bringing trams to Edinburgh and its main contractor brought the whole project to a halt for months.
When David Mackay quit as chairman of Transport Edinburgh Limited he branded the project "hell on wheels".
Mr Mackay described the main contractor on the tram works, Bilfinger Berger, as a "delinquent company that smelled a victim".
During the darkest days of the dispute, the German construction giant said nothing publicly due to contractual restrictions.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Debbie Cannon's voice will be heard on every journey as reads out the stops and other information.
But there is little doubt that Bilfinger Berger's executives were similarly left frustrated and angry by TIE's handling of the project.
Add to all this the fact that vital roads in Edinburgh city centre and Leith were dug up for the best part of seven years, causing congestion, inconvenience and financial harm to businesses and it is little wonder that the dream of a tram system to rival any in Europe is now such a painful idea for the people of Scotland's capital.
As Edinburgh's elegant streets were transformed into a giant building site, initial scepticism was replaced by downright opposition.
Image copyright Jeff J Mitchell
It is often said by locals that Edinburgh has one of Britain's best bus services but the city council developed a new transport plan at the start of the millennium and trams were a priority.
At first the tram project was dependent on the revenues from a road-charging scheme that the City of Edinburgh Council wanted to implement, similar to that introduced in London in 2003.
But when the controversial road tolls were rejected after a public outcry, the tram scheme sailed on, backed by cash from the Scottish government of the time.
By September 2005, as the parliamentary bills for the line made their way through Holyrood the cost was put at £539m.
The new estimates of cost prove too much for the council which shelved the Granton-Newhaven and Edinburgh airport-Newbridge sections.
In March 2006 the legislation was passed in parliament, with completion now put back to 2011 and the first work to divert utility pipes and cables in Leith began in March 2007.
But work stopped as the Scottish Parliament elections arrived and in May 2007, the new SNP administration at Holyrood tried to press ahead with its pledge to scrap the trams project.
However, opposition parties outvoted the minority government and it was forced to hand-over almost £500m for the project.
The Scottish government's finance secretary John Swinney said he would give the project the cash already agreed and "not a penny more". Any further cash would have to be found by the City of Edinburgh Council.
Construction could now begin and a whole new range of problems arrived.
The city centre was left gridlocked when work began on Princes Street at The Mound due to a "catastrophic failure" of traffic management and similar stories bubbled up wherever the tram works went.
Princes Street, the main route through the centre of Scotland's capital, remained closed to traffic for most of 2009, an annus horribilis for the project.
A dispute between Tie, which was overseeing the project, and the construction consortium spiralled out of control and a legal dispute dragged on for many months, putting back the finish of the project and driving up costs.
In October 2010 council officials admitted the tram line would only run to St Andrew Square in the city centre, the plan to continue to Leith and Newhaven bit the dust.
Next the chairman of the Edinburgh tram company resigned and work ground to a complete standstill.
2011 saw some sort of resolution with the contractor but a fresh crisis emerged as the council realised it did not have the money to complete the project.
Edinburgh's city council came up with a plan to stop the line at Haymarket, more than a mile west of the city centre, a decision which was labelled as "bonkers" by the city's Chambers of Commerce.
The Scottish government had to wade in again and refused to provide the final £72m of its funding if the line did not go to the city centre, forcing the council into a u-turn.
In contrast to the troubled history of the project its final two years have been relatively smooth, although by this stage it was hard to imagine what else could go wrong.
Construction of the line was finished at the end of last year and testing of the trams has been going on for several months.
Now Edinburgh is ready to get on-board its trams for the first time.
But the people of Edinburgh may take some time to love them.A majority in the House voted down a proposal to restrict funding for transgender members of the military, standing by social policy changes enacted by the Pentagon under former President Barack Obama.
Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., succeeded in forcing a vote, arguing that Obama's "transgender decision is costly in dollars and short on common sense." The attempted rollback failed on a 209-214 vote, however, as 24 Republicans joined a unanimous Democratic caucus in opposing the proposal.
"The Obama transgender policy, which was implemented without input from members of Congress, is ill-conceived and contrary to our goals of increasing troop readiness and investing defense dollars into addressing budget shortfalls of the past," Hartzler said in June. "By recruiting and allowing transgender individuals to serve in our military we are subjecting taxpayers to high medical costs including up to $130,000 per transition surgery, lifetime hormone treatments, and additional surgeries to address the high percentage of individuals who experience complications."
Her amendment would have barred the Defense Department from "provid[ing] medical treatment (other than mental health treatment) related to gender transition" to members of the military. Proponents of transgender military service argued that her proposal "would reduce military readiness" by discouraging transgender Americans from serving.
"It would have a negative impact on morale, a negative impact on retention and move us away from the merit-based system which we now have, where we have one set of rules applied to everybody," Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., who co-chairs the LGBT Equality Caucus, said Wednesday.
Hartzler maintained that her amendment would increase readiness, however. "The deployability of individuals going through the sex transition process is highly problematic, requiring 210 to 238 work days where a soldier is non-deployable after surgery," she said. "This recovery time equates to 1.4 million manpower days where transgender personnel cannot deploy and fight our nation's wars, therefore relying on an already stressed force to pick up the burden. It makes no sense to purposely recruit individuals who cannot serve."
Her effort to force a vote on the amendment passed through the Rules Committee on a party-line vote, but enough Republicans broke ranks to give Democrats a majority on the House floor.In-depth: Some 40 miles from IS-held territory, a group of Iraqi atheists gather to discuss secularism and philosophy, defying the militants whose shadow looms large.
The group is an intellectual refuge for young
- and not-so-young - secularists [Gareth Browne]
There was always going to be an ideological reaction to Daesh
Singer Khander has joined the group,
despite her fears [Gareth Browne]
In a quiet bookshop, in a corner by the window, sit a small group hunched round a table, smoking cigarettes. They are careful not to speak loudly, communicating in hushed tones barely above whispers.The wrong person overhearing this conversation could spell serious repercussions. It is perhaps a cliché, young intellectuals meeting secretly in bookshops, but it is obviously an environment where Iraq's young secularists feel most comfortable.We are in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, more than 250 kilometres north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Just a few days after this conversation, the city will play host to a deadly attack by the Islamic State group. As many as 100 jihadists will unite with others already hidden undercover in the city - dubbed "sleeper cells" - and for a few haunting hours they will roam the streets openly, taking charge of the city's mosques, proclaiming from the minarets that the caliphate has arrived.With coalition forces advancing rapidly on the Islamic State group's largest stronghold, and Mosul's fall a foregone conclusion in the eyes of many, this is just one of the group's many efforts to distract and draw resources away from the fight for Mosul - an attempt to change the narrative too.Shaho is 29, a government employee. He hunches over some tea, chain-smoking throughout our three hours together. He is this group's founder, and his natural confidence makes him something of a spokesman, too. Several years ago, stuck between the marauding jihadism of IS and the incompetency of the Iraqi government, he set up this symposium, and named it "Logic".The group is an intellectual refuge for Iraq's atheists and secularists, a people denied any official existence by the country's government, and holders of a death sentence courtesy of the Islamic State group. A quick scout of their Facebook pages shows specific and in-depth secularist critiques of Quranic verses and Arabic and Kurdish memes featuring the likes of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris.Shaho, talks to me about his love of western secularists, "Richard Dawkins and Jean Jacques Rousseau", growls his gruff voice. I ask him who else he admires, perhaps someone from the US?"When it comes to the US, we don't rely on them, because they are too black and white," he says between plumes of smoke. "French philosophy is far better for us, because they have a strong link with Arab people."The French idea of secularism can be a model for Iraq in the future, he says. "We [in his group] try to replicate the French experience [of secularism]; it was built through a good relationship between ideas and authority."France'sform of secularism has been dubbed "aggressive" by some, and many have suggested it causes more harm than good - doing much to malign France's significant Muslim population. That a group of people can argue and campaign for such a drastic form of secularism, in a country so plagued by religious fanaticism counters much of the mainstream Western narrative.The café in which we sit is barely an hour from Islamic State-held territory - the town of Hawija. Keen to press Shaho, and determine whether this admiration of the "French experience" is anything more than a convenient soundbite, I ask him about attempts to ban the burqa in France. The full veil is a common sight in many parts of Iraq, but French former Prime Minister Nicholas Sarkozy has dubbed it "not welcome in France".Shaho defends Sarkozy. "These are new to Europe, and France had to take these steps to protect its national security. These pieces of clothing are disrespectful to women, it's not the other way round."But this is an issue that splits the group, Zayer is the 65-year-old chain-smoking owner of the bookshop in which we meet, quiet until now, he interjects and insists that just because they admire the French system, "of course they make mistakes too".Zayer says we shouldn't be surprised that there is such growth of secularism in places so close to towns controlled by IS: "There was always going to be an ideological reaction to Daesh."He tells me he became an atheist, and indeed a leftist, some 40 years ago - insisting that secularists are not a novelty in Iraq. "Our movement hasn't come out of nowhere; since the 1970s, different governments and different authorities have not been able to do anything for the people, it is up to the people to help themselves," he told The New Arab."Given the passage of time, we [the secularists] will have our chance to govern, we are trying to bring about a renaissance in our country. Our future generations can take it from there." He speaks slowly, conveying an aura of respect. He takes a drag on his cigarette. "Most of the writers and artists in Kurdistan are secularists. We are winning the cultural battle. The challenge now is carrying the victory over to the ideological and political battle."The late 1980s and early 1990s were a difficult period for Kurds in Iraq. Caught between chemical weapons attacks and a civil war many now see as an embarrassment, a great many Kurds fled to Europe. But following decades in exile, particularly in Germany and the United Kingdom - and being educated at European universities - many of those same people have now returned, bringing with them a host of new ideas, and secularism is one of the most significant.Zayer describes this mass movement of people as "very effective" for the secular movement in Kurdistan, and the region. I ask Zayer which country he would most like the KRG to become like in terms of its secularism. I suggest Turkey, but he complains "Turkey can't really claim to be secular, the religious establishment has to much influence, it goes far beyond just Erdogan". Again, he cites France.Could a woman be prime minister of the KRG or Iraq in the future? "Gender doesn’t matter, qualifications matter," says Zayer. "Women in Iraq are constantly imprisoned by men, they are second class citizens."Shaho goes further, adding this battle needs to be had " |
it an O(n^2) implementation, but that is of course silly.
This being asserted, the questions is therefore probably about...
tricks which would make the implementation faster
It should be noted that while such tricks may exist, the complexity of the algorithm/problem remains stubbornly at O(n).
Trick 1: Better storage for inputs
Unfortunately, the question indicates that the inputs come from named variables and that the cost for any conversion of the input [for the sake of allowing faster counting] would have to be taken into account for the evaluation of the overall performance of the algorithm. Although this eventually depends on the underlying language, runtime etc., the need to account for the conversion cost very likely condemns any algorithm based on alternate storage to be slower than solutions which keep the inputs as-is.
Trick 2: short-circuit the evaluation
The idea is to return false as soon (or shortly after) as either
the running count of inputs that are on is bigger than X the number (or, if we are counting the number of input that are off, when this count exceeds (n - X))
the number of inputs left to test plus the running count of inputs that are on is less that X. (or something similar in the case of counting the off inputs).
This trick is relatively straight forward, but the extra cost for computing the values needed in the early exit tests may offset the gains made by [statically] exiting early.
Trick 3: use reverse logic: count the number of inputs that are off rather than these are are on. (or count both).
The cost/benefits of this approach depends on both the number of on input to test for (the X of the question) and on the statistical prior we may have about the inputs (is the number on on-inputs at a given time relatively uniformly distibuted or do we tend to have only a few inputs on (or off)).
The solution proposed by Chris Acheson provides a baseline for the use of both Trick 2 and Trick 3. Assuming that we could make a few assumptions about the distribution of the inputs' state, additional performance improvements to this baseline would be driven such "priors": some quick heuristics done prior to the counting of the inputs per se would determine whether which state we should count (on or off or both), which limit we should test for etc. and branch to the corresponding "versions" of the algorithm.
Additional gains are also possible, if we know the individual probability of a given input to be on or off, as we'd then test for the most (or least) likely ones first, to quickly get to our "short circuit value".
On the best-case/worse-case "complexity" of these optimized algorithms
Assuming that
the number of inputs that are on at a given time is uniformly distributed
all inputs have a 50% change of being on at a given time
X is randomly selected between 1 and n
A combination of Tricks #2 and #3 could be O(X/2) on average (I need to do the math, but that seems right). However I think it wiser to talk in terms of number of operations relative to X and/or n, rather than misusing the O-notation...
Assuming that all operations roughly incur the same cost
Initialize a counter or variable
Test an input or a variable
addition or subtraction
etc
It is easier and also more exact to compute the total number of operations needed for a given algorithm to complete, and hence to use such counts, for various best/worse/average cases to help decide on specific algorithms.
To illustrate this, a naive implementation that merely would systematically count all on-inputs and only compare the counter at the end, would be of O(n) complexity and complete in all cases in roughly 1 + 2*n + 1 operations. Such an algorithm may prove to be overall,better than a fancier algorithm which while being, say, O(X), O((X+n)/2) and O(n) in the best, average and worse cases, respectively, may well use X*3, (X+n)* 1.5, and n*3 operations in these same cases.Caroline Kennedy is hoping to take over Hillary Clinton's Senate seat
The New York Times has said a letter purporting to be from the mayor of Paris that attacked Caroline Kennedy's bid for a Senate seat was a fake.
The letter, which was signed with the name of Bertrand Delanoe and printed in Monday's paper, called Ms Kennedy's bid "not very democratic" and "appalling".
The New York Times said it had failed to check whether the letter, which was sent by e-mail, was authentic.
It said it had expressed its regrets to Mr Delanoe's office in Paris.
The letter asked what title Ms Kennedy had to apply for the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton, who has been named secretary of state by US President-elect Barack Obama.
"We French have been consistently admiring of the American Constitution, but it seems that recently both Republicans and Democrats are drifting away from a truly democratic model," the letter said.
"Can we speak of American decline?"
The New York Times said in a statement on its web site that the letter should never have been published.
"Doing so violated both our standards and our procedures in publishing signed letters from our readers," it said.
The newspaper said it was reviewing its procedures for verifying letters to avoid a repetition of the incident.ASHBURN, Va. -- Brandon Meriweather remains upbeat and confident. He also remains healthy and in line to start Sunday, provided he does not have yet another setback.
Meriweather practiced Wednesday in full for the first time since the last workout before the preseason finale. He said his groin, which kept him out of Monday’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, felt good. Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said Wednesday that he expects Meriweather to play at Green Bay, barring another issue.
“Right now I feel great,” Meriweather said. “Whatever coach says that’s what I go by. He’s a smart guy, he knows his players, he knows our movements. He knows us very well so if he feels I’m ready to play I’ll go play.
“I try not to get my hopes too high or too low. I do what they ask me to do and form there I let coach make the decision.”
With Meriweather, it’s always about “right now” because of how little he’s played since coming to Washington. Meriweather has played 45 snaps since joining the Redskins last year. He worked out before the Eagles game, but his groin, which he hurt in a Sept. 2 practice, didn’t feel 100 percent.
The Redskins could use him Sunday against the Green Bay Packers and its high-powered offense. Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett hopes that’s the case, though he'll keep his fingers crossed for now.
“I’d love to have him back,” Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett said. “I haven’t seen him play for so long. I’m not sure. But hopefully -- I said the same thing last week and he didn’t play so we’ll see.”
The Redskins used corner E.J. Biggers at safety against the Eagles, wanting his speed versus a team that posed a major threat in the open field. The problem Washington’s defense had in the first half was more in the front seven than the back four, with big holes created in part by the Eagles’ scheme.
Meriweather would add a strong safety with speed and experience at the position. He also knows that a team can only hang onto a player for so long before they seek alternatives.
“I can’t say I feel pressure because I believe everything happens for a reason,” Meriweather said. “Apparently it wasn’t meant for me to go out there last week. I just hope I’m ready this week. … It’s been very frustrating. I told you all last year the worst thing is sitting there watching your team go through something and you’re just sitting there watching.”
And he said he’s confident that his knee is fine.
“I’m confident in my trainers, I’m confident they did everything possible to get me ready,” said Meriweather, who underwent ACL surgery on Dec. 15. “I’m confident my coaches kept me out long enough and put me in at the right time. I’m confident I know the playbook well enough and I can go out there and perform whatever the coaches ask.”By Tuesday night, Adelson's new management team had begun to take the reins, firing back in their own editorial, which ran on Wednesday's front page, that they would "publish a newspaper that is fair, unbiased and accurate."
The editorial mentioned that Hengel had accepted a "voluntary buyout." But in an interview Wednesday, Hengel said he first learned of his acceptance of the buyout when someone from the newspaper read the editorial to him over the telephone Tuesday night. At the same time, he received an email with a formal offer.
Adelson's representatives declined an interview request.
The deal makes Adelson, the up-by-the-bootstraps chairman of the sprawling Las Vegas Sands Corp., the latest billionaire to jump into the flailing newspaper industry. But even by Nevada's often elastic civic standards, having the state's premier daily in the hands of one of the Republican Party's biggest donors has pushed journalistic boundaries into unfamiliar territory.
"I do have to admire the courage of those reporters from Las Vegas who insisted if they're going to be demanding transparency of the people they cover, then the people that employ them have to be just as transparent," said Fred Brown, who teaches journalism at the University of Denver and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists' committee on ethics. "They could get fired."You really don’t need that piece of gear
When I first started engineering, I was hardly recording any music yet spending hours a day looking through eBay and Craigslist for vintage gear I could never afford. The gear really doesn’t matter as much as your ear. The best engineers can get great sounds using very minimal gear. It’s easy to get caught up in expensive gear and it’s normal to want nice things but the gear doesn’t make the recording or the engineer and it certainly doesn’t bring you clients. Spend more time learning about the gear you have and actually recording with it.
Start with the basics, don’t get caught up with advanced techniques
Parallel compression, four microphones on every drum, m/s, binaural… they’re all great. But I wish I had spent more time mastering the basics before trying out more advanced techniques. I was lucky to have access to a lot of good equipment before I probably should have. A minimalist approach when starting out is always the best. Find out how to mic the drum set with only two mics. Move them around until you get the best sound you can. By experimenting this way you’ll not only get good at mic’ing in less than ideal scenarios, you’ll also better develop your ear.
Running a session is one of the most overlooked skills
So you know how to use Pro Tools and set up microphones. So do a billion other aspiring engineers. One of the most overlooked skills is the ability to run a session smoothly. Unless there is a producer working the session then it is the engineer’s job to make sure the session is running properly. Not only do you need to run the session, you need to make sure the client is having a good time and you’re fun to work with. Clients are paying to work with you, if they aren’t having a good time and things aren’t flowing well they won’t want to work with you again. Engineers rely on repeat business and the only way get repeat business is by having satisfied clients.
Automation can make a good mix great
Use automation. That’s it. Before going for the compressor, try automating first. Automation will give your mixes that extra bit of life and take them into a magical world filled with unicorns and rainbows.
Clients don’t just appear at your door
Clients are difficult to get, without any notable credits it’s unlikely someone will just call you looking for work. You need to be active in going out and actually talking to people. Go to shows, make friends, get involved in your local scene, play in bands, DJ at clubs, put on your own shows. The more people you know the better your chances are at finding work. People want to work with their friends, they want to work with someone they feel is invested in their art. Be friendly, be interested, and be fun to be around and people will be more inclined to want to work with you.
Be confident in your ear, don’t be afraid to try new things
It’s easy to get stuck in the habit of reaching for the same compressor or same EQ. I still catch myself going to a goto piece of gear because I know it worked well in a previous scenario. I’ve heard about great engineers like Chris Lord Alge keeping their gear at a fixed setting and using it only for one specific instrument. I think this is fine if you’re Chris Lord Alge and have tried everything and truly know what sounds best. If you haven’t tried everything, this type of thinking can stunt your growth. Instead of trying new things and taking a risk, you might go for that compressor that you used on the last song that you already know how to use well. I need to constantly remind myself to try new things. New mic placements, techniques, new gear, plug ins, etc. A large part of what would hold me back is lacking the confidence to know when something is good. What if I try a new microphone or technique and I think it sounds good but the next day I realize it sounds terrible? We’ve all had times where we think something sounds good and a few days later can’t comprehend what the hell we were thinking at the time.
You need to put in your 10,000 hours
Like anything else, being a good audio engineer takes experience. Earlier on in my career I was very concerned with getting the best sounds and having the best mixes possible. As much as I tried, that just wasn’t going to happen without having bad mixes first. At one point, every great engineer was a bad engineer. The hardest part for me was knowing I was terrible. This might not be the same for everyone, I know a lot of guys that thought they were amazing engineers right from day one but I knew my mixing was not up to par with other professional engineers or even engineers that I would consider to be on my level. It’s easy to get discouraged and let self doubt take over. You just have to keep pushing through.
I am still learning new things everyday, my success comes down to trusting my foundation and my ear and knowing that they will lead to creating something great. I’ll leave you with this quote from Ira Glass that helps put the frustrating but ultimately rewarding journey of an artist into perspective.Merthyr Town were denied promotion to the Southern League Premier Division after being beaten at home by Paulton Rovers.
Nick McCootie scored two goals in the second half secured victory for the visitors.
McCootie scored the opening goal from close range following a corner and added a second from the penalty spot.
The Martyrs reached the play-off final following a 5-3 semi-final win over Swindon Supermarine.
The Welsh side finished the regular season as runners-up to Cirencester Town in Division One South & West while Paulton finished fourth.
It was the second successive season Merthyr had lost in the play-off final.
Merthyr Town assistant manager Danny Carter told BBC Radio Wales:
"It's disappointing that the only game we haven't scored at home was in the play-off final. We've come up short - last year and this year.
"We weren't brave enough in key areas and we played safe. It was just one game too many for them.
"As a group we weren't good enough so we've got to reshuffle the pack and hopefully bring in some new faces, have a clean slate and have another go."Bitcoin has been around for almost 9 years but the relevant laws and regulations are still absent. In most country, Bitcoin has been ruled out as fiats but its tight connection to fiats gives rise to quite a number of disputes. A few days ago, Beijng Haidian court concluded a case that Bitcoin players claiming compensation of 52.8567 BTC and 815.9731 LTC from Huobi. The court rejected that the plaintiff’s complaint because of the arbitration clause in the user agreement.
The plaintiff, Mr. Chen, claimed that on November 21, 2013, he registered an account on www.bitvc.com through the link on Huobi.com. From November 2013 to June 2016, Mr. Chen deposited 322,966 yuan in total and withdrew 104,772 yuan from his account, a total loss of 217,194 yuan.
Mr. Chen claimed that the loss was caused by the 20x leverage trading via bitvc.com. Because bitvc website does not accept RMB deposit but cryptocurrencies, he could only deposit RMB to purchase bitcoin or litecoin on huobi.com and then transferred cryptocurrencies to bitvc. He claimed that Huobi was aware of the illegal nature of futures trading of cryptocurrency, the website still induces registered users to conduct such trading via link and phone call invitation. Chen has suffered loss from the fraudulent behavior of Huobi like manipulation of backstage data, fake transactions. Therefore he requested Huobi to compensate for the loss of 52.8567 BTC and 815.9731 LTC.
In the lawsuit, Huobi claimed that on November 21, 2013, Mr. Chen agreed with the “Huobi User Agreement” through Huobi.com and became a registered user. The “User Agreement” stipulates that any dispute between the user and Huobi Company shall be settled through friendly negotiation. If no settlement can be reached through negotiation, either party shall have the right to submit the dispute to the Beijing Arbitration Commission for arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the Association. According to the arbitration agreement between both parties, the dispute in this case should be resolved through arbitration. The Haidian Court has no jurisdiction over the case. Mr. Chen argued that the above arbitration agreement was invalid. Both parties have different interpretation to the validity of the arbitration clause.
On September 13, 2017,the 3rd Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing ruled that the above arbitration clause was valid. The court has no right of control and the case shall be submitted to arbitrary authority.
The court also reminds that risk of investment in cryptocurrency. As the coin-to-coin trading is not involved with fiats, therefore it’s not against current regulations.
Bitcoin has experienced rapid growth in China in recent years. ICO (Initial Coin Offering, first currency issue) has attracted a large number of followers as a new funding channel, which also invites illegal activities around money laundering, illegal fund-raising, financial fraud, pyramid schemes and so on. In September, 2017, Chinese authority announced that ICO were illegal and three major bitcoin trading platforms have stopped operation.Ryan International School Is A Repeat Offender, Devansh Was Killed Last Year
Ryan International School has become a trend on Twitter as the outrage against the cold-blooded murder of Pradyuman Thakur, a student of standard 2, has shaken up the conscience of many parents in Delhi-NCR and country as well. The confession by the conductor on sexually assaulting the eight years old boy inside the bathroom of the school premises and callously stabbing him twice near the parts of ears and throat has left a many in distressed and baffled. But this is not the first incident in the ‘finishing school’ of Ryan International Group of Institutions.
On January 30th 2016, Devansh Kakrora, a student of class I was drowned inside a septic tank inside the premises of the Ryan International School at Vasant Kunj. Before he could reach the AIIMS hospital he succumbed to excess amount of water in his body.
The father of Devansh, Rahmeet Meena, had then complained about injuries on Devansh’s private parts. He also alleged that cotton was found on his private organs, a very clear indication that he was sexually assaulted. However, Delhi police in its preliminary inquiry didn’t consider the point of sexual assault. He also alleged the principal to threaten him. He said, “I was being threatened by the principal many a times.”
The administration of Ryan International School was alleged of showing extreme negligence as the building was not sealed where construction work was being carried away. The electrician, gardners and swimming coach were standing near the tank, but they remained mute spectators during the incident. If they had shown some courage then Devansh could be saved. When all remained silent, a brave student of class XI had shown valor and courage to jump inside the tank and take Devansh out, unfortunately Devansh could not survive.
The negligence of Delhi police was also condemned by the Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodiya. The police had booked the principal and the class teacher for criminal negligence in May this year. But even after 1 and half years the parents of Devansh await for justice.
Ryan International Group of Institutions is a big name in the field of education sector. It is being operated in more than 17 states. They have 11 schools running in Delhi-NCR (3 in Haryana). It has more than 300 schools in India and abroad. Established in 1976 by Dr. A.F. Pinto, the first school was set up in Mumbai. They have the motto of “Excellence of Education & All Round Development”, but the continuous horrifying incidents and the attempt to cover up the crimes are big reasons to worry.
Once again the big school has been caught neglecting the basic security and safety measures for the children. In a similar manner, Pradyuman Thakur was attempted to sexual assault by the bus conductor Ashok Kumar. Ashok confessed that he killed the boy stabbing knife twice in his throat.
The mother of the victim sobbingly said that Pradyuman was a bright kid. The school teachers had always praised and applauded him. The theory of Blue Whale Challenge was also coined by the school authorities as they said that he died attempting to play the game. But the logical mother was not sold with this explanation.
Now the parents await justice. They have appealed PM Narendra Modi to propose a CBI investigation in this matter as the records of the Ryan International School is very dubious on the graph of responsibility and safety for the children. The group of school has earlier also tried to cover up and influence the police probe, so Pradyuman’s parents want CBI inquiry in this murder case and sexual assault. The Gurugram police has been already probing into the matter with under the ‘POCSO Act’ too.Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is often prescribed by clinicians for fibromyalgia (FM) patients to help improve pain symptoms. But a study shows that adding vitamin B12 to fibromyalgia medication is largely based on reports showing this vitamin’s deficiency in patients with other pain disorders.
In the study titled “Serum levels of vitamin B12 (cobalamin) in fibromyalgia,” published in a letter to the editor of the journal Rheumatology International, researchers reviewed current literature and concluded that the few reports addressing vitamin B12 serum levels in fibromyalgia patients had not found differences between patients and control individuals.
“Due to scarce data on vitamin B12 in patients with FM, the objective of this study was to evaluate the serum levels and clinical significance of circulating vitamin B12 (cobalamin) in patients with fibromyalgia,” the authors wrote.
Therefore, following the revised criteria for fibromyalgia diagnosis, they selected 29 fibromyalgia patients with a mean age of 52.9 years plus or minus 17.7, 89.6 percent of them women; and with a disease duration of 7.0 years, plus or minus 8.1. Although none of the participants was taking vitamin B12, their mean serum levels of cobalamin (referring to several chemical forms of vitamin B12) were normal (465.4 ± 226.1 ng/L), and did not show a deficiency for the vitamin.
“This is the fourth report to evaluate the serum levels of vitamin B12 in patients with fibromyalgia and confirmed previous data that serum levels of vitamin B12 are not altered in these patients. Cobalamin deficiency is linked to pain, and supplementation with this vitamin is used to treat pain conditions. However, the present study and also all three previous articles in the literature demonstrated no link between fibromyalgia and cobalamin deficiency, ” the authors wrote.
Overall, although the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency are highly shared by fibromyalgia patients, this study, together with other previously published reports, show that fibromyalgia patients have the expected levels of this vitamin in their serum.
The study further reveals the low impact of measuring vitamin B12 levels in FM patients. “Based on all these previous results and also those found in the present study, cobalamin levels measurement is not recommended in routine practice for patients with fibromyalgia,” the authors wrote.Carly Simon has ended nearly 40 years of speculation by finally naming the man who inspired her hit YOU'RE SO VAIN - her target was gay record label boss David Geffen.
The song, which catapulted the singer to fame in 1972, was rumoured to be about one of her ex-boyfriends, which include Hollywood legend Warren Beatty and rocker Sir Mick Jagger, but she has persistently refused to name the man behind the track.
But Simon has now revealed who was so vain by giving fans a cryptic clue in an acoustic version of the song, which features on her upcoming album Never Been Gone.
She tells Uncut magazine, "You know what, I'm just going to tell you this. The answer is on the new version of You're So Vain, on my new record Never Been Gone. There's a little whisper and it's the answer to the puzzle."
The singer whispers Geffen's name backwards in the track, according to Britain's The Sun newspaper.
Geffen ran Simon's Elektra record label at the time of the song's release and instead of being about a failed relationship, the lyrics are now thought to hint at the singer's lingering resentment after Geffen allegedly put more effort into promoting rival star Joni Mitchell.WASHINGTON — For more than a decade, lawmakers have been pointing at their counterparts to take the blame for what just about everyone agrees is a broken immigration system.
Republicans say President Barack Obama’s immigration enforcement policies encourage more people to sneak into the country. Democrats blame Republicans for blocking legislation that would allow people already here to gain legal status and create a path for future, legal immigration.
But whatever specific policies are being fought over now, immigration experts say the problem took root at least 30 years ago, when President Ronald Reagan signed a 1986 immigration law that has become known as the “Reagan Amnesty” and allowed roughly 3 million people in the country illegally to gain legal status.
The 1986 law was intended to create a new era of enforcement, including strict enforcement of the new law that barred employers from hiring workers who don’t have permission to work in the United States. But that never fully materialized.
Immigration laws were overhauled again in 1990 under Republican President George H.W. Bush and again in 1996 under Democratic President Bill Clinton.
Obama has tried in his eight years in office to overhaul them once again, but nothing has passed.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has said he will fix the system, build a wall along the border with Mexico and perhaps deport many of the estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally. But this week he has indicated he may back off from that idea.
“We’re going to build the wall, and we’re going to stop it. It’s going to end,” Trump said earlier this year. “We’re going to have a big, beautiful wall.”
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, has pledged to push comprehensive immigration reform and to act on her own, as Obama has, if Congress doesn’t approve such a measure.
Trump and Clinton have laid the blame for the current state of immigration — and the estimated 11 million people living and, in many cases, working illegally in the United States — on the other party.
But experts disagree.
“I think there’s a lot of blame to go around and spread around for decades,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director for Center For Immigration Studies, a Washington think tank describes itself as “low-immigration, pro-immigrant.” ”There isn’t one person responsible.”
“I think there’s a lot of blame to go around and spread around for decades. There isn’t one person responsible.” — Mark Krikorian, executive director for Center For Immigration Studies
Instead, he said, the problem lies in how the Immigration Control and Reform Act of 1986 was implemented. He described the passage of the bill as something of a “con-job” that allowed millions of immigrants in the country illegally to have legal status with a promise of workplace enforcement and other measures to curb future illegal immigration.
But that didn’t happen, he said. And there was little incentive to follow through on promises of strict workplace enforcement, he said, once millions of people were legalized.
“I definitely view this as the 30-year problem,” said Doris Meissner, who headed the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service under Bill Clinton and is now a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington.
Meissner said the 1986 bill was intended to “clear the decks” of most people living in the country illegally while curtailing future illegal immigration.
But thirty years after the amnesty bill became law the stringent workplace enforcement many expected, and mandated use of the government’s E-Verify system for employers to check the legal work status of prospective hires, is still being debated by lawmakers and the business community. Multiple iterations of federal legislation to require employment verification have been defeated in Congress.
Meissner said the ability of people in the country illegally to continue to find work during the economic boom of the 1990s was a significant incentive for more to come.
And while an average of about 1.3 million people a year were caught crossing the border illegally over the decade of the 1990s, the Border Patrol was relatively small, not growing above a force of 10,000 until 2002.
Meissner says part of the problem was the two immigration laws that followed in 1990 and 1996 that she said did very little to create a legal path to the United States for low-skilled workers. The government does have a pair of visa programs for seasonal agriculture workers and others who are considered seasonal, nonagricultural workers, but Meissner and other critics of the program argue that it is not sufficient.
“There is no line to get into,” Meissner said. “This is why at the end of the day we need updated laws, we need immigration reform.”
Instead, she said, the focus was on enforcement and making it easier to deport immigrants in the country illegally.
As that happened, the estimated population of people living in the country illegally rose from a few million in the late 1980s and early 1990s to today’s estimated 11 million people.
The focus on enforcement may also have created an inadvertent incentive for immigrants in the U.S. illegally to stay in the country for fear that it would be harder if not impossible to get back in if they left, said Stuart Anderson, executive director at the non-partisan National Foundation for American Policy.
Many people made the decision to stay and try to avoid federal law enforcement as long as they could, he said.
“I don’t think anyone would say that policy was successful,” Anderson said.
In recent years the immigration debate has focused on enforcement versus what to do with the millions of people already living here illegally.Near Cannon Ball, North Dakota (CNN) The fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline -- the $3.8 billion project expected to move 470,000 barrels of crude oil a day across the Midwest -- lasted long enough for the summer heat to give way to thick, white snow.
For months, Standing Rock Sioux tribe members and their allies battled the energy project they referred to as a "black snake." They stood in the path of the pipeline both during peaceful actions and clashes with authorities that turned violent.
On Sunday afternoon, tribe members and their allies cried tears of joy after the US Army said it would not -- for now -- allow the pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe in North Dakota.
The Army says the plan should be carefully restudied, and alternative routes should be more deeply considered
The Army's statement does not rule out approval for the current plan in the future. And with President Obama leaving office in January, many questions still remain about what's next for the project.
Phil Little Thunder Sr. attends an evening gathering at an encampment of Dakota Access Pipeline protesters on September 3.
Phil Little Thunder Sr. attends an evening gathering at an encampment of Dakota Access Pipeline protesters on September 3.
Flags of Native American tribes from across the United States and Canada line the entrance to a protest encampment on Saturday, September 3.
Flags of Native American tribes from across the United States and Canada line the entrance to a protest encampment on Saturday, September 3.
The Missouri River is seen beyond an encampment near Cannon Ball, where hundreds of people gathered to join the protest on September 4.
The Missouri River is seen beyond an encampment near Cannon Ball, where hundreds of people gathered to join the protest on September 4.
Native Americans ride with raised fists to the sacred burial ground on September 4 to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Native Americans ride with raised fists to the sacred burial ground on September 4 to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Native Americans march to the site of a sacred burial ground on September 4.
Native Americans march to the site of a sacred burial ground on September 4.
Protesters march on September 4 in opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Protesters march on September 4 in opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Marlo Langdeau of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe joins hundreds of Native Americans for a march near Cannon Ball on Sunday, September 4.
Marlo Langdeau of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe joins hundreds of Native Americans for a march near Cannon Ball on Sunday, September 4.
People hang a sign near what they say was sacred burial ground disturbed by bulldozers in Cannon Ball.
People hang a sign near what they say was sacred burial ground disturbed by bulldozers in Cannon Ball.
Native Americans head to a rally at the state capitol in Denver on Thursday, September 8. They were showing their support for members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in North Dakota opposting the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Native Americans head to a rally at the state capitol in Denver on Thursday, September 8. They were showing their support for members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in North Dakota opposting the Dakota Access Pipeline.
A protester shows where he was hit by a bean-bag round fired by officers trying to force protesters off the private land.
A protester shows where he was hit by a bean-bag round fired by officers trying to force protesters off the private land.
Tires burn as armed soldiers and law enforcement officers stand in formation to force Dakota Access Pipeline protesters off the private land in Morton County.
Tires burn as armed soldiers and law enforcement officers stand in formation to force Dakota Access Pipeline protesters off the private land in Morton County.
A protester is arrested as law enforcement surrounds the camp on October 27.
A protester is arrested as law enforcement surrounds the camp on October 27.
Pipeline protesters sit in a prayer circle as a line of law enforcement officers make their way across the camp to relocate the protesters a few miles south on Thursday, October 27. Protesters had camped on private property.
Pipeline protesters sit in a prayer circle as a line of law enforcement officers make their way across the camp to relocate the protesters a few miles south on Thursday, October 27. Protesters had camped on private property.
The burned hulks of heavy trucks sit on Highway 1806 on Friday, October 28, near a spot where Dakota Access Pipeline protesters were evicted a day earlier.
The burned hulks of heavy trucks sit on Highway 1806 on Friday, October 28, near a spot where Dakota Access Pipeline protesters were evicted a day earlier.
Cousins Jessica and Michelle Decoteau take part in a protest outside the North Dakota state capitol in Bismarck on October 29.
Cousins Jessica and Michelle Decoteau take part in a protest outside the North Dakota state capitol in Bismarck on October 29.
Tribe members make their way back to their camp on Saturday, October 29.
Tribe members make their way back to their camp on Saturday, October 29.
Dozens of protesters wade in cold creek waters as they confront local police on November 2.
Dozens of protesters wade in cold creek waters as they confront local police on November 2.
Tonya Stands recovers after being pepper-sprayed by police on Wednesday, November 2. Stands was pepper-sprayed after swimming across a creek with other protesters hoping to build a new camp to block construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Tonya Stands recovers after being pepper-sprayed by police on Wednesday, November 2. Stands was pepper-sprayed after swimming across a creek with other protesters hoping to build a new camp to block construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
In this image provided by the Morton County Sheriff's Department, law enforcement and protesters clash near the pipeline site on Sunday, November 20.
In this image provided by the Morton County Sheriff's Department, law enforcement and protesters clash near the pipeline site on Sunday, November 20.
People protest along Highway 1806 as they walk past a sprawling encampment on Thursday, November 24.
People protest along Highway 1806 as they walk past a sprawling encampment on Thursday, November 24.
A sculpture stands at an encampment where protesters of the pipeline have been gathered for months.
A sculpture stands at an encampment where protesters of the pipeline have been gathered for months.
People against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline speak at a news conference near Cannon Ball on Saturday, November 26.
People against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline speak at a news conference near Cannon Ball on Saturday, November 26.
A procession makes its way down to the Cannonball River to take part in a Native American water ceremony on December 1.
A procession makes its way down to the Cannonball River to take part in a Native American water ceremony on December 1.
Dan Nanamkin of the Colville Nez Perce tribe drums a traditional song by the Cannonball River in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, on Thursday, December 1.
Dan Nanamkin of the Colville Nez Perce tribe drums a traditional song by the Cannonball River in Cannon Ball, North Dakota, on Thursday, December 1.
Activists celebrate at Oceti Sakowin Camp on December 4. An executive order by President Donald Trump in January allows work to resume on the Dakota Access Pipeline, which the activists oppose.
Activists celebrate at Oceti Sakowin Camp on December 4. An executive order by |
a plant room stocked with a surprisingly intact bank of dials, gauges and pressurised air canisters. There were briefing rooms too, two halls divided by a sliding panel door. In a control room, I played about with the microphone of a loudspeaker system… only to find it in perfect working order. I almost jumped with surprise when my own voice came crackling back at me, bouncing along the empty corridors of the squadron HQ building.
Through a dogleg and a blast door, the rest of the base: pre-fab foam-tiled corridors that could have been any low-rent trading estate.
Stalking through the abandonment, along corridors littered with fallen ceiling tiles and old notices peeling off the message boards to scatter like leaves on the carpet, KingRat told me how Thames Valley Police used the building in their training exercises. Perhaps they did, but I saw no sign of it; not until I turned a final corner, that is, and entered a spacious briefing room now decorated to look like some kind of dingy drug den.
There were stained sofas, armchairs, soft toys and newspaper scattered across the floor. Along the food preparation counter at the back were beer bottles, empty gin bottles, an overflowing ash tray and what looked like a makeshift plastic bong. Propped up in the corner meanwhile, tucked behind the door, I spotted a shield: a transparent rectangular thing, made of tough, shatter-proof plastic and branded across the middle with the letters ‘POLICE.’
Apparently, the police had been practising their drug raid technique in this space… either that, or they’d simply stopped here for a cheeky session after work. It was impossible to say.
The Northern Bomb Store
There had been two main bomb storage areas at Upper Heyford. One in the south, I was told, where the conventional weapons had been stored. The northern area meanwhile was designated ‘other weapons.’
“Make of that what you will,” said my guide, now that we were back in the car and headed towards our next stop on the tour.
We visited the Northern Bomb Store – and even before we’d gotten inside, it was clear just how large the area was. Several layers of chain-link fence overlooked by guard towers; octagonal blocks that rose up on stilts above the barbed wire. Beyond the barriers, in comparison, was a somewhat innocuous-looking plot of green grass. A few brick and concrete buildings were dotted here and there, but it hardly looked imposing.
At the main entrance to the bomb store the gates had been left open, and so we drove right on through – past the checkpoint where visitors would have had to clear security under the watch of armed sentries on the towers.
We had a quick poke around inside the guardhouse by the gate, though there wasn’t a lot to see in there. Bulletproof windows faced the entry road, above a metal slot where ID could be passed through for inspection. The place was thick with rust and spiders, but climbing a ladder took me out onto the top of the building for a panoramic view of the surroundings; the barrier fence folding away around the grassy bomb store area and beyond that, outside the perimeter, hardened aircraft shelters bursting sporadically out of the grass as far as they eye could see.
Across the road stood a building labelled with bold white letters spelling ‘AMMO.’ The door was unlocked, and so I took a look inside – one room and then another of offices and stores. A cardboard box of papers had given way to the damp air, tearing apart to spew old documents across the floorboards. I emerged at the far end of the building, then ducked into another; a boiler house this time, its machinery still intact and a log book lain open on top of a long-disused bank of controls.
Back outside, KingRat pointed my attention towards a plain-looking building sat along the main thoroughfare.
“What do you notice about it?” he asked, and I looked closer.
The building was a nondescript block, a door at the front with windows on the first and second floor… windows that were filled in perfectly with bricks.
“The windows are bricked in?” I said.
“No,” he replied. “Look closer.”
That’s when I noticed the windows weren’t filled with bricks, but rather they had never been there at all. Beyond the frames was nothing but a smooth surface of unbroken concrete. Realisation dawned on me. This structure wasn’t so much a building, as a single, solid block of concrete dressed up to look like a regular storehouse.
“Come on,” he said, “let’s take a look inside.”
Past the security door set into the front wall of the building, a whitewashed corridor led straight into the heart of the block. There were shiny black marks on the wall, information or warning signs that had long since been redacted. In the centre of the structure, defended on every side and above by a concrete wall perhaps as much as 15 feet deep, was a single vault.
A final blast door protected the vault inside: a heavy, metal thing mounted with a series of complex-looking dials and locks and levers. The space beyond was empty – naturally – stripped entirely bare but for the same black marks on the walls that hinted at safety notices deleted when the USAF moved out of Upper Heyford.
It was clear that this structure had stored something of the utmost importance; not only was it hardened against any conceivable aerial assault, but it was disguised as well to look like an ordinary, insignificant structure. My guide informed me that this building had absolutely not, under any circumstances, been used to store the fission elements – trigger mechanisms – for US atomic weapons… or at least, that was the official line put out by the US Air Force, he told me.
I was still looking at those black paint marks, wondering what words might once have lain beneath; when KingRat suddenly interrupted my thoughts.
“Want to see where they kept the bombs?”
Walking around the corner, the earth opened up before us to reveal a sunken tarmac strip cutting down between twin barrows of grass-mounded concrete. The magazines were built in parallel rows, half in the ground and half out, which had been buried in soil and turf; the only way in, a series of secure bulkhead doors facing inwards to the road that passed through the centre.
These days the place is used for storing fireworks. There was a van unloading stock at a magazine nearby, men in work clothes shifting heavy crates about. They didn’t look up as we approached – it may as well have been public space, some after-hours industrial estate on the edge of any big town.
These magazines, their common nickname was ‘igloos.’ The first few we passed were sealed up tight, but soon enough we found one open to visitors. Stepping through the blast-proof sliding door, I found myself inside a bare, white brick chamber. An empty box, 80 feet by 22, the igloo gave no indication whatsoever about its former wares. Supposedly though, these 30-or-so reinforced storage spaces had been built specifically to house the largest weapon in the arsenal of the USAF Strategic Air Command: the Mark-17 hydrogen bomb. Measuring more than 24 feet in length, this weapon had a blast in the region of 10-15 megatons – around a thousand times the yield of the bomb that fell on Hiroshima.
The official story was that the US Air Force never stored nuclear weapons at Upper Heyford; but even back in the 1980s, local residents didn’t buy it.
“We were the ground zero target,” said one Oxford resident, quoted in a BBC article about the air base. “The American bunkers in England would be the first to be targeted in a nuclear war.”
At the height of the Cold War, the Oxford University CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) Group voiced its protest in the form of Campaign ATOM… that is, the Campaign Against the Oxfordshire Missiles. In 1980, more than 1000 people marched on RAF Upper Heyford. At RAF Greenham Common, they held a 75-hour vigil outside the base’s entrance. Later, another march in 1983 would become entrenched at Upper Heyford; protestors established a camp of tents and caravans, food was supplied by campaign supporters and by June that year – amidst talks of expanding the base – as many as 4,000 protestors gathered outside the perimeter fences. The demonstration lasted four days, during which time 752 people were arrested.
Before we left the bomb store behind, we would make one final stop beside the far perimeter fence; where a single octagonal guard tower rose up at a corner of the compound, looking out over fields of poppies that waved like ribbons in the wind.
My guide told me a story – “pure urban myth,” he assured me – about a guard who had taken his own life in that watchtower. According to the story, the place had been haunted ever since. Naturally, I absolutely had to climb up inside to take a look.
I got a leg-up, high enough that I could reach the lower rungs of the ladder attached to the side of the watchtower. Pulling myself up, I got onto the outer platform – the door at the front was locked, but scouting around the back I found an open window. It wouldn’t open all the way, the rusted hinges protesting at the interference, but it was enough to squeeze through, headfirst, falling onto my hands to roll across gritty floorboards inside the structure.
There wasn’t exactly much to see in there. Floorboards caked in dust, a wooden box marked with a faded red cross. A single chair lay inside, tipped ominously over on to its side. If I was looking for USAF ghosts, however, then I’d be far more likely to find them at our next – and final – port of call: the command centre of USAF operations at Upper Heyford.
Upper Heyford Battle HQ
The runway that splits the Upper Heyford base in two was redeveloped considerably when the USAF moved in. As well as reinforcing it to handle their heavy-duty F-111 bombers, it was also extended to stretch for a total distance of 8,300 feet. Driving towards the mission control building, we put it to the test – speeding down the open tarmac at 100 miles-per-hour.
Birds of prey hovered high above, as we flew past aircraft shelters and bomb stores, chain link fences and security signs that threatened everything from live explosives to court-martialling.
At the far end we came to a rest at the very heart of Upper Heyford, beneath the shadow of the runway flight tower. The red brick building rose up several floors, to erupt in a purple-tinted glass-walled observation deck. I wanted to take a look inside, but my guide advised against it. Collapsing floors, asbestos – “and besides,” he said, “it’s nowhere near as interesting as where we’re going next.”
The hardened ‘Battle Headquarters’ block at Upper Heyford faces out onto a small courtyard. An adjacent building – the former BT telephone exchange that once handled calls in and out of the base – is still in use today, I learnt, as a basic switching frame for nearby residents. Across the tarmac from that, we took a quick look into an old generator room.
The dated machinery, the broken dials and gauges, long predated the Cold War-era expansion at Upper Heyford. More likely, these rusted generators had served to power the training operations of the Royal Flying Corps during the interwar period. We wouldn’t spend long in there though; all of us hungry for the main attraction.
Entering the concrete blockhouse of the command centre, through another of the heavy, blast-proof doors that had become a regular sight by now, we emerged into a decontamination suite. Like the Squadron HQ buildings, this complex had also featured clean and dirty routes into the building. Past the showers and laundry chutes, we came into a windowless lobby – antique posters on the walls and barred doors leading deeper inside the building.
Following the spine corridor that ran the length of the complex, we passed by plant rooms and telephone exchanges. The first phone room appeared to be in immaculate order – microphones and desks, offices chairs and wall charts. If it weren’t for the dated décor and retro-tech fittings, one might have guessed the staff were simply out for lunch.
As we progressed further into the command centre, KingRat pointed out hatches built into the walls between the different security levels. These were for passing notes back and forth, he explained – for sharing a quick message between the telephone exchanges and other areas, without all the hassle of clearing security barriers in person.
Through another security door, we came upon the American Autovon telephone exchange. This one had been partially stripped, with just the switching frames and a basic scattering of technology left behind.
At last we reached the operations area: through a metal barred gate, we came into the very brain of RAF Upper Heyford, where air campaigns had been directed by staff sat at long communications desks arranged in a central well. The control room was largely intact. Sliding boards on the end wall contained tables upon tables of information, specifications for the various aircraft stationed at the base along with data such as flight speeds, weapon capacities and current whereabouts.
Telephones, consoles, display screens, and other communications equipment filled all the available space; while in an adjacent room, a full wall-size map had been stripped, destroyed, scrap by torn-off scrap, as part of the process of redaction when the US Air Force departed from Upper Heyford.
Stood on the raised deck that circled the operations well, I looked out over the command centre.
From this very room, the 20th TFW had coordinated their craft in a long list of NATO and US operations; the Upper Heyford F-111s had participated in over two decades of combat, including Operations Shabaz, Display Determination, Cold Fire, Ocean Safari, Datex, Priory, Reforger, Dawn Patrol, Highwood, and Operation Hammer.
In 1986, five EF-111A Ravens and twenty F-111E Aardvarks had flown out of Upper Heyford to join Operation El Dorado Canyon: the notorious US bombing of Libya. It was conducted in response to a terrorist attack in a West Berlin nightclub, that was believed to have been carried out by Libyan agents. The Berlin bomber killed two US servicemen. In response, Operation El Dorado Canyon claimed an estimated 60 Libyan casualties, in addition to a further two US airmen whose craft was shot down.
Later, the fighter wing at Upper Heyford participated in Operation Desert Storm. Commencing in January 1991, the F-111Es of the 20th TFW joined the conflict in Iraq. They launched combat missions from Turkey and Saudi Arabia, evading Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery to target power plants, electronics sites, oil refineries and nuclear-biological-chemical processing facilities.
By the end of Desert Storm the wing had flown 1,798 sorties without a loss, dropping more than 4,700 tons of ordnance on its targets. It was all to come to an end though; and after a tenancy lasting for more than two decades, the 20th Tactical Fighter Wing was finally called back home.
Post-War Trauma
RAF Upper Heyford had played a significant strategic role as an American forward command position throughout the Cold War; but following the fall of the Soviet Union, its usefulness was suddenly diminished. The USAF presence at the base was phased out step by step.
The F-111 Aardvarks of the 20th TFW flew their last campaigns in 1993 – the Gulf War, and operations in Bosnia – before turning tail and leaving Upper Heyford altogether. The last four craft departed from the base toward the end of that year.
Aircraft 67-120 of the 55th Fighter Squadron, veteran of 19 Desert Storm missions, was flown to its current resting place at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford.
Aircraft 68-061 – ‘The Last Roll of Me Dice’ – was flown to the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center in Tucson, Arizona, while number 68-020 – ‘The Chief’ – flew to Hill Air Force Base, Utah.
The final departure was the flagship of the 55th Fighter Squadron, ‘Heartbreaker,’ which flew out of Upper Heyford for Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, on 7th December 1993.
One week later, the flight line at Upper Heyford was closed for good. By 1st January 1994 the 20th Fighter Wing had packed up and left, returning to Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. The base at Upper Heyford was placed under the temporary management of the 620th Air Base Wing as it was stripped and redacted, before eventually being returned to the Ministry of Defence in September that year. Since that point, the place has rather slumped into a process of slow deterioration.
The hospital was boarded up in 2001. Small businesses come and go: fireworks manufacturers stashing their wares inside the old bomb stores; brand new, unsold vehicles parked in a makeshift compound at one end of the runway. There are narrowboat builders working on the premises, and from 2012-13 some areas were leased out for airsoft matches.
As for preservation of the site, talks are still ongoing. English Heritage have expressed an interest to take the air base on – there are suggestions even of converting the command centre into a museum. It hasn’t happened yet, though. Proposals have been put forward, but each time this base has come in runner-up – losing out to other sites deemed more urgently in need of preservation.
For the time being at least, RAF Upper Heyford is caught in that difficult middle age – too old to be useful, too young to be considered truly historic.
Meanwhile, nature is creeping back into the base – which now provides a nesting ground for skylarks, peregrine falcons and other rare bird species. The residential suburbs, too, are slowly being repopulated… new building plans might have been rejected, but nevertheless a community seems to be growing back around this mismatched township of old red brick homes and modern, pre-fab supermarkets. Some parts of the base have been demolished. One officer’s mess has been converted into a school.
How the air base will look 20 years from now, is anybody’s guess. From my day-long tour of the site though – after wading through the rust and rot of a military machine put out to pasture – one thing at least seemed clear:
Upper Heyford’s fighting days are well and truly past.
A Final Note on Corrections
Usually on this site, I write about places that most of my readers haven’t been to. In this case though, I’m aware that the article is quite likely to be found and read by people who had a direct connection to RAF Upper Heyford.
I spent a long, long time researching the history of the base in order to write this. If you spotted a mistake though, do please let me know. My intention with this report is to offer something educational for those who don’t know the place… and to perhaps provide an update on the status of the base for those who knew it in the past.
So if you’ve got anything to share about Upper Heyford, feel free to have your say below – I’d love to hear from you.Windows 8 Unified Extensible Firmware Interface secure boot requirement doesn't portend the arrival of the Four Horsemen, but it does suggest they're logged onto Expedia and are planning the trip
When I was nine, I remember sitting in the back garden of my house when two of my friends popped around. Around me were various bits of timber, a torch and a sheet of Perspex. When they asked me what I was doing I told them, matter of factly, that I was making a photocopier.
The inspiration from the idea came from a lesson in school where we had been given some photographic paper and some leaves and shown how to expose the paper to create an inverse picture of one or more carefully arranged leaves. My nine-year-old brain surmised that this was exactly the right technology upon which to base a homemade photocopier. This was important as, at the time, I didn't have a photocopier readily available to me.
Ignoring the obvious question of "why does a nine-year-old boy want a photocopier", I'm presenting this story in the hope that some of you out there can reflect on similar experiences. For example, like me, you may also have tried to build a heads-up display for your first car (and failed), or tried to make a light-up nose for Red Nose Day (and failed), or tried to build an answering machine (and failed).
But I have over my time had far more luck tinkering with software, even during the period where I was failing to trouble Rank Xerox with my R&D skills. The point is this – geeks are born young, and this article looks at the needs of young geeks in the context of UEFI secure-boot and the commoditisation of personal computing.
So what is Unified Extensible Firmware Interface and secure boot?
UEFI is designed to replace the old-school BIOS subsystem that can be found in every computer. (The BIOS is used to prepare the ground for loading the full-on operating system that you might have installed on your computer – eg, Linux, Mac OS X, Windows or a mixture.)
UEFI is not a particularly new idea. Like everything in our industry, things change, evolve and improve and UEFI looks to fill in some gaps and make the pre-OS environment more flexible, maintainable and manageable. Why it's become relevant in the press recently is that Microsoft has stated that in order to get certification (ie, a logo) for any boxes shipped with Windows 8 pre-installed, a feature called "secure boot" has to be enabled.
Secure boot is designed to stop malware shoving itself into memory before the OS proper starts to load. If malware is able to insert itself in before the operating itself loads it can circumvent and avoid any malware countermeasures that happen to be installed in the machine. Malware that works in this way is particularly evil – you would have to be a specialist in your field to even find it.
Secure boot works on classic code signing principles. The Windows 8 boot loader will be signed, and burned into the UEFI chipset will come a list of valid public keys. If your boot loader is signed with a private key that matches one of the burned in keys, away you go. If not, you will be locked out. (The Build Day 1 keynote has a demonstration of this feature, one hour and nine minutes in.)
Because we know that the Windows boot loader has got in first, we know for certain that malware countermeasures can be properly loaded. A whole class of malware is then knocked off of the Windows 8 platform.
That sounds wonderful! Where's the beef?
The problem with this arrangement is that it ties a machine that once had Windows 8 on it in such a way that it can only run Windows 8, Windows 9, Windows 10 and so on. If you want to install Linux on it, or create a Hackintosh, or make up your own operating system with secure boot enabled, your boot will fail.
For reference, there's capability for extending this such that one could be prevented from installing Windows 8 Server onto a machine that was provided with a desktop-class version of Windows 8.
The operative phrase in all of this is "secure boot enabled". The obvious answer is "turn off secure boot". This would then mean that you could wipe the machine and install Linux or anything else that you fancied to install.
Two points for completeness:
Firstly, "why can't Linux be changed to include secure boot" is hugely complicated and beyond the scope of this argument. It's all to do with the fact that the private key implementation essentially requires a closed source, proprietary operating system like Windows and not an open OS like Linux. (There's a good write-up on ARS Technical.)
Secondly, there is an – what to me is a frankly thin – argument that the motherboard manufacturers won't include the switch to turn secure boot off in the UEFI settings. This just isn't the style of how these guys build motherboards – if you think about it, people who build motherboards are the geekiest of the geek, they love switches and there's no current commercial motivation for them to disable the switch.
Plus having a split where some motherboards have the switch and others don't would create a split and additional complexity in the supply chain. The motivation of the supply chain tends towards simplification.
Microsoft has been playing this issue down (notably in this blogpost), essentially saying it doesn't care if other people use secure boot or not – it just wants a better experience for their customers.
The Horsemen are coming!
Of course, they are not, but this is the sort of public spat that has the makings of a perfect storm in Geeksville – evil Microsoft trying to force motherboard makers into a decapitation attack against Linux. Not going to happen – as I suggest, Microsoft doesn't care about Linux. It even sent Linux a birthday card.
The Horsemen are, however, packing for the trip!
It's this whole thing, in combination with the iPad and Apple's resurgence into the personal computing market, that has me worried.
I bought my iPad shortly after they were first announced – during that period when no one really knew what they were going to be used for. I only bought it our of curiosity because it's my job to understand how things work.
When I started using it I realised the brilliance of it, but it's the only computing device I've ever owned that I've never tried to mess around with. I turned it on, I started to use it and I've never looked into it in any deeper sense.
But I have looked forward and I'm rooting for Android and Windows 8 to produce iPad clones – not because I think there's anything wrong with what the iPad does, but because of what it says about our industry.
I don't want to be in an industry where the only thing like an iPad is an iPad because – as we'll come onto – I have some problems with the way that Apple operates.
For my day-to-day work, I own and use a MacBook Pro. It is probably the only piece of computer hardware that I have ever owned that I am a little bit fearful of.
With a Windows machine, I always have a strong sense that I'm in the one in charge – than should shenanigans occur the thing will eventually bend to my Alpha Dog will. With my Mac, I've never been confident which side of the power battle I'm actually on. Likewise with my iPad – it's in charge of the job it does for me and I'm just going along for the ride.
The problem with Apple is that the machines they make are reductive, Fisher Price-style, "push button – receive pellet" computing. I bought my wife's iPad entirely on that basis.
I knew giving her an iPad to use was going to yield absolutely zero problems, whereas an Android tablet was going to result in constant stream of problems you get with non-Apple products.
You see, the genius of Apple is that it creates reductive, Fisher Price-style, "push button – receive pellet" computing and if you're not a hardcore geek hacker, this is exactly what you want. "Push button – receive email", "Push button – receive email", "Push button – it turns on because the battery life is so ridiculously good".
(As a sidenote, I've always found it somewhat strange that a decent sized contingent of Mac users are seriously talented hackers who eschew Windows because it's not open, but flock to OS X because it is and seem to be able to make peace with the fact that their supplier is anything but open.)
Apple's approach is reductive in the sense that it reduces complexity down to a common denominator, but its skill lies in making that denominator high enough to create an interesting piece of kit.
Look at an iPad's basic feature set and you'll find essentially nothing – there's not even a "clock" application. Go back to the turn of the century and you'll find the iPod. It was only a few years before that I remember to rip a CD involved one application to rip it to WAV format and another to transform it into MP3. That later conversion process used to run overnight.
With iPod and the iTunes Music Store, Apple reduced down complexity of that whole thing down to – guess what – "push buy button on iMS – receive delicious musical pellet". And thus the iPod was a success because it was technology that did not get in the way.
We've all been at the end of the phone trying to help a relative achieve what, to us, is a straightforward computing task. We need software to be simpler for them not just for us but so that they can be connected with the data that they need in shorter order and with less frustration.
Users need to interact with computers in a "push button – receive pellet" manner, but for us to do that we paradoxically need a computing environment and industry that provides for the total opposite to that, which in my head runs like: build factory to make pellet, handle ERP functions for pellet manufacturer, run global logistics network to deliver pellet, etc.
Why the UEFI Windows 8 Secure Boot thing has me worried is because actually, we've come pretty close to a decapitation attack on Linux where motherboard manufacturers either build mobos that can run Windows 8, or Apple commission custom-made kit to run OS X. It's only Microsoft's lack of interest that's kept Linux on the table. Go back a few years when Microsoft was still worried about Linux on the desktop and a little more arrogant and this story could have been pretty different.
Hacking around
It's commoditisation of the personal computing market that is driving us towards a place where the devices that are delivered to us are locked down and sealed. iOS is unbelievably locked down, but its success shows the industry that if you lock down the OS and curate the marketplace for delivering apps to it, your malware horror story count goes to zero and your customer satisfaction increases inversely.
Android, for example, has horror stories virtually every day – albeit few of them malicious. Microsoft and Apple are likely to tend towards the iOS "lock and curate" model for their desktop efforts as well.
Applying "lock and curate" universally and preventing new OSes from being invented is going to cause stagnation in innovation, while providing the important benefits of increasing end-user security.
I would imagine that all of you reading who know HTML learnt it by viewing the source of interesting pages. If today we want to learn how a Web 2.0 website's ajax calls are working we'll take a look at the traffic and see what's happening.
None of us is looking to do any harm, but we all learn by doing and the best way to learn in the field of software engineering is to examine, copy and repurpose. Now consider the structure of Metro apps on Windows 8 – familiar technology, and yes you can watch the network traffic, but you cannot readily take it apart as you can a regular HTML application.
We are tending towards less visibility of the underlying mechanisms of application construction. For the 12-year-old wannabe coder in his bedroom, this isn't good news. He's got a lot on his mind – this has to be pretty easy to keep him interested and get the momentum going.
No one that we look up to in the software engineering community was created and grown in a lab in academia and decanted into the world, fully formed and able to hack rings around us. All the people that we admire and respect for their programming chops all learnt because rather than being out with their friends driving their BMXs into trees at full pelt to see who could get the best scars they were poring over some output or tweaking some code. Really good coders start young.
Case in point – where would we be now if Linus Torvalds wasn't able to create his own operating system at the age of 22? Personally, if I come home from work one day and find that my children have formatted every machine in the house to make way for a home-grown supercomputing cluster – well, let's just say they'll find an extra 20p in their pocket money that week.
Conclusion
We as engineers need to be able to take things apart and, much like as a child I was forever taking things apart – although as a pretty talentless physical engineer "taking things apart" was euphemism for "disassemble before landfill".
As software engineers we need to be able to sniff packets, view source and disassemble code. If we can't do that, we can't learn. Importantly, if our kids aren't allowed to do that because commoditisation has created an environment that is too reductive, the next generation will be pretty crappy engineers.
• Matthew Baxter-Reynolds is an independent software development consultant, trainer and author based in the UK. His favourite way to communicate with like-minded technical people is Twitter: @mbrit.An Erie County sheriff's deputy assigned to the holding center has been charged with smuggling a controlled substance into the jail.
Investigators say Adam Fiegl, 32 of Orchard Park, was accepting bribes in return for providing suboxone to inmates.
"I think that everyone in the criminal justice profession and the closer you get to where the problem actually occurs feels a sense of betrayal and embarrassment," Erie County Sheriff Timothy Howard told 7 Eyewitness News.
Sheriffs say this man smuggled Suboxone to inmates for cash @WKBW pic.twitter.com/aYprjkw9eM — Desiree Wiley (@DesireeWiley) April 19, 2016
Fiegl appeared in Buffalo City Court Tuesday facing three felonies. Fiegl's attorney Thomas Eoannou said his client is a trustworthy individual who spent nearly 10 years in the military, served in Iraq and spent four year with the National Guard.
Fiegl after "substantial investigation" is charged with 3 felonies. He's a Deputy Sheriff @ Erie Co Hilding Center @WKBW — Desiree Wiley (@DesireeWiley) April 19, 2016
Suboxone is used to treat adults addicted to opioids.
A search of his property found a quantity of suboxone and $200 cash.
Fiegel is charged with introducing contraband into a prison, criminal possession of a controlled substance, and receiving a bribe.
Fiegl, who has been a sheriff's deputy since 2013, is suspended without pay.
He was being held at the Niagara County Jail in Lockport. He is now out after posting bail.ANALYSIS: A quick check of political attitudes indicates Parliament is unlikely to change the laws on recreational cannabis use any time soon.
This is despite a wave of international reports saying that trying to suppress the drug trade by force does not work.
Photo: 123RF
The argument was kicked off by the former presidents of five countries calling for a halt to the war on drugs.
They included the former leader of Mexico, a country which has been torn apart by drug gangs. The former leaders said suppressing the drug trade was handing big money over to organised crime.
Agreeing with them down the line were academics from America's Ivy League Johns Hopkins University and a British medical journal, the Lancet.
They said prohibition was doing nothing to actually stop drug taking.
But most government ministers in this country have shown no interest in adopting this line and liberalising the laws on cannabis.
Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
Justice Minister Amy Adams said there was very little support for any change when this was looked at last time, and it had not come up again recently.
Her National Party colleague, Health Minister Jonathan Coleman, was even more definite.
"I am not in favour of decriminalisation," Dr Coleman said.
"We have got too many drugs in society. Cannabis is very carcinogenic, I don't think it would be a great idea to have more people smoking more cannabis."
These comments follow statements indicating a more accommodating line from the minister most responsible for the health aspects of drug use, Peter Dunne.
He indicated some sympathy for treating cannabis more as a health problem than a criminal one, but he said to get any change he needed 61 votes in Parliament.
But it is not just the National Party that opposes him.
While the Greens are expected to favour decriminalisation, New Zealand First is adamant it wants to uphold what it calls this country's social fabric and traditional family values - and says any change on cannabis laws would have to be approved by a referendum.
Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
Labour Party health spokeswoman Annette King said the non-medical use of marijuana was not even being looked at by her party.
"Actively being dealt with right now is the issue of medicinal marijuana, but the issues that Peter raised in terms of [cannabis] decriminalisation, there is no direct work being done on them at the moment," she said.
None of this impresses the New Zealand Drug Foundation, which argues the law at present is counter productive.
Executive director Ross Bell was scathing about what he saw as politicians refusing to learn from experience overseas.
"Politicians are acting like the proverbial ostrich with their head buried in the sand," he said.
"I think it is irresponsible for politicians to either ignore this issue or maintain a we-are-going-to-be-tough-on-drugs approach."
Mr Bell said there was plenty of evidence globally that New Zealand could be learning from, and pretending the status quo was tenable was an irresponsible position for politicians to take.25 blockbuster games Uncharted 4 outsold in a week
Chris Stead 27 May 2016 NEWS
The latest Uncharted game has been a huge win for Sony and the PlayStation 4, and it’s outpacing some big competition.
In my opinion, the Uncharted series provided the best experiences on offer in the last generation of gaming. Uncharted 2, in particular, I felt was the perfect example of everything that era in video games was trying to achieve – a seamless blend of Hollywood storytelling and intuitive gameplay where the spectacle and the detail was beyond peer.
Clearly I wasn’t alone – the arrival of the fourth and final game in the series on PlayStation 4 has been a huge success – read our review - with Sony reporting that it sold 2.7 million units in its first week alone.
But just how good is 2.7 million in a week? To put that number into context, we thought we’d take a look at the big name games on the PlayStation 4 that have been unable to reach that number over their entire lifetimes. It quickly puts into scale how important Uncharted as a brand has become for Sony. Please note: for multi-format games, we have focused solely on their sales on PS4 to create a like-for-like comparison.
If you are yet to pick up Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, check out our Australian price comparison.From the Tuesday edition of the Morning Jolt:
President Obama turned in a strikingly tone-deaf performance at Monday’s pep rally for Obamacare, even by his standards. The White House spin preceding the event promised a little bit of mea culpa, maybe even a flash of anger at the folks who had primary responsibility |
jostling for position.AUGUSTA — State House leaders Thursday approved introducing competing bills that address ranked-choice voting – one would repeal the first-in-the-nation voting law and the other would put a ballot question to voters on whether to change the state’s constitution to make it legal statewide.
Members of the Legislative Council, which includes majority and minority leaders in both chambers as well as the Senate president and the speaker of the House, approved the bills in 9-0 votes. They now will move to public hearings and work sessions before the full Legislature votes on them.
The bills come just two days after the Maine Supreme Judicial Court issued an advisory opinion that found parts of the new law dealing with electing state officials – including the governor and legislators – violate the state Constitution. This could result in legal challenges to election results if a ranked-choice system is used.
Sen. Cathy Breen, D-Falmouth, sponsor of the bill seeking a constitutional amendment, said she was disappointed that there would be a competing bill to undo the law and that fighting it would be difficult.
Amending the state constitution requires approval by two-thirds of the Legislature before it could go to voters; the repeal bill requires only a simple majority vote by legislators.
Gov. Paul LePage and most Republican lawmakers have argued that the law is unconstitutional. LePage has said he doesn’t necessarily oppose ranked-choice voting, but that it would require a constitutional amendment to enact it.
Senate Minority Leader Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, said he voted to introduce the repeal bill only so the Legislature could discuss it.
“I’m voting to let this bill in while I will be vehemently against it,” Jackson said.
Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason, R-Lisbon, supports the repeal because he believes lawmakers have a responsibility to uphold the state constitution.
“The court was decisively clear in their opinion,” Mason said. “I view this matter clearly as, ‘Are you going to uphold the constitution or are you not?’ “
He went on to say that ranked-choice voting law was “unAmerican.”
“This is electioneering in its finest form,” Mason said. “What’s next? Democrats aren’t happy that Paul LePage won an election two times so they got ranked-choice voting on the ballot.”
The ranked-choice system fundamentally changes the way voters would select legislators, the governor and Maine’s four members of Congress. Voters would rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate had more than 50 percent of votes, the candidate with the fewest votes would be eliminated. Voters who chose the eliminated candidate would have their ballots added to the totals of their second-ranked candidate, and the ballots would be retabulated. The process would continue until one candidate had a clear majority and was declared the winner.
But Maine’s Constitution calls for candidates to be selected by plurality – the candidate with the most votes wins, even if the vote total is less than 50 percent.
“The Act (the ranked-choice system), in contrast, would not declare the plurality candidate the winner of the election, but would require continued tabulation until a majority is achieved or all votes are exhausted,” the court wrote. “Accordingly, the Act is not simply another method of carrying out the constitution’s requirement of a plurality. In essence, the Act is inapplicable if there are only two candidates, and it is in direct conflict with the constitution if there are more than two candidates.”
In the last 51 years only one of Maine’s governors, Democrat Kenneth Curtis, was elected to office his first time with more than 50 percent of the vote statewide. In 2010, LePage won election in a five-way race with 38 percent of the vote, while his predecessor Democrat John Baldacci won his first term with 47 percent of the vote.
Supporters of the switch said the state’s high court did not make any finding on congressional races or statewide primary races, and that Maine could have a dual election system in which state candidates are selected under the current setup, while the three party primaries and four congressional candidates are decided by ranked-choice voting. The Republicans, Democrats and Green Independents are Maine’s three official political parties.
Kyle Bailey, a spokesman for the Ranked Choice Voting Committee, criticized the decision to move forward with a bill that could possibly repeal the law.
“Voters approved this referendum by the second largest vote for a ballot question in Maine history,” Bailey said. “Questions have been raised about constitutionality, but there are no questions in using ranked-choice voting in seven out of 10 elections which the people approved. Now the Legislature needs to act to have ranked-choice voting in place to implement the will of the people for the 2018 election, period.”
Mason said Republicans won’t agree to a dual election system for Maine. “Do you really want to have two different ballots on Election Day?” he asked. “That’s insane.”
Lawmakers have less than four weeks to settle the issue before the Legislature’s June 21 adjournment date. Public hearings on the two bills have not yet been scheduled.
Scott Thistle can be contacted at 791-6330 or at:
[email protected]
Twitter: thisdog
Share
filed under: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.) says State Department officials have been instructed not to discuss President Trump’s temporary travel ban on seven Muslim-majority nations with Congress.
“I don’t know the reason,” he told reporters Monday. "Maybe perhaps they’re still kind of working through how this is going to apply.”
“That cannot be a permanent position,” Rubio added, noting State Department officials revealed the order to his staff. "We expect answers here fairly soon because we have constituents calling.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Rubio unsuccessfully competed against Trump in last year’s GOP presidential primary before ultimately endorsing the billionaire before Election Day.
Trump signed an executive order last Friday imposing a 90-day halt on visitors from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The measure also froze all general refugee admissions into the U.S. for 120 days, adding an indefinite pause on Syrian refugees on account of Syria’s ongoing civil war.
Trump’s decision has since sparked global debate, with Democrats and human rights groups calling it unconstitutional and unfairly biased against Muslims.
The president rejected those criticisms Sunday, however, arguing his action is crucial for helping protect national security.
“To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting,” he said in a statement. "This is not about religion – this is about terror and keeping our country safe.”
Reports emerged earlier Monday a group of State Department diplomats, meanwhile, is weighing publicly criticizing Trump’s order with a “dissent” memo.
“This ban…will not achieve its stated aim to protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals admitted to the United States,” the draft says. "This ban will little practical effect in improving public safety…[and] calls back to some of the worst times in our history."
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said later that day dissatisfied State officials “should either get with the program or they can go."Black patients are about half as likely to be prescribed opioid medicines in the emergency department than white patients, according to a new study.
The findings, published on Monday in Plos One, are the latest to show that minorities are treated differently when it comes to pain management.
“A black patient with the same level of pain and everything else being accounted for was much less likely to receive an opioid prescription than a white patient with the same characteristics,” said study co-author Astha Singhal, an assistant professor at Boston University’s dental medicine school.
To determine whether there was a racial bias in pain medication prescriptions, the researchers looked at more than 60m records of pain-related emergency department visits from 2007 to 2011 for people aged 18 to 65.
Five conditions were examined and divided into two categories: definitive and non-definitive. The first referred to conditions that were easily diagnosed – kidney stones and long-bone fractures – and the second to conditions that are not: toothache, abdominal pain and back pain.
Black patients had about half the odds of being prescribed opioids compared to white patients for non-definitive conditions, according to the study, which Singhal co-authored with Renee Hsia of UC San Francisco and Yu-Yu Tien from the University of Iowa.
The findings may also point to a contributing factor to the opioid addiction crisis that claims 78 lives in the US a day and has primarily affected the white population, particularly people in rural areas and the north-east. “We think this type of differential prescribing could be contributing to it [the crisis],” said Singhal.
The study found no race-based differences for definitive conditions or toothaches, which Singhal said could be because emergency room doctors may be quicker to treat these conditions with medication because they are not dental experts.
“This study unfortunately tells us what we already know – black patients are improperly treated for pain and that is mostly because of their skin color,” said Keisha Ray, a postdoctoral fellow with the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
She said the fundamental problem is that black patients are treated as an “other”.
This has been suggested for decades, but was starkly depicted in an April study about how disparities in pain management may be attributable to bias from medical providers who believe things such as that black people age more slowly than white people, and that black people’s blood coagulates more quickly than white peoples.
“Black patients are not afforded the luxury of being seen in EDs, physician offices, and clinics as just patients in need of help and healing,” Ray said. “Rather they are seen as less than human, drug seekers and overall exaggerators.”
Ray and others said that because some clinicians assume black people are more likely to be addicts, they are less likely to receive pain medication.
Christopher Ervin, an advisor to the Black Women’s Health Imperative advocacy group, said there is a history of assuming black people are more likely to be addicts, so even if they receive adequate pain treatment in the emergency room, they may not receive a prescription for it once they are discharged.
Ervin said these study findings also show how differences in race can amplify the power discordance that exists between a patient and doctor.
For instance, a clinician may not recognize someone’s pain because of cultural differences in describing pain. “Many cultures may not be as demonstrative or vocal or assertive about pain and say: ‘Hey, I am hurting,’ particularly when, women in color in general, being vocal is not always to your benefit,” Ervin said.
And the dearth of black physicians exacerbates the situation. Only 4% of physicians are black, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, and that number is not expected to improve: the association also found that in 2014 fewer black men were in medical school than in 1978.
Ervin and the study authors said their findings show the benefits of incorporating sensitivity in medical training to show providers their inherent biases.
“If you don’t have that culture of diversity in your training and in your development, when will you get it?” Ervin said. “Until someone sues you.”The workforce of the Environmental Protection Agency could soon shrink to the lowest level since Ronald Reagan occupied the White House — part of a push to curtail the size and scope of an agency that President Trump once promised to eliminate “in almost every form.”
The EPA employs about 14,880 people, but administration officials made clear this spring that they intended to reduce those numbers in several ways. The agency also has been under a hiring freeze. And in June, the EPA said it planned to offer buyouts and early retirement packages to more than 1,200 people by early September.
Last week, 362 employees accepted a voluntary buyout, according to one agency official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the figures have not been publicly announced. On Aug. 31, a dozen employees retired. Another 33 employees are retiring at the end of September, and 45 additional employees are considering retirement offers.
If all those individuals depart, EPA staffing levels would drop to 14,428. The last time the agency’s workforce fell so low was in the final year of the Reagan administration.
“We’re giving long-serving, hard-working employees the opportunity to retire early,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a statement. “We’re reducing the size of government, protecting taxpayer dollars and staying true to our core mission of protecting the environment and American jobs.”
Nearly 25 percent of EPA employees are eligible to retire with full benefits. Another 25 percent could retire in the next five years.
The EPA has been a main target of the Trump administration. The president’s proposed budget would slash the agency’s funding by 31 percent, cutting about 3,200 workers, obliterating funding for climate change research and Superfund cleanups and scrapping more than 50 programs. Among those are efforts aimed at improving energy efficiency, funds for infrastructure projects in Native American communities and cleanup plans for the Great Lakes.
During his second term in office, President Barack Obama initiated a round of buyouts at the agency, paying more than $11 million to 436 employees to voluntarily leave their jobs. But John O’Grady, a career EPA employee who heads a national council of EPA unions, said this spring that if the Trump administration tries to get rid of thousands of employees, as it has proposed, it would amount to “the utter destruction of the U.S. EPA.”
“If the administration were interested in realigning the U.S. EPA, it would first conduct a thorough workforce and workload analysis,” O’Grady said when word of the looming buyouts came this spring. “However, they will not do this because it would tell them that the agency is woefully underfunded and understaffed today. Any further cuts will absolutely cripple the agency.”
Read more:
EPA head defends White House’s plan for massive cuts to his agency
At EPA museum, history might be in for a change
Scott Pruitt vows to speed up the nation’s Superfund cleanups. Communities wonder how.Imagine that you are looking at the blueprints of a building. This document, prepared by an architect, tells you the plans for the building. What do these plans tell you?
If the plans you are looking at are for a single family residence, then you’ll likely see a front entrance, a foyer leading to a living room and perhaps a dining room. There’ll likely be a kitchen a short distance away, close to the dining room. Perhaps a dinette area next to the kitchen, and probably a family room close to that. As you looked at those plans, there’d be no question that you were looking at a house. The architecture would scream: house.
Or if you were looking at the architecture of a library, you’d likely see a grand entrance, an area for check-in-out clerks, reading areas, small conference rooms, and gallery after gallery capable of holding bookshelves for all the books in the library. That architecture would scream: Library.
So what does the architecture of your application scream? When you look at the top level directory structure, and the source files in the highest level package; do they scream: Health Care System, or Accounting System, or Inventory Management System? Or do they scream: Rails, or Spring/Hibernate, or ASP?
The Theme of an Architecture
Go back and read Ivar Jacobson’s seminal work on software architecture: Object Oriented Software Engineering. Notice the subtitle of the book: A use case driven approach. In this book Ivar makes the point that software architectures are structures that support the use cases of the system. Just as the plans for a house or a library scream about the use cases of those buildings, so should the architecture of a software application scream about the use cases of the application.
Architectures are not (or should not) be about frameworks. Architectures should not be supplied by frameworks. Frameworks are tools to be used, not architectures to be conformed to. If your architecture is based on frameworks, then it cannot be based on your use cases.
The Purpose of an Architecture
The reason that good architectures are centered around use-cases is so that architects can safely describe the structures that support those use-cases without committing to frameworks, tools, and environment. Again, consider the plans for a house. The first concern of the architect is to make sure that the house is usable, it is not to ensure that the house is made of bricks. Indeed, the architect takes pains to ensure that the homeowner can decide about bricks, stone, or cedar later, after the plans ensure that the use cases are met.
A good software architecture allows decisions about frameworks, databases, web-servers, and other environmental issues and tools, to be deferred and delayed. A good architecture makes it unnecessary to decide on Rails, or Spring, or Hibernate, or Tomcat or MySql, until much later in the project. A good architecture makes it easy to change your mind about those decisions too. A good architecture emphasizes the use-cases and decouples them from peripheral concerns.
But what about the Web?
Is the web an architecture? Does the fact that your system is delivered on the web dictate the architecture of your system? Of course not! The Web is a delivery mechanism, and your application architecture should treat it as such. The fact that your application is delivered over the web is a detail and should not dominate your system structure. Indeed, the fact that your application is delivered over the web is something you should defer. Your system architecture should be as ignorant as possible about how it is to be delivered. You should be able to deliver it as a console app, or a web app, or a thick client app, or even a web service app, without undue complication or change to the fundamental architecture.
Frameworks can be very powerful and very useful. Framework authors often believe in their frameworks. The examples they write for how to use their frameworks are told from the point of view of a true believer. Other authors who write about the framework also tend to be disciples of the true belief. They show you the way to use the framework. Often it is an all-encompassing, all-pervading, let-the-framework-do-everything position. This is not the position you want to take.
Look at each framework with a jaded eye. View it skeptically. Yes, it might help, but at what cost. How should I use it, and how should I protect myself from it. How can I preserve the use-case emphasis of my architecture? How can I prevent the framework from taking over that architecture.
Testable Architectures.
If you system architecture is all about the use cases, and if you have kept your frameworks at arms-length. Then you should be able to unit-test all those use cases without any of the frameworks in place. You shouldn’t need the web server running in order to run your tests. You shouldn’t need the database connected in order to run your tests. Your business objects should be plain old objects that have no dependencies on frameworks or databases or other complications. Your use case objects should coordinate your business objects. And all of them together should be testable in-situ, without any of the complications of frameworks.
Conclusion
Your architectures should tell readers about the system, not about the frameworks you used in your system. If you are building a health-care system, then when new programmers look at the source repository, their first impression should be: “Oh, this is a heath-care system”. Those new programmers should be able to learn all the use cases of the system, and still not know how the system is delivered. They may come to you and say: “We see some things that look sorta like models, but where are the views and controllers”, and you should say: “Oh, those are details that needn’t concern you at the moment, we’ll show them to you later.”
For more on this topic, see Episode VII - Architecture, Use-cases, and High Level Design, at cleancoders.com.Universities establish joint centre to use data for social good in Cascadia region
University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce, Microsoft President Brad Smith, and University of British Columbia President Santa J. Ono at the Emerging Cascadia Innovation Corridor Conference in Vancouver, B.C., September 20, 2016.
In an expansion of regional cooperation, the University of British Columbia and the University of Washington today announced the establishment of the Cascadia Urban Analytics Cooperative to use data to help cities and communities address challenges from traffic to homelessness. The largest industry-funded research partnership between UBC and the UW, the collaborative will bring faculty, students and community stakeholders together to solve problems, and is made possible thanks to a $1-million gift from Microsoft.
“Thanks to this generous gift from Microsoft, our two universities are poised to help transform the Cascadia region into a technological hub comparable to Silicon Valley and Boston,” said Professor Santa J. Ono, President of the University of British Columbia. “This new partnership transcends borders and strives to unleash our collective brain power, to bring about economic growth that enriches the lives of Canadians and Americans as well as urban communities throughout the world.”
“We have an unprecedented opportunity to use data to help our communities make decisions, and as a result improve people’s lives and well-being. That commitment to the public good is at the core of the mission of our two universities, and we’re grateful to Microsoft for making a community-minded contribution that will spark a range of collaborations,” said UW President Ana Mari Cauce.
Today’s announcement follows last September’s Emerging Cascadia Innovation Corridor Conference in Vancouver, B.C. The forum brought together regional leaders for the first time to identify concrete opportunities for partnerships in education, transportation, university research, human capital and other areas.
A Boston Consulting Group study unveiled at the conference showed the region between Seattle and Vancouver has “high potential to cultivate an innovation corridor” that competes on an international scale, but only if regional leaders work together. The study says that could be possible through sustained collaboration aided by an educated and skilled workforce, a vibrant network of research universities and a dynamic policy environment.
Microsoft President Brad Smith, who helped convene the conference, said, “We believe that joint research based on data science can help unlock new solutions for some of the most pressing issues in both Vancouver and Seattle. But our goal is bigger than this one-time gift. We hope this investment will serve as a catalyst for broader and more sustainable efforts between these two institutions.”
As part of the Emerging Cascadia conference, British Columbia Premier Christy Clark and Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a formal agreement that committed the two governments to work closely together to “enhance meaningful and results-driven innovation and collaboration.” The agreement outlined steps the two governments will take to collaborate in several key areas including research and education.
“Increasingly, tech is not just another standalone sector of the economy, but fully integrated into everything from transportation to social work,” said Premier Clark. “That’s why we’ve invested in B.C.’s thriving tech sector, but committed to working with our neighbours in Washington – and we’re already seeing the results.”
“This data-driven collaboration among some of our smartest and most creative thought-leaders will help us tackle a host of urgent issues,” Gov. Inslee said. “I’m encouraged to see our partnership with British Columbia spurring such interesting cross-border dialogue and excited to see what our students and researchers come up with.”
The Cascadia Urban Analytics Cooperative will revolve around four main programs:
The Cascadia Data Science for Social Good (DSSG) Summer Program, which builds on the success of the DSSG program at the UW eScience Institute. The cooperative will coordinate a joint summer program for students across UW and UBC campuses where they work with faculty to create and incubate data-intensive research projects that have concrete benefits for urban communities. One past DSSG project analyzed data from Seattle’s regional transportation system – ORCA – to improve its effectiveness, particularly for low-income transit riders. Another project sought to improve food safety by text mining product reviews to identify unsafe products.
Cascadia Data Science for Social Good Scholar Symposium, which will foster innovation and collaboration by bringing together scholars from UBC and the UW involved in projects utilizing technology to advance the social good. The first symposium will be hosted at UW in 2017.
Sustained Research Partnerships designed to establish the Pacific Northwest as a centre of expertise and activity in urban analytics. The cooperative will support sustained research partnerships between UW and UBC researchers, providing technical expertise, stakeholder engagement and seed funding.
Responsible Data Management Systems and Services to ensure data integrity, security and usability. The cooperative will develop new software, systems and services to facilitate data management and analysis, as well as ensure projects adhere to best practices in fairness, accountability and transparency.
At UW, the Cascadia Urban Analytics Collaborative will be overseen by Urbanalytics (urbanalytics.uw.edu), a new research unit in the Information School focused on responsible urban data science. The Collaborative builds on previous investments in data-intensive science through the UW eScience Institute (escience.washington.edu) and investments in urban scholarship through Urban@UW (urban.uw.edu), and also aligns with the UW’s Population Health Initiative (uw.edu/populationhealth) that is addressing the most persistent and emerging challenges in human health, environmental resiliency and social and economic equity. The gift counts toward the UW’s Be Boundless – For Washington, For the World campaign (uw.edu/boundless).
The Collaborative also aligns with the UBC Sustainability Initiative (sustain.ubc.ca) that fosters partnerships beyond traditional boundaries of disciplines, sectors and geographies to address critical issues of our time, as well as the UBC Data Science Institute (dsi.ubc.ca), which aims to advance data science research to address complex problems across domains, including health, science and arts.It Has Been Two Years Since PS4 Exclusive Deep Down Received the Last Official Update From Capcom
Giuseppe Nelva January 2, 2017 4:04:55 AM EST
What’s your favorite Christmas memory of 2014? One of mine was finding under the Christmas three an update from Capcom with the latest batch of screenshots of its upcoming RPG Deep Down.
Unfortunately, it was also the last, at least until now. Since then, the official website of the game has been completely silent, and no more trailers or screenshots were posted. The only further appearance of the game was a brief glimpse on footage in a recruitment video that wasn’t specifically dedicated to Deep Down.
While afterwards Producer Yoshinori Ono mentioned in passing during an interview that the project wasn’t dead, and that the game would come back with an expanded and different vision, the silence has been deafening for the many (me included) that were captivated by the game’s explosive presentation as part of the same event that introduced the PS4 to the world, and by the following reveals, including a very enjoyable playable outing at Tokyo Game Show 2013.
Deep Down certainly had a lot of promise, but at the moment we know nothing of its fate. Capcom has been stubbornly silent about it, besides continuing to requests extensions to the trademark via the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The last one was requested and granted in August, and when I say “last,” I mean it, as no more chances are available. The trademark will inevitably expire on February 9th.
This is, I guess, a good chance to see if the game is still alive. Capcom has the option to request an entirely new registration once the current one is automatically abandoned, but will they? Only future will tell.
Is the game really still alive? I don’t know, but I’m keeping my hopes alive.
If you want a trip on the memory lane, you can check out the screenshots and trailers that Capcom released so far, and join me in hoping that one day the odyssey of Deep Down might still have a happy ending.Once again we see Western aggression leaving nothing but death, destruction and broken states in its wake. There is the old saying that we all are supposed to learn from our mistakes in life, but that is a dead cliché now. We do just the opposite by repeating them over and over. How stupid is that?
The Kiev Coup-meisterings are staggering around like a Spanish bull at the end of a Sunday fight, tired and bleeding. They seem to have no strategy other than lie after lie, their favorite being “The Russians are invading!!” If the military high command had the brains and the guts, they would do a counter-coup, crush the Right-Sector and the Oligarchs, and save what is left of the country. How do I know they don’t have the guts? If they did, they would have done it already.
The West has pulled out all the stops to hide what is happening. Corporate media has gone propaganda all way in this fiasco. Kiev’s under-reporting of its killed and wounded has set a world record. Palace guard troops seem to be outfitted well and can fight accordingly. The regular units have Soviet-trained officers.
The Right Sector battalions seem to prefer fighting unarmed civilians, and of course shelling them. When they are attacked, they give ground while retreating to the nearest regular army unit for support. The National Guard units seem to be on the end of the supply chain and with corresponding morale to show for it. I watched one video of a soldier demonstrating how to dress, roast and eat a snake. But frankly, I prefer the old fashioned lunch box.
For the units that were sent off on flanking movements with no support, they found themselves getting supplied with excuses instead of the needed combat maneuver supplies. The New Republic forces have used the expected tactics of attacking supply columns to resupply themselves, while wearing down the flanking Kiev forces with harassing attacks and mobile warfare.
Most of the Ukie formations that have surrendered were doing so when basically out of anyone to fight with, or when needing medical care for their wounded. They realized they were being used as sacrificial lambs to draw defense troops away from the major cities to make them easier for the main Kiev units to take.
The battle tactics changed when the Donetsk command structure was revamped. It seems all the captured Ukie equipment was being refurbished, and new units trained in larger formation tactics needed to sustain counterattacks which the smaller units could not. The effects have been devastating, with Kiev units that could not withdraw being surrounded, hopefully into submission.
Kiev’s casualties have been high, and the stories we have about the Ukrainian army field care are just horrible — like amputations without anesthetic, and wounded soldiers being exploited to pay for supplies and care. Those fortunate enough to have families that could come to get them have brought the stories of corruption and incompetency back to the rear areas. The result was the big protests we saw in Kiev this week. We even have reports of masses of women lying down in the streets to block convoys.
In the middle of all of this, Poroshenko invented a new democracy tactic, dismissing Parliament to eliminate his opposition. This also killed any official calls for investigations into the ongoing strategy debacle. Entire brigades have started to desert now, with the Palace Guard special forces (who have not been fighting) being sent out to try to round them up. That is a precursor to a real civil war, if those units can get to a supply base.
The Malaysian MH17 time bomb awaits its day of reckoning. Russia’s UN ambassador Mr. Churkin has been taunting Kiev about when do they think they will be able to find and turn over the air traffic control tapes of that day. Kiev and some helpers are at the top of the suspect list as the murderers. The US joined them as an accessory after the fact by withholding its own satellite images and communications intercepts, which everyone knows we have.
The Netherlands and Malaysia have also done a great disservice to their people through their meek response on the non-cooperation of both the US and Ukraine in the investigation. You can add in the aviation organizations who filed some paperwork requests and then bowed out of the controversy, as they suspect the murders are going to be a big scandal.
During the entire slaughter of the civilians in the New Republics, not a word of reproach was heard from the US or EU to reign Kiev in… eternal shame on them. When Kiev troops found the self-defense forces more of a match than they expected, they pulled back to shell and punish the civilian areas in return — the tactics of cowards.
The EU only began to finally show some flexibility, not through any real moral concern of the innocent being killed for their poor leadership, but solely due to the blow-back in Europe from the food sanctions. The business community is on the war path, and new concern has been shown for getting the energy Gordian Knot addressed before winter comes.
But the catch there is that Kiev has no intention of paying, as it will be broke when it shells out the $1.5 billion to get the gas pipelines flowing. Gazprom has been working feverishly to increase supply capacity to Europe around Ukraine, which once done, might be a permanent cut off for Ukraine and maybe Poland for their sending fighting units to East Ukraine. And the Poles holding up the Russian Defense Minister’s plane going through their airspace on Friday was beyond stupid. You just can’t make this stuff up!
Kiev is walking the tightrope now. With their economy destroyed, they are hemorrhaging what money is left. They have not provoked the Soviet invasion that the US really wanted, in order to crank up the sanctions wars. And the EU people have now figured out that they were duped by the US — something their leaders should all resign for, because it was an astounding betrayal of their own people. This scenario reminds me of how Israel has subverted the United States through our Congress.
Poroshenko needs both massive Western military intervention and the billions that would come with that. The US would need a “crisis” to pull that off, despite Obama saying that the US has no military option in Ukraine. But desperation can trigger wild gambles.
Russia removed one option on Friday. If a Western “emergency” intervention was in the cards to save the surrounded Kiev troops from slaughter, Putin pulled the rug out from under that. He called for safe passage to Russia for the surrendering Ukraine troops so they could return home to their families. You can just image the effect that will have on the hate-Russia campaign in Kiev if that comes to pass.
On Thursday, I did my first Russia Today TV show on Peter Lavelle’s CrossTalk, where Ukraine and its economy was the main topic. I reviewed how Putin had put out the numbers this week that if Ukraine completed the EU free trade association agreement, it can kiss goodbye to all the Russian subsidies. Over ten years they are estimated at $200 billion total.
But there is a catch. Ukraine will not have $20 billion a year from its budget to lose. There is only one source to soak up the red ink, the Western taxpayers, and they sense the handcuffs being prepared for them already. We could see some major destabilization of Europe before this is all over.
But, as Victoria Nuland uttered the famous last words “F—k the EU”, that also might boomerang around. Ukraine is the EU Tar Baby big time now, and as winter comes near, the situation will be much worse. The Donetsk Forces are clearing the coastal area from the Russian border to Crimea. Mariupol is under siege now, with the oligarchs and big wigs having left the town to some sacrificial troops to hopefully get a massacre out of.
With that port open, fuel supplies will be assured for Donetsk and Lughansk for the winter, with the Russian navy covering their backs to the sea. If Kiev thinks it is going to play hardball, wait until it hears Old Man Winter laughing.
And if Obama somehow gets the EU to go along with new sanctions, purely for spite and cover for the their Ukraine mess, the EU auto workers and suppliers will be taking that counter sanction hit this winter. If that happens, we could see an interesting European Spring.
Jim W. Dean, managing editor for Veterans Today, producer/host of Heritage TV Atlanta, specially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.UPDATE: NY TIMES PREDICTION: TRUMP ‘VERY LIKELY’ TO WIN PRESIDENCY, SURGES TO 95% CHANCE
The New York Times presidential predictor page is showing Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump with a 95 percent chance of winning the presidency as of 10:00 p.m. CST., moving Trump to the position of “Very Likely” to win.
The Times program constantly updates its predictions. The screen grab below was taken when Trump was at 55 percent. Trump is forecast to win a little over the 270 electoral college votes needed to win the presidency.
Trump’s chance to win started increasing shortly after 8 p.m. CST. Trump crossed the 50 percent threshold before 8:30. moving up to 59 percent around 8:45 and 64 percent at 9 p.m. As of 9:18 p.m. Trump was surging to 80 percent. Trump’s momentum continued to tick upward through 9:30 p.m. to 87 percent., crossing over 90 percent around 9:40 p.m. and hitting 95 percent at 10:00 p.m.
A while ago on the Fox News Channel, Chris Wallace said that for the first time he was thinking Trump could be the next president of the United States.
CNN’s Jake Tapper mused on air recently that perhaps the pollsters missed a Trump surge with their modeling of voter patterns.5 years ago
(CNN) - The Republican National Committee has apparently embraced a new slogan.
"I'll be damned, I'm a Republican."
The party committee is selling t-shirts boasting the phrase, which originated from Gov. Susana Martinez's personal story of how she realized she was a Republican.
Follow @politicalticker Follow @KilloughCNN
The New Mexico governor, who's running for re-election this year, has frequently shared her story of transitioning from a Democrat to the GOP.
Perhaps most memorably, she recalled the moment during her speech at the 2012 Republican National Convention. She said she and her husband had lunch with some Republican friends and was surprised to find that they agreed on so many things.
"We talked about many issues, like welfare, is it the way of life or hand up? Talked about size of government, how much should it tax families and small businesses? And when we left that lunch, we got in the car and I looked over at Chuck and said, `I'll be damned. We're Republicans.'"
She repeated her story in an email blast Friday from the RNC, saying her team created the t-shirt and added "I want you to be the first to get one."
The shirt can be purchased with a donation of $29 or more to the RNC.
As the nation's first Hispanic woman elected governor and as the chief executive of a blue state, Martinez has been mentioned as a potential presidential contender. She's listed on the RNC's straw poll website of possible candidates.
The shirt also comes weeks after Martinez took some heat over her straight-talking language. Mother Jones published previously unreleased audio recordings of the governor and her aides using coarse language while talking about her political opponents.
Martinez reportedly admitted she's used some four letter words in her |
has suffered from underinvestment for decades, but it has contributed to the budget problems.
[Metro sank into crisis despite decades of warnings]
Webster also said Metro expected available cash would be low in March, as the agency awaits its quarterly subsidies from the District, Maryland and Virginia at the start of the next quarter in April.
In addition to a $290 million budget shortfall for the fiscal year that begins July 1, Metro faces a $125 million revenue gap for the current fiscal year, partly driven by ridership losses due to the year-long SafeTrack program.
At Thursday’s board meeting, member Michael Goldman said the agency had no way of predicting the extent of the shortfall, because the budget was approved before SafeTrack was conceived. Metro says it has lost $50 million in revenue due to the program, $10 million more than anticipated.
That drew a strong response from Evans.
“We cannot continue to put out excuses that make no sense,” Evans said. “This system is not failing because we are losing riders. This system is failing because from the beginning it never had enough money to be run properly.”
Ridership is down about 100,000 daily trips from 2009 peaks, driven by the system’s chronic reliability problems and other factors, such as increased competition and lower fuel prices driving more people back to their cars.
Evans said he has been warning of Metro’s long-term financial distress for the entirety of his tenure, to the point that regional leaders stopped believing him. But he noted that Wiedefeld’s views have more influence, and the general manager has recently started referring to the need for a regional solution to the agency’s problems.
“This structural financial issue is getting to a point where we just can’t get much further” with internal cost-cutting, Wiedefeld told the board Thursday. “[We] just do not have many more things I can turn to.”
Although Wiedefeld has stopped short of explicitly calling for a new tax or dedicated funding, Evans says the general manager’s new tone is significant.
Turning to Wiedefeld, Evans said, “When you say we are in trouble, people listen.”
Later, Evans said in an interview: “When we enter fiscal 2019, the general manager is saying that we are at the cliff and he has used all the tools in his box. Without substantial additional money from the jurisdictions, Metro will not be able to operate.”
Through the first half of the current fiscal year, Metro has saved $59 million through aggressive cost-cutting measures that Wiedefeld said are not sustainable over the long term. The agency eliminated 500 positions and plans to freeze hiring and spending in non-safety-critical areas, in addition to tapping $17 million in operating surpluses from prior years.
The agency says it plans to make up $29 million of the budget gap by selling off real estate assets and to save $15 million to $20 million by freezing hiring and spending in non-safety-critical areas.
Lori Aratani contributed to this reportThe Chicago Blackhawks have reached eight-year deals with star forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, the team announced Wednesday.
Each contract is worth a total of $84 million, sources said.
Editor's Picks Greenberg: Money well spent on Toews, Kane Star duo's worth to once moribund Blackhawks franchise well beyond $21 million a year, writes Jon Greenberg.
Powers: Hawks positioned well By locking up their dynamic duo of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane for eight years, the Blackhawks are positioned well for sustained success, Scott Powers writes.
Toews, Kane deals: $84 million reaction 2 Related
Both deals are front-loaded and each includes $44 million in signing bonuses, a source told ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun.
Kane and Toews previously agreed to matching five-year, $31.5 million extensions in 2009 that were set to expire after this coming season. They now will be with the Blackhawks through the 2022-23 season.
"I could not be more grateful for the amazing moments and opportunities I've been given by the Chicago Blackhawks," Toews said in a statement. "There's no organization in sports that cares more about the overall experience of their fans and the success of their players. To have the chance to continue with this amazing group of teammates and people throughout the organization is an incredible honor. There's nothing we want more as players than to continue to win Stanley Cups for the best hockey fans on the planet."
Kane shared similar feelings.
"It's great to be able to continue my career in Chicago. Playing with the best organization in sports and the best fans in the game is a blessing," he said in a statement. "Since I was drafted by the Blackhawks, the people of Chicago have really embraced me and treated me with nothing but respect. I look forward to many more years of success with the Blackhawks."
Patrick Kane, left, and Jonathan Toews are under contract through at least the 2022-23 season. AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast
Kane and Toews, both top-5 draft picks, began their NHL careers together for the Blackhawks in 2007, and they have been behind the franchise's resurgence the last seven seasons. Chicago has won two Stanley Cup titles, has reached four Western Conference finals and has made six consecutive playoff appearances since their arrival.
"Jonathan and Patrick have become cornerstones of this franchise during their time in Chicago," Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said in a statement. "We are excited to ensure they will continue to lead our organization for years to come."
Kane, 25, has 178 goals and 315 assists in 515 career regular-season games, as well as 37 goals and 54 assists in 93 playoff games. He was awarded the 2008 Calder Memorial Trophy and the 2013 Conn Smythe Trophy.
Toews, 26, has 195 goals and 245 assists in 484 career regular-season games, including 29 goals and 52 assists in 94 playoff games. He was awarded the 2010 Conn Smythe Trophy and 2013 Frank J. Selke Trophy.
Toews also has been the Blackhawks captain since the 2008-09 season.
A news conference to announce their signings will be held at the United Center next week.This week, Nas'compilation album The Lost Tapes celebrates its 15-year anniversary, and in a new interview, it's been revealed that 50 Cent's "Many Men" originally belonged to none other than Esco himself.
During an interview with Mass Appeal reflecting on The Lost Tapes, former A&R Lenny "Linen" Nicholson shared the fun fact about the Darrell "Digga" Branch instrumental.
“50 [Cent’s] song ‘Many Men’ was a Nas track first—he actually vocalled it," says Nicholson. "He was developing another artist named Nashawn… he had to massively impress Nas. If Nas started something, he would add his vocal to it and see if Nas would be impressed enough to keep it. [Nas] didn’t finish that track… that was a track that he just fell out of love with."
Nicholson, with permission from Nas, then gave the beat to Fif, a move that was pretty organic considering both artists were on Columbia Records' roster at the time.
"At that time 50 was looking for something just to stay busy and to keep writing," Nicholson adds. "I gave it to 50, and it turned into ‘Many Men.’"
The track, which appeared on 50 Cent's 2003 album Get Rich or Die Tryin', was later certified Gold by the RIAA, with Eminem, Luis Resto and Branch all credited as producers.
While beats get passed around all the time, this historical tidbit becomes that much more interesting when factoring in 50 Cent and Nas' previous, and relatively shortlived, beef. The Queens emcees went head to head two years after GRODT, with the two going at one another on wax.
50 Cent first dissed Nas on his track "Piggy Bank," which was met with several rebuttals from Nas including "Queens Get The Money," "Don't Body Ya Self" and the unreleased "Spastic." Allegedly, the now-semi-forgotten beef began when 50 vocalized his belief that Nas had kicked him off a remix to Jennifer Lopez's 2001 single "I'm Gonna Be Alright." After going at one another, the beef was squashed during Hot 97's annual Summer Jam in 2014.
Today, all is well in Queens, with Nas celebrating his album's recent milestone and releasing new music, while 50 Cent is enjoying the premiere of his new show 50 Central on BET.In his first 36 hours as the presumptive Republican nominee, Trump abandoned his self-funding pitch, which has been intrinsic to his appeal to voters disenchanted with special interest politics and suggested he would moderate his views on two key domestic policy issues.
The shifts follow a deluge of warnings from conservative activists throughout the GOP primary that Trump is not a "true conservative" and would betray his conservative supporters, and they come weeks after Trump slapped down the assertion floated by Paul Manafort, one of his top advisers, that he would evolve from "the part that he's been playing," reassuring supporters that while he "may act differently."
"Everything I said I'm going to do folks. I do, OK? Believe me," Trump said at a rally late last month after his convention manager Manafort presaged Trump would shift -- at least in tone -- after locking up the nomination.
Campaign funding
The billionaire has at nearly every one of his rallies reminded his supporters that "I am self-funding my campaign," sharing stories of deep-pocketed donors and lobbyists offering to sign multi-million dollar checks to support his bid. It's also one of the messages that has resonated most strongly among his supporters, who frequently point to the fact that he is "not bought and paid for" as the first reason they were attracted to his outsider candidacy.
Trump has even asked his supporters how they would feel about him accepting donations or the backing of a super PAC. At some rallies, he's told supporters he feels "stupid" for refusing the money and asked them whether he should take the money.
Each time, the crowd's response was a loud and unmistakable, "No!"
Still, Trump has portrayed his self-funding ability as integral to his campaign and his ability to govern on behalf of average Americans, not special interests. And in August he even said he would be willing to spend $1 billion of his own money to finance a general election campaign.
JUST WATCHED Donald Trump: Leave minimum wage where it is Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Donald Trump: Leave minimum wage where it is 00:44
Minimum wage
Trump in his first day as the presumptive nominee also offered a glimpse at how he would moderate some of his policy positions to appeal to the general electorate.
While he asserted several times during his primary campaign that the U.S. should not raise the $7.25 per hour federal minimum wage and that " having a low minimum wage is not a bad thing for this country," Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee Wednesday changed his tune.
"I'm actually looking at that because I'm actually very different from most Republicans," Trump told CNN's Wolf Blitzer when asked about Democrats' calls for raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
"I'm open to doing something with it because I don't like that," he said of the current minimum wage. He predicted he would win over "a lot" of progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders' supporters in the general election should Hillary Clinton clinch the Democratic nomination.
JUST WATCHED 2015: Trump speaks out about this tax pan Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH 2015: Trump speaks out about this tax pan 06:43
Taxes
And on Thursday morning Trump also wavered on the sweeping, across-the-board tax cuts he proposed during the primary, suggesting he might, in fact, raise the reduced tax rate he had proposed for the wealthiest Americans.
"I am not necessarily a huge fan of that," Trump said on CNBC when asked about his tax plan delivering massive benefits to the top 1% of Americans.
"When you put out a tax plan, you are going to start negotiating. You aren't going to say, 'OK, this is our tax plan, lots of luck, folks,'" Trump said. "During a negotiation I could see that going up. I don't want middle to go up at all. But I could see that going up. And I think that probably will happen, because it's a cut for everybody and, you know, the wealthy have done well."
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment seeking more clarity on Trump's remarks.
JUST WATCHED Donald Trump: Compromise is not a dirty word Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Donald Trump: Compromise is not a dirty word 01:53
'Everything is negotiable'
But Trump has not been entirely disingenuous with his supporters.
He has repeatedly emphasized throughout the campaign that he believes in negotiation and compromise in governance -- playing up his own deal-making abilities and slapping down his then-rival Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for favoring ideological purity over consensus-building.
"Compromise is not a dirty word, but we have to get a much better part of the compromise," Trump told CNN's Anderson Cooper in February.
And when he took heat from the right over a report claiming he suggested in an off-the-record meeting with The New York Times that his immigration views are more flexible than the hardline stances he has adopted, Trump didn't entirely refute the allegation.
"Everything is negotiable," he said.Advertisement Burlington's Big Dig: Part 1 Several projects underway Share Shares Copy Link Copy
There will be big changes coming to Vermont's largest city. Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger has major plans for the city and shared them with WPTZ NewsChannel 5.On the WPTZ App? Tap here to see the video.Monday, we started with projects that are already under way.Mayor Weinberger said, "People are going to start seeing real changes on the waterfront for sure." Weinberger said a much larger skate park by the waterfront will break ground during this construction season. The new skate park has been talked about for years and will replace the existing one that's by the old Moran Plant."This will be a significant enough facility that it will allow us to host some events, and it'll be another facility that will bring people to Burlington, here on the waterfront," he said.You'll see changes all over the city, not just by the water. On St. Paul Street the Stratos Project is well underway.It'll be more than condominiums when it's finished. It's right next door to another development, the old Armory building, that will become a new Hilton Garden Inn Hotel with more than 100 rooms. And still, right on that block, the King Street Youth Center is getting a multimillion-dollar makeover. The Old North End won't be left out of the development boom. On North Winooski Street, the Silver Smith Commons Project is moving right along. It will have a few dozen apartments when it's finished and space for businesses on the bottom floor."It's exciting to see that it's actually really happening now," Weinberger said. "It certainly helps with the city tax base, and the overall city housing issues as well." Another project like Silver Smith Commons is planned for the site of the old Dairy Queen just across the street, and there's another mixed-development property, including housing and retail, in the works on North Street."I think you're starting to really see private investment in the Old North End, a part of town that's needed it," Weinberger said.Back to the waterfront, and you'll find construction on the bike path too. That project will expand the bike path from College Street up to North Beach. This story is the first part of a three part series on Burlington's Big Dig: The Queen City's Future. Tuesday night on WPTZ, hear about some big plans the mayor has to better connect the city to the waterfront and the waterfront to the city.(NaturalNews) A controversial breast cancer treatment consisting of a combination of high-dose chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant does not extend the lives of patients, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Texas' M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium."This report should absolutely, definitively and for all time close the door on this treatment," said Dr. Larry Norton of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.During the 1980s and 1990s, it became popular to treat women with a high dose of chemotherapy after surgery, in order to kill off any cancer cells that had not been removed by the initial procedure. Before surgery, surgeons would extract stem cells from the patient's bone marrow. After the chemotherapy, these cells would be transplanted back into the body in order to restore the immune cells that had been killed by chemotherapy.The procedure was controversial from the start, in part due to the toxicity of chemotherapy drugs. Such drugs are particularly dangerous at high doses, and some women subjected to the treatment in the United States have died from toxicity. Even in those who survive, such a high dose of chemotherapy drugs is incredibly hard on the body and leads to a high degree of suffering. Finally, many health insurers were initially unwilling to pay for what they considered an experimental and non-proven treatment.Researchers analyzed the results of 15 separate trials involving a total of 6,200 early stage breast cancer patients. The lymph nodes of all the patients tested positive for cancer following surgery, but in no cases had the cancer spread to other organs. The researchers found that women who underwent the high-dose chemotherapy did not relapse as quickly as women who underwent more conventional treatments, but they did not live any longer."I was surprised by the results," said lead researcher Donald Berry. "I was expecting some subsets of women to show some survival benefit."Former Bradford Bulls man Sam Burgess cost Premiership side Bath £270,000 (500,000 Australian dollars)
Incoming Bath signing Sam Burgess will play at centre after he completes his switch to rugby union from league.
The 25-year-old forward's code-crossing move was announced in February and Bath head coach Mike Ford told BBC Radio 5 live that he will arrive on 15 October.
"We'll start him in the centres, so he can see the game live," Ford said.
"We need to get him into the nitty-gritty of the game. We don't want to change who he is. We've got to figure out how the game-plan fits Sam."
Media playback is not supported on this device Burgess' World Cup highlights
Burgess plays as a prop for current side South Sydney Rabbitohs in the Australian NRL.
"I went to see Sam in June and I'm on the phone to him every day," Ford continued. "South Sydney are doing really well this year.
"He'll be over on 15 October, so its all planned. There are a couple of fixtures in November and there's definitely a plan of where to play him and when to fit him in.
"We're going to have to look after him, see where his body is. I don't want him to be burnt out, come March and April.
"Hopefully, when he comes, there's a platform for him to perform well."US a partner in bloodshed with Jerusalem move, Erdoğan says
The Muslim world is the target of numerous plots to reshape it to the benefit of others, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned Saturday.
Speaking at the 7th Hadith and Sira Studies Awards Ceremony in Istanbul, Erdoğan said "Just like a century ago, the Islamic world is facing efforts to reshape it through blood, tears, and strife between brothers."
He called on people "to be prepared for attacks which will try to bring down Muslims from within."
"When Muslims are at odds, the only ones that benefit from this are terrorist groups, imperialists, arms dealers and terror states like Israel," he said.
He also said that all the incidents happening in Syria, Myanmar and Jerusalem were not coincidental but intentional, and they were aimed at draining Muslims' sources and energy by making them fight among themselves.
Erdoğan also reiterated his condemnation of U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Following Trump's announcement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) issued a declaration recognizing East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state.
Erdoğan said the OIC move would create a multiplier effect, encouraging other nations to follow in its lead.The family of internationally-renowned tattoo artist Frank Alphonso — known professionally as Frank Lee — has identified him as the motorcyclist killed in a Friday morning crash in Fort Lauderdale.
Fort Lauderdale Police couldn't be reached to confirm the victim's name Saturday night.
Reports of Alphonso's death sparked a somber reaction from fellow tattoo artists and friends, many of whom shared their condolences on Facebook and Twitter.
"His innovation and influence can be seen in almost every corner of the style in modern tattooing," tweeted Tim Pangburn, owner of AMP Tattoo in Philadelphia. "He will be missed."
The 39-year-old artist had just put the finishing touches on a tattoo of praying hands at Ink Addiction Tattoo in Fort Lauderdale when he texted his boss, Donna Henkemeyer.
"He said he just locked up and was heading home," Henkemeyer, who got the text at 1:08 a.m, told the Sun Sentinel.
Just before 1:30 a.m., police say a motorcyclist was waiting for a green light at North Federal Highway and Oakland Park Boulevard, sitting on a red Kawasaki. When the light turned green for southbound traffic, police said, the driver of a 2004 Subaru drove forward just as the motorcyclist tried to turn left.
Investigators said on Friday it appeared the rider may have toppled his motorcycle on the road to avoid the crash, but was struck as he slid across the roadway. Doctors later pronounced the man dead at Broward Health Medical Center.
Frank Alphonso was the man on the motorcycle, according his sister, Dina Jorge, who spoke with the Sun Sentinel from her home in Los Angeles.
While he hadn't achieved the mainstream fame of artists featured on such TV shows as "Miami Ink," Alphonso had built a reputation as a pioneer of the craft.
"Frank Lee is one of the most talented, naturally gifted tattooers I've ever known," wrote Eric Michalovic in a profile published in Issue #17 of Tattoo Artist Magazine. "He's often cited as an early inspiration by other top tattooers... in street shops worldwide."
Born into a family of artists in Cleveland, Ohio, Alphonso honed his skills at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
"Frank would sit in front of the paintings by the great masters," Jorge told the Sun Sentinel. "He would sit for hours trying to absorb their artwork."
After his parents divorced, Alphonso moved to Las Vegas to live with his father. Back in Cleveland, his mother, Julia Alphonso, ran a tattoo parlor.
Alphonso moved back to Cleveland when he was 14 and became an apprentice at his mother's shop. He then traveled the country, building a community of friends and searching for his voice as an artist.
"He was truly the guy who would walk into the flames," said Karen Cooperman, who also confirmed Alphonso's death. The two had been married for five years until their recent divorce. "He lived the life of a true artist," she said.
He eventually gave up his nomadic lifestyle and settled in Fort Lauderdale, where he hopped from shop to shop. Those closest to him say the recognition didn't matter much to Alphonso.
It was always about the art.
"Frank's voice," Cooperman said, "spoke out loudest in his art."
ekomenda@tribune.com, 561-243-6531 or Twitter @ejkomendaA deflected strike from Jermaine Jones and a cool Clint Dempsey finish put the US into the semi-finals of the Gold Cup.
Bob Bradley left out Chris Wondolowski and Landon Donovan, bringing in Sacha Kljestan behind Jozy Altidore, and Alejandro Bedoya on the right. He was dealt an early blow with Altidore’s injury, meaning Juan Agudelo had to replace him upfront.
Theodore Whitmore made various changes to his side having rested players for his final group game. Jamaica ended up in a relatively defensive-minded 3-4-3 shape.
Bradley’s side dominated possession but took half an hour to start using the ball effectively, having been slow and unambitious with their passing early on. In the second half, they committed more players forward and forced the breakthrough.
Early stages
The teams played in front of each other in the opening minutes of the game – both sides got ten men behind in the ball in their own half when out of possession, and coupled with the slow passing on show from both midfields, goals looked unlikely.
Jamaica’s problem was that they generally had 3 v 1 at the back, which then created a shortfall in midfield – where the US could gather bodies, pass around Jamaica’s midfield, and dominate possession of the ball. Bradley has long favoured playing his wide midfielders narrow – the US formation has often looked like 4-2-2-2 under his management – and this simply emphasised the US dominance in the middle of the pitch, sometimes creating as much as 4 v 2 or 5 v 2 in that zone (see below).
The Jamaica wing-backs stayed on the flanks and retreated quickly into a five-man defence, which meant Jamaica had plenty of men in the box to defend crosses, but the workload for Jason Morrison and Rodolph Austin further forward was simply too great.
Jamaica in possession
However, there was some promising moments for Whitmore’s side early on. This mainly involved long diagonal passes from Austin out to the pacey Dane Richards on the right wing. With Dempsey playing advanced and narrow, and therefore offering little support to Eric Lichaj, Richards often had 1 v 1 situations against the Aston Villa full-back, and created a couple of decent chances early on – Luton Sheldon played narrower on the opposite flank, often becoming a second striker.
Jamaica were only likely to prosper through quick breaks down that side. As a whole, their side was ‘broken’ – seven defending, three attacking. There was little support from the wing-backs, and neither of the central midfielders were willing to vacate a zone Jamaica were already overloaded in. Kljestan drifted around to the channels when the US had the ball, but was disciplined in moving onto one of Jamaica’s central midfielders when out of possession.
As the game went on, Richards was less of an attacking threat, but his battle against Lichaj was the key contest. Richards appeared completely unwilling to track back at some points, which meant that when Dempsey moved inside and brought Eric Vernan slightly narrow, Lichaj had space to motor into on the overlap – although service didn’t always arrive.
Second half
The opening goal was fortunate – Jones’ strike took a huge nick off a defender on the way in – but the goal reflected the balance of play, and also the key tactical shift as the game went on. Jones started off playing deep in a double pivot alongside Michael Bradley, but once the US had worked out that they didn’t really need two holders as Jamaica had no attacking threat from the centre of midfield, Jones pushed on and drove the US forward.
In addition to the goal, he also made the powerful forward run which forced Jermaine Taylor into a ‘last man’ foul, and a resulting red card.
That was a shame, because a couple of minutes before Jamaica went down to ten men, they had brought Jevaughn Watson on for Vernan, and seemed to briefly go to something more like 4-4-2, with Shelton coming to the left, Williams going further forward, Adrian Reid going to right-back and Demar Phillips to left-back. There wasn’t enough time to judge the new system before the red card, however.
Jamaica just about coped with ten men – a vague 4-3-2 system that overworked their already-tired midfield held up reasonably well – but constant substitutions played havoc with the organisation at the back, and the US were able to work 3 v 3 situations quickly once Donovan came on to provide another attacking threat.
The US were able to break through the Jamaica defence increasingly easily – Whitmore ordered them to push up but with no pressure on the ball, it was a tactic unlikely to bring rewards, and Dempsey’s neat finish wrapped up the game.
Conclusion
The problems of having 3 v 1 at the back have been discussed many times on ZM before, but this was an interesting game because the US wide players played narrow, as ‘interiores’, in Spanish terms (see Villarreal). This gave the Jamaica wing-backs considerable difficulties, and created a huge overload in the centre of midfield.
The difference in technical quality meant that Bradley’s side were always likely to eventually create goalscoring chances, and Jamaica’s transitions from defence to attack weren’t good enough to provide a consistent attacking threat on the break.
Related articles on Zonal Marking:Staff writer Christina Cox reports:
A 30-year-old man who believes he is not subject to U.S. laws has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for assaulting an Ellis County sheriff deputy.
Harvey Leelance Searcy of Red Oak was convicted of assault on a public servant last week. On Monday, he received the maximum prison sentence, which was increased because of a previous conviction for counterfeiting.
Searcy chose to represent himself during the trial, declining the representation of attorney the court assigned to assist him. Searcy told court officials he intended to appeal his case, claiming that the Ellis County District Court doesn't have jurisdiction over him as a "natural person," court officials said.
This belief is shared by followers of an anti-government movement called “Sovereign Citizens,” who believe that they alone get to decide which laws to obey and ignore. Searcy follows the movement.
Searcy was arrested in May 2014 after assaulting a deputy. The deputy tried to pull over Searcy on two arrest warrants. Searcy refused to stop and drove to an elementary school. Several deputies tried to arrest Searcy, and Searcy slammed one of their hands in the car door, according to Ellis County court records.
Searcy then barricaded himself in his car, causing the school to go into a brief lockdown.Get the biggest Newcastle United 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
When suspicious minds ran rampant Joe Kinnear insisted he was here “to help Alan Pardew” and not replace him.
Well I doubt very much if this day Pardew privately considers that JFK has helped him in his job of resurrecting United.
Rather Kinnear has strapped Pardew into a strait jacket and thrown him in the Tyne with the message “swim, pal, if you can!”
The bottom line is that if there is ever any can needing to be carried, United’s manager will be the one feeling the strain.
While Kinnear boasted of being able to phone any manager and receive immediate access, the truth is that he could deliver nought but a season-long loan deal.
Pathetic, disgraceful, far from enough. Dangerous even. Fifth bottom to where? Dare we contemplate?
The suicidal cut of the wrists is so debilitating, even by the standards of those who judge Kinnear harshly, that you are left with the nagging thought that perhaps he was merely carrying out the dictate of owner Mike Ashley.
He who explains nothing and seems to care not a jot may have decided Pardew spent his only pot in the January window to head off relegation, and if a bad fist was made of it then he must live with the consequences.
What the Toon Army must now decide is how good the financial imports of 2013 are.
Forgetting previous reputations, how well have Moussa Sissoko, Mathieu Debuchy, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Yoan Gouffran and Massadio Haidara done here? Are they value for money? Have they increased their stature or diminished it?
The individual answers may be ‘jury out, getting better, or not cracked it’.
However the undeniable fact is that United, with their collective imput, only just avoided relegation last season and have started no more convincingly this.
Add Vurnon Anita and Papiss Cisse and where are we? Smugly basking in the glow of unearthing gems or worried that familiarity with their new surrounds has only produced mediocrity?
Reputations are on the line – those of Ashley, Kinnear, Graham Carr, all new arrivals of 2013 plus those going back a year, and Pardew himself.
I’m sorry but that is the way it is. This club cannot be abused without judgement being made on those possibly responsible.
There are 50,000 or so dissenting voices and they will be heard.
Those who deserve to avoid personal criticism will. However, those who don’t will be nailed. Fans who threw rose petals on their first coming are just as adroit with acid.Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore (R) reportedly said attorney Gloria Allred has refused to release a yearbook which she says is evidence of the sexual misconduct allegations against him because it would prove the allegations are not true.
“What they have alleged is completely untrue,” Moore told Aaron Klein in an interview on New York’s AM 970 "The Answer," according to a Breitbart report. The interview is set to air in full on Sunday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Moore's comments come after Allred offered to hand over the yearbook from one of Moore's accusers to a congressional committee if the panel agreed to hold hearings on the allegations.
Allred said the yearbook confirms Moore knew her client, Beverly Young Nelson, in 1977 when she was 16 years old, and is evidence that Moore preyed on her client when she was a minor.
Nelson alleges that Moore left a note in the yearbook reading, "To a sweeter more beautiful girl I could not say Merry Christmas. Christmas 1977. Love, Roy Moore, D.A."
An attorney for Moore first suggested on Wednesday the yearbook could be fake, and called on Allred to release the book to an independent examiner.
"We demand you immediately release the yearbook to a neutral custodian so our expert can look at the actual document, release the yearbook so we can determine is it genuine or is it a fraud," Moore attorney Phillip Jauregui told reporters in Birmingham.
Jauregui claimed that the “D.A.” next to Moore’s name were the initials of his assistant at the time, a sign that the assistant had actually stamped Moore’s signature.
Moore, who is running to fill the Alabama Senate seat currently held by Sen. Luther Strange Luther Johnson StrangeDomestic influence campaigns borrow from Russia’s playbook Overnight Defense: Senate bucks Trump with Yemen war vote, resolution calling crown prince'responsible' for Khashoggi killing | House briefing on Saudi Arabia fails to move needle | Inhofe casts doubt on Space Force Five things to watch in Mississippi Senate race MORE (R), was first accused of sexual misconduct toward a minor in a Washington Post story last week.
Additional women have since come forward to accuse Moore of pursuing them when they were in their teens and he was in his 30s. Moore has denied most of the allegations.As Donald Trump develops his economic policy, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman has emerged as one of the new president’s most influential advisers — one who has boasted of his work shaping the administration’s agenda. An International Business Times review of Trump policies and Blackstone investments show that Schwarzman’s rise to political prominence has coincided with recent White House moves that could enrich his company. The moves that help Blackstone have occurred while Schwarzman has been able to simultaneously sculpt federal policy and circumvent conflict-of-interest laws.
In recent weeks, Trump has moved to halt a Department of Labor rule that could complicate Schwarzman’s dream of expanding Blackstone’s business into the multi-trillion-dollar market of retail retirement savings products. Trump has also promised to roll back Dodd-Frank regulations passed in the wake of the financial crisis — a cause Blackstone has lobbied on and that could benefit the larger private equity industry.
Read: Donald Trump’s Economic Team Packed With Corporate Lobbyists And Koch Brothers Allies
The Trump administration has also — just when Blackstone has taken steps to move into infrastructure investing — floated infrastructure investment concepts that could direct government spending through Wall Street intermediaries. And as Blackstone has worked to expand its investments in oil and gas drilling, the new administration is preparing to try to loosen environmental regulations that restrict fossil fuel exploration.
Photo: Reuters
Meanwhile, even though Trump campaigned on a promise to end a special “carried interest” tax break that enriches private equity executives like Schwarzman, the White House has yet to offer such a plan — or endorse existing legislation to end the tax break.
Schwarzman declined to answer International Business Times’ questions.
Schwarzman has long been a fixture in Republican politics. The private equity billionaire has routinely been one of the party’s top donors: In the last election cycle alone, he pumped $4.8 million into Republican-aligned super PACs, according to data compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. He has also touched off political firestorms, at one point likening the Obama administration’s Wall Street policies to the Nazi invasion of Poland.
Schwarzman has forged strong political and personal ties to the new White House. Trump in December said he aimed to meet “frequently” with Schwarzman, and he appointed the billionaire to chair the White House’s business advisory council — a panel of corporate CEOs regularly advising the president. A week after the council’s first meeting, Schwarzman hosted a lavish birthday party for himself — which observers speculated cost as much as $20 million — near Trump’s Palm Beach resort, and many top Trump administration officials were in attendance.
The extent of Schwarzman’s involvement in overseeing Trump administration policy was on display last week. During a White House event, he said his team met with Cabinet secretaries who presented their agenda to his council. Schwarzman said his group has been “working together” with the administration on various policy issues — many of which intersect with Blackstone’s business.
Despite Schwarzman’s formal policy role in the Trump White House, he is not technically on the White House payroll. The Trump administration appears to be interpreting that status to mean he is not subject to strict ethics and conflict-of-interest laws designed to prevent public officials from working on matters in which they have a financial interest. Under that interpretation, Schwarzman is free to advise Trump on the federal policies that govern — and can enrich — his company.
“We’ve never seen this type of abuse of the ethics laws,” said Craig Holman of Public Citizen, which has pressed for tougher conflict-of-interest rules. “Trump is bringing in these wealthy, conflicted CEOs who do not want to abide by the ethics rules and divest themselves from their financial interests. |
Basak, 47, returned to the forests of the Ayodhya hills in 2011 to build on her findings using a technique called Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) that establishes the antiquity of tools of a particular age.
Before Basak’s discovery, the earliest evidence of human presence in Bengal was at Sagardighi, in Murshidabad. The tools found there were dated to approximately 20,000 years ago.
“This is an extraordinary development and a breakthrough in the otherwise hazy chronology of eastern India. It marks a welcome trend in research. In this day and age, multi-disciplinary initiatives are indispensable,” said Gautam Sengupta, former director-general of the Archaeological Survey of India.
In the subcontinent, the earliest evidence of microlith-using cultures — hunter-gatherer populations that made and used the types of light stone implements found in the Ayodhya hills — is in Metakheri, Madhya Pradesh. They date back to 48,000 years ago.
Microlithic tools found at Jwalapuram, in Andhra Pradesh, are from 35,000 years ago and those discovered in Sri Lanka are from 25,000 years ago.
Basak’s discovery was reported recently in the fortnightly research journal Current Science (Vol. 107, No. 11687).
The 47-year-old had conducted part of her research under police protection in the midst of Maoist insurgency in the region, her bold quest yielding 4,000-odd microlithic tools from excavation sites at Mahadebbera and Kana alone. Mahadebbera is located 500 metres northwest of Ghatbera village, in the catchment area of the Kumari river. Kana is around the same distance northwest of Ghatbera.
“From 2007 to 2011, I couldn’t even go near the sites because Maoist insurgency had escalated. But I returned in 2011 and with the help of the police camping there, I managed to finish my work. It was very difficult and not something people expected of a woman, but I am well rewarded,” Basak told Metro.
The experts who collaborated with Basak include S.N. Rajguru, a veteran geo-archaeologist who formerly taught at Pune’s Deccan College, Pradeep Srivastava and Anil Kumar from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, and Sujit Dasgupta, formerly of the Geological Survey of India.
Current Science states that the microlithic tools excavated from the colluvium-covered pediment surface in Kana are from “42,000 (plus or minus 4,000) years before the present” and “between 34,000 (plus or minus 3,000) and 25,000 years before the present in Mahadebbera”.
In the subcontinent, most microlithic sites are reported from alluvial context, sand dunes or rock shelters. There are very few late Pleistocene colluvial sites. Colluvium is the material that accumulates at the foot of the hill ranges — a mix of sediment, gravel and pebbles, all brought down the hill slope through natural gravitational flow. When they form a stable surface, as in the Ayodhya hills, they are a good location for prehistoric populations to settle.
According to geoarchaeologists, the Ayodhya discoveries hold the key to research in several fields, from environmental studies to palaeontology.
“The OSL technique we used helps date sediment samples in which the tools occur to a time they were last exposed to the sun before burial or sealed by later deposits. Our samples were collected from 0.50-1.85 metres below the surface in specially-made steel/iron cylindrical tubes, making sure no light entered the trench during the process. In most cases, we had a plastic black sheet covering the top of the trench and the samples were usually collected early morning or around dusk,” Basak said.
Metakheri had been dated using the OSL method while the tools found in Jwalapuram required dating through a technique called AMS radiocarbon dating. Since there was no presence of carbon in the Ayodhya samples, the OSL method was the only reliable option, Basak said.
The samples had been first sent for pre-treatment and chemical analysis to the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, where senior scientist Pradeep Srivastava dated them as belonging to the Late Pleistocene period, roughly in the bracket of “42,000-25,000 years before the present”. The rocks from which these tools had been made were identified by the Geological Survey of India as “chert and felsic tuff”.
At Sagardighi, a team led by the late Amal Roy had found microliths made of agate, chert, chalcedony and quartz. They were not scientifically dated, though. The antiquity of the tools was assumed to be 20,000 years ago on the basis of geological factors.
Subrata Chakraborty, professor of prehistory at Visva-Bharati, said accurate dating had long been a problem in Bengal because of inadequate infrastructure.
“There is no institutional set-up for accurate scientific dating in Bengal.”
The 4,000-odd Ayodhya microliths include blades and backed tools. Micro blades are small — maximum length up to 4cm — parallel-sided tools that are very sharp and suitable for cutting. Backed microliths are those that are further retouched and attached to bows, arrows and spears to hunt small animals and birds.
An intriguing facet of the discovery is that no trace of the raw material used in these tools was found in the near vicinity, suggesting that the early hunter-gatherers had travelled quite a distance to get their stones. Such instances are, of course, not uncommon even among living hunter-gatherers.
Geo-archaeologist Rajguru said the Ayodhya discoveries had opened a whole new chapter in Bengal’s history.
“We can, for instance, assert that Bengal was very much a part of the climatic changes during the last glacial period. So far it had been assumed that Bengal was always humid with plenty of rainfall. Now we have evidence that the whole of the Rahr region also experienced the dry climate that was caused by the period’s peak in glaciation. We also know that the sea level must have been lower by about 100 metres.”
Rajguru, who has been a mentor to Basak, added: “Let this instance of sustained perseverance in the face of all odds and collaboration of skills and expertise across boundaries be an example and encourage many others to follow suit.”
What message do you have for Bishnupriya Basak? Tell ttmetro@abpmail.com- Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will make his first public visit to Minnesota on Sunday.
Trump announced his plan during a rally Saturday in Florida. His campaign said tightening polls caused them to re-arrange the Republican nominee's busy travel schedule.
The rally will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Sun Country hangar at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, according to the Trump campaign.
According to the Trump Campaign, a number of Minnesota Republican party officials are expected to attend the rally, their names set to be released late Saturday.
Trump's running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, will hold a rally at the midfield ramp of the Duluth International Airport at 9:30 Monday morning.
If you would like to attend either event, request tickets by clicking here.WASHINGTON—Militarizing the body’s natural immune responses so that it can fight off cancerous uprisings has been seen as a promising strategy for years. Now, a sneak peek of data from a small clinical trial suggests that the method may in fact be as useful as doctors hope—but there are still some serious kinks to work out.
In a trial of 29 people with a deadly form of leukemia—acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)—and no other treatment options, 27 went into remission after scientists plucked some of their immune cells, engineering them to fight cancer, then replaced them. The method was also successful at treating handfuls of patients with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The preliminary, unpublished findings were reported at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington.
While the early result suggests the treatment can be effective for these types of cancer, there were severe problems during the trials: several patients suffered extreme, full-body inflammation (cytokine release syndrome) in response to the treatment and needed to be placed in intensive care. Two patients died.
The risks may seem acceptable to terminal cancer patients who have exhausted all other treatment options and are facing a prognosis of just months to live. However, the severe reactions set the treatment option apart from standard cancer therapies, which are effective for many leukemia patients and have less dangerous side effects. It’s also unclear if the therapy would be widely effective against other types of cancer that have solid tumors, such as breast cancer.
It’s a “highly effective” strategy, said Stanley Riddell of the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center in Seattle, who presented the trial data at the meeting. But, he cautioned, there are challenges ahead to make the treatment safer and useful for other cancers.
In general, the treatment works by first collecting a patient’s immune cells—specifically T cells that patrol the body, seeking and destroying invading germs or foreign enemies. To do this, the cells look for certain molecular patterns found on those cellular combatants. But, once in lab, researchers can reprogram the T cells’ pattern recognition (antigen receptors) so that the cells target cancer cells. In this case, the resulting T cells, called CAR-T cells for “chimeric antigen receptors,” identify a protein called CD19, which is found on cells involved with lymphomas and leukemias.
This isn’t the first time such cells have been used in humans. Late last year, researchers in London announced they had engineered CAR T cells to save the life of a toddler with ALL.
Researchers are now working on ways to tweak the T cells and the treatment strategy to make safe, long-lasting cancer cures, researchers at the meeting reported.
Editor’s Note: The image of the CAR-T cell-treated kidney tumor accompanying this story has been updated. Thanks to the sharp eyes of our readers, an error was caught in the version of the image provided by the authors. The earlier version displayed two different kidneys, instead of one being treated for a large tumor mass. The authors have apologized for the error, provided a corrected version of the image, and will notify other media. Thanks, Ars readers!If you were a seller, the Southern California housing market was a good one last year.
The economy improved. Sales jumped after a lethargic 2014. And prices climbed even higher, making an already expensive region even more so. By the end of November, the median home price for the six-county market was $438,000, up 6.8% from the same month a year earlier, according to the data from CoreLogic.
Still, the real estate frenzy cooled through late summer and fall. To what extent the slowdown could be blamed on the typical seasonality of home sales or to the price hikes that have made housing increasingly unaffordable is unclear. A better picture of the market's health should emerge during the busy spring buying season.
Economists generally expect further improvement in the market, though they predict that the price increases will slow as fewer families are able to buy into it — a trend that started in 2013.
“Affordability is dulling demand,” said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Assn. of Realtors, which projects the state's median home price to increase 3.2% this year, about half the pace of the 6.2% gain in 2015.
For now, many of Los Angeles County's hottest burbs fall into two categories: Westside areas in the midst of a tech-industry boom and communities near downtown coveted for their older homes and short drive to an increasingly vibrant city center.
Even with the demand, some of these neighborhoods are seeing sales fall amid a lack of inventory, but Appleton-Young said they are likely to see further price growth. And despite affordability constraints, she's bullish on Southern California's housing market for the year.
“The signs are good,” she said, citing predictions for job and wage growth that should support the overall economy.
To gauge L.A. County's hottest neighborhoods, The Times ranked them by the change in the median price per square foot for a single-family home. The median is the point at which half the homes are sold for more and half for less. The per-square-foot metric was chosen to best account for changes in the sizes of homes selling, such as older smaller houses that are desirable but have relatively lower price tags.
Sales and median prices reflect transactions involving existing single-family houses. The comparison is for the 11 months ended November 2015 with the same period a year earlier. All neighborhoods had at least 30 sales. (Source: CoreLogic)
Santa Monica | 90402
Median price per square foot: $1,420, +37.5%
Median price: $3,237,500, -1.7%
Sales: 100, unchanged
The ritzy neighborhood north of Montana Avenue saw the largest gain last year. At $1,420 a foot, that's the equivalent of $2.84 million for a 2,000-square-foot house. Known for larger homes than other city neighborhoods, the area has long attracted those looking for a spacious spread near the beach.
More recently, the neighborhood has grown even more exclusive amid a surge of international buyers and executives from the growing Silicon Beach tech hub, said Tregg Rustad, a real estate agent with Rodeo Realty.
“It's not just Asia, it's South America, Russia — the stability of the housing market compared to some [of foreigners' other investment options] is very strong,” he said.
Also fueling the appreciation are developers picking up smaller, older homes at a premium so they can tear them down and build modern mansions. The surge in these smaller tear-downs helps explain why median per-square-foot price soared while the overall median for existing single-family homes dipped, Rustad said.
Agent Tracey Hennessey said she sees values continuing to skyrocket. “We are seeing more and more money coming into Santa Monica like never before,” she said.
Hermosa Beach | 90254
Median price per square foot: $967, +28.6%
Median price: $1,693,500, + 30.9%
Sales: 123, +7%
Strong demand, tight inventory, good schools and a view of the Pacific made Hermosa Beach a real estate standout in 2015. The small South Bay town also has something else going for it: It's not Manhattan Beach.
Wealthy families priced out of increasingly ritzy Manhattan Beach — with its median price of $2.1 million — are looking to the next town over. But that's pushing up values in a city that's had more of a reputation as a younger party town, agents said.
Tech workers employed in Venice and Playa Vista are also buying in Hermosa, searching for schools with better reputations than those in the L.A. Unified School District, said Nick Peters, president of Engel & Volkers LA - South Bay
“A lot of people are moving here from Silicon Beach,” he said.
Lincoln Heights | Montecito Heights | Elysian Valley | 90031
Median price per square foot: $419, +28.3%
Median price: $458,500, +14.6%
Sales: 78, -18.8%
The neighborhoods north of downtown L.A. have seen values soar for decades — Silver Lake, then Echo Park, followed by Highland Park. As one neighborhood grows increasingly expensive, people priced out look the next block over, sparking debate over the gentrification of the working-class communities.
Now the same appears to be happening in 90031, which includes Lincoln Heights and parts of Elysian Valley and the more expensive Montecito Heights. Demand in Elysian Valley, a small neighborhood sandwiched between the L.A. River and the 5 Freeway, has been robust, in large part due to investors looking to capitalize on plans to revitalize the waterway.
“Investors realize this area is on the up-and-coming. Investors working in the Eagle Rock, Highland Park area are now shifting focus to this area as well,” said agent Mark Diffie, who added that the influx has unnerved some longtime residents.
In the larger area of Lincoln Heights and Montecito Heights, between the 10 and 110 freeways, prices are rising as well.
Jennifer Wenzlaff, an agent with Redfin, said would-be Lincoln Heights buyers are a mix of investors, singles and families. In her experience, many are renters in Silver Lake, Culver City and Echo Park, where they can't afford to settle down. “My clients that love Highland Park – and unfortunately are priced out – are starting to look around,” she said.
City Terrace | East L.A. | 90063
Median price per square foot: $307, +23.2%
Median price: $320,000, +18.5%
Sales: 144, +0.7%
Forces similar to those in Lincoln Heights also are at play in City Terrace. The hillside community in unincorporated East Los Angeles has seen an influx of demand that's pushed prices up, said Camilo Valentin, a co-owner of Red House Realty Inc.
Buyers have been a mix of those from outside the neighborhood looking for a relatively affordable Spanish Colonial near downtown, and former locals who went off to college or left for a job and are returning to put down roots of their own. Investors also are a heavy presence.
“You still get a bang for your buck — $325,000 with views of downtown L.A. You can actually see the Hollywood sign from City Terrace,” Valentin said.
Other East L.A. areas in 90063 have also seen increased demand lately, but not to the extent of City Terrace, Valentin said. He expects prices to climb higher there and for longtime owners to cash in, repeating a process that has played out in nearby Highland Park and other close-by neighborhoods.
Marina del Rey | 90292
Median price per square foot: $737, +23.1%
Median price: $2,157,500, +6.5%
Sales: 38, unchanged
Another beachfront Westside neighborhood, another tech story. The flourishing online businesses that have created a wealth of jobs in nearby Santa Monica, Venice and Playa Vista have added an influx of buyers to an up-and-coming area, real estate agent Tami Pardee said.
While the marina had been relatively sleepy compared to next-door Venice, that's changing, she said. New restaurants and stores are opening; the county is planning a massive renovation of its maritime, entertainment and hospitality attractions; and housing developers have projects in the works.
“People are finally opening their eyes to it, it's cleaner, it's friendlier,” Pardee said.
Manhattan Beach | 90266
Median price per square foot: $1,021, +21.4%
Median price: $2,100,000, +10.1%
Sales: 288, -18.9%
Manhattan Beach long ago ditched its reputation as a sleepy beach town. Professional athletes, tech executives, Hollywood types and other high-income earners are drawn to this city by its beach lifestyle, good schools and gourmet restaurants.
But buyers on the hunt for a home find all that competition means there are few for sale and at top prices.
The median price for an existing single-family home hit $2.1 million last year, up 10.1%. The median price per square foot grew about twice as fast to $1,021.
Developers are also playing a role in driving up prices, buying a dwindling supply of cottages and throwing McMansions up at a rapid pace.
Real estate agent David Keller said he sees the dynamic holding steady, given the extremely low inventory in the city and lack of room for new development.
“I don't think anything will change dramatically anytime soon — unless there's some sort of economic catastrophe,” he said.
Compton | 90220
Median price per square foot: $257, +20.9%
Median price: $285,000, +9.8%
Sales: 279, +16.3%
Compton | 90222
Median price per square foot: $264, + 20.6%
Median price: $274,000, +14.2%
Sales: 182, -11.2%
Compton was an epicenter of the housing bust as buyers who financed their homes with subprime loans went belly up. But prices have been rebounding for years, as has the city's reputation. Crime has plummeted and after once shunning the city, large retailers have moved in.
Families from the South Bay and Long Beach areas are increasingly looking to Compton for a cheaper home, real estate agent Lulu Robles said. Families are doubling up — parents and a grown child with their spouse isn't uncommon — to afford the mortgage. Low interest rates and down-payment programs also are giving more families the ability to buy, she said.
All of the demand has helped two neighborhoods — 90220 near north Carson and the adjacent 90222 near Willowbrook — see some of the strongest price growth.
Investors also have scooped up many homes to renovate, lifting values for those properties and the surrounding neighborhood, Robles said.
“It's helping the area come up in pricing,” she said.
Playa del Rey | 90293
Median price per square foot: $636, +20.1%
Median price: $1,517,500, +26.5%
Sales: 40, -21.6%
Real estate in this relatively low-key beach-side neighborhood at the end of Culver Boulevard is red hot. The culprits? Strong job growth and a dearth of homes for sale.
In particular, demand is heavy from workers in the growing technology and advertising hubs of nearby Playa Vista, agents say. In some cases, prices — at least on a nominal basis — have risen past those seen during last decade's housing bubble, agent Jane St. John said.
For example, she said she recently listed a home for a client at $2.8 million. In 2006 — amid the housing bubble — it changed hands for $2.6 million.
“If you look at the number of advertising agencies along Jefferson Boulevard, many of those were not there three or four years ago,” she said. “That corporate expansion in our area is definitely driving things up.”
Toluca Lake | Studio City | 91602
Median price per square foot: $570, +19.6%
Median price: $1,022,500, +3.2%
Sales: 111, +3.7%
The San Fernando Valley has not experienced the pace of price increases of some other areas. But it's not a surprise that Toluca Lake and Studio City are standouts.
The area has long been attractive to Hollywood executives and wealthy families looking to be near elite private schools. More recently, Studio City has become a hot spot for young urban professionals amid an explosion of bars and restaurants.
And with all the talk of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates, real estate agent Matt Epstein said many buyers decided that it was time to make their move. He said developers also are shelling out for older homes to renovate or tear down to build towering replacements.
“Developers are willing to pay a premium,” he said.
The flood of activity here — like the market as a whole — has slowed its pace in recent months, but Epstein doesn't foresee a bubble about to pop.
“I don't see prices going down, but leveling out,” he said.
andrew.khouri@latimes.com
Twitter: @khouriandrewHow To Understand Clojure Stacktraces And Error Messages
We’ve all been there. You’re hacking away on some Clojure code, making a few changes and then try to run the code in your REPL. Instead of getting the result you wanted and your tests passing, you get your worst nightmare: UnsupportedOperationException nth not supported on this type: IPersistentMap
And the first thoughts that pop into your mind are:
I’m not calling nth anywhere! What the hell?
Then you google ‘nth not supported on this type: IPersistentMap’ and don’t get anything particularly useful and you proceed to bisect your code manually to find the problem.
This should sound familar to any Clojure developer because we’ve all been there when we were starting out.
By the way, this is one of my all time favorite Clojure errors. I’m not sure why. Probably because it happens so frequently to me and I went through that exact thought process described above so many times.
But now, when I see that error, I know it’s extremely likely I messed up destructuring.
I promise you that with a little practice you can learn how to read and interpret the error messages like a pro. You’ll be able to develop heuristics and instantly know what to look for.
You’re not alone. The biggest frustration for Clojure programmers 3 years in a row is the error messages.
I do have some good news for you.
Expect error messages in Clojure to become far better in the some-what near future. The Clojure team is planning to write specs for the clojure.core macros, which should dramatically improve error messages.
Until then, I hope this guide will alleviate some of those pains.
Reading Stacktraces
I’m going to first take you through how to read stacktraces. I’ve looked on Stackoverflow for some to look at.
Let’s use this one as our first example: (defn dodgy-map [] {:1 :2 :3}) $ lein ring server-headless Exception in thread "main" java.lang.RuntimeException: Map literal must contain an even number of forms, compiling:(one_man_wiki/views.clj:19) at clojure.lang.Compiler.load(Compiler.java:6958) at clojure.lang.RT.loadResourceScript(RT.java:359) at clojure.lang.RT.loadResourceScript(RT.java:350) at clojure.lang.RT.load(RT.java:429) at clojure.lang.RT.load(RT.java:400) at clojure.core$load$fn__4890.invoke(core.clj:5415) at clojure.core$load.doInvoke(core.clj:5414) at clojure.lang.RestFn.invoke(RestFn.java:408) at clojure.core$load_one.invoke(core.clj:5227) at clojure.core$load_lib.doInvoke(core.clj:5264) at clojure.lang.RestFn.applyTo(RestFn.java:142) at clojure.core$apply.invoke(core.clj:603) at clojure.core$load_libs.doInvoke(core.clj:5298) at clojure.lang.RestFn.applyTo(RestFn.java:137) at clojure.core$apply.invoke(core.clj:603) at clojure.core$require.doInvoke(core.clj:5381) at clojure.lang.RestFn.invoke(RestFn.java:457) at one_man_wiki.handler$eval1564$loading__4784__auto____1565.invoke(handler.clj:1) at one_man_wiki.handler$eval1564.invoke(handler.clj:1) at clojure.lang.Compiler.eval(Compiler.java:6511) at clojure.lang.Compiler.eval(Compiler.java:6501) at clojure.lang.Compiler.load(Compiler.java:6952) at clojure.lang.RT.loadResourceScript(RT.java:359) at clojure.lang.RT.loadResourceScript(RT.java:350) at clojure.lang.RT.load(RT.java:429) at clojure.lang.RT.load(RT.java:400) at clojure.core$load$fn__4890.invoke(core.clj:5415) at clojure.core$load.doInvoke(core.clj:5414) at clojure.lang.RestFn.invoke(RestFn.java:408) at clojure.core$load_one.invoke(core.clj:5227) at clojure.core$load_lib.doInvoke(core.clj:5264) at clojure.lang.RestFn.applyTo(RestFn.java:142) at clojure.core$apply.invoke(core.clj:603) at clojure.core$load_libs.doInvoke(core.clj:5298) at clojure.lang.RestFn.applyTo(RestFn.java:137) at clojure.core$apply.invoke(core.clj:603) at clojure.core$require.doInvoke(core.clj:5381) at clojure.lang.RestFn.invoke(RestFn.java:421) at user$eval1.invoke(NO_SOURCE_FILE:1) at clojure.lang.Compiler.eval(Compiler.java:6511) at clojure.lang.Compiler.eval(Compiler.java:6500) at clojure.lang.Compiler.eval(Compiler.java:6477) at clojure.core$eval.invoke(core.clj:2797) at clojure.main$eval_opt.invoke(main.clj:297) at clojure.main$initialize.invoke(main.clj:316) at clojure.main$null_opt.invoke(main.clj:349) at clojure.main$main.doInvoke(main.clj:427) at clojure.lang.RestFn.invoke(RestFn.java:421) at clojure.lang.Var.invoke(Var.java:419) at clojure.lang.AFn.applyToHelper(AFn.java:163) at clojure.lang.Var.applyTo(Var.java:532) at clojure.main.main(main.java:37) Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: Map literal must contain an even number of forms at clojure.lang.Util.runtimeException(Util.java:170) at clojure.lang.LispReader$MapReader.invoke(LispReader.java:1071) at clojure.lang.LispReader.readDelimitedList(LispReader.java:1126) at clojure.lang.LispReader$ListReader.invoke(LispReader.java:962) at clojure.lang.LispReader.read(LispReader.java:180) at clojure.lang.Compiler.load(Compiler.java:6949)... 51 more
What do you notice about it?
I’d wager that the first thing you say to yourself is that this is a long stacktrace.
Luckily for you, you can ignore 95% of it. When you get more experience with Clojure, you can tune out the noise and focus in on the signal in stacktrace.
The information that I care about the majority of the times is right here: Exception in thread "main" java.lang.RuntimeException: Map literal must contain an even number of forms, compiling:(one_man_wiki/views.clj:19) [snip] at one_man_wiki.handler$eval1564$loading__4784__auto____1565.invoke(handler.clj:1) at one_man_wiki.handler$eval1564.invoke(handler.clj:1) [snip] at user$eval1.invoke(NO_SOURCE_FILE:1) [snip] Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: Map literal must contain an even number of forms [snip]
That’s it.
The vast majority of times, you can tune out everything that’s not in your application or library’s namespace.
In this person’s case, it should be simple because Clojure tells you which namespace and line the error occurs on. And I would hope this particular error message is at least understandable.
If not, let’s pick it apart.
First go straight to the Caused by and read it:
Map literal must contain an even number of forms
Then go back to the top and scan down until you find a line with your application’s namespace. If it has a line number, great! Examine that line in your editor.
For the very beginners, it’ll take a little time to get used to the way that Clojure describes errors.
But you should be able to recognize that you’re using a map literal: {:a :b :c} and see that it indeed does not have an even amount of forms because you have three elements in the map and the compiler wants every key to be paired with a value. In this case, the :c key has nothing coming after it.
If the first line you find in your application’s namespace doesn’t help you, go to the next and repeat.
The Clojure Debugging Algorithm
To summarize the above process in a more generalized form:
Scroll down to the Caused by and read the message. Start from the top again and look for your application or library’s namespaces in the stacktrace. Look for line numbers. If you get a NO_SOURCE_FILE where your line numbers should be then that means you executed your code inside your REPL prompt without an associated file. Run your code in a file. Did you get a line number? Go inspect your code there and see if the error message starts making sense. If it’s not in your application’s code and instead in a library you use, then you’ll need to read the source of that library. Your editor should be able to jump to the definition of that symbol. I know Intellij/Cursive and Emacs/Cider can. If you haven’t got an idea how to fix your problem, repeat step 2 on the next line of your stacktrace.
Example Stacktraces And Error Messages
Let’s try to go through some error messages I grabbed from Stackoverflow. java.lang.ClassCastException: java.lang.Long cannot be cast to clojure.lang.IPersistentCollection
You’re trying to pass a Long (number) to something that is expecting a collection.
The idea of java.lang.ClassCastException is that you’re giving a function or method a type it can’t work with.
It goes in the form of: java.lang.ClassCastException: X cannot be cast to Y
Type Y was expected, but type X was given, so the JVM is trying to cast X to be Y type. In this case it’s not possible because the JVM doesn’t know how to turn a Long (number) into a collection.
In cases like this when you see something in the pattern of clojure.lang.I<something>, you’re dealing with a java interface. Here, we’re talking about IPersistentCollection.
Now, reading the java source of interface won’t really help you here. But it tells you that your java.lang.Long doesn’t implement the IPersistentCollection interface and methods.
Unbound Vars
java.lang.ClassCastException : clojure.lang.Var$Unbound cannot be cast to clojure.lang.Atom
This one will be tougher if you’re not familiar with clojure.lang.Var$Unbound ’s. But some Googling should give you a good idea. When you see this error with Var$Unbound, it means you have a dynamic var that isn’t bound in the thread of execution. Dynamic vars are usually indicated with ‘earmuffs’ and the dynamic metadata. (def ^:dynamic *request-id*)
Wrong Number Of Args
Stackoverflow Link (ns net.projecteuler.problem31) ;; elided (defn make-combination-counter [coin-values] (fn recurse ([sum] (recurse sum 0 '())) ([max-sum current-sum coin-path] (if (= max-sum current-sum) ; if we've recursed to the bottom, add current path to paths (dosync (ref-set paths (conj @paths (sort coin-path)))) ; else go on recursing (apply-if (fn [x] (<= (+ current-sum x) max-sum)) (fn [x] (recurse max-sum (+ x current-sum) (cons x coin-path))) coin-values))))) ;; Error: Wrong number of args passed to: problem31$eval--25$make-combination-counter--27$recurse--29$fn (NO_SOURCE_FILE:0)>
This is a scarier looking one.
First, we see NO_SOURCE_FILE, so if you wanted the line number then you need to evaluate it in a source file and not directly in your REPL.
Second, find our application’s namespace. In this case, problem31. But instead of a neat looking call, it has all these dollar signs and dashes in them.
That’s usually due to using anonymous functions.
Did you know you can name your anonymous functions? If you didn’t name them, you’d see a bunch of fn ’s and dashes. In this case, the author named the recurse anonymous function so we see that at the end of the error. But he didn’t name the inner-most anonymous function so he got an fn. Tracing through that should tell you almost exactly where the problem is. Using the error message as a clue, we can see that he is passing the wrong number of args to an anonymous function nested inside the recurse function. I’d then just look for function calls and log out the outputs or use my debugger to examine the args.
No Implementation Of Method
java.lang.IllegalArgumentException : No implementation of method : :make-reader of protocol : # 'clojure.java.io/IOFactory found for class : nil
No implementation of method errors means that the object you are calling a method on does not have that method. Usually because you didn’t implement the method on that type or that object is nil, like in this case.
No Such Var
Stackoverflow link Exception in thread "main" java.lang.RuntimeException: No such var: db/get-user, compiling:(guestbook/routes/auth.clj:38:14)
No such var means that the Clojure compiler can’t find the var you’re referring to. Either this means you didn’t refer to the correct namespace or it isn’t defined. Usually the former case.
nth Not Supported On This Type
Back to my favorite error: UnsupportedOperationException nth not supported on this type: IPersistentMap
Whenever you see nth not supported on a type, what you want to look for generally is destructuring. If you’re doing vector destructuring: (let [[a b c] :not-an-nthable-collection] :do-stuff)
Check that what you’re destructuring is a vector or a list.
Essentially, Clojure is trying to call nth on :not-an-nthable-collection to get the first three values and can’t while destructuring with let. This is one of those errors that will get better with more spec’d macros.
Minimizing Errors
While you can never avoid Clojure’s error messages entirely, you can certainly adjust your process to minimize them.
I recommend making small, incremental changes and evaluating them/running tests right away so when something breaks the surface area will be small.
Finally, in Clojure 1.9.0 alpha14 there are already a few macros (like ns ) that have specs implemented. The error messages are much better!
If you can get away with using an alpha version of Clojure 1.9.0 then it’ll alleviate some of the bad error messages.
ResourcesNew data presented yesterday by the NOAA and NASA shows that global temperatures hit a record high for the third straight year in 2016. But while the El Niño weather system was cited as a contributing factor |
whom are in negotiations with other clubs. By releasing these players, the club stands to gain overall. Fazio has been surplus to requirements for a while and Pritchard is not top Premier League quality. But, the decision to release Bentaleb and N’Jie is harder to justify.
Should Tottenham Release These Players?
Federico Fazio
If Tottenham releases Fazio, it will finally spark a move long destined to happen. The 29-year-old centre-back is fantastic in the air but slow and unreliable elsewhere. He simply was too much of a liability to the team and could not be relied upon like Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld. Already sent out on loan to Sevilla, he has completely dropped out of Mauricio Pochettino’s favour. Whilst he may provide ample backup in terms of experience, it comes at the cost of match time for Kevin Wimmer. Wimmer, who has really impressed and already looks more competent at his far younger age. Making only 20 appearances, he has not found success and it is the correct decision to release him.
Alex Pritchard
He has really impressed on his loan spells in the Championship and League One with Brentford and Swindon but has failed to push through into the first team. He is capable of competing in the Premier League, but he would be best suited to the middle to lower clubs. Spurs need top quality players to bolster the squad and he is perhaps a little too mediocre to really make things happen. Despite this, he has some good qualities. Mark Warburton said Pritchard “is very good tactically and technically with excellent dead ball delivery”. Indeed, his free-kick taking is impressive. Take his free-kick against Bournemouth or even the stunner against MK Dons as stellar examples of his ability. But, Spurs already have a world class free-kick taker in Christian Eriksen. Eriksen is also a better all-round player who Pritchard would never displace from the starting eleven.
Clinton N’Jie
The Cameroonian international has not had the chance to shine after missing five months of competitive matches. His ACL injury limited him to just eight league appearances, which now threatens his place at the club. In these matches, he did have some promise. His electric pace, good dribbling and the ability to change the dynamics of the match were all very impressive. On average per match, he managed to complete 60% of take-ons, created 0.25 chances and had 50% shot accuracy.
Relative to Nacer Chadli this looks promising; he has only 41% of take-ons and 37% shot accuracy on average. But, he has created more chances (0.83 per match). Statistics here are proving that N’Jie should remain an important squad player.
However, he pales in comparison to Erik Lamela, who creates 2.21 chances per match and has 54% shot accuracy. In addition, Lamela has actually played 2,181 minutes more than N’Jie, suggesting that he is consistently achieving these averages over the season. On the other hand, if he had been fit for a season, he would have managed closer to 20 appearances, boosting his stats. Also, take into consideration that he has only been at Spurs for one season. Lamela took a season to settle in properly and in the same way N’Jie might too.
With the rumour of Georges-Kévin N’Koudou buzzing around, it seems as though N’Jie’s fate is already sealed.
Nabil Bentaleb
We know the club were upset about his contract negotiations, but we also know that he’s knuckled down & that he’s a great trainer. — Chris Miller (@WindyCOYS) July 23, 2016
Nabil Bentaleb did kick up a storm when negotiating his would-be five-year new contract. His eagerness to move to another club seemed to disillusion both fans and manager alike, which, on top of his knee injury, completely removed him from the first team.
It would be a loss if Tottenham releases him, as he has the potential to be a good player. His breakthrough season was astounding and easily proved his worth as a Premier League midfielder. This was due to his ability to break up play as well as create, supported by his industrious work rate and fitness. However, there have always been some large flaws in his matches, namely lapses of concentration. For example, when he assisted Manchester United‘s third two seasons ago. Every player has some kind of weakness; otherwise, it would be impossible to name a Ballon D’Or winner. Similarly, young players will have flaws and it is up to them and the manager to iron them out.
When Pochettino already has Victor Wanyama, Eric Dier and Mousa Dembélé in his squad, it becomes apparent that Bentaleb may not find the needed match time to improve. A loan deal would really benefit both parties, but it seems unlikely a deal will be found. It will be unsurprising to see him succeeding at another club in just a few seasons time.
Main Photo courtesy of Getty Images30 Years and Counting in Music
6StringMercenary Blocked Unblock Follow Following Oct 23, 2015
The Roots, Passion, Technology and the Future of Independent Music
The Roots
The best place to start is at the beginning, right? Born to two loving parents, my Dad a musician who put himself through college as a guitarist and with a music loving Mother raised in Hawaii, I got really lucky. One of my favorite pictures is of a little me, about two years old, sitting on my bed with a Ukulele in my hands. The other is me on the couch with my Ukulele sitting next to my Dad and his Gibson Super V jazz guitar.
30 plus years later, they give me comfort that the passion for music is no accident, not an avenue of rebellion, but more like fulfilling a type of destiny.
Later came the piano lessons, the formal training and attempt to channel my seemingly endless energy into something constructive. I still have the learning books of sheet music which I worked through, and every time I see them, it’s a reminder of how stubborn I was, how I didn’t like having to practice the notes on the page because they got in the way of fun. Sure, I learned some things, got up on stage in front of people, and showed some promise — yet eventually my parents couldn’t fight my resistance any more. There was no reason to keep spending hard earned money on art as a form of punishment. Playing music went dormant for about 10 years.
Hitting 14 seemed to awaken something inside. As an only child with Dad’s small collection of guitars, a few effects pedals and a vintage Fender Twin Reverb amp, I started to plug things in and make noise. While most boys my age were getting into sports, my physical limitations meant that I had to watch others bond over things that I couldn’t participate in. Picking up a guitar though, was something that I could do on my own, in my room, without feeling judgment from the outside world. Then Dad noticed.
“So, do you actually want to learn how to play, or do you just want to bang on my stuff and break it?” might sound like a terribly demeaning question, but my Dad knew me well. When I said “Yes, I want to learn how to play” he recognized that he couldn’t be my teacher, because of his job that took him out of town for days at a time, and enabled our family to have a good lifestyle. Maybe a small part of it was knowing I was a challenging student — capable of learning at a high capacity (like my loving of dinosaurs), but with a head-strong stubbornness of self-direction. He paid for lessons at Player’s Music, and Mom was always there to take me when he wasn’t around.
It took about 9 months before I wanted to quit taking lessons, fed up with the pacing and authoritative format. We had a good Gateway computer at home and an internet connection, and once I learned how Guitar Tablature worked, I was off exploring and learning on my own. While we’d always had a computer in the home because it helped Dad do his job and Mom could make her own archives of recipes and do creative things like family newsletter updates to mail out, technology was a path to knowledge and progress. For years and years I’d spent time in the local library, reading about cars, guns, war, UFOs and whatever I felt was worth the time, but the early internet was a conduit to constructive independent study.
The Passion
It was about the time we got a cable modem and I was obsessed with playing Half-Life online multiplayer that I found Acid Music Studio on the discount software rack at the Virgin Megastore. Once I got the loop-based software up and running, I realized that the soundcard had a mic-in stereo mini jack. I took Dad’s Fender Stratocaster Elite and a couple pedals, and plugged it in. This coincided with making music friends through church and joining my first band, so by then, guitar already had me to the core. If I wasn’t playing along with Yngwie Malmsteen in my bedroom to get faster, or playing Half-Life with people all across the Northern Hemisphere, I was sitting at the computer, structuring songs and finding ways to record music.
“If I buy this for you, will you promise that your grades won’t go down?” was what my Dad said when we were at The Greater Southwest Guitar Show in 1998. The guitar? A Gold-top Les Paul made by The Heritage in Kalamazoo Michigan, a company that only existed because Gibson moved their production away to Tennessee. Enough of the old master luthiers refused to leave that they were able to start a company doing the things the way they wanted to, and without compromise. I promised him that my grades wouldn’t suffer, and they didn’t. To this day, my Heritage Les Paul is my #1, my most prized possession, the one thing I can touch and feel whole.
It’s easy to gloss over the years after that, because my parents were insistent that I studied hard, go to a good University, and have “marketable skills” for the future. They were adamant about me not trying to make music my career path, because Dad felt the music industry was rotten, full of snakes, the kind of dream that will lead people down a road for which there is no U-Turn and starting over — no, if music is important, do it for yourself. Earn a living, from that foundation, you can build something to be proud of doing.
The Technology
As somebody good with computers, like playing the guitar well, people tended to be in awe. “Oh, wow, you should be in Computer Science!” was frequently tossed about, and I did my best to use my talents there. Whether an IT contractor or HTML programmer, I knew my way around making machines do what I desired. Yet as a course of study in University, all the fun was sapped out, and I couldn’t see myself finishing. Leaving Computer Science, just before the tech bubble of the early 2000s burst, was a hard decision but one I knew the right one. That didn’t mean giving up on what was learned, of what computers could do, but it meant, yet again, making it a personal passion rather than one upon which to hitch my future.
From Acid Music Studio to Cool Edit Pro 2.0 and eventually to Ableton Live, I kept on grinding. By the time I was self-sustaining in a crappy apartment, I had four guitars, a computer, a MIDI keyboard, two amps, a couple soundcards, and would come home from work and make music. My first “official” album was titled “The Graveyard Shift” because everything I did was on the back-side of the clock. I considered music a job worth doing well, for myself, for my pride and passion, and pursuing fame by way of the music industry was never an option. After enough personal investment, I decided never to sign anything if I could help it.
The Future of Independent Music
Now, it’s nearly impossible to separate my love of music and guitar from using technology as a conduit. I love Ableton Live and Reaper, have too many soundcards and VSTs and royalty-free loops, tools like Figure on my iPad, and so many internet outlets for my 6StringMercenary concept that it’s almost a laundry list. SoundCloud. DistroKid for digital stores like iTunes. Spotify. Tidal. YouTube. Twitter. Periscope. ReverbNation. CraigsList for local connections. DropBox. Email for outreach.
Can you whistle the old-school modem handshake? The “Tweeee-twooooooo-KRRSSHHHH” connection with the world out there? I’m so amazed by the tools at my disposal, yet know they’re all worthless without something worth sharing. Now, the opportunity to share with the world on my own terms is more achievable than ever. It’s still an “echo chamber” that no matter how loud the shouting might be, there’s no guarantee that anybody is there to listen. That’s totally okay! Would I be willing to sell my car just to have a chance to record in a formal studio and quit my job to go on a regional tour? Nah, I’ve got a good life, a life that I’ve earned on my own that doesn’t change if I fail to sell a certain number of units. In the grand scheme of things, I’ve already recouped everything I’ve spent…and more…
So what’s my take on “the future” of being an independent musician? It all starts and ends with the artist — what do we want out of our effort? If fame and fortune are the goals, then there’s no point in being an independent. Get noticed, get signed by a major label, and hang on for the up and down ride that can make or break you. If the goal is to have a chance to distribute music beyond burning CDs, playing local gigs and wondering if anybody even cares, then now is the best time to be alive as a musician. Right now, and for the foreseeable future, investing in the self is a method of sacrifice and patience.
As the great Willie Nelson said, “Act like you’re famous, so if you finally make it, you won’t fuck it up.” Treat yourself with respect, protect your art, and be skeptical of those who promise more than they can deliver. When your head hits the pillow, be proud of what you’ve done and why you did it. If you don’t second guess your decisions, you’re on the right path.
Love music, have self-respect, and show it to the world loud ‘n proud!NASA has awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin to study the feasibility of building a hypersonic propulsion system for a concept intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft dubbed the SR-72 using existing turbine engine technologies.
The $892,292 contract “provides for a parametric design study to establish the viability of a turbine-based combined cycle (TBCC) propulsion system consisting of integrating several combinations of near-term turbine engine solutions and a very low Mach ignition Dual Mode RamJet (DMRJ) in the SR-72 vehicle concept,” the award document says.
A spokeswoman for Lockheed’s Skunk Works development laboratory declined to comment on the contract award.
The SR-72 is envisioned as an unmanned, reusable hypersonic ISR and strike aircraft capable of Mach 6.0 flight, or nearly double the speed of its predecessor, the SR-71 Blackbird.
NASA is funding the validation of a previous Lockheed study that found speeds up to Mach 7 could be achieved with a dual-mode engine that combines turbine and ramjet technologies, says Paul Bartolotta, a senior aerospace engineer at NASA Glenn Research Center who specialises in hypersonic propulsion.
Skunk Works was responsible for developing the SR-71 Blackbird, which was able to achieve M3.2 with specially designed Pratt & Whitney J58 engines. The powerplants were able to function as a low-speed ramjet by redirecting intake air around the engine core and into the afterburner past M2.5.
Potential adversaries are working on technologies to counter US air force fighter and bomber stealth capabilities. The service sees hypersonic vehicles as the next logical step in that arms race.
The US Air Force has a hypersonics roadmap that envisions fielding a hypersonic strike weapon, to succeed the X-51 Waverider proof-of-concept demonstration. The Waverider successfully launched from a B-52 and was powered to M4.8 by a booster rocket. The X-51 then accelerated to M5.1 after igniting its ramjet engine.
The roadmap envisions a follow-on programme calling for a reusable unmanned aircraft with M6.0 speeds. At that speed, intelligence can be gathered or weapons delivered before enemy air defenses are even alerted.
Both AFRL and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have been after a low-speed ramjet for years. The agencies’ HTV-3X programme demonstrated that a ramjet that could operate below M3.0. That inspired Lockheed to partner with Aerojet Rocketdyne to develop a way to use off-the shelf engines like the F100 or F110 for short bursts of acceleration beyond M2.2 in an attempt to close the gap between the two propulsion technologies.
“This study is asking whether we can use existing technologies to create a dual-mode ramjet that in theory can light up at Mach 2 to 2.5,” Bartolotta says. “The key to this whole effort is whether we can do it and finding the required technologies so we can plan for a programme in which we can spend some major dollars.”
The problem with hypersonic propulsion has always been the gap between the highest speed capability of a turbojet and the lowest speed of a ramjet. Most ramjets cannot achieve ignition below M4.0. Turbine engines typically can accelerate to only M2.2, below speeds at which a ramjet could take over and continue acceleration.
Therefore, NASA and Lockheed must either develop a turbine engine that can accelerate to M4.0, or a ramjet that can function at speeds within a turbine engine’s envelope, Bartolotta says.
“We’re looking for a turbine-based combined system where at low speeds you have a turbine providing power, then at higher speeds a ramjet or scramjet takes over,” he says. “We want to be able to go up to Mach 7 then transition back to the turbine to land it on a runway and recover it. The problem is how you can get the vehicle to fly fast enough to ignite the DMRJ and then have the DMRJ take over.”
NASA is considering several existing turbofan engines for use in the project, including the Pratt and Whitney F100-PW-229 that powers both the Boeing F-15 and Lockheed Martin F-16, among other aircraft. The General Electric F414 used by the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet also is being studied, along with the supersonic turbine engine for long range (STELR) engine conceived by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
If the study is successful, NASA wants to fund a demonstration programme. Lockheed would test the dual-mode ramjet in a flight research vehicle, and try to find solutions to issues like engine packaging and designing the thermal management system, Bartolotta says.
“We’re doing this at a lower Mach number so we need to figure out what are the issues for cocooning the turbine, what do we need to do to reignite that turbine once we come down from hypersonic speeds,” Bartolotta says.
Photos courtesy of Lockheed Martin.of the New England Patriots of Arizona Cardinals during the game on September 16, 2012 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) Robert Kraft (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
BOSTON (CBS) — When the NFL ended its lockout of referees this week, ushering the end of the replacement ref era, it was not immediately clear how and why exactly the league and referee union were able to settle their differences.
A couple of days later, we’re getting some clarity.
Logically, it stood to reason that the fiasco at the end of Monday night’s Packers-Seahawks game was the final straw for owners, who then told commissioner Roger Goodell that it was time to end the lockout. While the exact details are still unclear, that assumption appears to be a bit inaccurate in terms of timing.
Former Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe was a guest on Gresh & Zo on Friday afternoon, and he said that Patriots owner Robert Kraft was involved before last weekend’s slate of games began.
“I talked with Robert Kraft last week and he had been disengaged from this whole thing,” Bledsoe said. “He got involved about, I want to say, seven or eight days ago, and all of a sudden things are solved. The guy seems to have a magical touch for bringing people together and ending these things as he did with the players [in 2011] and now with the referees.”
Bledsoe’s comments coincide with a New York Times report that said when some owners refused to give any concessions to the referees in the wake of that Monday night disaster, Kraft was not among them.
“A number of owners, including, according to people with knowledge of the negotiations, the Panthers’ Jerry Richardson and the Jets’ Woody Johnson, initially dug in on Tuesday, reluctant to make any deal under such public pressure,” Judy Battista reported. “Others, including the Patriots’ Robert Kraft and the Giants’ John Mara, were concerned that damage was being done to the league by the subpar officiating and the focus on it.”
Battista also reported that Goodell relied on Kraft and Mara to help ” unite the other owners” on certain negotiating points with the referees.
Last year, Kraft played an integral role in ending the lockout of the players, with union rep Jeff Saturday saying, “Without Kraft, this deal does not get done. He is a man who helped us save football.”Darien Williams has big plans that go well beyond finally getting on a basketball court again. Iowa State's newest recruit wants it all.
"No reason we can't win the national championship this year, and then next year when I get there," Williams said. "That's where I see the program."
Officially, Williams won't become a "we" until joining the Cyclones next season.
"And I can't wait to get there and get going," said the 6-foot-8 Williams, who returned his national letter of intent on Wednesday.
A 220-pound wing player, Williams averaged 16.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and made 41.1 percent of his 90 3-point attempts last season at Iowa Western of Council Bluffs.
He's sitting out this season after undergoing operations on both shoulders – one in July, and the other last month. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
"Both shoulders were loose," Williams said. "They're tightened up now."
As good as new, he says.
"I'm shooting better now than I was back when I was playing," Williams said. "Conditioning-wise, I'll be fine."
Williams accepted Fred Hoiberg's scholarship offer in April, before the other schools looking at him – Nebraska, Southern Cal, Kansas State and Louisville among them – even offered a scholarship.
"If you know where you want to go, then why wait?" Williams asked. "Iowa State is where I want to be."
Williams is ideal for Hoiberg's system – a tall player who runs the floor well, and with an ability to make 3-pointers. He has mismatch potential.
"For me, and hopefully Iowa State, it's a perfect fit," Williams said. "It's the style of basketball that I like. The quicker the tempo we play, the better."
After this season, the Cyclones lose 6-6 Dustin Hogue, 6-6 Bryce Dejean-Jones, and 6-8 Daniel Odozie. Hallice Cooke, a 6-3 guard, is sitting out after transferring from Oregon State.
And by this time next year, Williams will be champing at the bit to play.
NEWSLETTERS Get the High School Sports newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Highlights and top stories on high school sports and athletes. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-877-424-0225. Delivery: Mon-Sun Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for High School Sports Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters
"Do you know how long it's been since I haven't played basketball?" the personable Williams asked. "A long time. I've been playing ball every day since I was 5."
So how's he planning to spend this season?
"I'll watch basketball, either on TV or in person, every game I can," said Williams, who is attending classes this school year at City College of San Francisco. "The University of San Francisco is out here; I'll go to some of their games, too."“Dear white people if Trump wins young n****s such as myself are fullyhell bent on inciting riots everywhere we go. Just so you know.”Though the outcome of America’s presidential election is still up in the air, Black Lives Matter has made it clear that one outcome is certain. If Donald Trump is the victor, violence will erupt in the streets. This according to rapper and activist Tef Poe when he took to Twitter to say,“Dear white people if Trump wins young n****s such as myself are fully hell bent on inciting riots everywhere we go. Just so you know.”If you are unsure who ‘Tef Poe’ is, don’t worry, you are not alone. All you really need to know about him is that he is the co-founder of the Hands Up United organization out of Ferguson, Missouri. His organization chose its name based off of the false narrative that Michael Brown, a teenage thug, had his hands up and back turned to officer Darren Wilson when he was shot.Forensic and eyewitness evidence have since proven that story to be wrong, but the Black Lives Matter movement continues to spread it as if it were true.The Hands Up Don’t Shoot movement, “Represents that Mike Brown was unarmed. Hands up or not, he didn’t have a weapon.”Forensic evidence and a grand jury found that, weapon or not, Michael Brown was assaulting a police officer, and trying to take Officer Darren Wilson’s gun.Tef Poe is now serving as a top leader in the group Black Lives Matter, that is often mocked for its black-supremacist ideas by being refereed to as Only Black Lives Matter. He also used social media to say,“Trump wins aint no more rules fammo. We’ve been too nice as is.”Since the comments from Poe have caught the public’s attention, the Black Lives Matter leader has since deleted the posts with accusations that he is being slandered. Info Wars was able to obtain a screenshot of the posts that were snagged before they were deleted.Bernie Sanders, Daniel Ellsberg, former members of the NSA and more weigh in on whether Obama should grant clemency to the divisive whistleblower
Bernie Sanders leads a chorus of prominent public figures calling for clemency, a plea agreement or, in several cases, a full pardon for the National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Writing in the Guardian, the runner-up in the race to become Democratic presidential candidate argues that Snowden helped to educate the American public about how the NSA violated the constitutional rights of citizens with its mass surveillance program. Sanders argues that there should be some form of resolution that would acknowledge both the “troubling revelations” that he had brought to light and the crime that he committed in doing so, that would “spare him a long prison sentence or permanent exile”.
Sanders joins 20 other prominent public figures – from Hollywood actors and rock musicians to politicians, professors and Black Lives Matter activists – who call on Barack Obama to find some way of allowing Snowden to return home to the US from exile in Russia. The Guardian’s voices are raised in the week that Oliver Stone’s film, Snowden, is released in the US and that a coalition of groups including the ACLU and Amnesty International launch a new campaign for a presidential pardon before Obama steps down.
Among the writers in the Guardian are Daniel Ellsberg, the whistleblower who released the Pentagon Papers in the 1970s, who calls for Snowden to be allowed to make a public interest defense in any US trial. From the world of arts, actor Susan Sarandon and director Terry Gilliam, novelist Barry Eisler and Sonic Youth singer Thurston Moore all make impassioned calls for an Obama pardon.
Senior politicians from both sides of the Atlantic, including former US senator Mark Udall, UK parliamentarian David Winnick and German Green party member Hans-Christian Ströbele all fly the flag for a Snowden homecoming. Similar calls are made by public intellectuals including Noam Chomsky, Cornel West and Sanders’ former Democratic presidential rival and Harvard law professor, Lawrence Lessig.
Not everyone writing in the Guardian today is empathetic towards the whistleblower. The former director of the NSA, Michael Hayden, says Snowden should face “the full force of the law” were he to come home. Stewart Baker, also latterly of the NSA, argues that Snowden’s leak caused harm to US national interests – a contention that is strongly disputed by many of the other people writing here.
Bernie Sanders
US senator for Vermont and Democratic presidential runner-up
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Senator Bernie Sanders in June. Photograph: Mike Groll/AP
Edward Snowden makes'moral' case for presidential pardon Read more
The information disclosed by Edward Snowden has allowed Congress and the American people to understand the degree to which the NSA has abused its authority and violated our constitutional rights.
Now we must learn from the troubling revelations Mr Snowden brought to light. Our intelligence and law enforcement agencies must be given the tools they need to protect us, but that can be done in a way that does not sacrifice our rights.
While Mr Snowden played an important role in educating the American people, there is no debate that he also violated an oath and committed a crime. In my view, the interests of justice would be best served if our government granted him some form of clemency or a plea agreement that would spare him a long prison sentence or permanent exile.
Susan Sarandon
Oscar-winning actor
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Susan Sarandon: ‘Ed Snowden did this country a great service.’ Photograph: Noam Galai/Getty Images
Ed Snowden did this country a great service. Here was a man who had a well-paying job and a good life in Hawaii yet tore it all up so that he could reveal to all of us what the NSA was doing to us in the name of national security. He did so for no personal gain, and at massive personal cost, because he cared about a basic principle: that governments should not lie to their people.
I think President Obama should do the right thing: pardon Ed and let him come home to his family and his people. Susan Sarandon
I don’t think a person like that should be exiled from their country. I don’t think a person like that deserves to be locked away for decades like Chelsea Manning. I think President Obama should do the right thing: pardon Ed and let him come home to his family and his people.
Daniel Ellsberg
Former US military analyst who released the 1971 Pentagon Papers on the Vietnam war, and who met Snowden in Moscow last year
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Daniel Ellsberg: ‘As things stand, I think the chance that this or any president will pardon Snowden is zero.’ Photograph: Stephen Hird/Reuters
Ed Snowden should be freed of the legal burden hanging over him. They should remove the indictment, pardon him if that’s the way to do it, so that he is no longer facing prison.
The NSA and US government have revealed no evidence that the information Ed Snowden released has caused any harm. Inconvenience, yes, embarrassment certainly, but what has truly been revealed is that the NSA itself was unquestionably committing international, domestic and constitutional crimes.
Were the government to have any evidence that Snowden revealed information that should have been protected, I think he should be judged by a jury. I was the first person to be tried for a leak under the Espionage Act, and I certainly didn’t object to my case being weighed by a jury, although it never came to that. But there has to be a public interest defense, which doesn’t exist in US law now.
As things stand, I think the chance that this or any president will pardon Snowden is zero. They wouldn’t dare to challenge the intelligence community that remains so hostile to him. Nor does Snowden have any chance of a fair trial under the Espionage Act, any more than I did.
So nothing would be gained by him coming back and standing trial unless the Espionage Act were changed to permit that public interest defense. He’s said to me that he’s willing to come back and serve one, two or conceivably three years as a result of a plea bargain arranged beforehand, but they haven’t offered him one as far as I’m aware.
Terry Gilliam
Film director and former Monty Python star
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Terry Gilliam: ‘What Edward Snowden’s prize should be, I don’t know, perhaps something as unglamorous and hard to display on his mantelpiece as a presidential pardon.’ Photograph: Tim P Whitby/Getty Images
I think anyone helping to strengthen the workings of democracy should be rewarded. What Edward Snowden’s prize should be, I don’t know, perhaps something as unglamorous and hard to display on his mantelpiece as a presidential pardon. That would be nice.
Michael Hayden
Former director of the National Security Agency
Facebook Twitter Pinterest General Michael Hayden was NSA director under Bill Clinton and George W Bush. Photograph: Christopher Lane for the Guardian
What Snowden did amounted to the greatest hemorrhaging of legitimate American secrets in the history of my nation. Michael Hayden
What Edward Snowden did amounted to the greatest hemorrhaging of legitimate American secrets in the history of my nation.
If he wants to come home, and that’s his choice, I think he should face the full force of the law. Then he would be able to mount his defense. I would not be supportive of a public interest defense, however, because the American people declare some things to be legal and some things to be illegal, and don’t anoint the individual citizen to decide whether that’s a good or a bad idea.
If Snowden really claims that his actions amounted to genuine civil disobedience, he should go to some English language bookstore in Moscow and get a copy of Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience. Thoreau points out clearly that civil disobedience gets its moral authority by the willingness to suffer the penalties from disobeying a law, even if you think that law is unjust.
It would be incredibly unwise for this president to offer a pardon. President Obama and his successors are dependent on the 100,000-plus people inside the American intelligence community – the people Edward Snowden betrayed. For any president to align himself with Snowden’s approach in this controversy would carry an incredible cost to the spirit and morale of the intelligence community.
Malkia Cyril
Executive director of the Center for Media Justice and a Black Lives Matter activist
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Malkia Cyril: ‘Black movements for peace and freedom demand that out of the darkness of empire, truth-tellers emerge to sound the alarm.’ Photograph: Center for Media Justice
Right now, Black Lives Matter activists protesting deadly police and other forms of state violence who have not been accused of any crime are being spied on with Stingray cellphone interceptors, tracked through biometric facial recognition software and license-plate readers, among other things. And, this isn’t limited to black activists.
Black people of all kinds know that since blacks were enslaved in the western hemisphere, to be black in America is to suffer persistent surveillance, to be watched as if being black was a spectator sport. How many black people right now are wearing electronic monitors? Are in databases we can’t get off? Are on the no-fly list? Are living in communities that are so over-policed they have been turned into open-air prisons?
This is why Edward Snowden must be pardoned – because the ability of black communities to organize for our collective liberation depends, in part, on whistleblowers like him. Black movements for peace and freedom demand that out of the darkness of empire, truth-tellers emerge to sound the alarm.
His revelations directly challenged the commonly held belief that media, phone and technology corporations must always give into state interests to target and harass the public. His bravery was a catalyst for the modern movement to defend democracy from both state and corporate overreach.
Noam Chomsky
Professor of linguistics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Noam Chomsky: ‘He took the courageous and honorable step of transmitting the information through careful and highly reliable and experienced journalists.’ Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian
President Obama should provide Edward Snowden with a form of clemency that would permit him to return home to the United States – and still more appropriately in my view, remove all threats of criminal investigation as well.
He should not be punished for the services that he has performed in the interests of democracy and civil rights. Noam Chomsky
Snowden should, in my opinion, be welcomed home with honors for his service to his country, and for his courage and integrity in the manner in which he performed this service. Apart from exceptional circumstances, citizens have every right to know what their government is doing, in particular what it is doing to them – in the present case, as Snowden revealed to us, keeping citizens under extensive and deeply intrusive surveillance.
No case has been made that relevant exceptional circumstances prevail. As well known, initial claims about prevention of terrorist actions collapsed under investigation, and no credible case has been made that the massive invasion of privacy, arguably in violation of constitutional rights, is warranted. Snowden made every effort to follow established procedures for bringing this crucial information to the general public. When these failed, he took the courageous and honorable step of transmitting the information through the medium of careful and highly reliable and experienced journalists, who, along with him, carefully vetted the material to ensure that no possible harm would be caused to individuals or to security.
Citizens of the United States – and indeed the world, considering the extraordinary range of the operations that have been revealed – are very much in Snowden’s debt. He should certainly not be punished in any way for the services that he has performed in the interests of democracy and civil rights. At the very least, he should be granted the full freedom to return home without fear of prosecution, and, I very much hope, to be welcomed with the respect that he richly deserves.
Thurston Moore
Singer-songwriter of Sonic Youth
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Thurston Moore: ‘It has become normal to witness the uncovering of classified information over time.’ Photograph: Felix Clay for the Guardian
From the perspective of someone born in the friendly ’50s in the USA, it has become normal to witness the uncovering of classified information over time...
Living in this day in age one would imagine that we – so connected now – could’ve found a way to share resources in a more socially responsible way. |
Remember, the goal is to mimic egg noodles.
In a large bowl, combine your veggie noodles and the cashew cream mixture. Stir in the raisins.
Spray your baking pan with some cooking spray. Spread the veggie noodle/cashew cream/raisin mixture into the pan. Sprinkle some more ground cinnamon + the Splenda brown sugar on top. Bake for an hour or so. Let cool before serving or it may fall apart.
I wish I’d made 1-10 dayenu references somewhere in here! Rats! I mean, flying frogs!
NUTRITION: 256 calories. 20g carbs. 18g fat. 7g protein. 2g fiber. 9g sugar
0.000000 0.000000
AdvertisementsHillary Clinton will welcome a handful of the deep-pocketed donors who helped to fund her failed bid for the White House to a holiday party next week at New York's famed Plaza Hotel.
Page Six reports that the December 15 party will be a thank you to those who doled out millions to Clinton's campaign, honoring the Hillary for America finance leadership council.
Clinton's decision to host a joyful, and costly, celebration is a surprising one, especially just one month after her shocking loss in the general election
Scroll down for video
Deep pockets: Hillary Clinton (above in October) will be hosting a holiday party for her millionaire donors in New York City next week
Making the cut: Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, designer Tory Burch, and investor Alan Patricof will be among the guests (Wintour and Weinstein above)
Holiday cheer: Clinton is hosting the bash at the city's famed Plaza Hotel (above)
Among those who are expected to attend are Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, designer Tory Burch, investor Alan Patricof and billionaire hedge-fund manager Marc Lasry.
Those five not only donated to Clinton but also hosted fundraising events for the campaign.
Wintour also used her position to have Vogue formally endorse Clinton for president.
Also in attendance at the holiday bash will be Tim Kaine, who usually throws his own holiday party the same day in New York City.
This has led to some speculation that he may be planning a 2020 run for president.
Clinton is sparing no expense for the event either, which will be held at in the hotel's Grand Ballroom.
Swank scene: The gathering will take place at the hotel's Grand Ballroom (above), where events cost well over $100,000 on avergae
A-list crowd: It will serve as a thanks to those who hosted events for Clinton, like Weinstein who was able to bring out Leonardo DiCaprio (left) and Jennifer Lopez (right) this past June
Big thanks: Wintour also used her position to have Vogue formally endorse Clinton for president (above watching Clinton speak with Bryan Lourd at a May fundraiser in LA)
The 4,800 square foot beaux-arts style ballroom has been the site of some of the city's most memorable, and lavish, wedding ceremonies, as well as where Truman Capote held his famed Black & White Ball.
It is also where Donald Trump and his second wife Marla Maples held their wedding reception, back when Trump owned the hotel.
The rental fee for the room alone is reportedly $12,000, and that does not include the food and drink price for the guests.
In the end, most events held at the venue cost well over $100,000, and some have even topped $1million over the years.The Hilton Palacio del Rio Hotel at 200 S. Alamo St. The Hilton Palacio del Rio Hotel at 200 S. Alamo St. Photo: Kin Man Hui / San Antonio Express-News Photo: Kin Man Hui / San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 28 Caption Close Man jumps to his death from downtown hotel balcony 1 / 28 Back to Gallery
A man jumped to his death from the balcony of a Hilton Palacio Del Rio Hotel room early Saturday afternoon, the San Antonio Medical Examiner's Office confirms.
Little information is available, but San Antonio police told KSAT the individual was in his 20s, and hit a tree before landing on a stairwell.
The incident occurred about 1 p.m.
San Antonio Fire Department confirmed they responded to assist SAPD with a DOA at the hotel. The medical examiner's office confirmed they received the remains of a person who jumped from the hotel, but did not release any other information.
Read Full ArticleQueen invites ruler of Bahrain's bloody regime to her Jubilee lunch at Windsor Castle because 'it's very rude to leave anyone off the list'
Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa's regime is accused of killing and torturing civilians during last year's pro-democracy demonstrations
The King of Bahrain is also set to attend a champagne dinner hosted by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace
Outcry expected from human rights campaigners and MPs
Pressure mounts for this month's Bahrain Formula 1 race to be cancelled after police using tear gas and live bullets shot a protester dead last week
The Queen has risked an international outcry by inviting the King of Bahrain to a Diamond Jubilee banquet despite widespread criticism of his bloody and repressive regime.
The English-educated Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa is on the guest list for a lunch hosted by the Queen in May at Windsor Castle. He is also thought to be among those invited to a champagne dinner given by Prince Charles the same evening at Buckingham Palace.
The invitations will infuriate human rights campaigners and MPs angry at the Gulf state’s violent crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations.
Royal guest: The Queen receives the King of Bahrain at Buckingham Palace in 2004
The country’s despotic rulers were accused of using brute force and torture to crush the protests last year, which saw more than 50 civilians killed and thousands arrested. The Bahrain royal family has direct control of the police, army and security services.
The king’s son, the Crown Prince of Bahrain, was last year invited to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton but pulled out at the last minute in a move that spared the couple from potential embarrassment. Human rights activists had threatened to disrupt Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa’s stay in London, insisting he was the chief architect of the crackdown.
In January, the Countess of Wessex came under pressure to return lavish jewels given to her by the Bahrain royal family during a pre-Christmas visit to the country.
Despot: The English-educated King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa, leaves Number 10 Downing Street in December last year
One set of jewels came from the king and another from the prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the king’s uncle. The crown prince gave her a silver and pearl cup and her husband, the Earl of Wessex, received a silk rug.
Continuing unrest on the streets of Bahrain has also led to calls for this month’s Formula 1 race there to be cancelled, with critics including ex-world champion Damon Hill. One protester was shot dead last week when riot police used tear gas and live bullets against demonstrators.
Buckingham Palace aides said yesterday that the King of Bahrain had not yet confirmed that he will attend the Diamond Jubilee lunch, which will take place at Windsor on May 18 and which will be a historic and intimate gathering of crowned heads.
During the Golden Jubilee the Queen hosted a party for the sovereigns of Europe, but this is a much wider gathering of reigning monarchs from around the world.
Palace aides said the luncheon would tie in with the ‘Big Lunch’ theme of the Jubilee celebrations which encourages the British public to organise street meals around the country to celebrate.
Prince Charles has organised a dinner on the same evening at Buckingham Palace as a personal ‘thank you’ to his mother, who will celebrate her 60 years on the Throne with a weekend of celebrations in June.
While the Prince’s dinner is expected to be an elaborate affair, and is likely to be organised by his former valet Michael Fawcett, who now runs a catering business, the Queen’s lunch will be catered ‘in house’ and may be staged in the gardens of Windsor Castle.
Aides said it was the Queen’s idea to host the lunch and she was ‘delighted’ when Prince Charles offered to throw a dinner. It is understood that the reigning heads of Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Andorra, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands and Norway will all attend the lunch.
Crowned heads from further afield are expected to include the Emperor of Japan, the King of Tonga and rulers from the Middle Eastern kingdoms including President Khalifa bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates, the Sultan of Brunei, Sheikh Ahmad Hmoud Al-Sabah of Kuwait and the Emir of Qatar.
Crackdown: Bahraini riot police take cover from petrol bombs hurled by protesters during clashes in Sanabis village, near Manama, after they broke up a march in support of a jailed human rights activist on Wednesday Dissent: Graffiti in Barbar, Bahrain, depicts the King in a race car, calling for a boycott of this year's Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix, scheduled for April 22 Bloodied: Protesters carry an injured man during a clash with police in the suburbs of Manama last month. The King of Bahrain declared a state of emergency for three months to deal with unrest which swept the country
It is believed the elderly King of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, has declined the invitation but is sending the crown prince in his place.
The Saudi Arabian royal family has also been criticised for human-rights abuses, as has another invitee, the King of Swaziland, Mswati III, Africa’s last absolute monarch.
A Palace source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It was the Queen’s decision to host the lunch and her decision to invite every world sovereign. It would have been very rude to have left anyone off the list and the Queen would never want to offend anyone.’
The source added: ‘Charles can’t make the Queen’s luncheon as he and Camilla are on official engagements, but he will be hosting the evening celebrations and he is sparing no expense on the meal, which will all be organic, and the champagne, which will flow all night.’
Bahrain has been battling to restore its international reputation since last year’s violent clashes between security forces and anti-government demonstrators.
Trading gifts: Prince Charles is presented with an ornate sword by the King of Bahrain during a tour of the gulf in 2007. The two will meet again when the Prince hosts a champagne dinner at Buckingham Palace in May
In February 2011, 35 people were killed and hundreds wounded in Pearl Square in Bahrain’s capital Manama when security forces used rubber bullets, tear gas, batons and then live ammunition to disperse protesters.
Inspired by revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets demanding greater freedom and democratic reforms. Protesters wanted political prisoners released, more jobs and housing and the removal of the prime minister, who has been in office for 40 years. Tensions between the country’s Sunni elite and the less affluent Shia majority have intensified since Bahrain’s independence from the UK in 1971. Shia groups say they are marginalised, repressed and subjected to unfair laws.
According to reports, since February 2011 scores of demonstrators have been killed and hundreds tortured, while thousands have been dismissed or suspended from their jobs.
Cosy: David Cameron meets the King of Bahrain at 10 Downing Street in December last year. The Coalition is said to have authorised the sale of £2.2million worth of arms to the oppressive Bahraini regime last summer
At the height of the killings, David Cameron greeted the crown prince at No 10, and between July and September 2011 the Coalition reportedly authorised the sale of £2.2million of arms to the regime.
Bahrain’s rulers have promised to introduce reforms to increase democracy, but campaigners say they have yet to implement them.
Buckingham Palace refused to comment on the guest list last night. A spokesman said: ‘We can’t confirm who has been invited or who has accepted.’
A spokesman for Prince Charles said: ‘We can’t comment on the dinner or any of the guests who may or may not have been invited because we haven’t announced anything yet.’Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) isn't letting up on his criticism of President Trump, saying in a new interview that Trump's inaugural speech “wasn’t helpful for the country.”
“It was a very unusual speech,” he told Politico’s “Off Message” podcast, which was published Tuesday. “And it wasn’t helpful for the country."
“It just wasn’t good,” added Kasich, who competed against Trump for the GOP’s 2016 presidential nomination and is currently on a book tour.
Kasich added that he would remain in the debate over the GOP’s future
ADVERTISEMENT
“I have a right to try to define Republicanism and conservatism as much as anybody else and, you know, I think there’s a little struggle right now and I think the party doesn’t quite know where it’s going.”
Kasich suspended his White House run in May 2016, clearing Trump's path to the Republican presidential nomination.
Trump secured the GOP nod last July en route to defeating Democratic presidential nominee 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 in November.
The incoming president then vowed to halt “American carnage” during his inauguration in January.
“This American carnage stops right here and stops right now,” Trump said in Washington. "From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this moment on, it’s going to be America first.”
Trump vowed to halt radical Islamic terrorism during his address, pledging to "eradicate it completely from the face of the Earth.”
The new president also promised to tackle “the crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential."Does the Free-Will Defense Constitute a Sound Theodicy?
1. Proem
A strong argument against the existence of the Christian god (henceforth referred to as God) is contained in the theodicy problem, which can be stated in the following manner:
If God exists, he is all-knowing, all-powerful, and perfectly good.[1] The existence of suffering is incompatible with the existence of God. Suffering exists. God does not exist.[2]
To make the argument clearer, consider the following clarifications. An all-knowing being will be aware of suffering; an all-powerful being will be able to prevent suffering; and a perfectly good being will desire to prevent suffering. If suffering exists, then God - who is characterized by the three attributes stated in point 1 - does not exist. It is possible for some other, non-Biblical god to exist, but he cannot be all-knowing, all-powerful, and perfectly good, though he may be one or two of these.
This essay will take a look at the most common, and perhaps the only possible, counter-argument, the free-will defense [henceforth the FWD]. In brief, it says that point 2 above is incorrect because suffering is a result of the free actions of human beings, created by God with a capacity to choose either good or evil. Hence, it is the fault of humans that suffering exists and not of God. Below, I will present this counter-argument in more detail and, as the main contribution, show that it is unsound and that, as a result, the theodicy problem remains intact. In this venture, I will present an argument of my own along with extensive quotes.
2. The FWD
In considering the problem of evil, the theist must explain how it is that he holds the existence of God to be true while admitting that suffering, or evil, exists. In doing so, he may question point 2 above.[3] We will take a closer look at the strongest and the ostensibly most plausible of such possible questionings, the FWD.
For a flavor of the argument, Swinburne (1991, p. 200) asserts that "[a] good God would have reason to create a world in which there were men with a choice of destiny and responsibility for each other, despite the evils which would inevitably or almost inevitably be presented in it, for the sake of the good which it contained." In other words, God chose to create a world with evil in it because he valued the moral autonomy of humans - which he knew would lead to evil - higher than pure goodness.[4]
Let us try to spell out the basic idea in some detail, and let us do so under the assumption (to be abandoned in Section 3) that Christianity is true. First, God has existed for ever, and he has always been all-knowing, all-powerful, and perfectly good. At some point in time t 1, he decided to create the universe.
In the Garden of Eden, the two humans, Adam and Eve, who lived in a perfectly good state of affairs, were tempted by the Devil to rebel against God and chose to do so. By eating of the forbidden fruit, they committed a sin which separated them from God. As a result of this fall, their harmony was lost and death made its entrance into the world. All humans are implicated in the sin of Adam and Eve (cf. Romans 5:12, 18, 19) in that this sin affected the human nature, which was transmitted to coming generations. Hence, we can trace moral evil to the voluntary decision of our ancestors, who did not act in accordance with God's will. This doctrine is regularly referred to as the doctrine of original sin. As a result, no one can avoid committing sin.
Let us furthermore quote the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994, §§403-404) at some length: "Following St. Paul, the Church has always taught that the overwhelming misery which oppresses men and their inclination towards evil and death cannot be understood apart from their connection with Adam's sin and the fact that he has transmitted to us a sin with which we are all born afflicted, a sin which is the 'death of the soul.' /…/ How did the sin of Adam become the sin of all his descendants? The whole human race is in Adam 'as one body of one man.' By this 'unity of the human race' all men are implicated in Adam's sin, as all are implicated in Christ's justice. /…/ By yielding to the tempter, Adam and Eve committed a personal sin, but this sin affected the human nature that they would then transmit in a fallen state. It is a sin which will be transmitted by propagation to all mankind, that is, by the transmission of a human nature deprived of original holiness and justice. And that is why original sin is called'sin' only in an analogical sense: it is a sin 'contracted' and not 'committed' - a state and not an act."
This general view was supported by the Protestant reformers, who taught that original sin had radically perverted man and destroyed his freedom: they identified the sin inherited by each man with the tendency to evil (concupiscentia), which would be insurmountable. For instance, the commentary to Martin Luther's Small Catechism (1898, p. 45) states that original sin is the in-born corruption of our nature, which makes us prone to evil and incapable of good (in support of this thesis, Ps. 51:5, John 3:6, and Rom. 7:14 are quoted).[5]
Some modern Protestants, although acknowledging the overall doctrine of original sin, have a slightly different version which says that children up to an "age of accountability", albeit sinful, are guilt-free (see Robertson, 1987, pp. 57-58).[6] One remark is in order, namely, that this version of the doctrine in effect entails the same qualitative view with respect to human action as the Catholic and the more traditional Protestant view, viz., that no human can avoid sinning as a result of the corruption brought upon all men as a result of the fall in the Garden of Eden.[7]
To summarize, then, the Christian reply to the theodicy problem may take the following form: God valued moral autonomy so highly that he created Adam and Eve in spite of knowing that they would choose evil. But the central thing to note is that it was Adam and Eve who voluntarily choose to sin, and God would have desired that they freely would have chosen good. Hence, God is not to blame for the emergence of evil in the human race.
3. The Shortcomings of the FWD
The FWD to many seems quite convincing, especially to Christians, as a result of what it supposedly does: rescue their faith from a strong challenge. However, in this section I will make clear why the FWD is not a sound argument and why the problem of evil still indicates that God does not exist.
3.1 Non-moral evil
First of all, it is important to note that the FWD fails entirely as a way to free God of responsibility for non-moral, often called physical or natural, evil, since this type of evil is independent of any actions of men. Some usual examples are famines, floods, disease, and earthquakes. Plantinga (1974, p. 192) argues that neither God nor humans are responsible for these things, but that fallen angels cause them.
Mackie (1982, pp. 162-163) notes: "Formally, no doubt, this is possible; but it is another of what Cleanthes called arbitrary suppositions. While we have a direct acquaintance with some wrong human choices - our own - and our everyday understanding extends to the recognition of the like choices of other human beings, we have no such knowledge of the activities of angels, fallen or otherwise: these are at best part of the religious hypothesis which is still in dispute, and cannot be relied upon to give it any positive support."
And Gale (1991, p. 111) remarks: "[T]he atheological argument based on natural evil is an impure atheological one, due to the proposition that there is natural evil being taken to be only contingent by the theist. In denying that there is in fact any natural evil, it is not shown that the initial set of this argument does not entail a contradiction. And, if it does, so does the proposition that the conjunction of the propositions in its initial set is possibly true. Thus, to neutralize the deductive argument based on natural evil, Plantinga must show not just that every alleged natural evil really is or could be a moral evil but that it is logically impossible that there be a natural evil. And that he has not done. Nor do I think it can be done. And if so, we must recognize that the FWD can work as a defense of God only for moral evil."[8]
And so, we can already establish that there is evil which must be attributed to God, and consequently, the argument in Section 1 holds. In order to make this an even firmer conclusion, let us also see why moral evil cannot be explained away as not being God's responsibility by means of the FWD.
3.2 My argument
The primary argument is quite simple. The FWD holds that humans have free will to do either good or evil. My argument states - on the basis of the Bible - that humans do not have free will, and hence, that God is responsible and blameworthy also for what is referred to as moral evil. But then we are back at the insight that this situation is incompatible with God's being in possession of the three characteristics listed in point 1 of Section 1 - and hence, he does not exist.[9]
Let me elaborate on why this argument is correct. Let us, for the sake of argument, grant the Christian that Adam and Eve did have a genuine free choice and that they chose to sin. As a result, the evil which directly came about was a result of a choice which was made by morally autonomous beings. From the argument that God valued moral autonomy highly enough for him to accept its evil consequences, it follows that the evils which directly emerged as a result of what Adam and Eve did were justified. That is, God set up a wager for the two humans: either obey me and live in perfect harmony or disobey me and bring about disharmony. Whatever one may think about such an ultimatum, it is possible to hold that the circumstances in which it was put forth were such as to pose a real and neutral opportunity for choice.
However, the reason why God is responsible and blameworthy for much of the moral evil which has emerged after Adam and Eve is found in the doctrine of original sin. As we have seen, this doctrine holds that all subsequent human beings did not face a neutral choice, like Adam and Eve, but that they instead were born with a sinful nature which forced them to commit sin. This is what the Bible [10] says on the matter:
2 Chron. 6:36: "If they sin against thee--for there is no man who does not sin--and thou art angry with them…"
Ps. 51:5: "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."
Prov. 20:9: "Who can say, 'I have made my heart clean; I am pure from my sin'?"
Ecc. 7:20: "Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins."
John 3:6: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
Rom. 3:10-12: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they have gone wrong; no one does good, not even one."
Rom. 3:23: "since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
Rom. 5:12: "Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned"
Rom. 5:18: "Then as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men,"
Rom. 7:14: "We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin."
1 John 1:8-10: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
Clearly and without doubt, the Bible states that no human being can avoid committing sin. But if each human had been born with a neutral nature, such that his nature did not, per se, entail any tendency towards either good or evil (as in the case of Adam and Eve), it could not necessarily hold in a setting with agents with a free will that everyone of them would commit sin. (One could argue that it is highly probable that all humans would sin even with a neutral nature, but this does not affect the argument of this section: the introduction by God of a sinful nature must in any case increase the amount of sin committed by humans.) Consequently, the Bible implicitly teaches that genuine free will is not present in the human race after Adam and Eve. And from that we can infer that if people commit at least some evil acts out of necessity, they cannot be held accountable for them - which implies that God is responsible and blameworthy for a substantial portion of evil acts carried out by humans.
As Rand (1961, pp. 136-137) colorfully states it: "A sin without volition is a slap at morality and an insolent contradiction in terms: that which is outside the possibility of choice is outside the province of morality. If man is evil by birth, he has no will, no power to change it; if he has no will, he can be neither good nor evil; a robot is amoral. To hold, as man's sin, a fact not open to his choice is a mockery of morality. To hold man's nature as his sin is a mockery of nature. To punish him for a crime he committed before he was born is a mockery of justice. To hold him guilty in a matter where no innocence exists is a mockery of reason. To destroy morality, nature, justice and reason by means of a single concept is a feat of evil hardly to be matched. Yet that is the root of your code. Do not hide behind the cowardly evasion that man is born with free will, but with a 'tendency' to evil. A free will saddled with a tendency is like a game with loaded dice. It forces man to struggle through the effort of playing, to bear responsibility and pay for the game, but the decision is weighted in favor of a tendency that he had no power to escape. If the tendency is of his choice, he cannot possess it at birth; if it is not of his choice, his will is not free."
How, more precisely, can God be held guilty of acts of evil committed by man? The answer is found in focusing on the transmission mechanism of the effects of the choice of Adam and Eve. The quote from the Catholic Church (1994) above mentions this and clarifies that the sinful nature incurred by Adam and Eve was propagated to all coming humans. But, and here is the crux of the argument, who determined the particular transmission mechanism by which all humans contracted a sinful nature which led to their not being able to avoid committing evil acts? God did. God, who is omnipotent, chose to construct the world such that whatever Adam and Eve did would directly influence the choices of all humans.
Is this particular transmission mechanism necessary or contingent? Surely it is contingent, since God's omnipotence means that he can do anything which is logically possible; and hence, God could have let the consequences of Adam's and Eve's sin last with them and not predispose every other human being to sin and evil.[11] For instance, he could have made the world such that each new individual started afresh, like Adam and Eve, with a perfectly neutral nature, on the basis of which truly free choices could then be made. It bears noting that if he had done this, there would have been less evil and a freer human will![12] This he did not do, and he is therefore at least partly responsible and blameworthy, not only for non-moral evil, but also for what is normally referred to as moral evil. And this inductive insight renders the deductive argument of Section 1 valid, i.e., God does not exist.
Gale (1991, p. 157 ff.) argues, on a more abstract level, a similar point, and he claims that "God's way of causing created persons to act /…/ is freedom canceling." That is to say, humans are not free agents and hence not ultimately blameworthy for their acts of evil. He lists certain freedom-canceling sufficient conditions:
The case of the sinister cyberneticist: "C 1. If M 1's actions and choices result from psychological conditions that are intentionally determined by another man M 2, then these actions and choices are not free."
The case of the evil puppeteer: "C 2. M 2 has a freedom-canceling control over M 1 if M 2 causes most of M 1's behavior."
"Is God's relation to created persons in the FWD such that it satisfies C 1 and/or C 2? If it satisfies either, no less both, the FWD is in trouble, as would be the soul-building defense as well. I submit that it satisfies both, and thus it is time for the nervous smile to replace the smirk."
"It is clear that it satisfies C 1, since according to the FWD, God intentionally causes a created free person to have all of her freedom-neutral properties, which include her psychological makeup. The Free Will Defender will make the Libertarian claim that these inner traits only 'incline,' but do not causally determine, the person to perform various actions or act in a certain regular manner, but this does not make the God-man case significantly disanalogous to the type-1 man-man cases; for even if we imagine that our intentional psychological-trait inducers could render it only probably according to various statistical laws that their victims would behave in certain characteristic ways, they still would exercise a global freedom-canceling control in which the person is rendered nonfree due to her not having a mind of her own."
"The God-man relation in the FWD also satisfies C 2 ; for, when God instantiates diminished possible persons or sets of freedom-neutral properties, he does have middle knowledge of what choices and actions will result, and thereby sufficiently causes them. And he does so quite independently of whether or not he is blameless for the untoward ones among them."
We see that my argument fits nicely with Gale's exposition, especially C 1. (Subsection 3.4 below presents an argument which primarily fits with C 2.) The interesting thing in what I show is that there is a strong Biblical basis for why C 1 holds and for why humans are not in possession of a free will.
3.3 Mackie's argument
There is another, rather different argument which also undermines the FWD, and it is that of Mackie (1982, pp. 150-176). Both the argument above and this one are, in themselves, sufficient to show that the FWD is unsound, but if this point can be supported by two independent rationales, all the better. It is to be noted that Mackie assumes throughout that the Biblical doctrine of free will indeed says that there is such a thing, whereas I have showed that this assumption is erroneous. In any case, the FWD does not hold.[13]
Here is the argument: "If God has made men such that in their free choices they sometimes prefer what is good and sometimes what is evil, why could he not have made men such that they always freely choose the good? Since there seems to be no reason why an omnipotent, omniscient, and wholly good god would not have preferred this alternative, the theist who maintains that there is such a god, and yet that he did not opt for this - since by his own account human beings make bad free choices - seems to be committed to an inconsistent set of assertions."
"For at least some theists, this difficulty is made even more acute by some of their further beliefs: I mean those who envisage a happier or more perfect state of affairs than now exists, whether they look forward to the kingdom of God on earth, or confine their optimism to the expectation of heaven. In either case they are explicitly recognizing the possibility of a state of affairs in which created beings always freely choose the good. If such a state of affairs is coherent enough to be the object of a reasonable hope or faith, it is hard to explain why it does not obtain already."
"Nevertheless, it is often thought that this suggestion, that God could have made men such that they would always freely choose the good, is not coherent. Sometimes this objection rests merely on a confusion. It would, no doubt, be incoherent to say that God makes men freely choose the good: if God had made men choose, that is, forced them to choose one way rather than the other, they would not have been choosing freely. But that is not what was suggested, which was rather that God might have made - that is, created - beings, human or not, such that they would always freely choose the good; and there is at least no immediate incoherence or self-contradiction in that."
Mackie goes on to show that it is not logically impossible that men should be such that they always freely choose the good and that it is logically possible that God should create them so. And he concludes: "In short, all forms of the FWD fail, and since this defence alone had any chance of success there is no plausible theodicy on offer." To recapitulate: since God could have made men such they would always freely choose the good, and since he did not do this, he is responsible for so-called moral evil.
Likewise, in Smart & Haldane (1996, pp.68-73), this view is forcefully defended: "Even in a world such as ours where bad consequences may occur through lack of knowledge, free but wicked choices might be impossible. God could have created beings with purely moral desires, from which they would always act. Even on a libertarian theory of free will it is logically possible that everyone would always in fact act rightly. God, who surveys all time and space, could have created such a world."
"Because free will is compatible with determinism God could have set up the universe so that we always acted rightly, and so for this reason alone the FWD does not work. I do have some sympathy with the view that the compatibilist account of free will does not quite capture the ordinary person's concept of free will. This, however, is because the ordinary person's concept of free will, if one gets him or her arguing in a pub, say, is inconsistent. The ordinary person wants the action to be determined, not merely random, but undetermined too. The compatibilist can say that if this is the concept of free will we clearly do not have free will, just as I don't have a round square table in my study. Once again the FWD fails."
On a similar note, Smith (1979, p. 83) remarks that any goal which God wants to achieve, he can achieve in any logically possible way he wants. That is, if we say that evil (or a capacity for God's created beings to use evil) is a method used by God to obtain goal x, then God is blameworthy for evil, since he could have used some other method which does not include evil.
3.4 Russell's argument
There is a similar argument which states that God is responsible for whatever happens, since he created everything contingently, since he knew, a priori, exactly what would happen, and since he sustains everything at any point in time. A Christian would probably say that this is true but that God is not blameworthy for the evil which arises from the acts of free humans. Above, we argued that humans are not free with regard to performing good and evil acts, and that even if they are, God could have made humans such that they would always freely choose the good, which makes him ultimately blameworthy for all evil. Now we add a clarifying argument, namely, that all forms of evil are, in essence, non-moral and hence attributable to God. Russell puts it thus:
"[I]t is clear that the fundamental doctrines of Christianity demand |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.